Author Topic: You can opt out of "pre-screened" credit/insurance offers to reduce junk mail!  (Read 2491 times)

Syonyk

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I've been on a bit of a quest to reduce junk mail recently, because I just don't like dealing with it (it wastes time to open it, it wastes space in my trash trailer to get rid of it, and it wastes paper that I'd rather not be sent my way).

For a lot of the stuff, you can send back a strongly worded "Please take me off your list!" message and get a response, but as that's started working, I've been getting more and more of my mail as "You're pre-approved for thus and such personal consolidation loan!" and related things.  Which I'm simply not interested in.  I'll go credit card or loan shopping on my own if I find a need for it, and these don't (usually) offer a return envelope to growl at people with.

One today included a helpful little link, though!

www.optoutprescreen.com, or call 888-567-8688 - you can opt out of receiving this stuff.

And, at least according to the FTC, they're legit. ;)  https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0148-prescreened-credit-and-insurance-offers

So, tame your physical inbox and have fun!

TomTX

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Sure. I prefer to keep getting it thereby getting free fuel for my hobby of credit card signup bonuses.

Sibley

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Yes, its legit. Fairly effective as well. Doesn't impact offers from your bank though.

There's also the do not call registry for phones, but that's got so many holes that it's pretty well useless.

Syonyk

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Sure. I prefer to keep getting it thereby getting free fuel for my hobby of credit card signup bonuses.

How do you make the spending requirements on those?  If I'm doing some large home improvement project, sure, but for normal spending, even if we put literally everything we could on that card (we tend to shop grocery stores that are cash/debit only), we wouldn't hit the requirements a lot of the time.

FIRE@50

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Syonyk, I just got a new Chase Freedom card that only requires $500 in spending over the first 3 months to get $150. I'm also getting $25 for adding an authorized user. No annual fee. 0% for the first 15 months.

inline five

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Sure. I prefer to keep getting it thereby getting free fuel for my hobby of credit card signup bonuses.

How do you make the spending requirements on those?  If I'm doing some large home improvement project, sure, but for normal spending, even if we put literally everything we could on that card (we tend to shop grocery stores that are cash/debit only), we wouldn't hit the requirements a lot of the time.

I will prepay electric and other things like insurance. You have to pay it anyway. Also I have considered sending PayPal money to my wife and then cashing out. Costs rougly 3%. Most of the cards I get give you $500 for spending $3000 or $4000, so even if you put the whole amount on there you're making $400. And you can knock that out the day you get the card and move on to the next one. I haven't needed the manufactured spend yet but have come close.

Syonyk

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Syonyk, I just got a new Chase Freedom card that only requires $500 in spending over the first 3 months to get $150. I'm also getting $25 for adding an authorized user. No annual fee. 0% for the first 15 months.

Huh.  Most of my offers were for "Credit card consolidation loans."  My credit score tanked about 150 points a year or so ago (ran up the balances on some cards for a few reasons, they've since been paid off and my credit score is back to normal), and I've just been getting never-ending "You're deeply in debt, and we want to help!" stuff.  Which is quite the waste of paper.

I will prepay electric and other things like insurance. You have to pay it anyway. Also I have considered sending PayPal money to my wife and then cashing out. Costs rougly 3%. Most of the cards I get give you $500 for spending $3000 or $4000, so even if you put the whole amount on there you're making $400. And you can knock that out the day you get the card and move on to the next one. I haven't needed the manufactured spend yet but have come close.

Huh.  You can prepay your electric and insurance?  I just write checks or have them set up for automatic transfer.

MasterStache

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Sure. I prefer to keep getting it thereby getting free fuel for my hobby of credit card signup bonuses.

How do you make the spending requirements on those?  If I'm doing some large home improvement project, sure, but for normal spending, even if we put literally everything we could on that card (we tend to shop grocery stores that are cash/debit only), we wouldn't hit the requirements a lot of the time.

MS (manufacture spending). There is loads of information about how to do it. One way is buying Visa pin enabled gift cards with your credit card and loading them to your AMEX Serve account, typically done at Wal-Mart. Then using Serve to pay off the CC balance. Unfortunately AMEX shut down a ton of serve accounts.

I think these days folks now use the same Visa gift cards to buy money orders at Wal-Mart. Then deposit the money orders in a bank account which they then use to pay off the credit card balance. I haven't tried this method as we still have a an active AMEX serve account that survived the shutdowns.   

JoJo

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Thanks for this.  I'm going nomadic in September and having mail sent to a friends house so he will appreciate not getting so much junk mail.

Syonyk

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Thanks for this.  I'm going nomadic in September and having mail sent to a friends house so he will appreciate not getting so much junk mail.

My long term goal is "Zero junk mail."  I'm sure I won't get there, but I'm trying... it's a non-trivial chunk of our waste stream right now, and since we don't have a wood burner, I can't just stockpile it for winter heat.

