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Originally Posted by Supple Cow
This is invaluable advice. I think this is probably the most useful thread I've ever read and ever will read. Thank you for your generosity, NoSoup. Now I have a lot of questions...
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You're most welcome. Bring em on
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Originally Posted by Supple Cow
I was under the impression that being an authorized user didn't give you any credit at all... in the past, I've been turned down for credit cards (I thought) because I didn't have any credit myself. How much can this help or hurt compared to having your own credit line? Say my mother (who has me as an authorized user) is too close to her limit - how does that compare on my credit score with myself having a line of credit that is charged too close to the limit? And does the comparison hold true the other way, namely for good behavior (under 50% of limit and timely payments) on her part versus mine?
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It actually depends on the company that the card is from. I would say that the majority of the cards will put you on as though you were actually just one of the account holders of the card. What that means is that it will affect your credit in exactly the same manner as if it were your own card. Whether it is a card that you are an authorized user on or it is your own card, having a card too close to the limit would negatively impact your score just the same - providing, of course, that the card company is reporting that you are an authorized user. The same goes for both "good" and "bad" behavior - it could certainly have a positive impact as well if there is a low balance and payments are made on time.
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Originally Posted by Supple Cow
Also, where do student loans rate in all of this? I have both federal and private loans. The federal ones are consolidated and I'm making regular on-time payments for that. I can't consolidate my private ones yet because I never finished my degree and I can't find anybody who will consolidate them. I'm in forbearance on those and unable to make even partial interest payments right now because of my meager income. What will this do to my credit score?
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It is difficult to say where student loans fall into the mix. Different lenders weight them differently - especially if you still haven't been required to begin repayment. They do report to the credit reporting agencies, but I would probably have difficulty suggesting how much they affect your score, as I don't think I have ever run across anyone with no other debt other than student loans. However, when you do become delinquent on them, they do negatively impact your score like any other tradeline.
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Originally Posted by Supple Cow
Does this mean 50% in each credit line or 50% of the total credit limit? I mean, does it matter if I max out my $2000 credit line (because of the 0% introductory APR) when I need to pay for classes in January and then only use my $3800 credit line for the spill over costs ($200-$300)? Is that different from spending $1000 from the $2000 credit line and $1300 on the $3800 credit line? (Side note: thank god for somebody on the TFP who can answer this question... I don't know anybody else who can.)
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50% for each credit line - the percentage of total credit doesn't matter, unless, of course, you're over 50% on all of your tradelines or have an excessive number. For instance, say you have three credit cards, each with a $1,000.00 limit. For whatever reason, you need to charge $1,000.00 total.
The best course of action (providing the rate, payments, penalties ect are the same on each card) would be to charge $333.00 on each, keeping your balance to limit ratio as low as possible on each individual card. Overall, your total credit limit is still $3000 between the cards, but how you dispurse that $1000.00 will impact your score. Had the person in question charged it all to one card, their score would be relatively severely impacted for being maxed out on a credit card.
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Originally Posted by Supple Cow
I wait with bated breath... many, many, many thanks in advance.  |
You're welcome. Let me know if you have any more questions