Your credit score is a number usually between 350 and 850 designed to help lenders predict the likelihood you will repay future debt obligations based on the performance of previous and current loans.

To learn more about your credit score and how it is calculated, click here.

Now more than ever consumers are proactively monitoring their credit. Not only can you easily get a copy of your credit report on the internet, you can also view your credit score. Companies like Credit Karma, MyFICO.com and Experian.com make it easy to access that information so you can take the necessary steps to improve your score before making significant purchases, potentially saving you thousands. There’s just one problem: many consumers are finding the score provided to them by companies like Credit Karma, Experian.com, and MyFICO.com may not be the same score their financial institution uses when they consider extending credit.

This news can come as a shock to consumers. After all, when consumers proactively monitor their credit scores, they assume they are seeing the same scores that lenders see. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth. While FICO® scores are reportedly used in up to 90 percent of lending decisions, other scoring models such as VantageScore are becoming more popular. They may use the same type of information to calculate a credit score, but the algorithm is different. This means your FICO® score and VantageScore could be considerably different from each other.

To make matters even more confusing, your FICO® or VantageScore being used by the bank you want to borrow money from is highly likely to be enormously different from the scores provided by websites like MyFICO.com, Experian.com, and CreditKarma.com.

But wait…it gets worse! Each bank – especially the large ones – may use multiple variations of the credit scoring model within their own company. One model for car loans, another for mortgages, another for credit cards, etc. all in an attempt to more accurately predict your likeliness to repay the particular type of loan you are applying for. You see, since some people are good at paying their monthly mortgage payment but not their credit cards, the bank can customize their credit scoring model based on the type of loan the applicant is seeking.

Different models produce different credit scores

Enter client Will A., who found this out the hard way. Credit Karma reported his score to be 662, but CreditWise.com showed he was an 831 credit score. Then his lender pulled his credit the same day and told him his FICO® score was 767! That’s a whopping 169-point difference that saved Will thousands of dollars on his loan.

Credit Karma credit score after BoostMyScore services:

The reason for this experiment was really to see what maxing out cards can do to a score.

We decided to see what effect the utilization ratio has on the credit score at 10% intervals.  We did 90%, 80, 70… all the way to 5% and the results are VERY interesting! Take a look:

  • 90% = down 235 points… going from 100% to 90% increased the score 36 points:
  • 80% = down 167 points…dropping it down to just 80% was 104 points difference versus 100% utilization:
  • 70% = down 163 points…4 point gain
  • 60% = down 160 points…3 point gain
  • 50% = down 152 points…8 point gain
  • 40% = down 93 points…turns out that dropping below 50% is a real big turning point.
  • 30% = down 82 points
  • 20% = down 69 points
  • 10% = down 32 points
  • 5% = down 7 points

The boost is different for everyone. It all depends on what is currently in your credit report and what you choose to purchase from us. The easiest way to answer this question is to say that there are three “Truths” to boosting your credit score through this method.

  1. The more credit cards we add to your credit report, the bigger the boost will be.
  2. The fewer the number of credit cards that you currently have in your credit report showing as open, the bigger the boost will be.
  3. The higher the limit, and the longer the history for the card(s) you choose to add to your credit report, the bigger the boost will be.

We guarantee that our credit card(s) will appear on at least one of your three credit reports in less than 60 days from the first expected monthly reporting date, or we will give you all your money back. Typically they will appear in less than 30 days; most of the time it takes just a week or two after the first expected monthly reporting date.

Our Primary Cardholders are required by contract to keep you listed as an Authorized User on their credit card for no less than 60 days. As a result, we guarantee the history of the card you have chosen will remain on your credit report for at least 60 days. In the unexpected event that the card(s) falls off your credit sooner than 60 days, we will either issue a pro-rated refund of your money, or re-add you to the card for an additional reporting cycle, at no additional cost to you. If the card does fall off your credit report after the 60-day lease term expires, and you are still in need of a boosted credit score, we can always renew your lease under the same terms.

Once you close on a loan, the bank is contractually bound to hold those loan terms and conditions as agreed in your contract. They cannot change the terms solely because your status as an Authorized User has been removed after closing. You will likely continue to qualify for the lower rates, as long as your loan closes before, and if, the tradelines fall off your credit report.

