Authorized User for 28 years.... now what?

[TilltedBrim]

When I check my CR through myFico it reports a long credit history dating back to the oldest account which is an AM Express card in which I'm an AU. The account was open April 1983 by my father who has passed away. The account never had any lates and was always paid as agreed. According to my CR date of last activity was June 2004 and the account is still reflected as Acct type: Open and Acct Holder: Terminated I know that the account has been closed for years so I'm not quite sure why its still reporting open. However, I'm quite sure that this account has a lot of bearing on why my scores are as high as they are. How much longer will this account continue to report on my CR, and most importantly what kind of impact can I expect when it doesn't anymore? Currently myFico is reporting TU: 713 and EQ: 712 Thanks in advance....

[llecs]

"Open" refers to the account-type, and is another word for CC. It is open-ended and there are no fixed terms like you'd see in an installment.

It can report up to 10 years from the date of closure. If the TL lacks a closure date, then you got lucky I guess, in regards to it's reporting. I had a Zales CO that was like that. About 2-3 yrs after the CO and after I paid it, they kept reporting it without a closure date. It reported for 14 years after it was CO'd, with the last 11 years reporting as a positive TL. My AAoA loved that. My FICO didn't like it when it deleted on it's own earlier this year.

[TilltedBrim]

Thank you llecs... How many points would you say I could expect to take a hit for if and when it does delete and its own?

[llecs]

There's no way to tell or predict. The two things to look out for is the change to your AAoA and change (in years) between this Amex and your second oldest revolving or charge (assuming Amex is the oldest). If I guess on mine, it was approx. 25, give or take a few. I had other things happening which resulted in a net loss of 50+. DW removed her oldest revolving once as an AU and hers dropped 30ish, but that AAoA change was 4+ years.

Amex backdates. I don't know if it backdates as an AU, but I'd guess it would. I suppose you can always replace it with the org. open date.

[RobertEG]

Just to amplify on the designation of the account as "open."  As was stated, that is a type of credit, and not a status of the account.  An unfortunate use of the same word to designate two totally different things.

All, and in fact most, CCs are not an "open" type of credit.  They are revolving.  Revolving means you have a preset credit limit to draw upon, with monthly payments and balances revolving around the balance of credit you choose to use.  Open-type credit, such as Amex cards, are due in full upon billing, and dont have a credit limit as such. Thus, your monthly payment obligation does not revolve around the balance of debt.

Regardless of the CRA policy of deleting accounts at approx 10 years after closure, that arbitrary policy comes from their end.  Upon death of a consumer, the creditor will most likely delete the account on their own initiative, thus making the 10 year CRA policy irrelevant.  I would anticipate its deletion once the creditor becomes aware that the owner of the account is deceased.

[TilltedBrim]

Thank you both for the wonderful information...

[stan_the_man]

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@llecs wrote:

Amex backdates. I don't know if it backdates as an AU, but I'd guess it would. I suppose you can always replace it with the org. open date.

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If the AU doesn't have an existing relationship with Amex, they can -- hit or miss -- get backdated to the primary card holder's member since date.

That worked for DW. One thing I'm not sure of is if Amex would have backdated it on their own, or if it only occurred because of our calls.