Authorized User without credit reporting possible ?

[Shadowfactor]

I’m not sure if this topic falls into a grey area on this forum. If it does and a Mod PM’s me I will remove it.

Is it possible to get added as an authorized user to a Citi Bank Credit card account without having the card report to the credit agencies.

I would like to use one of my fiancé’s credit cards while overseas for a certain rewards category. It’s common to get your ID checked when using a card there. I suppose I could always get a notorized statement from her saying I’ve been given premission to use the card.

I’m curious to know if it would be possible with get added to her credit card and have a card issued in my name without it reporting. I obviously do not want to make any false statements to Citi to avoid reporting.

Any way to avoid it reporting ?

I do rent an apartment Overseas and have a lease in my name there. Would it be possible to use that address instead of a US based address ? Would Citi even allow that ?

Any other way ?

The whole reason I don’t want it reporting is because I have so many new accounts that it’s not worth adding another account o my reports. I want to leave my credit alone for atleast the next 2 years.

[FinStar]

Unfortunately, no.  Citi will read/provide the AU disclosure information (although your fiancee is the primary and accountable party).  There may be a lag with reporting, but it will eventually hit your CRs.

[K-in-Boston]

Fiance's card is also new?  If not, you would inherit the entire history.

Possible workaround: mobile wallet?

[Shadowfactor]

Yeah it’s pretty new.

She got it during that whole chase thing we went through. She’s at the point where she doesn’t even want to deal with chase anymore. So she got a TY Premier

I wish mobile wallet was an option. The credit card machines in the Caribbean are much behind the times. If mobile wallet was an option I would just use my Altitude and it would be a moot point.

I got a Samsung work phone instead of a IPhone this time so I’m going to do some testing but no one in the Caribbean that I’ve dealt with as cashiers even knows mobile pay exists so it’s going to be more of a ordeal trying to convince them I’m not committing some kind of fraud trying to pay with my phone. But I’m going to do some testing here in August with Samsung Pay.
Barbados doesn’t even have contactless capabilities such as Visa Paywave and that sort of thing

[FinStar]

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@Shadowfactor wrote:
Yeah it’s pretty new.

She got it during that whole chase thing we went through. She’s at the point where she doesn’t even want to deal with chase anymore. So she got a TY Premier

I wish mobile wallet was an option. The credit card machines in the Caribbean are much behind the times. If mobile wallet was an option I would just use my Altitude and it would be a moot point.

I got a Samsung work phone instead of a IPhone this time so I’m going to do some testing but no one in the Caribbean that I’ve dealt with as cashiers even knows mobile pay exists so it’s going to be more of a ordeal trying to convince them I’m not committing some kind of fraud trying to pay with my phone. But I’m going to do some testing here in August with Samsung Pay.
Barbados doesn’t even have contactless capabilities such as Visa Paywave and that sort of thing

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Right.  The Caribbean has had some limitations as far as mobile payments, but it also depends on the merchant.  I've only had a couple instances in which they didn't know they had that capability (i.e. software installed) and I simply tapped my Samsung phone to the terminal and it went right through.  Their reactions were priceless almost as if I had performed some sort of voodoo trick.   Yet, it didn't work for other areas or establishments.  So, testing might be hit or miss.

[Shadowfactor]

I do the IT work for a point of sale company so I frequent a lot of hotels and restaurants while overseas. Most of the terminals I work with don’t even support contactless cards. I’ve seen one newer terminal that did support it but it was at a higher end hotel.

It will be interesting to see if Samsung Pay actually works at a lot of these places.

Most of the terminals are the handheld readers operating on cell service. The big banks that run the terminals are RBC, First Caribbean (used to be Barclays ) and Republic Bank.

Only one I’ve seen with contactless was issued by RBC and it was brand new.
The credit card machines aren’t even tied into the cash registers in Barbados.


So even if I used an overseas address, it would still make it onto my reports ?

[FinStar]

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@Shadowfactor wrote:
I do the IT work for a point of sale company so I frequent a lot of hotels and restaurants while overseas. Most of the terminals I work with don’t even support contactless cards. I’ve seen one newer terminal that did support it but it was at a higher end hotel.

It will be interesting to see if Samsung Pay actually works at a lot of these places.

Most of the terminals are the handheld readers operating on cell service. The big banks that run the terminals are RBC, First Caribbean (used to be Barclays ) and Republic Bank.

Only one I’ve seen with contactless was issued by RBC and it was brand new.
The credit card machines aren’t even tied into the cash registers in Barbados.


So even if I used an overseas address, it would still make it onto my reports ?

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If your fiancee's TYP CC has a US address and you both share the same household, how are you going to (ahem), how is your fiancee going to convince them of a secondary address for your card?  Typically, an alternate address may be used if sending or expediting a CC other than to the primary address.  Is your fiancee willing to change the address?

[Shadowfactor]

I was going to have her tell them the truth.
That I’m going to carry it as a backup card while I’m overseas for work. We wanted to have the address on file in case something happens and I need a new card.

I could always use my parents address for the AU card. It is the address on my drivers license but it’s never been on my credit reports. I’ve never changed it since I was in college and it was considered my permanent address.

[AverageJoesCredit]

If you are going to garden for 2 years anyway, one more actual account isnt going to break your profile.

[SBR249]

I think this focus on the address might be missing the point which is that banks use more than your address to tie you to a particular CR. There are other identifiers such as SSN, name, birthday, etc. which will be more than sufficient to link you to your profile with the CRAs. I recently moved back to the US from abroad to a different state but kept some of my older cards under my parents' address while applying for new cards using my new address. They all showed up on my CR like clockwork and now my new address shows up as a "known address" associated with my profile alongside other addresses where I've stayed and conducted personal business. So using an "off the radar" address really won't help you at all. As for using an overseas address, that might be iffy. Depending on the bank they may not even allow you to input an international address on their online forms. Usually banks will require a permanent US address on file as the billing address and may allow an international "mailing" address, but in my experience you'd need to call in and ask them to add it manually. 

In the end, it all comes down to how much those rewards matter to you. As mentioned before, if you are gardening, then an extra account shouldn't matter. If it does, IIRC, you can have yourself removed as an AU and then dispute the tradeline on your CR as not yours which would be correct.