Questions about the new Law and having to be 21

[Anonymous]

I am trying to understand the new law. I am a senior in college have credit cards. One I use regularly for the rewards and pay off in full each month. It has a $15,200 credit limit. I also have a couple of store cards because that had 0% interest for a set period of time. Those I have budgeted for and are set to paid off before the end of the promo period. The only other thing I have are student loans. I have been really careful with my credit cards that I have had since I was a freshman. My lowest score of the 2 you can get was 750 last month.

Now,.... my brother is going to start school this fall, and I have been suggesting to him that he does the same thing I did if he can pay them off each month. But he can't now until he is 21. Thats 3 years of a good payment history he could have had in future. So how does this authorized credit user work? Does it matter who is the primary card holder or not? Could I add him to my credit card and allow him to build a credit history for a while?

[Anonymous]

I know that now you have to be 21 to apply for a CC.  I don't know if that also applies to being an AU.  I will need to check that out but, I do not think it does.

But, the way it works - You add someone to your account as an AU.  They get everything that is on you CR associated with that CC added to theirs.  To include lates.  So if you are late, he will be too.

Since he has no credit it should help.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the response. I understood that you have to be 21 to get a credit in just your name, or an authorized user if under 21. I just didn't how the info showed up, or if it did, on an authorized user's credit report. I read where it wouldn't improve the AU's score and then I read where it did. I assumed that one of those choices were outdated. Thanks for the info and now I know.

[Anonymous]

My understanding of the under 21 section is that credit card companies can no longer solicit business at colleges and that any applicant under the age of 21 has to show proof that they can repay the debt.  If someone is under 21 and has proof of income then they should be able to get a credit card.  My 19 year old daughter just got her first credit card earlier this month.

[Anonymous]

OP - just remember that you can add your brother as an AU, which will benefit him, without giving him access to your credit.

If any AU doesn't manage their use of the card as pristinely as you have, it will, of course, damage your own credit.

Some cards have limited access programs for AU's which is a nice safeguard for both of you.