Credit bureau

[Teddy B 17,251]

When it comes to piggybacking on a spouses cc, it has to be done a certain way. I forget the actual wording, but if not not in that manner, sure ya have a CC, but it doesnt get reported. I know a few yrs back on MSNBC, they were stating that they were trying to close that piggybacking loop hole

Hi Flames. A person must be added as a "co-applicant" on their spouses credit card, not an "authorized user", in order for it to get reported to the credit bureau, I'm in the process of doing this now with my wife, I just sent in the form to Bank Of America with her SSN and employment info. I'm not sure if she will get the "co-applicant" title as I requested or not, supposedly it requires some sort of credit history to do so. She is already an authorized user, all I did was make a phone call for that because I am still solely responsible for the payments. I have excellent credit and I'm hoping that will come into play with this, if not we'll have to go the Capital One route.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

I applied for this card a month or two after i arrived I have a good score here, not so good back in canada lol

http://www.capitalone.com/creditcards/newcomer-credit-card/

This is the card I got to. They have since raised my limit twice. No complaints with it at all!

After less than 3 years my credit is really good. I wasn't sad about leaving my Canadian credit behind either....

Edited May 17, 2012 by Hugglebuggles

[SapphireDreams 71]

Hi Flames. A person must be added as a "co-applicant" on their spouses credit card, not an "authorized user", in order for it to get reported to the credit bureau, I'm in the process of doing this now with my wife, I just sent in the form to Bank Of America with her SSN and employment info. I'm not sure if she will get the "co-applicant" title as I requested or not, supposedly it requires some sort of credit history to do so. She is already an authorized user, all I did was make a phone call for that because I am still solely responsible for the payments. I have excellent credit and I'm hoping that will come into play with this, if not we'll have to go the Capital One route.

This was not true in my case. I was added as an authorized user to my husband's credit cards and I just checked my credit file and I have a 9 year credit history (same as my husband) and an excellent rating and only been in the US for 3 years. In the past year and a half I've been able to get my own Visa with a $5000 limit through my bank, a Gap credit card, a Macy's credit card (which is awful, I don't use it ever).

It is still possible to piggyback as an authorized user. I'm doing it right now with Bank of America, Barclay's and Chase.

When I first moved though, it didn't kick in right away and was refused a Capitol One card, but then eventually approved. I don't use that card anymore at all because there are no perks. But it's a good card to start with if you are starting form scratch.

[Kimbear 53]

ya it took me 6 months to get a card and it was a cap one card. I was refused for just about everything. since then its been a year now they have upped my limit twice and i'm almost at a 700 score. however, i can't seem to get any other cards even with good payment history etc. i keep getting the reply " not enough tradelines established" whenever i try and get one. well DUH thats why i'm asking for more LOL. i honestly dont like my cap one and its interest rate is terrible. the only good thing is i have no yearly fee, which would mean a min payment eveyr month no matter what.

[alizon 77]

Hi Flames. A person must be added as a "co-applicant" on their spouses credit card, not an "authorized user", in order for it to get reported to the credit bureau, I'm in the process of doing this now with my wife, I just sent in the form to Bank Of America with her SSN and employment info. I'm not sure if she will get the "co-applicant" title as I requested or not, supposedly it requires some sort of credit history to do so. She is already an authorized user, all I did was make a phone call for that because I am still solely responsible for the payments. I have excellent credit and I'm hoping that will come into play with this, if not we'll have to go the Capital One route.

From what I've read, banks automatically report authorized users to credit bureaus. In the past FICO tried to drop authorized user accounts from being included in credit scores, but there were complaints from legitimate authorized users (stay at home parents who have no other access to good credit, for example), and FICO changed back to allowing real authorized use to affect both people's credit score, while weeding out random piggybackers (people who get access to good credit by buying a spot as an authorized user on someone's card).

http://www.fico.com/en/company/news/pages/07-31-2008.aspx

http://www.credit.com/blog/2011/10/piggybacking-to-boost-fico-scores-does-it-still-work/

And this is just anecdotal, but I added my husband as an authorized user to my credit card last month, and my credit score dropped 40 points (!!!). There was absolutely no other change in my credit situation, so all I can figure is that his lack of credit and being an authorized user dragged me down.

