Adding an authorized user?

[WallyxD]

My brother got denied a store card due to no credit history, he does have a car in his name though which I don't understand, but both his and my mom's name is on the car. It's only been 5 months since he's gotten the car and I saw online that it takes a minimum of 6 months for someone to have history-- or something along those lines. Would adding him as an authorized user to my cards do him any justice, being as though my limits are extraordinarily low?

[Anonymous]

It should help.   The older the card the better.    Utilization is more important than actual CL.    He still may need to wait until his history is over 6 months before trying again.

[snowkitty]

I was wondering something similiar....if someone adds you to be an au on their card....does it date back when they got the card or when you were added on?

[ceemee2203]

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@snowkitty wrote:
I was wondering something similiar....if someone adds you to be an au on their card....does it date back when they got the card or when you were added on?

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The date the AU is added on. The only CCC which backdates, as far as I know, is AMEX and they no longer backdate an AU to the year the primary account holder joined. For the AU, if they were then to open their own account, they can have that account backdated to the year they became an AU on the other account. 

[nickn86]

Can someone explains how exactly the AU thing works?  I just added an AU to my United card as part of the 55k miles deal, but all it asked for was the person's name basically.  How would they report to CRAs with just that information?  Do they just ask for SS#, etc... upon activation?

[Anonymous]

                  Don't know for sure cause I've never been an AU or added anyone else as one, but I've read many posts saying that when you are added you inherit the whole history of the card, including the date it was opened in primary users name.

[slippy84]

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@nickn86 wrote:

Can someone explains how exactly the AU thing works?  I just added an AU to my United card as part of the 55k miles deal, but all it asked for was the person's name basically.  How would they report to CRAs with just that information?  Do they just ask for SS#, etc... upon activation?

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This is a great question. I think the answer is magic Somehow, it usually works. I would imagine that there would be some situations where they wouldn't be able to link the account with your credit file. My guess is that the CRA is the one who ends up attempting to link the account with a person, since as you said, the lender probably doesn't have enough info to link the accounts.

Have you ever shared another tradeline with the person in question? Are any of your old or current addresses the same as an old or current address for the account holder? Those are a few ways that I could see that they could link accounts.

[slippy84]

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@snowkitty wrote:
I was wondering something similiar....if someone adds you to be an au on their card....does it date back when they got the card or when you were added on?

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The full account info, including join date and past history, report on your credit report, no matter when you were added to the account. And when you are taken off an account, the tradeline disappears rather than sticking around for 7 years.

[zerobacan]

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@ceemee2203 wrote:

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@snowkitty wrote:
I was wondering something similiar....if someone adds you to be an au on their card....does it date back when they got the card or when you were added on?

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The date the AU is added on. The only CCC which backdates, as far as I know, is AMEX and they no longer backdate an AU to the year the primary account holder joined. For the AU, if they were then to open their own account, they can have that account backdated to the year they became an AU on the other account. 

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Sorry, that is not true

The AU inherits the total credit history of the person who AU him or her.

[Anonymous]

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@slippy84 wrote:

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@snowkitty wrote:
I was wondering something similiar....if someone adds you to be an au on their card....does it date back when they got the card or when you were added on?

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The full account info, including join date and past history, report on your credit report, no matter when you were added to the account. And when you are taken off an account, the tradeline disappears rather than sticking around for 7 years.

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Exactly!

Except for the tag "Authorized User," it looks just like a normal account of yours.  Some lenders such as Chase do not take AU accounts on an applicant's CR into consideration.  And I have seen some AU trade lines remain even after the AU had been removed from the account, but not often.