Buyers come to me asking for old tradelines specifically. “I want the oldest card you have” is something I hear a lot, and the logic is right — the older the tradeline, the bigger the lift on the age component of your score. But how that age actually shows up on your report depends entirely on which issuer the card is from, and that part catches a lot of buyers off-guard. Seasoned tradelines are worth understanding before you hand over any money, because two cards that look identical on paper can do very different things to your report.
What “seasoned” actually means
A seasoned tradeline is a credit card that’s been open long enough to carry real age value — long enough that adding it to someone’s report meaningfully raises their account age. Most brokers, including the ones I’ve listed with, require cards to be at least two years old before they’ll put them on the market. In practice the interesting cards are usually in the five-to-fifteen-year range, because that’s where the age benefit really starts to move the needle. Length of credit history makes up about 15% of a FICO score, so an old card isn’t a small factor — it’s one of the five things the model actually weighs.
When you’re added as an authorized user on a seasoned card, your report picks up the card’s original open date and its credit limit. That original open date folds into your average account age and, in most cases, pulls it up — which is exactly what you’re paying for. It’s a straightforward mechanism. There’s just one major exception, and it’s the one buyers get burned on most.
The Amex exception — and why it matters
American Express changed how it reports authorized users around 2015. Before that, Amex AUs reported with the card’s original open date, same as every other major issuer. After the change, Amex started reporting authorized users with the date they were added — not the date the card was originally opened. That one change quietly gutted the value of every Amex tradeline on the market.
What it means in practice: if you’re added as an AU on a 15-year-old Amex card today, what lands on your credit report is effectively a one-day-old account. The limit transfers fine. The age benefit — the entire reason you wanted a seasoned card — is gone. So a prestigious-looking Amex is often the worst possible pick for someone shopping specifically for account age.
I found this out in an embarrassing way. I had a long-standing Amex I was recommending through a broker, and a buyer came back wondering why their average account age hadn’t budged. Turned out the card was reporting its AU-add date instead of its open date. A refund conversation followed. (Not my favorite kind of lesson, but a thorough one.) I flag Amex cards explicitly now whenever the topic comes up, and I’d rather lose a sale than let someone pay seasoned-card prices for one-day-old age.
What the age transfer looks like for other issuers
For non-Amex issuers — Chase, Capital One, Bank of America, Barclays, US Bank — the authorized user gets the card’s original open date. A 10-year Chase card shows up as a 10-year-old account on your report. That’s the real thing you’re buying when you shop for seasoned tradelines, and it’s why the issuer’s reporting behavior matters more than its logo.
Limit matters right alongside age. A $30,000, 10-year card lowers your revolving utilization and adds account age at the same time — that combination is what moves scores most. An old card with a $500 limit is far less useful: the utilization lever barely budges, and while the age is real, it’s small in context. When I’m deciding which of my cards to list, I look at both numbers together, never just one. (A buyer once asked me for my “oldest” card and was surprised I steered them toward a newer one with a much higher limit — for their situation, the utilization drop was worth more than the extra couple years of age.)
How long the age benefit actually lasts
This is the part buyers most often misunderstand: a tradeline is temporary. The broker standard is two billing cycles — roughly two months — on your report, and some brokers sell a one-month extension for an extra fee. On my own cards I tend to leave authorized users on a little longer than the bare minimum, partly because it gives buyers more value and partly because rapidly adding and removing AUs is the kind of pattern that makes an issuer’s fraud team nervous. Either way, once you’re removed, the account eventually ages off your report. You’re renting the age for a window, not buying it forever, which is worth knowing more about in my post on how long tradelines stay on your credit.
That temporary window is fine if you’re timing it around something specific — a mortgage application, an auto loan, an apartment approval. It’s the wrong tool if you’re expecting a permanent fix. A seasoned tradeline buys you a stronger snapshot at the moment a lender pulls your report; what you do with your own credit after that is what makes it stick.
Where to find them
Most people find seasoned tradelines through brokers — companies that list cardholders’ AU slots and handle the transaction. I’ve listed with Boost Credit 101, Tradeline Supply Company, Improve My Credit Fitness, and Coast Tradelines at various points. Brokers do vet the cards and manage payment, but they keep the majority of what the buyer pays — the cardholder receives roughly 30 cents on the dollar. That’s why I also sell directly through this site: buyers pay less, I keep more, and nothing about the actual product changes.
When you’re evaluating any tradeline, broker or direct, the two numbers that matter are the credit limit and the original open date. The issuer name is irrelevant once the data hits your report — a $25,000, 8-year Chase card and a $25,000, 8-year Capital One card are functionally identical from a scoring standpoint. Don’t pay a premium for a brand name, and don’t pay seasoned-card money for an Amex.
If you’re in the market, here’s what I have available. Each listing shows the limit and the age — the two numbers you actually need to decide whether it’ll help.
Frequently asked questions
Most brokers won’t list a card under two years old, so two years is the practical floor for “seasoned.” The cards that actually move your average account age tend to be in the five-to-fifteen-year range. Older is generally better, but only up to the point where limit and utilization stop mattering — both numbers count together.
Usually not. Since around 2015, American Express reports authorized users with the date they were added rather than the card’s original open date, so even a 15-year-old Amex shows up as a brand-new account. The credit limit still transfers, but the age benefit — the main reason to buy a seasoned tradeline — doesn’t.
No. A tradeline reports for a temporary window — typically two billing cycles, about two months, through most brokers — and then ages off your report after you’re removed. It’s best used to strengthen your report ahead of a specific application, not as a permanent fix.
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