Foreign Bank Issued Credit Cards?

[Anonymous]

Please excuse this newbie question but I have a very short credit history of only 12 months for my oldest trade line and an average age of 7 months for the 4 U.S. issued credit cards I possess.  My current FICO is at 698 with no blemishes but a total of 6 inquiries of record.

However, I do possess a foreign bank issued Visa card that is 10 years old with no lates or blemishes. This card never appears on my FICO or any of the credit bureaus. So, my question is: wouldn't I benefit from having this card reported so as to up the average age of my other cards and hopefully increase my FICO?

If so, how would I accomplish this?  I have a great relationship with one of the bank executives--he is president of the local branch in my neighborhood.  But I'm not sure how to proceed. Most people where I live have never even heard of FICO--any suggestions?

It's really a tough call for me because this Visa card allows me to run substantial balances without affecting my utlilization rate. But since all my cards are PIF'd monthly, maybe I should try to include it in my FICO for the future. Thanks.

Cato--the Curious

[rubaty]

It is my understanding that MYFICO will only show US issued credit cards and loans.  I live overseas and when I try to get a loan they don't care about any of my US debt because they have no way to verify the information.

[Anonymous]

Hi Cato; I'm in exacty the same position as you: 10 perfect years with a non-US Visa card! You would think that with these CC companies being international, your solid history would follow you anywhere in the world. I wonder if FICO will expand beyond Europe into other countries too...?

[Anonymous]

Hi cato & heian, welcome to the U.S. and to the forum!

The question you posed is a good and valid question. Unfortunately I cannot offer you any solid advice or opinion.

I can speculate as to why your foreign issued cc's do not appear on your credit reports, but it is mere speculation on my part.

One reason COULD be is that of the U.S. banking regulations. Stateside banks issue the Visa's and MasterCards, and it could be regulatory in nature that only U.S. issued bank cards can be reported. Please note that I am only speculating.

HOWEVER, if they are issued by a multi-national bank, with branches here in the U.S.(such as HSBC and Barclay's Bank), that there may(underscore MAY) transfer your foreign issued cc to a stateside one.

Please kindly note, that this is conjucture on my part, and may have no valid basis in fact what so ever.

It is just an avenue to explore.

Out of curiosity, who are the overseas banks that issued you all the bank cards?

[MidnightVoice]

Personal opinion (based on experience). American banks are about 10 years behind most European banks in terms of the electronic age (I couldn't believe the lack of ATMs when I got here) and this causes them to think they are the only real banks and anything that happens anywhere else in the world is of no importance unless they can make money off it.

The US government is similar - when I cam here they would not accept money outside of the country as existing to support my family, but they insisted on taxing this non-existant money.