AmEx AU - Will Closing Help?

[MickeyGMoney]

I got an offer to add an AU to my BCE and earn $50 after they spend $1000. Easy $50, right? Well after I posted about the offer and adding my wife, I learned on the forum that AmEx doesn't adopt my account age and my wife's AU card will show on her credit report as a new account.

We are currently building a home that will be completed in 10ish months so we were holding off on new credit.

I have a few questions:

Will canceling her AU card help? AmEx on the phone told me that the AU card would report to my wife's credit even if I canceled it. I'm worried about the scorecard assignments - she had no recent accounts and this would likely move her into the non-mature scorecards. If the account is closed, would her report still show a new account and mess with her scorecard?

We were strongly considering getting a second car for my wife even before we finish the mortgage since 10 months is a long time to wait. Do new installments affect scorecard reassignment for maturity? If so, I guess the AU fiasco doesn't matter so much since we may have messed up her scorecard with a car loan.

[Ficoproblems247]

For the AMEX part of it, think of the reporting the same way as if she had opened the card herself. It starts as a brand new TL on her reports, and even if you close it, it will remain on there showing whatever payment history occurred while the account was open. With AU accounts, however, she may dispute it under the reason that the TL did not belong to her and that should take care of having it removed. Whether opening that whole can of worms is a risk worth taking before going for a mortgage is another story. 

[Anonymous]

Oh! I hadn't thought of that you can have au accounts deleted. Amex's AU policy is a bit different. They take your social and add you to the card. You don't get the history of the original account but, unlike traditional other cards, the AU may keep the card once the original account holder has passed away. 

I'm not sure if installment loans impact age but I know the inquiries aren't encouraged for mortgage apps. 

[SouthJamaica]

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@MickeyGMoney wrote:

I got an offer to add an AU to my BCE and earn $50 after they spend $1000. Easy $50, right? Well after I posted about the offer and adding my wife, I learned on the forum that AmEx doesn't adopt my account age and my wife's AU card will show on her credit report as a new account.

We are currently building a home that will be completed in 10ish months so we were holding off on new credit.

I have a few questions:

Will canceling her AU card help? AmEx on the phone told me that the AU card would report to my wife's credit even if I canceled it. I'm worried about the scorecard assignments - she had no recent accounts and this would likely move her into the non-mature scorecards. If the account is closed, would her report still show a new account and mess with her scorecard?

We were strongly considering getting a second car for my wife even before we finish the mortgage since 10 months is a long time to wait. Do new installments affect scorecard reassignment for maturity? If so, I guess the AU fiasco doesn't matter so much since we may have messed up her scorecard with a car loan.

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Sorry but

- there's nothing you can do about the Amex new account

- if you get a car loan that will be yet another ding

[MickeyGMoney]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@MickeyGMoney wrote:

I got an offer to add an AU to my BCE and earn $50 after they spend $1000. Easy $50, right? Well after I posted about the offer and adding my wife, I learned on the forum that AmEx doesn't adopt my account age and my wife's AU card will show on her credit report as a new account.

We are currently building a home that will be completed in 10ish months so we were holding off on new credit.

I have a few questions:

Will canceling her AU card help? AmEx on the phone told me that the AU card would report to my wife's credit even if I canceled it. I'm worried about the scorecard assignments - she had no recent accounts and this would likely move her into the non-mature scorecards. If the account is closed, would her report still show a new account and mess with her scorecard?

We were strongly considering getting a second car for my wife even before we finish the mortgage since 10 months is a long time to wait. Do new installments affect scorecard reassignment for maturity? If so, I guess the AU fiasco doesn't matter so much since we may have messed up her scorecard with a car loan.

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Sorry but

- there's nothing you can do about the Amex new account

- if you get a car loan that will be yet another ding

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When you say another ding, it would be almost nothing compared to the scorecard reassignment from 0 new accounts to 1 new account, right? I'm guessing her scores would see something around a 15 point drop for 1 new account. Then, if we got a car loan on her credit, maybe up to 5 points. Really generally, does that seem likely?

[SouthJamaica]

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@MickeyGMoney wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@MickeyGMoney wrote:

I got an offer to add an AU to my BCE and earn $50 after they spend $1000. Easy $50, right? Well after I posted about the offer and adding my wife, I learned on the forum that AmEx doesn't adopt my account age and my wife's AU card will show on her credit report as a new account.

We are currently building a home that will be completed in 10ish months so we were holding off on new credit.

I have a few questions:

Will canceling her AU card help? AmEx on the phone told me that the AU card would report to my wife's credit even if I canceled it. I'm worried about the scorecard assignments - she had no recent accounts and this would likely move her into the non-mature scorecards. If the account is closed, would her report still show a new account and mess with her scorecard?

We were strongly considering getting a second car for my wife even before we finish the mortgage since 10 months is a long time to wait. Do new installments affect scorecard reassignment for maturity? If so, I guess the AU fiasco doesn't matter so much since we may have messed up her scorecard with a car loan.

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Sorry but

- there's nothing you can do about the Amex new account

- if you get a car loan that will be yet another ding

---

When you say another ding, it would be almost nothing compared to the scorecard reassignment from 0 new accounts to 1 new account, right? I'm guessing her scores would see something around a 15 point drop for 1 new account. Then, if we got a car loan on her credit, maybe up to 5 points. Really generally, does that seem likely?

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I have no idea how many points it would cost her.

[Anonymous]

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@MickeyGMoney wrote:

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When you say another ding, it would be almost nothing compared to the scorecard reassignment from 0 new accounts to 1 new account, right? I'm guessing her scores would see something around a 15 point drop for 1 new account. Then, if we got a car loan on her credit, maybe up to 5 points. Really generally, does that seem likely?

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There would be a number of factors to consider to determine if the impact would be small or not, and even then there isn't a good method to determine exactly how many points one might lose. Additionally, underwriting could be turned off by the new auto loan and it could certainly affect DTI. New accounts can definitely be seen as risky by mortgage lenders. If the rest of your financial profile is strong with plenty of assets and top tier credit, then you shouldn't have too much to worry about with opening the car loan, IMO. However, if you are on the cusp of being the next credit tier up and don't have significant assets then you should hold off on the vehicle purchase.

As a complete aside, the car market is terrible for buyers right now and the average transaction price is consistently increasing. So I don't think you are going to miss out on a great car deal by waiting.