Piggybacking Question

[ACAT]

Hello all,

I have a quick question.  I am 20 years old and wanted to improve my credit history and score.  My TU score is currently a 669.  I have 1 student loan account with a balance of 1700 dollars that has been open since 2008.  Payments have been deferred since then so my payment history shows up perfect despite the balance remaining the same.  I just recently opened a CAP1 secured master card and plan to pay it off each month.  That is all the credit I have.  My last report printed on the 13th of March shoes no revolving activity.

So here's my question:  My grandmother has a chase card that has been open since 1976.  It has a $10000 limit and has never had a late payment.  It is my understanding that if I am added as a JOINT account holder that I will "inherit" the accounts entire history.  Since my current average account age is 2 years hopefully doing this would improve that.  Is this correct?  Would doing this significantly improve my credit report/score?  I would like to obtain an auto loan without a co signer sometime in August.  Would this cause lenders to look at me more favorably?

Thanks for the help!

ACAT

[MarineVietVet]

---

@ACAT wrote:

Hello all,

I have a quick question.  I am 20 years old and wanted to improve my credit history and score.  My TU score is currently a 669.  I have 1 student loan account with a balance of 1700 dollars that has been open since 2008.  Payments have been deferred since then so my payment history shows up perfect despite the balance remaining the same.  I just recently opened a CAP1 secured master card and plan to pay it off each month.  That is all the credit I have.  My last report printed on the 13th of March shoes no revolving activity.

So here's my question:  My grandmother has a chase card that has been open since 1976.  It has a $10000 limit and has never had a late payment.  It is my understanding that if I am added as a JOINT account holder that I will "inherit" the accounts entire history.  Since my current average account age is 2 years hopefully doing this would improve that.  Is this correct?  Would doing this significantly improve my credit report/score?  I would like to obtain an auto loan without a co signer sometime in August.  Would this cause lenders to look at me more favorably?

Thanks for the help!

ACAT

---

Paying the balance off each month is a good idea but make sure that a very small balance (<9% of credit limit) reports on the monthly statement and then pay in full before the due date. Always having a zero balance each month can actually hurt your score because it's looks like you have not used your credit.

As far as being added to that account you might be confusing a joint owner and an authorized user. Being added to this account as a joint owner will result in you having to apply plus that places equal responsiblity on you for repayment. Being added as an AU requires no credit application and the AU generally has no responsiblity to repay any charges.

Being added as an AU can help you IF the account is older than any of yours (which you say it is), IF the payment history is long and clean, IF the utilization is very low, and IF it will report to the CRA's. Not all cards will do this. You need to ask the company first. You will inherit the entire history of this account. One caveat however; if this account starts to go south your credit will be affected as well. Keep that in mind.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[Anonymous]

---

@MarineVietVet wrote:

---

 

Being added as an AU can help you IF the account is older than any of yours (which you say it is), IF the payment history is long and clean, IF the utilization is very low, and IF it will report to the CRA's. Not all cards will do this. You need to ask the company first. You will inherit the entire history of this account. One caveat however; if this account starts to go south your credit will be affected as well. Keep that in mind.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

---

Adding yourself to an account that is years before you were born or able to enter into a contract youself can easily "flag" you for other credit products you apply for.

[Anonymous]

How is it that they "flag" you? Would this mean that having an account that is older than you would be a disadvantage?

[Anonymous]

Well its obvious its not yours, and therefore the history from it is not yours.

If the computers that do the checking are looking for it they will see the discrepancey.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Penfed-is-on-to-us-They-do-not-like-AU-s-or-backdating/...

[Anonymous]

ah yes did read that thread,

Well even if they flag it, it doesnt necessarily mean anything unless your credit is bad or limited without the AU accounts.
Now what if the AU account is not in perfect standing? I would be curious to see if they count that when the account is older than the user.

[haulingthescoreup]

AU accounts are good stepping stones. They can increase your score (if you get on the right account), thus allowing you to qualify for credit in your own name.

But if you have AU accounts for scoring purposes, they should only be stepping stones, a temporary help to get you started on your own way.

If someone has AU accounts with a spouse/ significant other/ family member/ roomie/ main squeeze/ whatever because you combine expenses and manage money together, that's great. AU accounts can target rewards and so forth, helping the budget. But these AU'ers still need to get a couple of cards in their own names for the reasons mentioned above in this thread.

There's scoring, and then there's lender approval. Good scores certainly don't automatically result in lender approval.

[AndySoCal]

A couple of questions mostly to make sure I am understanding this correctly. Is your grandmotheroffering to convert the account from individual to a joint account.? This means to me you would also mean you be liable for paying the account off if some thing were to happen to your granmother.   This type account could be inherited  so to speak after your grandmother passes.  If she adds you as an authorized user this would not be the case.  Can you clarify how you are being added? Yes, the other poster is correct this account could cause an alert. You would have to explain how and why you have an account that was opened before your birth. 

[ACAT]

When I wrote "Joint User" above, I was not making a mistake.  I was helping my grandmother check on her rewards points a few days ago and when I was on the phone with the chase rep, I asked her a few questions about JU/AU.  The rep told me that AU's will not inherit the account history.  If I were added as an AU, the rep told me they wouldn't even need my social security number.  Sounds like that wouldn't be reported to the Bureaus, doesn't it?

I understand the implications of becoming joint account holder.  There is never a balance carried on this card, however it is used regularly.  I have very little concern that I would ever have to worry about paying off any of my relative's debts, although I do realize that it is possible.

I mentioned in another thread that the only CC I have is a Cap1 secured with a mere $251 limit.  My ultimate goal is to be able to qualify for an auto loan WITHOUT a cosigner later this summer, maybe around August.  I will have at least a $10,000 down payment and would be looking to finance up to another $10000.

[haulingthescoreup]

With AU accounts, you don't have to have an SSN reported. They match by last name, address, shared credit history, and any and all of the above, plus more.

I went onto DXH's Discover card without an SSN. It has been on my reports for several years, and now that I've taken myself off of it (more than a year ago now), the fool thing is still there.

I don't remember if Chase does or does not report AU accounts, but it's not driven by whether an SSN is reported.