topic Re: Adding AUs again in Credit Cards

Adding AUs again

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:00:05 GMT

I've posted here about this, read some other threads on the subject but it's still not clear, at least to me! Can one's credit score be raised by adding them as a AU on your credit card?

On this page: http://www.credit.com/life_stages/starting_out/How-to-Get-Credit-if-Youre-20-Something.jsp down the page a bit that adding an AU will not raise their credit score. Are they wrong?

Re: Adding AUs again

webhopper — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:17:42 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I've posted here about this, read some other threads on the subject but it's still not clear, at least to me! Can one's credit score be raised by adding them as a AU on your credit card?

On this page: http://www.credit.com/life_stages/starting_out/How-to-Get-Credit-if-Youre-20-Something.jsp down the page a bit that adding an AU will not raise their credit score. Are they wrong?

Adding someone as an AU will raise their score, my fiance's score jumped 100 pts after my discover started reporting on his reports. I added him as an AU in Feb

Re: Adding AUs again

MarineVietVet — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:20:49 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I've posted here about this, read some other threads on the subject but it's still not clear, at least to me! Can one's credit score be raised by adding them as a AU on your credit card?

On this page: http://www.credit.com/life_stages/starting_out/How-to-Get-Credit-if-Youre-20-Something.jsp down the page a bit that adding an AU will not raise their credit score. Are they wrong?

Yes it can them IF the account is older than any of theirs (older than their current AAoA is even better), 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. They will inherit the entire history of this account.

Re: Adding AUs again

webhopper — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:45:58 GMT

@MarineVietVet wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I've posted here about this, read some other threads on the subject but it's still not clear, at least to me! Can one's credit score be raised by adding them as a AU on your credit card?

On this page: http://www.credit.com/life_stages/starting_out/How-to-Get-Credit-if-Youre-20-Something.jsp down the page a bit that adding an AU will not raise their credit score. Are they wrong?
Yes it can them IF the account is older than any of theirs (older than their current AAoA is even better), 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. They will inherit the entire history of this account.

Joey inherited the entire 13 yr history of my discover, clean payment history, it had a low balance too.

Re: Adding AUs again

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:47:04 GMT

That page doesn't mention anything about if a credit card reports to a CRA or not just that it doesn't help. Citibank actually suggested adding on a AU to raise credit score but couldn't answer if they reported same to a CRA or how it works. A PNC issued card although they asked for the AU's SS# said that it's only for ID purposes and they don't report the AU to the CRA. Do the CS people that answer the phones really know the answer as the person I asked had to check with someone else??

Re: Adding AUs again

MarineVietVet — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:03:55 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
That page doesn't mention anything about if a credit card reports to a CRA or not just that it doesn't help. Citibank actually suggested adding on a AU to raise credit score but couldn't answer if they reported same to a CRA or how it works. A PNC issued card although they asked for the AU's SS# said that it's only for ID purposes and they don't report the AU to the CRA. Do the CS people that answer the phones really know the answer as the person I asked had to check with someone else??

That page is absolutely wrong. AU's can help but not for everyone in every case.

In my experience Citi will report AU's as well as Discover, BoA, and Cap 1.

Re: Adding AUs again

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:12:00 GMT

@MarineVietVet wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
That page doesn't mention anything about if a credit card reports to a CRA or not just that it doesn't help. Citibank actually suggested adding on a AU to raise credit score but couldn't answer if they reported same to a CRA or how it works. A PNC issued card although they asked for the AU's SS# said that it's only for ID purposes and they don't report the AU to the CRA. Do the CS people that answer the phones really know the answer as the person I asked had to check with someone else??
That page is absolutely wrong. AU's can help but not for everyone in every case.

In my experience Citi will report AU's as well as Discover, BoA, and Cap 1.

Citibank is one that doesn't ask for the AU's SS# so how would a CRA know one John Smith from another?

Re: Adding AUs again

MarineVietVet — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:14:01 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@MarineVietVet wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Citibank is one that doesn't ask for the AU's SS# so how would a CRA know one John Smith from another?

I'm not sure how it works but it does work.

Re: Adding AUs again

webhopper — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:50:08 GMT

Citibank is one that doesn't ask for the AU's SS# so how would a CRA know one John Smith from another?
I'm not sure how it works but it does work.

For me, it worked perfectly once my fiance's credit report started reporting our new address.. It lines up their name with the address. The address wasn't updated on his report until i added him to my Amex, which used his ss# to report to the bureaus... They reported his new address, which is same as mine

Re: Adding AUs again

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:20:46 GMT

@MarineVietVet wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@MarineVietVet wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Citibank is one that doesn't ask for the AU's SS# so how would a CRA know one John Smith from another?
I'm not sure how it works but it does work.

If you apply for a credit report and/or a credit score you have to give your SS# so I can't see how it can work without that info.

Re: Adding AUs again

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:19:54 GMT

@webhopper wrote:

Citibank is one that doesn't ask for the AU's SS# so how would a CRA know one John Smith from another?
I'm not sure how it works but it does work.

For me, it worked perfectly once my fiance's credit report started reporting our new address.. It lines up their name with the address. The address wasn't updated on his report until i added him to my Amex, which used his ss# to report to the bureaus... They reported his new address, which is same as mine

What happens if the AU's address isn't the same as the account holder like in my case? Or was that in your case also at first?

Re: Adding AUs again

kjm79 — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:23:23 GMT

Yep. As posted, it picks it up by addresses. Last names don't even have to match. There's other ways as well. Parents add on kids that have different addresses and some how it still manages to get picked up. Friends add friends to cards, again, different addresses, but still shows up.

Re: Adding AUs again

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:40:53 GMT

@kjm79 wrote:
Yep. As posted, it picks it up by addresses. Last names don't even have to match. There's other ways as well. Parents add on kids that have different addresses and some how it still manages to get picked up. Friends add friends to cards, again, different addresses, but still shows up.

Without the AU's SS#?

Re: Adding AUs again

kjm79 — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:43:09 GMT

Yep. My DH and I were added on as AU's on a Shell card that his dad opened up back in the 90's after we got married to help us build or credit. We had different addresses, didn't have to provide our SS #'s, same last name, that was it.

Re: Adding AUs again

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:55:22 GMT

@kjm79 wrote:
Yep. My DH and I were added on as AU's on a Shell card that his dad opened up back in the 90's after we got married to help us build or credit. We had different addresses, didn't have to provide our SS #'s, same last name, that was it.

The situation isn't like mine with different name. different addresses, SS# on one card but only the name on the other.

Re: Adding AUs again

MarineVietVet — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:26:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

The situation isn't like mine with different name. different addresses, SS# on one card but only the name on the other.

All you can do is go through the process for each issuer, give all the information they ask for, and see if they report.

Re: Adding AUs again

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:41:38 GMT

@MarineVietVet wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:

The situation isn't like mine with different name. different addresses, SS# on one card but only the name on the other.
All you can do is go through the process for each issuer, give all the information they ask for, and see if they report.

Actually, I've done just that but I wonder how long it would take before any difference would be noticed if at all?

Re: Adding AUs again

webhopper — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:47:55 GMT

Anywhere from a month to two months you should have a pretty good idea.

Re: Adding AUs again

Anonymous — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:43:14 GMT

Thanks!

Re: Adding AUs again

Anonymous — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:02:11 GMT

Well, PNC said that they don't report to CRA. I just ran a report on my added AU and my PNC credit card account shows up. The Citibank one doesn't but that might have something to do with the fact that I didn't allow online access to the account or give them a card as I did with the PNC which was automatic.