Is Amex Manager the same as AU?

[Anonymous]

I have an amex green and was thinking of making my son an manager. He is 18 and I want to help him start building his credit. Does amex report to his CR if he is a manager? Thanks.

[haulingthescoreup]

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1dawg wrote:
I have an amex green and was thinking of making my son an manager. He is 18 and I want to help him start building his credit. Does amex report to his CR if he is a manager? Thanks.

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I assume you're asking about "authorized user" status?

(eta: lol, sorry, just noticed your thread title.)

Yes, American Express does reported AU's (authorized users) to all three bureaus. They have been known to consider AU history in applications. They have also been known to go after AU's for delinquent accounts.

I had my DH and DD#2 on my Gold as AU's. When I took them off, the fool thing keeps reporting, dropping their AAoA. But in terms of scoring, assuming that your card is older than your son's credit history, and is squeaky clean, and reports $0 every month (not just that you pay your bill, but that there is $0 on the statement), it should help him.

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 05-01-2009 05:29 PM

[Anonymous]

I tried the manager status for my spouse on one of my amex cards to save the fee for an AU card. It never reported on her report that way so I cancelled it and added her as an au instead. So the answer is no.

[CHARGE_IT]

Giving someone "manager" status is something you do after you have made them AU. It gives them the same access as the owner if wanted. It is especially useful in cases where health issues are present and of course various "SO" and other relationships.

It should only be done with great trust or you might end up on Judge Judy.

CI

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@Anonymous wrote:
I have an amex green and was thinking of making my son an manager. He is 18 and I want to help him start building his credit. Does amex report to his CR if he is a manager? Thanks.

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[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the great replies. I just went ahead and added him as an AU on my cap 1 card. I didnt want awake a sleeping giant with amex. Even though i have a 0 balance on my green card i dont want take any chances. Thanks again.

[MattH]

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It should only be done with great trust or you might end up on Judge Judy.

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Now there is a great way to clarify decision making: before making any financial decision, ask yourself "how would this sound if I were describing it on Judge Judy?"  Sorta like the advice we've been given at work about what to say in an email message, "ask yourself how would I feel about seeing this in my hometown newspaper?"