Twenty-four questions, plain answers. What an authorized-user tradeline actually is, how the reporting timeline works, why we require SmartCredit, what triggers a refund, and what to do if your line skips a cycle. If you don't see your question, text our desk — we'll answer it and add it here.
The legal mechanics, the credit-bureau plumbing, and how an authorized-user placement actually changes your file.
A tradeline is a credit account that appears on your credit report — a credit card, loan, or line of credit. When you're added as an authorized user (AU) on someone else's credit card, that card's full payment history, age, credit limit, and utilization get reported to the credit bureaus under your name.
The cardholder retains all spending privileges — you have none. But your credit profile inherits the positive payment history. A 15-year-old card with $25,000 limit and perfect payment history can dramatically lift your average account age, lower your overall utilization, and add a high-limit revolving line to your file.
Yes. Adding authorized users is explicitly permitted by federal law. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. § 1691) and Regulation B require lenders to report AU history to credit bureaus — specifically to protect spouses and family members. The Federal Reserve confirmed in 2008 (Regulation B, § 202.10) that AUs must be reported regardless of relationship.
That said, some banks (Capital One, AMEX) actively detect and reverse AU additions that look transactional. Tradeline sales sit in a regulatory gray zone — legal at the federal level, but not endorsed by all card issuers. We disclose this risk up front. See the "Reporting" section for what happens if a bank reverses a placement.
Completely different products.
The 700 Protocol is our 6–9 month credit repair engagement under CROA. We dispute inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable items on your file using FCRA § 1681i, Metro 2 attacks, MOV demands, and §623(b) furnisher disputes. It's a service relationship.
Tradeline placement is a one-time transactional product. You're paying for AU access to an existing credit card's reporting history — nothing is disputed, nothing is removed, and no service relationship is created. Tradelines are a separate purchase from your credit repair file and don't fall under the CROA agreement.
No. Authorized-user placement is a reporting-only relationship. The cardholder's bank reports your name + SSN + DOB + address tied to that account, which generates a tradeline on your credit report. No card is issued, mailed, or activated in your name. You have zero spending privileges on the cardholder's account.
If anyone tries to sell you a tradeline that comes with a physical card or spending access — that's not an AU placement. That's something else, and you should be cautious.
We don't promise specific score increases. Anyone who does is violating CROA. Score impact depends on:
Typical realistic range: 20–80 points for thin files, 10–40 points for thicker files. But your file is your file — book a strategy call before purchasing if you want a file-specific projection.
Statement dates, reporting windows, bureau coverage, and what to do when a line skips a cycle.
7–14 days after the statement closes.
Each tradeline on our inventory shows a "Statement Date" and "Reporting Window" — for example, statement on the 14th, reporting window the 21st–28th. We file your AU placement with the cardholder's bank within 24–48 hours of payment. The line is active before the next statement closes. After that statement date passes, the bank's monthly reporting cycle pushes the account (now with you as AU) to the credit bureaus during the reporting window.
One bureau is guaranteed. All three is common but not promised.
Most major issuers (Chase, Capital One, Citi, AMEX, Discover, Wells Fargo, Barclays) report to all three nationwide CRAs as standard practice. Some issuers and some account types report to one or two bureaus only. The Reporting Window range on each inventory line is based on the issuer's typical pattern, but the bureau where it lands is ultimately controlled by the bank — not by us.
Because credit card statements close once a month. If you purchase a tradeline within 7 days of the statement date, the bank often can't process the AU addition in time to include you on that cycle's report — meaning you wait an extra month for it to post.
Purchase at least 7 days before the statement date listed on the inventory line. Earlier is safer.
If your line does not report by day 7 of the second billing cycle after the AU placement was filed, you're eligible for a full refund. See the Refund section for the exact policy.
If the line skipped a single cycle (which can happen with certain banks), it usually posts on the following cycle without further action. We monitor your placement through SmartCredit and contact you if we see a skip.
Active for up to 60 days (two full billing cycles) unless otherwise stated on the inventory line. After that, the cardholder removes you as authorized user.
Once removed, the account itself disappears from your future credit pulls — but the positive history may continue to benefit your file for a period of time after, depending on the bureau. We can't guarantee longevity past the active 60 days.
Plan for the line to fall off. If your goal is a mortgage or auto loan, time your purchase so the tradeline is active during your lender's score pull, then have a credit-building strategy lined up for after.
The credit monitoring service is not optional. Here's why we require it specifically and what happens if you skip the step.
SmartCredit is our designated credit monitoring service for tradeline verification because:
No. Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, CreditWise, Equifax.com, Aura, Wallet Hub, Credit Versio, and CreditHero are not accepted for verifying tradeline reporting on this program.
Reasons: they don't pull from all three bureaus simultaneously, they use VantageScore models that don't reflect lender-facing scores, and several of them aggressively suppress AU tradelines in their displays. We've had clients whose tradelines posted perfectly but couldn't see them on Credit Karma — not a great customer experience.
Sharing your login is optional — only required if you want us to verify reporting on your behalf. If you'd rather check it yourself and report back to us, that's fine too.
If you do share, the password is collected only through our secure intake portal — never via email, text, or any unencrypted channel. Passwords are stored encrypted at rest. You can change your SmartCredit password at any time after the placement window closes.
