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My wife's credit card and me as an authorized user

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Anonymous
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My wife's credit card and me as an authorized user

So I have been an authorized user on my wife’s BoA credit card for about 2 years, and just this month I decided to pay down all the balances of our credit cards using our tax return, in order to boost my credit score.  So this card had a balance of $500 which is maxed out, and I paid it down to $161.00.  It reported to my score and brought it up about 10 points, and then my wife decided she just had to max it out again!  (I should have cut up both cards).  I can’t afford to pay it down again, and I don’t want it to negatively impact my score.  If I were to have my name removed as an authorized user, do you think my credit score will go down or up by having it off my credit report completely? 
Message 1 of 6
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Anonymous
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Re: My wife's credit card and me as an authorized user

Hi rc, and welcome to the forum!

Your score WILL change. It could go either way. You will loose the utilization advantage by having that $500 added to your total cc limits. The payment history will remain on your CR for 10 years(I believe).
Message 2 of 6
Anonymous
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Re: My wife's credit card and me as an authorized user

well until now, I have let myself slide where all my dang credit cards sit at about 90% utilization and some at over 100%! I have 4 Other cards and those I paid down to like 8% this month, including the shared BoA card. I have not made a late pay on those accounts, and this one is the one card where I was 30 days late one time in Decembe. This card will be the only one of my cards above 10% and I am trying to get my score above 600 (the simulator indicates that my payment to my credit cards would most likely bring this above 600) to refinance out of my adjustable rate. It shows up on Transunion and Equifax only.

Message 3 of 6
Anonymous
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Re: My wife's credit card and me as an authorized user

The 10-year reporting is only for accounts that are in your name, not AU accounts.
 
Have your wife call BofA and remove your name as AU.  Also have her ask them to remove the account from your CRs.  If they refuse or are slow to act, then YOU (not your wife) dispute with the CRAs as "not mine", because it's really not yours any longer.
 
Message 4 of 6
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: My wife's credit card and me as an authorized user

Unless this is your oldest card, as in oldest by far, you'll probably come out ahead since she's going to keep using it.

This is one of the challenges of AU cards. I'm AU on DH's Discover, for the age, and he loves to use it two days before it reports. It's his card, so I'm not going to carp about it, but it puts me in a scramble to watch the Discover online account so that I can pay it off as soon as it posts.

There's a lot to be said for being completely independent in your credit life. If it gets screwed up, you don't have to spend much time figuring who's at fault.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 5 of 6
Anonymous
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Re: My wife's credit card and me as an authorized user

OP-
It took me quite awhile to show my DW the error of running up cards- 
 
This has to get fixed or it can really hurt your relationship-
 
I don't think mine understood until I laid out the plan to pay off all the revolving debt in 8 months- 50K worth- 
 
 
Message 6 of 6
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