topic Adding kid as authorized user in Credit Cards

Adding kid as authorized user

GrandBaker — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 22:31:56 GMT

Alright folks, GrandBaker Jr. is coming up on his 18th birthday so wife and I thought we'd get him started in the credit game as an authorized user. I'm looking for recommendations on any cards that you have had a good experience with in this regard. Additional goal is to give him a boost in terms of AAoC etc. I know AMEX used to allow back dating but that stopped a while ago. Do any other card companies do it?

Re: Adding kid as authorized user

sccredit — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 22:44:31 GMT

We added ours to Capital One at 16. They allowed us to set a limit and it worked out well.

Re: Adding kid as authorized user

JoeRockhead — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 23:46:33 GMT

Adding him to one of your oldest accounts will be a big help. Discover, Chase, USB have all shown my full account age on my son's reports.

Amex shows he's been a member and history since '23 (when I added him) but my wife's AU card shows her original date of '04 (when she got her first Amex) but the history only goes back to when I added her.

Re: Adding kid as authorized user

GatorCowboyLion — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 02:31:49 GMT

The following card issuers reportedly back-date authorized user accounts: Capital One, Chase, Bank of America, Synchrony, US Bank, Discover. I can speak from personal experience that Bank of America and (edit, just confirmed) Discover both do. The extent to which different credit bureaus consider it for various reports is a whole other conversation.

Re: Adding kid as authorized user

GrandBaker — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 00:49:13 GMT

@JoeRockhead wrote:
Adding him to one of your oldest accounts will be a big help. Discover, Chase, USB have all shown my full account age on my son's reports.

Amex shows he's been a member and history since '23 (when I added him) but my wife's AU card shows her original date of '04 (when she got her first Amex) but the history only goes back to when I added her.

Thanks! I do have a Citi card that's 5+ years older than him. Would make a good story

Re: Adding kid as authorized user

JoeRockhead — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 01:15:28 GMT

@GrandBaker wrote:
@JoeRockhead wrote:
Adding him to one of your oldest accounts will be a big help. Discover, Chase, USB have all shown my full account age on my son's reports.

Amex shows he's been a member and history since '23 (when I added him) but my wife's AU card shows her original date of '04 (when she got her first Amex) but the history only goes back to when I added her.
Thanks! I do have a Citi card that's 5+ years older than him. Would make a good story

That would be funny. You could try it... you know, for science

Re: Adding kid as authorized user

GatorCowboyLion — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 02:48:11 GMT

I found another old thread here on MF in which users claim that in addition to the ones we established, USAA and Citi do backdate. With this information, you must add him as a Citi AU and report back! I added my infant daughter as AU to my CCC, but since she's a minor, I cannot easily check her credit report. With this being a newer card, we didn't want to harm my DW's AAoA, but we did want her to be able to use that card. Also, we want to build our daughter's credit file. The process was seemless.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Which-credit-cards-will-backdate-an-authorized-user/td-p/4989467

The updated list of banks that do reportedly backdate:

Bank of America

Capital One
Chase
Citi
Discover
Synchrony
US Bank
USAA

Re: Adding kid as authorized user

ptatohed — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 06:34:28 GMT

I added my 13 year old earlier this year (when he was 12) to my citi DC.

Re: Adding kid as authorized user

HHH71 — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 14:23:46 GMT

I added my kids first to Capital One quicksilver, then my discover. For my son in college that was enough to app on his own. While in college he got his own cap one quicksilver, then chase freedom unlimited, then Amex (clear one) forgot the name. He graduated with SL on his own cards of about $12k and a credit score of 776, I told him which cards to app for so he could then decide after that which ecosystem he liked.

Re: Adding kid as authorized user

PullingMeSoftly — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 16:54:13 GMT

@GrandBaker I would definitely add him to your oldest accounts, but also to the cards that he can use for spend that will help him learn how to earn rewards (and help you to get something back for any parental subsidies). An 18-year-old can eat like there's no tomorrow, so I'd give him a GO card, and possibly a DC or CFU for uncategorized, and maybe a Costco card if you're sending him to get stuff for the household.

Started DS with my Chase and Amex accounts, and then gave him an Alt. GO for all the dining I was covering in his college years, an Affinity FCU for Amazon purchases (lots of textbooks), and a Citi CC for gas. That led to his own secured Alt. GO, which graduated and USB 2x'd his credit line. He's moved on to his own applications now, but with an understanding of why/how credit products should be used, and how to build banking relationships.

Re: Adding kid as authorized user

Rogue46 — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 18:13:24 GMT

I added both my daughters to my Discover card at 15 yrs and recently checked my oldest who is now 17 and she has a score of 770.

Re: Adding kid as authorized user

marmoset — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 02:56:25 GMT

I added my wife to Chase, Citi, Cap1, Barclays and Discover and they all back dated the history on EX and TU. EQ only shows the Cap1 which I theorise may be because I included her Social Security Number for Cap1 and they also issued her a unique card number?? Definitely include the authorized users SS# if the bank will allow it so you can to get that inputted in to the credit file.

Her scores on her new file were instantly fantastic on EX and TU although we quickly found out that credit card banks internal scoring models aren't so easily fooled. So, even with a 750 FICO 8 score she still was getting denied and had to spend a few months with a secured card. But her credit has quickly gone to awesome.

Re: Adding kid as authorized user

GatorCowboyLion — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 07:07:45 GMT

Thank you @marmoset, first I'll add Barclays to the list of banks that backdate authorized users:

Bank of America
Barclays

Capital One
Chase
Citi
Discover
Synchrony
US Bank
USAA

Second, it's very interesting DPs you share. I did read on this reddit thread this week about an FI (that doesn't use FICO at all) not caring at all about AUs in their credit card underwriting methods. Seems like an outlier to not use FICO at all though. I would postulate that at least adding card from a bank that does backdate would at least prevent AAoA and AoAA from dropping a credit score. Separate from FICO considerations, banks may have different considerations when it comes to AUs at their institution subsequently applying there. It would at least be in their system, and perhaps some of them would consider it as positive history. These DPs of AU failing to improve credit reliability at particular institutions actually makes me want to add my daughters to more cards, just to cover bases.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/comments/17ol1hd/i_worked_as_a_credit_analyst_for_a_major_credit/