I thought you guys said Fico 8 ignores utilization for AU accts?

[805orbust]

So all my cards usually report 0 with the exception of 2 2hich will report 2-7%. Did some renovation/vacation stuff and went to 12% across all. I lost about 4 points on each bureau. On one of my cards I let it report at 90% because of business travel an not having the time to obsess plus curiosity.  I received an alert from Myfico, and 10, 11, and 16 point drops respectively.  What surprised me was my wife (who has been a bad girl the last few months with her utilization over 30%) got an alert about the balance change and she got a 23, 20, and 25 point drop respectively. No other changes.  

So I'm guessing utilization does count for AU?

[Anonymous]

I've read that several times on here as well, but my husband's score is definitely tied to my accounts where he is an AU.  When I had a large CLI on a card, both of use received CCT alerts that the credit line had increased, and we both got a nice score bump. 

[805orbust]

Which is why I was confused. Everyone here says that it doesn't affect the AU. Guess that was an error as it clearly does.

[Anonymous]

Maybe it ignores AU in some but not all cases?  I'm sure one of the veterans can clear this up, as I have heard from many that it doesn't matter... but clearly based on these examples it does matter, at least under certain conditions?

[Thomas_Thumb]

MyFICO has been very explicit in stating that AU accounts (cards) are conditional under Fico 08. For some profiles they count, for others they do not. This relates to the anti-abuse policy they implemented under Fico 08. Fico has not published exactly how such determinations are made in a detailed 3 page document - just some general rather non value add vague statements.

It's best to just recognize that AU accounts appear to count for some but not others under Fico 08. The AU accounts count unconditionally under all older Fico models currently in use for mortgages.

It is best to avoid over generalizing how things work with specific profiles. There is a tendency to observe a result and assume it must be the same for everyone. 

[Stryder]

I am setting here trying to figure out how to get them recognized for my DW. I just went through Sesame, MyFico and CCT and she is getting litle recognition for her cards. She is an Au on 4 of my cards (no Sync) and her sasame has TU at 700 (Vantage). No problem, she still has a derog, so Im OK with that score

On her Fico 8 scores, all 4 accounts show up, correct cl's, age ect.... she has one reporting $10, the rest zero, and the report says she has no credit card activity....my reports  don't say that. Her MyFico Fico 8 scores were (10/20 EQ 610; TU 620; EQ 617) Here other Fico's scores are all up in the high 600's. (EX Fico 2 for bankcards is 684)...as I said, her Vantage 3.0 are 700, 702, and 696. So Fico 8 is gettting no benefit from the cards. She has a car loan and a Conns installment reporting. Clean payments for 6 yrs on my tl's, so what ever they count on hers is clean (except for the baddie)

So I am thinking she is one of those that the CB's think she is a repair company addon which they won't count AUs points wise. I am thinking of 2 options, one would be to let all accounts report something and then pif, trying to get them to recognize usage..... and /or call the CB's and see if they can verify if they think she is not a valid AU? Will they be able to know that or talk about it?

I will be getting her own card, but I will still like to get this fixed....

btw, it does look like the AAoA includes the cards.

Any thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I always was under the impression that AU accounts would count more for immediate family members (same last name) rather than other situations.  I believe the reason that was implemented was so that some Joe Schmoe couldn't add any random person just to help them out.  I would think that a husband/wife would certainly count as an immediate family member, unless perhaps their name was different on the reports which could appear that they weren't a DH/DW? 

[Stryder]

Here is something from an article that describes what Fico 8 looks at:

What Remains the Same With FICO 8

Other than what's been mentioned above, FICO 8 remains the same as with previous versions of the scoring model.

• FICO scores will still range from 300 to 850 with higher scores being better.
• FICO 8 continues to look at the same categories to calculate your credit score:
  35% payment history
  30% credit utilization
  15% credit age
  10% recent applications
  10% mix of credit
• Authorized user accounts will continue to be included in FICO 8 credit scores, but the new model will make a distinction between legitimate authorized user accounts and those that were purchased for credit improvement purposes only.
• Your FICO 8 score will continue to be based on information in your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus.

That is why I'm am seeking what method I should use to get DW to be recognized as legit. I have checked our personal info and names (both last names are the same), addresses and all that look good. I am going to let some cards report with a bl for now and see what that does. It may just be they've never seen anything else report besides zero...I let the one report with $10, but it still shows 0% util for her..tcl 10.5k. On my accounts, I still have $850 bl I am paying down...so that is my one reporting (7% total util) and she isn't on that card. So for me to let the others report for her, will drive up my number of accounts reporting a balance....I think I'll do 2 this month and then do the other 2 next month if I get results.

As an aside, my stupid BoA added a FTF of $.59 after the main transaction had posted and I had pif'ed it to zero, now the FTF shows up. The card goes to statement on the 6th. So I am thinking of letting it report because I hate to make a 59 cent payment...watch it drop me points for too many reporting! haha

[ScarlettClone]

This is just a shot in the dark, but could the difference be a spouse that in an AU and uses the card vs one that is an AU for scoring, but doesn't use their card?

[805orbust]

Wow. Deep guys, deep. So basically since we've got the same last name, address And multiple joint accounts, the algorithm can determine legitimacy? That's friggin cool. And exactly the reason I NEVER let her add me as an AU on her cards. She's a bad girl at times. Plus my limits are much higher. This is a very interesting development.

It probably means the same for my kids AU accounts I'd assume.