Knowledge Center
Everything you need to understand tradelines, make informed decisions, and get the most out of your purchase.
Everything you need to understand tradelines, make informed decisions, and get the most out of your purchase.
A tradeline is any account that appears on your credit report. Every credit card, mortgage, auto loan, and personal line of credit is a tradeline. Together, they tell the story of your relationship with credit.
Credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — collect and store information about these tradelines, including payment history, credit limit, age of the account, and current balance. This data feeds directly into your FICO score.
When a credit card holder adds someone as an authorized user on their account, that account's history appears on the authorized user's credit report. This is a fully legal and widely used credit-building strategy.
Choosing the right tradeline comes down to three factors: credit limit, account age, and utilization. Here's how to pick the tradeline that best fits your credit goals.
A higher limit relative to your other balances can improve your overall credit utilization ratio, which is one of the biggest factors in your FICO score. If you're carrying balances elsewhere, prioritize higher-limit tradelines.
Older accounts add positively to your average age of credit, another scoring factor. If your credit file is thin or new, an older tradeline can have an outsized impact.
Look for tradelines with low reported balances relative to their limit. A low-utilization, high-limit tradeline is generally the strongest combination for score impact.
Use our free Tradelines Calculator to estimate the potential impact of any listing before you buy.
We stand behind every tradeline we sell. Here's exactly what you can expect — and what happens if we fall short.
Every tradeline is guaranteed to post to at least 2 of the 3 major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) within the stated reporting period. If it doesn't, we'll issue a full credit to your account — no questions asked.
The reporting period shown on each tradeline listing is guaranteed. Your authorized user status will be active during the stated window. If the card issuer closes the account before the window ends, you'll receive a full refund.
All tradelines listed as having a specific age, limit, and payment history are verified before listing. If the actual history differs materially from what was listed, we'll replace the tradeline or issue a credit.
Your personal information and the Authorized User's documents are stored with 256-bit AES encryption. We never sell, rent, or share your personal data with any third party outside of the card issuer required for AU processing.
We do not guarantee any specific increase in your credit score. Credit score changes are determined by FICO's proprietary algorithms and your overall credit profile. We also do not guarantee tradeline approval in states where restrictions apply (currently: Georgia).
If a tradeline you purchased hasn't appeared on your credit report within 7 days after the end of the stated reporting period, submit the form below and we'll investigate immediately.
Check that the reporting window has fully passed. Tradelines may post anywhere from the first day to the last day of the reporting window shown on your order. If you're still within the window, please wait until it ends before reporting.