@Anonymous wrote:
I stupidly started building credit late in life (28). So I've relied mostly on my parents adding me as authorized users on their accounts to help me start. Before this I was on 4 cards of theirs. Mom just opened 2 new accounts (VS & Chase).
The 2 cards I applied for almost 2 yrs ago are about to leave my reports new inquiry/card section so I thought I'd apply for another card then (my score has greatly improved & those cards have low limits/high APR & aren't willing to budge much). So I thought I'd give my score a small boost by adding me as authorized users to mom's new cards b4 I apply for my new one, as it'd significantly improve my available credit & hopefully result in better card offer.
HOWEVER I didn't expect these to show up as newly opened accounts on MY report. VS hasn't shown up yet but Chase is counted as my 3rd newly opened account in 2 yrs! This never happened when I was added as user to their 4 other cards. Is it because its a new account & the others were over 2yrs old? Or is it just a mistake? Could/should I get it removed? Thanks for help!!
@Anonymous Welcome to the MyFICO forums.
The factors that boost an AU account are (1) the age of the account to which you're added, and (b) the payment history of the card. So ideally you want to be added to a card that is a few years old, has low or no utilization, and has no history of late payments or other derogatories.
As you've found out, being added as an AU to new accounts when you already have other credit accounts doesn't provide any benefit; and in fact lowers the Average Age of Accounts which is a fairly significant component of FICO scoring. Either you or your mother can contact the bank(s) and ask them to remove you as an authorized user on the new cards.
