Should I remove myself as Authorized User?

[Anonymous]

Hello!

My name is Jaden and I'm 21. My credit score is currently at 730 and I have two credit cards, but only one is in my name.

The other card is my mother's, and I'm struggling to decide whether I want to be taken off as an authorized user, or not.

Her utilization on that card is at 78%, and she's always been pretty loose with her credit cards. Her card is at $780/1000. However, that account is 2 years older than my own. 

I ran a simulation to see what would happen, and my TransUnion score went up by 2 points if I closed that card. My personal card currently has a balance of $0/$2300 and is about 5 months old. I charge no more than $100 per month, and pay it in full each month. My mother's credit habits are not so stellar, however, and I worry that she will keep charging more to the card, hurting my score in the process. 

All in all, I suppose my question is how important credit age is in comparison to utilization ratio. Closing that card would vastly improve my utilization, but lower my age by roughly 2 years. Any advice on what to do would be appreciated.

[mgood]

People much more knowledgeable than myself will chime in - I hope - but I would lean towards getting off of that card as an AU.

Your other account(s) will mature and make up the difference in age, but that utilization will always hurt your score. Depending on advice from the group, I might try to get one more card in my own name before I asked to be removed as an AU though.

[RSX]

Remove yourself

app for another card when you get a chance.  Check for pre approvals

by the way, the scoring simulators are typically inaccurate 

[FireMedic1]

Which card do you have in your name now? Since your score is not bad right now. Try for another before asking to be removed. It will leave you with 1 card once your removed. Score may drop. Cash in that 730. You'll want to get to 3 cards in time and only have 1 report 8% or less for best scoring and building a file.

[OmarGB9]

Yes, remove yourself from your mom's card.

Utilization (30%, under amounts owed) hurts more than age (15%, length of history). As others have suggested, try getting another of your own in due time.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello!

My name is Jaden and I'm 21. My credit score is currently at 730 and I have two credit cards, but only one is in my name.

The other card is my mother's, and I'm struggling to decide whether I want to be taken off as an authorized user, or not.

Her utilization on that card is at 78%, and she's always been pretty loose with her credit cards. Her card is at $780/1000. However, that account is 2 years older than my own. 

I ran a simulation to see what would happen, and my TransUnion score went up by 2 points if I closed that card. My personal card currently has a balance of $0/$2300 and is about 5 months old. I charge no more than $100 per month, and pay it in full each month. My mother's credit habits are not so stellar, however, and I worry that she will keep charging more to the card, hurting my score in the process. 

All in all, I suppose my question is how important credit age is in comparison to utilization ratio. Closing that card would vastly improve my utilization, but lower my age by roughly 2 years. Any advice on what to do would be appreciated.

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Yes you should remove yourself as an authorized user.

[Anonymalous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello!

My name is Jaden and I'm 21. My credit score is currently at 730 and I have two credit cards, but only one is in my name.

The other card is my mother's, and I'm struggling to decide whether I want to be taken off as an authorized user, or not.

Her utilization on that card is at 78%, and she's always been pretty loose with her credit cards. Her card is at $780/1000. However, that account is 2 years older than my own. 

I ran a simulation to see what would happen, and my TransUnion score went up by 2 points if I closed that card. My personal card currently has a balance of $0/$2300 and is about 5 months old. I charge no more than $100 per month, and pay it in full each month. My mother's credit habits are not so stellar, however, and I worry that she will keep charging more to the card, hurting my score in the process. 

All in all, I suppose my question is how important credit age is in comparison to utilization ratio. Closing that card would vastly improve my utilization, but lower my age by roughly 2 years. Any advice on what to do would be appreciated.

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I'm going to argue a little bit in the other direction. You said your own personal card is 5 months old. Do you have any other types of credit, like a loan? If not, getting rid of the AU card would make you unscoreable, because FICO requires at least 6 months of history to generate a score. Also, when you finally do a get a score, it'll probably be in the high 600s. And score isn't everything. If you do only have 5 months of personal credit history, you'll get rejected by a lot of lenders.

In any case, you need more cards. As @FireMedic1 mentioned, 3 is a good start, because it allows you to practice AZEO. (I need to get there myself.) 5 is mentioned as lot, as well. But if you don't have any other credit history of your own, you need to target starter cards, like Discover. Or if you qualify, Navy Fed is friendly to AUs (see my sig).

[gingerflower]

Hello and welcome to the fico forums.  Regarding your question on whether or not to remove yourself from your Mother's Cc as being an authorized user ...In my opinion I would remove myself as an authorized user because your mom is carrying a high balance on her Cc which will affect your credit score.  You have a Cc of your own that you are using wisely so you don't need your mom Cc. Good luck on making a wise decision for your credit 

[pakratus]

I was going to suggest keeping the card until you apply for another, but the util may hinder that.

I would suggest waiting to apply for a new card until yours is 10-12 months old.  Any chance your mom can pay her's down by then?

[tacpoly]

Remove yourself as an AU on your mother's credit card immediately.  Her utilization hurting you more than her account age is helping you.  2 years is not considered a long credit history, her card limit is low, and her utilization is high -- it's difficult to see much of a benefit here.  (I am also of the opinion that it's simply better not to be attached, no matter how peripherally, to someone with bad credit habits.)

Are you in need of a loan soon?  If not, then you don't have to worry about optimizing scores. Which means you don't have to rush to get the additional 2 credit cards. Let your own credit card age to one year, then apply for another card, and perhaps a third one if you need it.  (I would suggest going directly to real credit cards vs student or secured cards. That way you can get a card that will grow and you will conceivably keep for many years.)

In the meantime, use your card wisely and pay it off in full before the due date*. You can establish a great credit profile by behaving like normal people. 

* Yeah, some folks here will warn about having your one card reporting a balance, but you want to show a history of payments on your credit report.