authorized user on cc

[Anonymous]

Does being an authorized user on a cc have the same effect on my credit as if I was to be the account holder?

[Broke_Triathlete]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Does being an authorized user on a cc have the same effect on my credit as if I was to be the account holder?

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Short answer: Not exactly.

Long Answer:

It gives you the boost in AAoA because you aquire their length of history of the card being open to your AAoA. It does affect your utilization. So if they carry a high balance on the card, your utilzation and possible score will be affected. If they have late payments, you inherit those as well which will bring your score down. You are not legally liable for the charges so if the owner of the account becomes irresponsible, to my understanding, you can easily dispute it off of your reports. Some credit issuers take into consideration AU's, some don't. Also make sure whatever card you're going to be added to reports to the bureaus. For instance, I know Publix CU does not report so being added to that does not do you any good. 

So if the owner of the account has had the card open for a long time with flawless history and low utilization then it'd be worth it. If they have late payments, short history, or constantly runs high utilization it'll more than likely hurt you.

[Anonymous]

Not the same effect, but it does help.

[tbea1004]

Does anyone know if Cap1 and Discover are good for addind AUs?

[BooBee]

I'm not sure what the exact science is behind authorized users but 10 years ago my wife decided I was right that she should have a credit profile (she had none).  When she checked her credit score she had none because a file did not exist.  I added her to one of my cards with an 8K limit and 3 months later she had a fico score of about 750 (I don't remember exact number).  It def helps but I don't know exactly how or what the limitations are.

[Anonymous]

I put my fiance on as an AU on my Cap1 and it boosted his score about 60 points. (42% utilization)