Average Age of Accounts and Authorized User.

[Anonymous]

I have 4 accounts. One is 2 years old, and the rest are between 1 and 2 years old but not quite there yet. My 2 year old account is bucketed card that I will be closing this month. I'm being added to someone's account as a Authorized User whose account is 15 years old. I was wondering if the card that I will be closing this month will be used when gathering the Average Age of Accounts. Will closing this account really affect me? 

[Anonymous]

When you close an account, it can stay on your CR for up to 10 years.

All accounts on your CR go towards your average ages. Therefore it can still theoretically contribute for 10 years. There have been reports of tradelines being removed in as little as a year, however.

Also while the AU account will factor in the older scores, there is no guarantee that it will count in version 8 and newer. (There is an anti-abuse algorithm designed to discourage tradeline renting.)

[Anonymous]

Oh yeah and American Express, and possibly some other issuers, do not backdate accounts for authorized users, so hopefully you’re using one that does.

[Anonymous]

Sorry but one more thing. Yes, the card you will be closing will continue to be used in average ages. But, you asked if will it affect you?

Practically no, because you’re replacing it with the authorized user card, so you will still have 4 revolvers, assuming none are charge cards. (In my opinion, 5 is the optimal number of open revolvers to reach the lowest thresholds on the mortgage scores.)

You should also be aware of the fact that just like there is an AZ penalty when you have all revolvers report a zero balance, there’s also an AU AZ penalty, if the card is counting in version 8 and newer. So in other words, if the AU card reports zero and you see a 10 to 15 point loss, don’t freak out, it’s not a big deal, you’ll get them back when it reports a balance again.

And if you don’t see that happening then you know it’s not helping you on version 8 and newer.

So for maximum scoring, you want a small balance on one of your primary cards and on the authorized user card as well.

[Anonymous]

In order to time it correctly, it should be carrying a balance after the due date? So that it doesn't report AU AZ? 

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@Anonymous wrote:
Sorry but one more thing. Yes, the card you will be closing will continue to be used in average ages. But, you asked if will it affect you?

Practically no, because you’re replacing it with the authorized user card, so you will still have 4 revolvers, assuming none are charge cards. (In my opinion, 5 is the optimal number of open revolvers to reach the lowest thresholds on the mortgage scores.)

You should also be aware of the fact that just like there is an AZ penalty when you have all revolvers report a zero balance, there’s also an AU AZ penalty, if the card is counting in version 8 and newer. So in other words, if the AU card reports zero and you see a 10 to 15 point loss, don’t freak out, it’s not a big deal, you’ll get them back when it reports a balance again.

And if you don’t see that happening then you know it’s not helping you on version 8 and newer.

So for maximum scoring, you want a small balance on one of your primary cards and on the authorized user card as well.

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[Anonymous]

No the due date is meaningless except to keep from paying interest. But yes you typically have to have a balance afterwards. What you’re worried about is when does the statement close. Statement usually closes several days after the due date, except with US Bank, Elan and maybe some other funky institutions.

Anyway here’s the deal, you pay your balance in full by the due date. You put a charge on the card and allow the statement to be generated, now with a balance. Then use your card like you want to until the due date. PIF and as they say, wash, rinse and repeat. 😉

It’s kind of tricky until you get it down. As long as you remember you have to PIF by the due date to prevent interest and then have some sort of balance on the card before the statement generates, Typically 4 or 5 days later.

A good easy cheap way to find out when your statements close is to look on CK under utilization and under each revolver it has the date reported and that’s usually the date the statement cuts and generates. or look on your institutions app for the statement closing date. Just have a small balance there when it closes.

[Anonymous]

Or alternatively you could pay all but a small amount, but then you’re gonna end up paying interest on that small amount, which is anathema around here, unless absolutely necessary.

[Anonymous]

I see you have the Apple Card, I also have that one. Is the due date also the same day that the statement is cut? That's my understanding of it for that card and have identified the 2-4 day period on almost all of them except the Apple Card.

[Anonymous]

To be honest I’ve only used it a couple times but I believe you are correct. I think that is due at the end of the month and reports at the end of the month. That would be the only anomaly, besides US Bank and subsidiaries that I can think of.

[Anonymous]

Yeah I suppose that would make the Apple Card ill suited to be the one with the balance reported unless you wanted to pay a few cents in interest. But it does need to be a major bank card.