[Adriene H 89]

From what I've read, banks automatically report authorized users to credit bureaus. In the past FICO tried to drop authorized user accounts from being included in credit scores, but there were complaints from legitimate authorized users (stay at home parents who have no other access to good credit, for example), and FICO changed back to allowing real authorized use to affect both people's credit score, while weeding out random piggybackers (people who get access to good credit by buying a spot as an authorized user on someone's card).

http://www.fico.com/en/company/news/pages/07-31-2008.aspx

http://www.credit.com/blog/2011/10/piggybacking-to-boost-fico-scores-does-it-still-work/

And this is just anecdotal, but I added my husband as an authorized user to my credit card last month, and my credit score dropped 40 points (!!!). There was absolutely no other change in my credit situation, so all I can figure is that his lack of credit and being an authorized user dragged me down.

In 2009 I bought my first ever brand new car from a dealership.

When I was browsing various dealerships, every time one would

run a credit inquiry on me, my score would drop a little.

Edited May 17, 2012 by Adriene H

[Kimbear 53]

In 2009 I bought my first ever brand new car from a dealership.

When I was browsing various dealerships, every time one would

run a credit inquiry on me, my score would drop a little.

we just bought a house and david's score plumented 50 points. but we've been told thats normal. its suposed to go back up ...i hope. lol

Edited May 17, 2012 by Kimbear

[Teddy B 17,251]

From what I've read, banks automatically report authorized users to credit bureaus. In the past FICO tried to drop authorized user accounts from being included in credit scores, but there were complaints from legitimate authorized users (stay at home parents who have no other access to good credit, for example), and FICO changed back to allowing real authorized use to affect both people's credit score, while weeding out random piggybackers (people who get access to good credit by buying a spot as an authorized user on someone's card).

http://www.fico.com/en/company/news/pages/07-31-2008.aspx

http://www.credit.com/blog/2011/10/piggybacking-to-boost-fico-scores-does-it-still-work/

And this is just anecdotal, but I added my husband as an authorized user to my credit card last month, and my credit score dropped 40 points (!!!). There was absolutely no other change in my credit situation, so all I can figure is that his lack of credit and being an authorized user dragged me down.

Thank you for posting those articles Alizon. I wasn't aware that an authorized user of a credit card would have their credit affected by being on that account, in fact I was informed to the contrary by two of my credit card companies, one being Bank Of America and the other is Chase. What I don't understand is how they can report the authorized user to the credit bureau, when the credit card companies don't or didn't take the authorized users social security number at the time of adding them to the account, this was the case on every card I added my wife too.

I found this article on Experian.com that helps explain this a little further. It does appear that having your spouse on your account as a joint account holder, or co-applicant, is more beneficial than simply being an authorized user, but both ways do work.

Adding new spouse as authorized user can help build credit history

Dear Experian,

My wife had no credit history before we were married. I set her up as authorized user for a couple of my frequently used credit cards. Does this help her build up her credit history?

- HNA

Dear HNA,

Including your wife as an authorized user will help her establish a credit history.

Authorized user accounts are included in a credit report and can be considered when making lending decisions. However, an authorized user has no responsibility for repayment of the debt. For that reason, they often have less bearing on a lender’s decision, and may not be included in some credit score calculations.

Although authorized user accounts are not always included in credit scores, they will result in a credit history being established and eventually can help your wife qualify independently for her own accounts.

Adding your wife as a joint account holder may be more beneficial if you are trying to establish a credit history that will enable her to qualify for credit on her own more quickly.

As a joint account holder she will share full responsibility for the debt. Joint accounts will appear on both your report and hers, and will be included in credit score calculations, which is essential to qualifying for credit independently.

Thanks for asking.

- The "Ask Experian" team

http://www.experian.com/ask-experian/20110202-adding-new-spouse-as-authorized-user-can-help-build-credit-history.html

[alizon 77]

Thank you for posting those articles Alizon. I wasn't aware that an authorized user of a credit card would have their credit affected by being on that account, in fact I was informed to the contrary by two of my credit card companies, one being Bank Of America and the other is Chase. What I don't understand is how they can report the authorized user to the credit bureau, when the credit card companies don't or didn't take the authorized users social security number at the time of adding them to the account, this was the case on every card I added my wife too.

