Added as AU before home equity loan?

[Anonymous]

Hey all, general question here.

I plan to add my parents to AUs on my Amex Gold card. I usually just give them the card to use at the grocery store and they pay me back. It has been pretty lucrative. Well, I think its to the point where I will let them be AUs on my card. My parents might be applying for a home equity loan soon though (1-2 months) and I do not want them to be suspect to a new account before then.

Would the AU account through Amex ding as much as them opening a credit account on their own?

[Anonymous]

Amex AUs will now report as new, no backdating, so this could adversely affect their credit scores if added.

[RobertEG]

A lot depends on the view of the prospective creditor.

When you have an AU account in your file that affects scoring, that automatically means that the resulting score is no longer representive of only your own credit history.  It includes, in part, an account of the credit history of another.

Some creditors who do a more thorough manual review may wish to see a FICO score that is based only on your own personal history.   Some mortgage lendors may even require removal of any AU accounts before they make their lending decision.

I would contact the prospective creditor before adding an AU history of another......