  1. the authorized user tradeline that appeared on your credit report can disappear, completely removing any benefit you may have had previously.
  2. the tradeline will remain on your credit report, but the status of the account as it appears in your credit report will change from “Open” to “Terminated” or “Closed”, which removes the benefit you had from the available credit limit. The credit score benefit you were previously receiving from the tradeline’s payment history may remain in this case.
  3. the tradeline will sit stagnant on your credit report with no new information reported. In this case you may continue to benefit from both the credit limit, as well as the payment history. But as time goes on without any new information reported, that positive history may likely be reduced in value to the credit score.

If you need the credit boost for longer than our minimum 60-day time period, be sure to ask us for a lease extension.

No. We believe FICO® 08 was really just a propaganda scare tactic used by the Fair Isaac Corp to make all of us confused and uncertain. Based on our experience, the piggybacking boosting strategy still works just like it always has; nothing has changed. If by some stretch of the imagination FICO decided to assist banks in violating the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by making illegal adjustments to their credit scoring model, it would take years, if ever, for the new version to effectively permeate the financial industry. For example, simply because Microsoft released Windows 11 doesn’t mean that everyone in the country is going to the store tomorrow to buy the software, install it on their computer system, get it to work effectively, and then start using it. This is a very similar process that would have to be taken by every bank, credit union, credit card company, mortgage broker, car dealership, etc. in the entire country. Now knowing how it all works, you can imagine how much time you have to enjoy the benefits of our “credit renting” services…just in case.

In addition, as you can see in Regulation B of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and in our 2008 Press Release, it is unlawful for any lending institution to ignore credit history present in a credit report, regardless of authorized user status, or otherwise. If a bank were to reject your loan application or artificially reduce your credit score as a result of the presence of an authorized user tradeline, they would likely be in violation of ECOA and liable to pay out damages through a civil claim.

That’s the legal reason why adding an AU tradeline to your credit report will help and why the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO®) can’t stop us. The logical reason is that over 40 million people in the United States are listed as Authorized Users on someone else’s credit card. Simply because you have one – or several – on your credit report should not raise any “red flags.” Even if the bank underwriter chose to violate the law and ignore your AU tradelines, it is nearly impossible for them to physically change your credit score, because the FICO® score is a highly secretive formula that underwriters have no access to. Being that most every loan approval is based on credit scores, you would still be in a good position to acquire an approval, as long as the rest of your application meets the underwriting requirements (income, job history, etc).

Years ago, several online companies advertised the ability to add “Seasoned Primary Tradelines” to your credit report. These tradelines could look better on your credit report to a mortgage underwriter than a “Seasoned Authorized User Tradeline”. Since the account would appear in a credit report as being individually managed by the borrower (Primary), and because it showed several years of credit history (Seasoned), it had the potential to boost the credit score AND trick underwriters into believing it belonged to the applicant. As you can imagine, the “Seasoned Primary Tradeline” practice appeared to be fraudulent to many in the law enforcement community. Several businesses advertising that service were quickly sought out and shut down.

Bear in mind that, as opposed to a “Seasoned Primary Tradeline”, a “New Primary Tradeline” (a new credit card account, for example) will most likely cause a drop in your credit score. Your score will typically recover, once the New Primary Tradeline has aged for a couple years.

For these reasons, Tradelinecompany does not assist clients with adding “Seasoned Primary Tradelines” to their credit report. We also do not assist our clients in applying for “New PrimaryTradelines.”

To be clear, Tradelinecompany specializes

Go out and apply for your loan, apply for the job you wanted, or for premium car or home owners’ insurance! Start your own business! But whatever you do, remember one thing, this is not a ticket for a shopping spree. Be responsible with your new credit score. Be smart. Plan ahead and stick to your plan. It is very easy to succumb to the temptations of the credit world, but it is those of us who can manage our emotions with self-control and logical reasoning who will become masters of our financial future.

Remember, a good credit customer is one who can pay off their ENTIRE balance in full every month. Practice this and it will repay you for the rest of your life.

All our Authorized User trade lines are personal credit cards. While we cannot help build your business credit profile, building your personal credit first can be a huge help in obtaining business credit.

Also, keep in mind that business accounts typically only report to the business reporting agencies, Dunn & Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Equifax Business, and not to the personal credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax), and therefore do not help your personal FICO® score.