There's a lot of confusion regarding tradelines, how they work, what the benefits are, and what kind of help they provide concerning your credit score. We've covered all of these things before in deep detail within the last year. If you're new to the subject or idea of using authorized tradelines, we have some resources that can be extremely helpful. For starters, you might want to take a look at the following articles:

Each of the above are unique with priceless insight and act as great introductory information. They'll serve you well in becoming familiar with tradelines in general.

Now, as you begin to learn how helpful of a tool tradelines can be you may begin to wonder about the differences between acquiring them from a friend or a family member, or, flat-out purchasing them directly from a tradeline company. There are several differences between the two and it's important to understand the requirements, the potential, and the limitations that each offers.

Getting Tradelines From A Friend Or Family Member

When you have someone with excellent credit who is willing to add you as an authorized user on one of their credit cards, generally they're going to do this for free. They understand how it works, they understand the benefit it offers you, and they're willing to accept the risks (if any) of extending their card's history to your credit report in an effort to help you improve your own credit score and increase your financial opportunities.

When a family member ads you to their card, they can decide whether or not to let you actually use the card, and they can also keep you as an authorized user for an indefinite amount of time. If they choose to keep you on as an authorized user for the long-term, you'll get not only the short-term but also the long-term benefits. It costs you nothing apart from a conversation and their trust, and it will definitely give you a better credit profile overall.

Buying Tradelines For Sale From a Tradeline Company

When you buy tradelines, you're using a completely different approach than acquiring them from a friend or family. First off, they cost money. Secondly, you're purchasing from a company and you'll never need to contact the actual cardholder, nor will they need to contact you. The tradeline company acts as the middleman between two parties and ensures a safe, secure, and positive outcome for both parties while helping the buyer to determine which products suit them best.

This brings us to the fact that buying tradelines offers an immense opportunity for diversity. Tradeline companies have large inventories of lines for sale, and can match you with a card - or several cards - that have the traits which are most probable to result in delivering the best credit score possible for your particular need.

The Pros And Cons Of Each Option

When you buy tradelines, you get to chose exactly what you are buying. This is a massive benefit over accepting whatever card a family member has available for you. You can cater to your specific credit needs strategically, especially when dealing with very specific requirements for things like financing an automobile or buying a home.

The downside of buying them is that the term is limited. You'll have plenty of time to use the tradeline and your improved credit score as intended, but generally speaking, the purchase is usually valid for a 2 month period after which the cardholder would remove you as a user. If you have a family member add you, they can keep you on their card forever, offering the benefit for the long-run.

Keep in mind that when purchased through a compnay, your authorized user status does not permit you to physically hold or use the credit card. It merely appears on your credit report. Not only does this protect the seller, but it helps ensure that you're not tempted to use the card and rack up debt instead of sticking to the core puprose - improving your credit score. This could work in the same way with a family member or friend, too. They may agree to add you as a user for the purpose of improving your credit profile but refuse you the ability to use the card. After all, it's their card, their right, and probably a smart decision.

When you gain authorized user status from a friend or family member, they already know who you are. They're taking on the responsibility to help you and the last thing they're going to do is use your personal information to their advantage. After all, they probably couldn't do so if they wanted to, which is why you're seeking their credit assistance in the first place. However, when you buy tradelines you are actively engaging in not only a business transaction, but the purchase of a financial instrument. If something goes wrong, it could turn out to become a big hassle. This is very easily prevented by dealing with a secure, trusted, and reliable vendor but is still noteworthy.

You don't want to just go out an purchase tradelines from the first company you find, the one with the cheapest price, or somewhere on ebay or facebook marketplace for example. There are a lot of scammers and you should treat this with basic caution just as any other personal or financial matter.

Which Option Is The Best For Me?

If you just need some general support to help your long-term credit growth and to thicken your credit profile, there's no problem with asking a friend or family member to add you as an authorized user. If they're willing and able, consider yourself lucky and make it worthwhile. However, if you require a rapid solution for a specific financial goal and need to optimize your credit score to its absolute highests potential in the shortest amount of time, there's no better way than to find the right tradelines for sale and buy them strategically.

At the begining of this short article we posted some resources to help familiarize you with the general aspects of tradelines. If you really want to do your research and know everything there is to know about them, you'll need to dig deeper and that's why we wrote our Ultimate Guide to Authorized User Tradelines. It's completely free and will help you learn all the ins and outs of the process, answer tough questions, and help you learn how these financial tools function at a more complex lever.

Whatever you decide to do, always take your time before making your decision and be sure that you're aiming for the goals that you need for a responsible and prospperous financial future.