Piggybacking is a way of building your credit by being added as an authorized user to someone else credit account to improve your credit score. This comes as an option to someone who is new to credit or wants to put credit missteps behind.
Piggybacking options
You can choose to piggyback on someone close to you like a relative or friend who has a responsible spending habit with credit cards. This option is relatively easy because they are people you can trust with your details as well as paying off the credit.
You can also consider a company that offers credit piggybacking services to get you seasoned trade lines, which are accounts with a good credit rating. You can trust such credit repair experts to link you with accounts that have positive long-time credit history without worrying about your details landing in the wrong hands. The process does not take long because once the authorized user account gets reported to the credit bureaus, the positive account information reflects on your credit report and your score rises. Â
The benefits of piggybacking
Opening your credit card account relieves you and helps you to build your credit score in less time than it could take for a new account. Here is why piggybacking can be worth it:
You are not responsible for the debt
You are not held responsible for paying off the credit card every month because you are not the primary or joint account holder. The credit card company cannot come after you if the primary holder fails to pay even if you are the one who made the transaction. This does not give you the leeway to be irresponsible, and it always good to pay your balances on time after making purchases with the credit card.
The credit card reflects on your credit report
You get a positive history on the account if the card issuer reports authorized user accounts to the credit bureaus. This adds credit score to your account history of all of the years that the credit card has been in use. It is hence essential to only piggyback someone who uses the credit card responsibly if you want to build your credit score. If it is an account that is charged to the max every month or one that is not paid on time, it will do your credit score more harm.
Limited exposure to negative history
Your credit score is affected by the poor performance of the primary cardholder. You can request the issuer to remove you from the account, but you need to confirm with the credit bureaus that they have removed the account from your report to remove the negative score.
Conclusion
Credit piggybacking can get you off on the right foot as a beginner, but it is important to develop good credit behaviors to establish and maintain a good credit history over the years. You can also consider other options to build your credit score like applying for a secure credit card and applying for a saving-secured loan.
