In previous articles, I have taught you many things that I teach my Credit Counsel Elite students and mastermind members, including the benefits of becoming an AU and how it can add to three of the six boxes that make up your FICO score, and I provided my free calculator and taught you how to use it to determine what combination of AUs can get you to your best possible credit score.  

If you have someone in your life (spouse, family member, or friend) who has a long history of responsible credit card use, you should try to convince them to put you as an Authorized User on one (or more) of their cards.  This process is not always an easy task because even our closest family members may be hesitant in allowing others to be any part of their credit life.  Most people are worried about identity theft, but in the case of providing another person an AU spot, there is no need to worry if it is done correctly.

Three Steps to Success

These are the three steps that I use to educate someone within a friend and family circle to add others to their AU spots, and that not only will doing so be beneficial for you, helping your Utilization, Total Accounts, and Credit Age, which is 55% of your FICO score.  Adding AU can also be helpful for someone with good credit history as well. 

The majority of my clients all need authorized users to help them boost their credit scores to have access to the additional credit lines they can then leverage.  If you find yourself in this category and do not have anyone that can provide you with a good AU spot (someone that has a good and long credit history and pays their bills in whole before the statement closing date), my company can help you find users that are willing to provide their AU spots to you.  CLICK HERE

The most important thing is for someone to know, like, and trust you.  If you are lacking in these areas, it will be very difficult to convince someone that you should be an AU for them.  If they want to check online or call their credit card company and ask questions, they can confirm all of the information I provide here, so encourage them to do so.  

It only takes a few minutes to add an AU, and they can feel proud because they have helped you.  You can educate them and even show them how they can make money with their AU spots.  Even someone that has had a bankruptcy can help if one particular card has been paid and is in good standing.

Step 1 

Google the Pros and Cons of Adding an Authorized User.  The current top two resulting articles are from Forbes and from US News “Money.” Both of these articles supply a thorough and unbiased review of everything to know.  Fortunately, almost everything that is listed is positive.  The only thing that will show up as a potential negative is that if the AU has access to the card they they could use it and the cardholder will be responsible for those charges.  

As long as the AU has no access to the card (which they never should), there is no chance for this to happen.  For an AU to attempt to receive a replacement card, they would have to know the cardholder’s private information, including the account numbers.  

Within my company, AU buyers and sellers never interact, and the only information that the buyer can see on their credit report is that there is an account from “X bank.”

Once added the cardholder needs to activate the AU card and make a single small purchase, then the AU will have the card on their credit report gaining its benefits.  

Step 2

Google all the different tradeline companies “buying authorized user tradelines“ (link HERE)

This search will supply you with several companies where you can be a seller or a buyer of AU spots.  

I recommend that you call one of these companies and get educated first for both selling & buying of tradelines.  This way you are fully knowledgeable about the process and will have the correct answers for your potential AU provider that can be verified by the prospect as well via a three-way call that your prospect is on with you, letting them ask any questions they may have.  

These tradeline companies have a long history of providing this service and have great ratings so they know what questions anyone will have and the correct answer to them. 

This will also allow your prospect to see a pathway to making money by providing the AU spots to you and others.

Step 3

Call the prospect’s credit card company (the number on the back of their card); this is a final check for them to confirm that what they have been told is true.  It is preferential to talk to a manager because some of the newer phone associates will not have significant experience with adding AUs and may provide incorrect information or create new fear by focusing on the legal statement that “the main cardholder is responsible for the AU’s purchases.”  Informing a manager that the AU card will not be provided to the AU and asking if there are any downsides should be sufficient to get good information.

There is an added benefit to this step that your prospect is already on the phone with the credit card company, so they can add you as the AU at that time. 

With these three steps, you will be able to:

1. Educate the cardholder

2. Eliminate their fear

3. Make them comfortable moving forward

4. Provide them with a new income stream just by having the same credit card and continuing to be responsible with it.

A FINAL EXTRA BENEFIT

Even if you are removed as an AU from someone’s card, you will still continue to benefit; the Credit Age and Total Accounts will continue to be shown on your profile FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS.

CLICK HERE if you have any cards over 10 years old and want to monetize your AU spots..

At Credit Counsel Elite, we teach business owners how to get up to $500K at 0% interest every six months; for more information, CLICK HERE