What Is an Updated Tradeline?
An updated tradeline is simply a tradeline that has had some sort of change occur, which caused it to update with one or more of the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion).
There are a number of things that would be considered a tradeline update, such as:
- If you get a credit line increase
- If the balance of the account changes
- When the account goes from open to closed
- When you are added or removed as an AU
- If you dispute inaccuracies that are then deleted or removed from the tradeline, such as incorrectly reported late payments
What Is a Tradeline Alert?
A tradeline alert is a notification that there has been a change to one of your tradelines, including any of the tradeline updates listed above. A new tradeline alert means a new tradeline has posted to your credit profile.
New Tradeline Meaning
You may get a new tradeline alert for any of the following reasons:
- You opened a new primary tradeline, such as a new credit card or loan.
- Someone else fraudulently opened a tradeline in your name.
- You were added as an authorized user to someone else’s tradeline.
It’s important to pay attention to these new tradeline alerts and make sure that only accurate information is being posted to your credit report.
If you recently purchased an authorized user tradeline, you will also want to keep an eye out for a new tradeline update verifying that the tradeline you purchased has successfully posted to your credit file.
How to Get Your Updated Tradelines to Report Fast
It can be frustrating to wait for an updated tradeline, meaning some change has been made to your account but you are still waiting for it to post to your credit report.
For example, perhaps you were recently granted a credit line increase or you paid down your balance on an account, but this change is not being reported by the credit bureaus yet, and you want the tradeline update to report as soon as possible.
You can actually manually trigger an updated tradeline by following this procedure:
- Get the credit card company to send you a letter verifying the updated tradeline information.
- Forward this letter to the credit bureaus.
- The credit bureaus will then update your tradeline in their records.
This strategy of manually updating your tradelines can be a good option if you need your credit report to show your updated tradelines immediately for a time-sensitive purpose, such as if you are applying for a mortgage.
If you need your credit score to be updated immediately in conjunction with your updated tradelines, you may need to ask your lender if they can do a “rapid rescore” for you.
Another way to speed up a tradeline update is to pay your credit cards down to a zero balance. Some banks may report tradelines mid-cycle if they have been completely paid off.
Updated Tradeline: Equifax TrustedID
Some consumers use a service called TrustedID from Equifax to monitor their credit reports after the 2017 data breach, which exposed the information of millions of Americans.
People often get alerts saying “new tradeline” or “updated tradeline” from Equifax TrustedID and are not sure what to make of the meaning of these tradeline alerts.
Most likely, the “updated tradeline” TrustedID alert just means that a change has been made to one of your accounts such as the examples we listed above, e.g. the balance has changed or the account has gone from open to closed. It could also be a new tradeline that you have opened or been added to as an authorized user.
If you cannot identify the reason for the tradeline update, contact the creditor to determine what the issue is. If the tradeline alert is inaccurate, you will need to dispute it with the credit bureaus, and if it is fraudulent, also be sure to have the account closed as soon as possible.