This site says it's up to individual banks whether they want to report the authorized user to the credit bureaus or not, but they don't seem to need the user's social security number to do so. Looks like it's kind of a black box for us. Only the individual banks, credit bureaus, and credit score companies (some other than FICO never used authorized users in calculating scores) know when it will be reported. Maybe Bank of America and Chase only report them when they have a certain amount of information.

First, it's up to individual banks to choose whether to report authorized account information to the credit bureaus. "While most do, lenders decide whether to report authorized user accounts based on their own policies," says Rod Griffin, director of public education for credit bureau Experian. Call your bank directly to find out about its policy. Second, even if the bank does report, it's possible an error somewhere along the way could prevent the account from showing up on his reports. That's more likely if the bank only provides your son's name, since more personal information makes mistakes less likely.

The more information your bank supplies, the better for the bureaus. According to Griffin, the bureaus rely on a borrower's name, address, previous addresses, birthday, Social Security number and any other identifying information supplied by the lender. "Experian utilizes every piece of identifying information provided to help ensure the individual is matched correctly to their credit history," he says. At a minimum, Griffin says bureaus need a full name and address -- which, in this case, may be the same address the bank already has on file for you -- to list authorized account information on credit reports. "However, we strongly encourage people to provide full identifying information in their application, including their Social Security number, because it helps ensure we provide an accurate, complete credit history," he says. While you can't control what information the bank supplies to the credit bureaus, your son can make sure that account appears on his credit reports.

I just hope my husband will manage to get some of his own credit soon!

Edited May 18, 2012 by alizon

[GitmeOuttaHere 0]

Does anybody know what the mortgage companies in the US require as far as length of employment in order to secure a mortgage...

Although our credit is excellent here and we will have at least 20% to put down pending the sale of our home, we both need to find employment when we get to our destination since we are both leaving our (crappy) jobs here in Canada. I hardly doubt we are going to be looked on very favorably walking in to a bank and dropping a down payment on them but having no sustainable income.

Right now we are considering a short term lease or rental until we can establish the rest.

[SapphireDreams 71]

Does anybody know what the mortgage companies in the US require as far as length of employment in order to secure a mortgage...

Although our credit is excellent here and we will have at least 20% to put down pending the sale of our home, we both need to find employment when we get to our destination since we are both leaving our (crappy) jobs here in Canada. I hardly doubt we are going to be looked on very favorably walking in to a bank and dropping a down payment on them but having no sustainable income.

Right now we are considering a short term lease or rental until we can establish the rest.

I very highly doubt you will be able to find someone willing to give you a mortgage with no job, even with 20% down. My coworker is just finally getting approved for a mortgage, had more than 20% down AND is employed (she just moved back to the US in September after living abroad). She had to use her Dad as a co-signer, pay extra "points" AND find a bank that was willing to use her international employment history (many won't take anything outside the US into consideration). Alsp, she made an offer on the house in February and is JUST closing on it this week in May. She was also easily pre-approved but that is basically meaningless... I would say renting is not a bad option at first to get established.

[Smiley-one 13]

I actually just applied and got approved for the Capital One credit card for newcomers to the US. I too got a 300 credit limit. Its a good start for someone who has only been in the US for 3 months to have gotten approved for a credit card without relying on their US spouses credit history. Now I have a chance to build my own credit score.

http://www.capitalone.com/creditcards/newcomer-credit-card/a/?linkid=WWW_1010_CARD_TGUNS11_CCBRWALL_C3_18_T_CP35610AW

[bantam88 1]

I was able to get a U.S. american express card based on my relationship with them in Canada. Be sure to call American Express here to see what your options are.

Ensure you associate your SSN with the card as soon as possible to build up actual US credit history. This will also allow one to start out with a card that has a higher credit limit that you wold not otherwise been able to obtain immediately upon arrival.

[brooksie 3]

I actually just applied and got approved for the Capital One credit card for newcomers to the US. I too got a 300 credit limit. Its a good start for someone who has only been in the US for 3 months to have gotten approved for a credit card without relying on their US spouses credit history. Now I have a chance to build my own credit score.

http://www.capitalone.com/creditcards/newcomer-credit-card/a/?linkid=WWW_1010_CARD_TGUNS11_CCBRWALL_C3_18_T_CP35610AW

i was able to do that too, since i got put on one of my wife's cards as a joint card member and now my credit is in the 700's with 5 years of good credit history, i highly recommend getting on your spouses card if you can and they have good credit history on that card!