I'm in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings and expect to be discharged by March. My roommate is willing to put me on her First Union Visa as an AU as soon as I'm discharged. My questions are: 1) Does First Union (which is now owned by MBNA) reported authorized users to CRA? 2) Would it be to my advantage to be an AU...my roommate has a 17 year perfect record with First Union, but has nearly maxed out her credit limit ($17K). She just used PFB to get them to lower the interest rate so she can make a dent in the balance, but it will be a while before she can get the balance below the 50% mark. Thanks in advance!! Cynthia
I'm not trying to start anything but where do you get your info from? People get added as authorized users to accounts all the time. And although they may not be responsible for the debt, the entire account history gets added to their reports and it if it is a long time, perfect paying account, it most certainly will help.
I am A credit Analyst with MBNA, and have also worked in the Customer Assistance( 180 days Collection) and Customer Satisfaction Department. You are 100% correct in saying that it does get added to their account history, and it can be useful if it is an established for a period of time, it will help. But just to be added as an auth user, without individual or established Co Applicant account, it would not be enough to get approved for a Credit Card .. Feel Free to disagree any time.. You are very helpful to a lot of Members of this board.. due to the knowledge that you share.. Take Care
Re: MINIMUM SCORE 590 FOR MBNA PLATINUM I have a 684 (they pulled TU) the only derog on THAT report is an R5 from 1998. I HAD 4 inquiries at the time. BIG FAT DENIAL!! As to the AU: I added hubby to an account as an AU, he now has a 4 yr old Overdraft $0 balance $500 limit and a 2 year old CC $120 balance $1750 limit. His score went from a 447, to a 533, the ONLY other thing that was removed was a $50 PAID collection that was 5 years old. He has 3 paid CA's and 1 partially paid CA, a C/O CC. IT HELPS!
Re: MINIMUM SCORE 590 FOR MBNA PLATINUM Remember that Fair Issac scores authorized users the same way as joint account holders. They won't say why though, but they do. As an AU you get the benefit of a joint accountholder without the financial responsibility. Also, remember that as an AU who will be penalized (score wise) as a joint holder if the account goes delinquent. Dani
Ok...now I'm totally confused. Sounds like being added as an AU is useful to establish credit, but not so useful to rebuild credit (please correct me if I'm wrong). Prior to my bankruptcy, I had a mortgage (sold the house in 1998...now sharing an apartment), several credit cards and four auto loans. All were paid on time and I had perfect credit. When I filed for BK in November, I was current on all my bills, but had exhausted all my savings and retirement funds and was running $900 short each month. When my BK is discharged I will have one car loan and no credit cards. So basically I had excellent credit, screwed it when I filed for BK and now I need to rebuild it again. Granted I can go the secured card route, but since I currently have two teeth begging for root canals and crowns ($1400...OUCH), all my extra change is going towards saving for that expense. I was hoping that being added as an AU plus my car loan would help to rebuild my credit faster and cheaper then waiting until next year to apply for secured cards.
