Should I be removed as AU?

[SwiftTone]

A few months ago, I was added on my friend's Capital One Venture as an AU. The reason I wanted to be added was in hopes of getting higher initial CLs since my highest card was a Capital One with $1250. The account I was added as AU on has a CL of $9500. Since then I apped for Discover More and got a CL of $3500, got a CLI on my Slate from $750 to $4000.

To be honest, I'm not sure being an AU really contributed positively to my FICO. It actually lowered my AAoA. Before being added,  my AAoA hit 4 years and I went from 709 to 729. Then my AU status started reporting and brought my AAoA into 3 years again, then 2 student loans started reporting. After all this, plus my new Discover, my score now sits at 699. I've always kept my utilization around 5% and with the AU included in my utilization, its now 15-18%

I am planning to apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred in October/November, which needs a starting CL of $5000. So my delima is should I be kept as an AU to show Chase that I "have" a card with high limits. Or should I be dropped as AU to bring my utilization down?

myFICO simululate estimates that if I pay my balance from 15% to 2% in 1 month, my EQ FICO will be in the 699-739 range. If I just drop the AU card, it would effectively lower my utilization the same way, so should I expect the same type of increase in score? I'd be happy if I'm in the 720s again.

Please share your insights and experience. Thanks!

[FrugalRican]

That 2500 balance looks like a killer.

Do you know if he plans on getting that balance down at all?

If not, I'd really just try to build on my own. There's always the chance of rejection with or without your friend's card, but at least if you have your utilization down and get a denial, you'll be cited reasons you can actually work on.

[SwiftTone]

He PIF monthly, but he would pay the statement of 5/19-6/18 by the due date of 7/15.

If I drop this account, I would only lower my AAoA by 1 month, still staying above 3 years.

I don't want to bother him too much about this, but it's kinda frustrating.

You think this account with a $9500 CL will actually help me get a higher limit or they will just ignore it?

[RobertEG]

As an addtional FICO scoring consideration, removing AU accounts will also enable prospective creditors to assess your risk based on your own score.

With an AU history of another in your credit report, they cannot assess your score based solely on your own history.

[webhopper]

I think it will have very little impact. It may help you get csp.

[SwiftTone]

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@webhopper wrote:
I think it will have very little impact. It may help you get csp.

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Could you be more specific on this?

[webhopper]

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@SwiftTone wrote:

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@webhopper wrote:
I think it will have very little impact. It may help you get csp.

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Could you be more specific on this?

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If you're concerned about optimizing score, then the AU account is going to be slightly detrimental. If you're concerned with the CL offered upon approval, the CL of the AU account can only help you when being considered for a 5k limit on CSP.  Personally I would ask for CLIs on Individual accounts and drop the AU account before apping for CSP.  Everyone's experience is difference but I think my husbands AU status on my cards helped him be approved for a 4k limit of his own despite some recent credit woes during his divorce

[SwiftTone]

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@webhopper wrote:

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@SwiftTone wrote:

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@webhopper wrote:
I think it will have very little impact. It may help you get csp.

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Could you be more specific on this?

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If you're concerned about optimizing score, then the AU account is going to be slightly detrimental. If you're concerned with the CL offered upon approval, the CL of the AU account can only help you when being considered for a 5k limit on CSP.  Personally I would ask for CLIs on Individual accounts and drop the AU account before apping for CSP.  Everyone's experience is difference but I think my husbands AU status on my cards helped him be approved for a 4k limit of his own despite some recent credit woes during his divorce

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Thanks for the reply guys and gals. I will try to get another CLI on my Discover before apping for CSP. I just got a CLI a couple days before 3 months from opening date. Hoping to get another CLI before 6 months, and at 6 months but we'll see!