SmartCredit displays a FICO-style score. The score you see is directionally accurate — meaning if it goes up, your real score is going up — but won't exactly match a Mortgage FICO 2/4/5 or auto FICO 2/4/5 pull from a lender.
For high-stakes lending decisions (mortgage, auto), the score that matters is the lender's pull, not the monitoring service's display. Use SmartCredit to verify tradelines posted; use a lender pull for the actual decision-grade number.
The exact mechanics of what triggers a refund, what disqualifies you, and how the timeline works.
If your tradeline does not report to at least one bureau by day 7 of the second billing cycle after AU placement, you're eligible for a full refund of the amount paid for that line.
Refunds are calculated per line. If you purchased three tradelines for $1,500 total and two reported on schedule while one didn't, the failed line's price is refunded — the two successful ones are kept as earned.
Refund calculation: refund = (failed line price) / (total) applied to the original payment.
Approved refunds are issued within 15 business days to the original payment method (Stripe or Zelle, depending on how you paid). Most Stripe refunds settle within 5–10 business days from when we issue them.
One bureau is the guarantee. If your line reports to even one of Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion within the window, the service is considered delivered and no refund is owed.
If you specifically need a tradeline reporting to all three (e.g., a mortgage broker is pulling all three), book a strategy call before purchasing and we can recommend lines from issuers with the highest tri-bureau reporting rates.
How to read the inventory, the difference between tiers, and which line types do the most for your specific file.
Standard Inventory: Mass-market tradelines, typically $225–$750. Limits range from $500 to $35,000. Ages range from 2 years to 20+ years. Best for: general credit profile lifts, thin-file builders, or buyers stacking multiple lines for utilization optimization.
Tier 2 / High Limit: Premium-grade tradelines, typically $1,300–$3,000. Limits start at $5,000 and go up to $50,000+. Ages are often 10+ years with the oldest going back to the 1980s. Best for: buyers who need a single high-impact line, mortgage applicants needing dramatic profile lifts, or anyone with a thin file who wants one premium line over several standard ones.
Depends on your goal:
Use the Best Value sort on the inventory page (price-per-$1000-of-limit) to see which lines give you the most credit limit per dollar.
Yes, but with caveats. Some banks (especially AMEX and Capital One) have detection systems that flag accounts with multiple AU additions in short succession. Two Chase lines in the same month? Usually fine. Two AMEX lines in the same week? Risk of reversal.
If you want to stack from the same issuer, space your purchases at least 2–3 weeks apart, or contact our desk to coordinate the timing.
The Best Value sort ranks tradelines by price per $1,000 of credit limit. Lower = better leverage. For example:
$28 per $1K (excellent value)$80 per $1K (mid-tier value)$300 per $1K (low leverage)This sort is the default for a reason — it surfaces the lines with the biggest impact-per-dollar on your file.
Stripe is the primary path — click "Pay Now with Card" in the reservation modal, you'll be redirected to Stripe Checkout with your order reference pre-filled.
Zelle is available for buyers who prefer it. Click "Send Order to Desk" instead — we'll respond with Zelle payment instructions and a custom invoice. Zelle goes to 619-907-0303 (HVHA Marketing LLC).
From submission to placement to reporting to fall-off. The full lifecycle of an AU tradeline on your file.
The bank knows the cardholder added you as an authorized user. They do not know there was a financial transaction between you and us, and there's no marker on your credit report indicating you paid for AU placement.
That said, some banks have algorithms that flag "transactional-looking" AU patterns (e.g., AUs added with no apparent relationship, removed shortly after). If a bank flags a placement and reverses the AU addition, that's a refund-eligible event under our policy.
The amount you paid for AU placement is not taxable income to you — you're paying for a service, not receiving one. The cardholder's tax treatment of the income they earn from being placed is their concern, not yours.
This is general guidance, not tax advice. If you have specific tax questions about a large multi-line purchase, consult your CPA.
Yes, with strategy. Mortgage lenders pull all three credit bureaus and use Mortgage FICO 2/4/5 models. Time your tradeline purchase so the line is active and reporting during your lender's pull window (typically 30–90 days before close).
Some lenders — mainly the manual underwriting ones — will manually exclude "added authorized user accounts" from your credit profile during qualification. The major automated underwriters (Fannie Mae's DU, Freddie Mac's LP) typically include them. Talk to your loan officer about how their specific underwriting handles AU accounts before purchasing.
When the cardholder removes you as AU (at the end of the 60-day active window), the account disappears from your future credit pulls. Your score will typically drop — similar to closing a primary credit card. The exact drop depends on how much that line was lifting your file.
Have a credit-building plan in place before the line expires:
Some inventory lines offer extended placement (90 days, 6 months) at a higher price — if available, it's noted on the line. Standard 60-day placement is the default and what most lines on the inventory provide.
If you specifically need a longer placement window for a financing event that's further out, text our desk before purchasing — we can pull premium lines from our cardholder network with extended terms.
Three ways to reach our tradeline desk:
For file-specific advice on which tradeline to buy — especially before a mortgage or auto loan — book the strategy call. We'll review your file and recommend the line that does the most for your specific situation.
Live Inventory · Updated in Real Time
320+ Standard lines · 420+ Tier 2 lines · $225–$3,000 price range. Filtered by issuer, limit, statement date, and best value. The inventory updates the moment our placement sheet changes.