Increasing FICO by being added to an established account?

[Anonymous]

Is it possible to boost a FICO score be by being added as an authorized user to a good established account? If so, how long would it take? Thanks!

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Is it possible to boost a FICO score be by being added as an authorized user to a good established account? If so, how long would it take? Thanks!

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Yes it can help you IF the account is older than any of yours, IF the payment history is long and clean, IF the utilization is very low, and IF it will report to the CRA's. Not all cards will do this. You need to ask the company first. You will inherit the entire history of this account. One caveat however; if this account starts to go south your credit will be affected as well. Keep that in mind.

It would affect your credit as soon as the issuer reports to the CRA's. When they would actually do that I can't say. IME it only took days.

From a BK years ago to:
8/09 TU-765 EQ- 783
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800

You can do the same thing with hard work

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[RobertEG]

I am biting my tongue in response. for I commend you if you can get a score inrease.

I am biting my tongue because I dont thnk that anyone, for any reason, should ever be able to piggy-back on the credot history of anyone else to profit their personsl risk analysis, and thus FICO score.  The whole concept just  makes no personal risk analysis logical sense to me, period.

[Anonymous]

Well, I can see where you're coming from - which is a very narrow place indeed. The fact is, if someone (namely me) has been working very hard to restore their credit after a series of difficult circumstances (the birth of my disabled child being one, and the loss of my husband's job being another), and someone with stellar credit trusts that person enough to allow them as users on a good account, why would it be wrong?

It shows that someone with a good, clean history trusts me to overcome any harship and protect their good standing as well as my own. I'm worthy of that trust, and I'm not going to feel bad about it. I'm turning my lemons into lemonade. Want some?

[marty56]

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@RobertEG wrote:

I am biting my tongue in response. for I commend you if you can get a score inrease.

I am biting my tongue because I dont thnk that anyone, for any reason, should ever be able to piggy-back on the credot history of anyone else to profit their personsl risk analysis, and thus FICO score.  The whole concept just  makes no personal risk analysis logical sense to me, period.

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+1

Based on what derog information is on your report, it may not help you to be an AU.  If you focus on trying to clean up the problems on your CR, you would probably gain more points in the long run.  If you list the problems on your CR, there are people here who probably have experieince in dealing with them.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, I have already cleared up everything that can be cleared at the moment. This was more of an attempt to provide a small, immediate boost after an immense ammount of work to attain the increases I have. We're applying for a mortgage next week, so we needed all the help we could get. It looks like it will be ok regardless, I just prefer to be on the safe side, score-wise.

[marty56]

The only other quick way to increase your score would be to pay down revolving debt and or reduce the # of CCs reporting a balance.  Since you are applying for a loan next week, I don't know if they could get the AU account on your CR that quickly.  

I would also post your scores and other CR info in the mortgage forum and see if Shane or Dallas have any ideas or to let you know what to expect.  In any case, I hope you get approved and remember you could always refi later as your scores improve.  I did.