Very good point. As long as you are okay with the increased risk and can trust the person, I think its a good idea.

Allowing others on your account as an AU is a risk and you are 100% personally liable. Similar to a joint account or co-signing on a loan. You are along for the ride so know what the driver's abilities are?

I've never heard of an AU before either. Could this not backfire on you if that person is an AU on a credit card. What if they make large purchases that they can't pay? If the card is in your name are you not liable for the payment?

I have never heard of an AU before, so this was interesting to me. Why on earth would someone want to allow someone use of their good credit? Was it a safe thing, like by making someone an AU they couldn't actually damage your credit? I'm not sure I understand how it exactly works, or even why it was allowed.

JG224 wrote: Any company that says they can raise your credit score for a fee are scams and should not be used. I know people who fall for it, but raising your credit score is really about paying your bills on time and keeping your debt-to-income ratio low. That is the best way to raise your score, in my humble opinion.

Reality is always tough. We simply can't trust anything that sounds too good to be true nowadays. Our scores are 35% based on the payment history and 30% based on the amounts owed. We should probably focus on those real points instead of gambling away.

In the past as an "AU" you could increase the scores of your own credit profile. Today some lenders discount "AU's" of any kinds and some will give some score relevance to direct family members.

Interesting. This is really just curiosity on my part. I am an AU on two of my husband's accounts, but the rest of our accounts are held separately since we can both hold our own credit-wise. What's the deal with people "selling" their good scores? How in the world does that work and why would anyone consider such a thing?

There is confusion on which lenders and which bureaus ignore, minimize or actually consider AU's. The item that stirred up the devaluation of AU's in the credit lender world was people selling their good scores and putting people on their accounts as AUs. Some say actual family/relatives can become AU's and get credit for it. So, I would suggest searching for some current information on the subject.

Thanks, Wanderer! So, based on your comment about the credit bureaus and AUs, does that mean that they pretty much ignore whatever the AU does on the account and they focus strictly on what the main account holder does?

Your right on "AU" is an authorized user.

Wanderer wrote: Of note, the credit bureaus are aware of the buying AU's to up the score and have some form of screening to try and minimize or exclude such scoring increases. As for myself, I don't trust even relatives with access to my accounts so it will never be a problem.

I apologize if this is a silly question, but what is an AU? Authorized user is what's coming to mind, but it's the weekend and my brain isn't working at 100%.

Could not agree more. Never listen to those companies, they are 99% scams. I also 100% agree personal finances were taught in high school, especially with our current student debt crisis.

JG224 wrote: Any company that says they can raise your credit score for a fee are scams and should not be used. I know people who fall for it, but raising your credit score is really about paying your bills on time and keeping your debt-to-income ratio low. That is the best way to raise your score, in my humble opinion.

This is so accurate. The key to good credit is really just paying your bills on time. You also don't want a lot of credit card debt. I wish kids were taught this in high school.

Any company that says they can raise your credit score for a fee are scams and should not be used. I know people who fall for it, but raising your credit score is really about paying your bills on time and keeping your debt-to-income ratio low. That is the best way to raise your score, in my humble opinion.

Of note, the credit bureaus are aware of the buying AU's to up the score and have some form of screening to try and minimize or exclude such scoring increases. As for myself, I don't trust even relatives with access to my accounts so it will never be a problem.