Credit history without SSN

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

I should be moving to the US at the begining of next year.

At this point I've opened a bank account in the US an I got a credit card that I'm using right now when I'm travelling into the US from my work.

I'm interested to know, will the fact that I'm using my credit card and paying it on time going to have a positive affect on my credit history as soon as I will get my SSN ?

Or I'm going to start gaining credit history just when I will have a SSN ? 

I will appreciate any response.

Thanks,

Oriel

[Anonymous]

Hi, welcome to the forums.

Is the card you are using transferable to the US?  If it is, it should be reported to the CRAs as soon as you get a SSN.

If it isn't, once you get here and get a SSN you will have to start getting credit here. 

There is a minimum requirement in order to generate a FICO score:

• At least one account that has been open for six months or more
• At least one undisputed account that has been reported to the credit bureau with in the past six months
• No indication of deceased on the credit report (Please note: if you share an account with another person this may affect you if the other account holder is reported deceased)

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the info.
Im not sure I fully understand what you mean when you say that the card is transferable? The card that Im using is a card that I got from the US bank where I opened my checking account.. meaning its a US credit card.

But no SSN is associated to my credit card at this point... so my question is if Im gaining some credit history even when there is no SSN associated to the credit card?

[Revelate]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Thank you for the info.
Im not sure I fully understand what you mean when you say that the card is transferable? The card that Im using is a card that I got from the US bank where I opened my checking account.. meaning its a US credit card.

But no SSN is associated to my credit card at this point... so my question is if Im gaining some credit history even when there is no SSN associated to the credit card?

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You should be yes; it may be accruing to someone else currently, but that's easy to straighten out later.

Without a SSN (or some other uniquely qualified identifier) banks will take a best guess from a reporting perspective (name, address match potentially, etc) but it doesn't always work.  That said, the bank will have a record, and assuming they report, eventually with a minimal amount of work on your part you'll get the full advantage of what you're already doing in establishing history.

[Anonymous]

Those are great news!
Thank you so much for the info.

[RobertEG]

The CRAs prefer an SSN or tax ID number for reporting purposes due to the supposed uniqueness of those identifiers.

They use them as part of their matching of any subsequent reportings made by a furnisher, thus ensuring reporting is matched with the proper file.

However, SSN is not a requirement for credit reporting. 

If the account is with a U.S. creditor, and they report it to the U.S. CRAs, that should establish a credit file with them.

The age of the account is based for scoring purposes on the date the account was opened, not when it was first reported.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info.
So, how can I know that my account is being reported to the U.S. CRAs?
Is it something I should take care of ? Or its my bank ?