Next steps for my thin file dependent?

Anonymous · ‎04-02-2021

Hello everyone!

I added my 18 year old son as an authorized user on my oldest credit card (1.5 years old) back in late January. We received his card, but we didn’t activate it until yesterday. Today, I asked him to create an account on experian.com to check if his credit score was available. To our surprise, he already got one: 743. So now I’m not sure how we go about “ fattening “ his credit file. I’d love to hear any thoughts or suggestions! Thanks for your wisdom!

OmarGB9 · ‎04-03-2021

Well it would be best to open up a card or 2 in his name only, and a small installment loan for credit mix purposes. This will give him the minimum 3 revolvers and 1 loan mix ideal for credit building. After that, it's just about making all payments on time, managing utilization, and letting time itself do its thing!

Last App: 1/10/2023
Penfed Gold Visa Card

Currently rebuilding as of 04/11/2019.

Starting FICO 8 Scores:

Current FICO 8 scores:

Anonymous · ‎04-03-2021

The only thing I'd add to what @OmarGB9 stated would be that you have access to the card accounts online so you can monitor the usage and his payment dates. It's imperative that you impress upon him the importance of staying on top of them. As an adult, you understand the long-term ramifications of even a single misstep but he has no real-world experience or context in which to see this. Assure him you're not doing it to micromanage him but that it's to be certain that nothing slips his mind and allows a due date to pass unpaid.

SouthJamaica · ‎04-03-2021

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone!

I added my 18 year old son as an authorized user on my oldest credit card (1.5 years old) back in late January. We received his card, but we didn’t activate it until yesterday. Today, I asked him to create an account on experian.com to check if his credit score was available. To our surprise, he already got one: 743. So now I’m not sure how we go about “ fattening “ his credit file. I’d love to hear any thoughts or suggestions! Thanks for your wisdom!

My suggestion would be to get one card that suits his needs. A Visa or Mastercard from a credit union, or from Citi or Chase, would be good.