A way to bring an account current before it charges off — without paying the whole past-due amount.
A re-age is for accounts that are behind but not charged off. It brings the account current without paying the whole past-due lump.
If the accounts are already charged off, a re-age is off the table. Those accounts are paid, settled, or put on a payment plan.
Say the minimum is $300 and you are four months behind. The statement may show $1,500 due: four missed payments plus the current one.
A typical re-age is three consecutive on-time minimums. After the third payment, the issuer resets the delinquency and reports the account current. The balance is still owed. You then keep paying the normal minimum.
Ask before you start. Some issuers want more than three payments, and some will not offer it until you are 30–90 days behind. The re-age option is usually available until the account charges off. Most accounts charge off around 180 days. After that, the option is gone. See how accounts move through the collection cycle.
A debt-management plan often reports a special payment-plan remark for as long as you are in it. Many lenders will not finance you while that remark is there. It also requires the account to be closed. If you re-age an account before the bank closes it for being too far behind, a re-age does not require the account to be closed. See the counseling comparison.
A re-age usually does not add that remark. After the account is current (R1), the old delinquency starts to age. New unsecured credit is often realistic within about two years after the accounts are current, settled, or paid. The old late marks can remain for seven years. See the recovery timeline.
If you can settle some accounts now but not all, it may make sense to settle the accounts you can fund now and re-age the rest — especially smaller balances you can actually carry. Settling small balances often doesn't make sense, since the late and possible over-limit fees compound and the settlement result isn't much better than what you owed before you fell behind. We generally recommend this approach on accounts that are $2,000 and less when the accounts are not yet charged off.
This cuts the monthly bill, rehabilitates negative accounts into positive and leaves active tradelines reporting good payment history going forward (which in theory will help you recover your credit faster), and avoids accounts sitting unpaid for years. See the risks of the long-term approach.
If the account has charged off, payments do not make it current. It stays delinquent until it is paid in full or settled. That is not a re-age. Our Payment Plan service is the charged-off version of buying time: monthly payments while you rebuild, then simultaneous settlement when you can fund it. See how our Payment Plan service works.
A re-age brings a past-due credit card current without paying the whole past-due amount. A typical version is three consecutive on-time minimums. After that, the issuer resets the delinquency and reports the account current. The balance is still owed.
No. A re-age has to happen before charge-off. Most credit cards charge off around 180 days. After that, the account is satisfied only by paying it in full, settling it, or discharging it in bankruptcy. See the settlement and payment plan options.
A debt-management plan usually lowers the interest rate and the minimum payment, closes the account, and reports a special payment-plan remark for as long as you are in it. A re-age usually does none of those. After the account is current, the old delinquency starts to age and you keep paying the normal minimum and rate. See the full counseling comparison.
Read our free 4-part educational series, or have Jared look over your accounts with you.