being added as au to a bofa cc is this going to help?

[deputybigz]

Hello everyone it's been awhile since i write anything although i read these posts everyday. i'm serious when i say everyday at work, home on my way to  work...lol. anyways i have a question my current scores are experian 599 equifax 618 and transunion 632. i was just added to my father's inlaw bofa cc  he has a 0 balance right now with a credit limit of 30,000. he has had the card for 10 years. now my question is i have no cc no revolving accounts and the only to bad things on my credit is a 60 day late payment for an xpress student loan on 5/07 current  ever since and a collection from 2004 only showns up on experian. now my credit history is only 5 years so will the au of bofa help me?

guys and gals of the forum if  you all only new how much youve helped me i closed on a house 11/08 my dream home 4/2 2500 sqft big back yard appraised at 260,000 bought for 200,000 short sale. appraised at one point for 385,000.   because of people in this forum guiding me through thanks again in advance.

Kudos! Thanks!

[haulingthescoreup]

Wow, what a great update! Congrats!

Yes, that AU card will definitely help you all around. It will increase your AAoA, and it will establish a revolving presence in your credit mix.

Once it shows up, which since it's BofA should happen immediately, I'd check your FICO EQ and TU and get a card in your own name. Think credit union or local bank as a start. I'm not advising big boy banks at this point because (1) you really don't have any revolving history of your own, and they can tell that you're an AU and (2) who knows which ones will be in business in another year?

But most CU's are pretty stable, so I'd check them out.

Another possibility is getting a card from your mortgage lender, IF they're a bank or associated with a bank, and that bank seems semi-healthy, as so few do these days.

Good luck!

[YoungEntrepeneur]

NFCU is a popular CU to go to.

[deputybigz]

thanks for the info haulingthescoreup  you guys rock. i have citi as my mortgage but they denied me even though what i originally wanted was a secured cc they still pulled my credit for another cc but should i try and get a secured one with them or better to try bofa secured cc instead. one last question i know its hard to estimate what increase i can get but through you experience what would be your guess with having a revolving account and a limit of 30000 when i had no revolving items at all ever. promise i wont hold it against you ...lol

[Anonymous]

BoA told me thatadding my sister as an AU on my account would *not* help her score - and so far, it doesn't seem to have done so (we have the exact same account number). They never even asked for her SSN, so how could they report to her credit reports?

[haulingthescoreup]

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intlschizo wrote:
BoA told me thatadding my sister as an AU on my account would *not* help her score - and so far, it doesn't seem to have done so (we have the exact same account number). They never even asked for her SSN, so how could they report to her credit reports?

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Does it show on her reports? Banks hardly ever ask for an SSN on AU's, and yet, they seem to be able to know where to send it. Scary. Just goes to show that they're up to their armpits in Lexis Nexis or whatever it is.

First thing to learn about CC CSR's is that they don't know diddly about credit scoring. They barely know how their daily actions affect us as credit consumers. Not their fault; they're just not trained to do so.

Couple of questions about your card that she's AU on:

1) Is it younger than her average age of accounts?
2) Are there any negatives on it?
3) Does it report a balance to the credit bureaus, even if you pay it off as soon as you get the statement?
4) Does she have all $0 balances reporting on cards of her own?

If any of these are true, then it's possible that it is hurting her, or at least not helping her.

The ideal AU card:

1) Is older than most of your accounts; at least older than your AAoA.
2) Is squeaky clean, no lates, no negatives.
3) Reports $0 every single month, with maybe an occasional $10 balance, immediately paid off.
4) Has a high enough CL to significantly reduce your own util, if you show balances on your cards.

[haulingthescoreup]

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deputybigz wrote:
thanks for the info haulingthescoreup  you guys rock. i have citi as my mortgage but they denied me even though what i originally wanted was a secured cc they still pulled my credit for another cc but should i try and get a secured one with them or better to try bofa secured cc instead. one last question i know its hard to estimate what increase i can get but through you experience what would be your guess with having a revolving account and a limit of 30000 when i had no revolving items at all ever. promise i wont hold it against you ...lol

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Although you wouldn't know if from the current penny stock status, Citi has always been pretty conservative as a CC lender. They want to see a track record first.

You could try BofA secured.

I'd worry about both these banks, as they appear to be circling the drain. We have a lot of anxious WaMu card holders here who still aren't sure if Chase will pick them up now that the merger is done. Same with Wachovia - Wells Fargo, I think.

That's why I suggested a CU. As nearly all of them stuck to old-fashioned lending principles over the last several years, they're in good shape, other than the general tightening of money and credit that's affecting everyone, sinners and saints alike.