credit report pulled / authorized user question

[jenrette]

looking at my own credit reports it seems to say which accounts are actually mine and which i am an authorized user on. any info on this would be helpful, thanks.

[Jazzzy]

Yes, you should be able to tell on which accounts you are the primary cardholder and on which accounts you are an AU.

For an AU card, it helps your report if it is a clean card with no late payments. It also helps to not have a balance show on the statement each month, because the balance could negatively affect your utilization percentage.

It's also nice if the age of the AU card is older than your average age of accounts (AAoA). If it is, it is helping your AAoA. If it is not, then it is lowering your AAoA.

[Jazzzy]

Also...if you are the primary cardholder, you are responsible for the payment, even if you have authorized someone else on the card.

If you are an AU, then you are not responsible for the bill. However, if the bill goes bad, it will show on your report. You can call and take yourself off as an AU on a card to get it off your reports.