new to forum and credit cards - advice on piggybacking?

[Anonymous]

Hi all - hopefully someone can point me in the right direction as I have gone on far too long paying with debit/cash alone...

will try to keep this from being TLDR - I have paid for everything with cash/debit my whole life - no debts of any kind + have paid all bills on time and in full. 3 years ago, I went to purchase a new car and decided to finance it, which I had to get a family member to co-sign on as I apparently had no credit history. I am not sure if this is still the same case but I have recently received a work promotion where I will be travelling alot - my predecessor has strongly encouraged me to take advantage of various AMEX cards but I am not sure if I will be able to get them, and if not, how I would go about boosting my credit such that I would qualify. I am wondering if piggybacking still works, especially with respect to AMEX? Would someone be kind enough to point me in the right direction here or give me a break down of the fastest/most efficient path to get into a platinum and a hilton?

Thanks - looking to be an active member once I get things up and running now that I have an idea of what I have been missing!

-R

[dragontears]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi all - hopefully someone can point me in the right direction as I have gone on far too long paying with debit/cash alone...

will try to keep this from being TLDR - I have paid for everything with cash/debit my whole life - no debts of any kind + have paid all bills on time and in full. 3 years ago, I went to purchase a new car and decided to finance it, which I had to get a family member to co-sign on as I apparently had no credit history. I am not sure if this is still the same case but I have recently received a work promotion where I will be travelling alot - my predecessor has strongly encouraged me to take advantage of various AMEX cards but I am not sure if I will be able to get them, and if not, how I would go about boosting my credit such that I would qualify. I am wondering if piggybacking still works, especially with respect to AMEX? Would someone be kind enough to point me in the right direction here or give me a break down of the fastest/most efficient path to get into a platinum and a hilton?

Thanks - looking to be an active member once I get things up and running now that I have an idea of what I have been missing!

-R

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Very first thing you need to do is determine what is on your credit reports and what your current scores are. 

Is that auto loan still open? 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi all - hopefully someone can point me in the right direction as I have gone on far too long paying with debit/cash alone...

will try to keep this from being TLDR - I have paid for everything with cash/debit my whole life - no debts of any kind + have paid all bills on time and in full. 3 years ago, I went to purchase a new car and decided to finance it, which I had to get a family member to co-sign on as I apparently had no credit history. I am not sure if this is still the same case but I have recently received a work promotion where I will be travelling alot - my predecessor has strongly encouraged me to take advantage of various AMEX cards but I am not sure if I will be able to get them, and if not, how I would go about boosting my credit such that I would qualify. I am wondering if piggybacking still works, especially with respect to AMEX? Would someone be kind enough to point me in the right direction here or give me a break down of the fastest/most efficient path to get into a platinum and a hilton?

Thanks - looking to be an active member once I get things up and running now that I have an idea of what I have been missing!

-R

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@Anonymous Welcome to the MyFICO forums.

The first step I'd suggest is to obtain your FICO credit scores.  Since you've fairly recently financed an auto purchase you should have scores available at all three major credit bureaus.  The simplest way to get your scores is to go to CreditCheckTotal and sign up for the $1 trial; just be sure to cancel before the trial period ends and you're charged a recurring fee.

Once you have your credit scores the path towards the credit cards you're interested in would be clearer.

Would your new employer be willing to provide you with an Amex card or do you want to acquire it on your own?  Doing it on your own might be a bit of a challenge since the Platinum card a premium travel card and you most likely have a thin credit file.  But its still certainly doable.

[Anonymous]

I do have a corporate AMEX from employer, but no points will come from that. I am told by others to use my own cards and then get reimbursed, which will get me the points from the programs tied to my personal cards. 

The auto loan is still open, car was 75k, I made a downpayment of 55k and financed the remaining 20, I believe there is something like 5k total on the remainder which I can pay off early if need be.

[Anonymous]

about the piggybacking though... if I had a family member open a platinum and add me as an authorized user, would this do the trick for shared credit scores, at least temporarily? I imagine i would get my own card and have to pay 2x annual fee, which I am fine with. Would prefer to do this organically but I start mid september and will have several lengthy trips/flights right out of the gate + would hate to miss the opportunity to benefit from it.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

about the piggybacking though... if I had a family member open a platinum and add me as an authorized user, would this do the trick for shared credit scores, at least temporarily? I imagine i would get my own card and have to pay 2x annual fee, which I am fine with. Would prefer to do this organically but I start mid september and will have several lengthy trips/flights right out of the gate + would hate to miss the opportunity to benefit from it.

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That's not how authorized user/piggybacking works; at least not with American Express.  Only the primary cardholder will get the Membership Rewards points, etc.

[Eyepinpools]

Get your reports and share your scores for better advice. 

also search the boards for authorized user or AU. I started a thread called 'AU complete primer?' that members added some really good info to. 

[coldfusion]

Several members correctly suggested you start by getting your current credit scores and copies of your credit reports. Since you have an auto loan reporting you should have what is known as a "thin" credit report with each of the 3 major credit reporting agencies (Experian, Transunion, and Equifax).

You can request free copies of your credit reports online from each of these 3 big credit reporting agencies by going to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

Since you have an open auto loan you should have a credit report.

Where you want to get to is a reasonable plan but understand that it will take some time and you will need to take some intermediate steps.

A classic first card in your case would be a Discover IT as they are friendly toward people looking to get their 1st credit card.

How much of your business travel over the next 1-2 years is projected to be international?  

[Anonymous]

Agreed with all of the above. One caveat to consider though - find out how quickly your company reimburses expenses put onto a personal card. You'll get the money but see if they pay quickly or if you may have to pay the bill out of pocket and be reimbursed later, and be sure that the expected expenditures fit into your budget in the event that this happens.

[Anonymous]

will check out AU guide - thanks! Perhaps idea would be to be added as an AU onto another card that would boost score and then apply for the card...

International travel will likely be 1x a month to UK, but alot of travel between MA, DC, and CA - sometimes hawaii and guam as well. I do alot of personal travel in the winter to the carib so hoping to use benefits there. As far as I know, expenses are reimbursed 1-2 days after report is submitted, im sure this wont be an issue.

Another option would maybe be to go to my bank for an intro or better CC? BofA + Capital One always send me adverts for credit cards but I have never looked. I imagine its because they can see account balances and/or assets... either way my goal here is to avoid picking up too many stepping stone cards and just get right to the good stuff but I am guessing balance/assets won't mean much to an institution that you are not banking with... thanks for the help guys!