Credit Rating Inhertiance?
When you apply for a credit card at 18 (the minimum legal age to get a credit card independently), do you inherit your parents' credit ratings? Do they have any affect on your credit ratings? Also, if you apply for a supplementary credit card on your parents' card at 16, for example, do you inherit their credit rating?
Public Comments
- No. Your credit rating is YOURS. If your name is on the bill and you make sure it gets paid, you're in good shape regardless of what your parents do.
- No, you do not inherit their credit. You're on your own, so take good care of your credit score.
- YES - well, kind of. If you are an additional card on your parent's account (with your ssn and an obligation to pay) then with some credit companies the account is reported on your report with your parent's entire payment history on that account. So if you are on Dad's 10 year old card beginning today, you will have a 10 year old account on your report. This can be a good or a bad thing depending on Dad's payment history. Other than this you do not get anything from your parents. You start off with a blank slate.
- YOu never inherit anyone's credit score. You get your own credit file-- or lack thereof, when you turn 18. However, if your parent added you as an authorized user on their credit card-- like had a card issued with your name on it for their account, these are very often reported to the authorized users's credit as though they are also a card holder. Many people will tell you otherwise, even the credit card company itself, but trust me, its true. If they have a low balance and a great paymetn history, you can inherit years of great history. If you pull your report and there are lates, dispute it-- you can have authorized user accounts deleted.
