@Anonymous wrote:Hello,
I am a fresh immigrant to the US and I have some questions about the FICO report. You can see my introduction thread here:
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=generalcredit&thread.id=137405
Please excuse me if my questions are a bit off as the credit system where I come from is very different.
Balance
In the Accounts section (4) of my wife's power report, what does exactly does balance mean? is that the amount due for the next month's payment? how could that balance be showing up on her report when she did not make charges to these cards? could it be because she is an authorized user and the charges were made by a different person in the account?
Yes, it is because she is an authorized user. The reported balance is for all users of the card;being an AU simply allows her to make charges on that account.
Credit Card VS Credit Account
In the same section there are 3 credit cards which have a credit card icon next to them and one "Credit Account" with a money sack icon next to it. What is a credit account? What is the difference between a credit account and a credit card?
I am not sure the difference. I would assume that a credit card is a revolving credit line (i.e. credit card) and a credit account is maybe a personal line of credit.
Account Type: Open-end VS Revolving
Even though i tried googling I could not find a clear explanatio. what exactly is the difference between the two?
There isn't a difference to the best of my knowledge. A revolving account is an example of an open-ended account. Open ended means that they have agreed to loan you money when you need it and there is no date when this ceases (compared to a fixed-term loan).
Account Holder
My wife shows up as an "Authorized User", how many types of users are there and how does each of them affect the credit score over time?
Can anyone become an Authorized User?
An authorized user is someone who has been given permission to make charges to an account, but is not financially responsible for the account. For scoring purposes, there is no difference.
Debit Cards
Will debit cards ever show up on the credit report? how do I know if a certain debit card is also a credit card?
Debit cards are not extensions of credit and will never show up on your credit report. No debit card is also a credit card, although merchants allow you to run debit cards through like a "credit transaction". They will never appear on your report.
That's it for now, I appreciate any help
MG
Hopefully this helps a little; I tried. I'm sure someone more knowledgable can come behind and fill the gaps.
Starting Score: 627 EQ, 621 TU - 11/15/08