Shane

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Thanks @Syonyk . Just signed up electronically for 5 years of no offers. I hate junk mail. If I could legally not have a USPS mailing address, I would.

FIRE@50

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Thanks @Syonyk . Just signed up electronically for 5 years of no offers. I hate junk mail. If I could legally not have a USPS mailing address, I would.
Me too. And, as a bonus of the process I learned that I was born on a Thursday.

JoJo

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Thanks for this.  I'm going nomadic in September and having mail sent to a friends house so he will appreciate not getting so much junk mail.

My long term goal is "Zero junk mail."  I'm sure I won't get there, but I'm trying... it's a non-trivial chunk of our waste stream right now, and since we don't have a wood burner, I can't just stockpile it for winter heat.

Also unsubscribed to the B&H fat catalog they keep on sending... what can I work on next?
I'm hoping to go to an RV address in South Dakota next year, so I'd be paying postage to have junk forwarded... need to get it down, stat!

Syonyk

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Also unsubscribed to the B&H fat catalog they keep on sending... what can I work on next?
I'm hoping to go to an RV address in South Dakota next year, so I'd be paying postage to have junk forwarded... need to get it down, stat!

I've started sending anyone who sends me a business reply envelope and a request for money a response saying, "Please take me off your list."  That works moderately well, and I've actually been tossing a few stamps at some of the offenders who don't have prepaid envelopes.

You can obviously go to paperfree statements for your utilities and bank/credit card, if you haven't already.

Otherwise, just see what comes in and figure out how to reduce it.

swampwiz

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I live abroad for a significant portion of the year, and a problem I have is with my mailbox filling up with mail while I'm away.  I have a real estate agent do a walk-around inspection of my home every 3 months, so that my insurance company doesn't consider my home "uninhabited", and he cleans out the mailbox, but it still overflows.

I have signed up with the USPS so that I can a picture E- ailed to me of every piece of non-junk mail (can't stop the stupid circulars) that gets delivered to me, and so when I get something from a business, I call them up and demand that they stop sending me mail, talking to someone in the Executive Office (even if it's the first time, I tell them that I received this before and called to get it stopped then, and it didn't work), and then if it continues after that, I file a complaint with whatever governmental organization I can think of saying that since I had already talked with so & so in the Executive Office, that obviously this firm has decided to continue to harass me; this always works.

One particular type of mailer that I continue to get is the one for sexual offenders who have moved into my neighborhood; I seem to get one of these every couple of months!
« Last Edit: August 07, 2018, 03:48:03 PM by swampwiz »

TomTX

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Sure. I prefer to keep getting it thereby getting free fuel for my hobby of credit card signup bonuses.

How do you make the spending requirements on those?  If I'm doing some large home improvement project, sure, but for normal spending, even if we put literally everything we could on that card (we tend to shop grocery stores that are cash/debit only), we wouldn't hit the requirements a lot of the time.

You either:

1) Go for cards with a low spend/high percentage return (for example, the current offer on the Bank of America Cash Rewards is $200 back for $500 in spend)

2) Find some other way to increase spend/throughput on the cards.

Example 1: We pay annual car insurance, house insurance and life insurance in the fall via credit card. So, sign up for a premium card a month before insurance payment time.

Example 2: I can pay property taxes with a credit card for a ~2% fee. Say I have $5k in property taxes and a new Chase Sapphire Preferred. I put $4k on the card to meet minimum spend.* That costs me an $80 fee, gets me $40 in points and a $500 signup bonus. Net is $460 for a single transaction.

*Okay, technically I could pay ~$3925 in tax, plus the fee to make the $4k min spend.
 
Example 3: I can put almost all of my utilities on credit card payments.

Example 4: I sometimes travel for work. Rather than get a travel advance or use the company credit card - I have the option to use a personal card and get reimbursed.

Example 5: Stop having withholding of federal income tax, do quarterly estimated payments to the IRS via credit card. Fee is a bit under 2%. Note: I haven't done this one myself.

Example 6: With some mild risk: Buy gift cards for spend you would do anyway, but would be outside the timeframe of the bonus. ie, you know you spend $300 a month at Costco (or Target, or Walmart, or whatever) - so before the end of the min spend period, you buy ahead another 3-6 months (or whatever) of expected Costco spend to meet the minimum. What's the risk? Typically banks don't want you to buy gift cards to meet minimum spend. Usually it doesn't matter, but being blatant and getting eyes on the account may get the bonus revoked.

MMM98

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This has a simple fix.  Place offer with identifying marks and address in a large box.  Add heavy item of no value like a rock or broken toaster, the heavier the better.  Seal, attach postpaid envelope on the outside of the box.  You will be immediately removed from mailing lists.  Yes this is legal and it Certainly is effective.  It can be satisfying as well.

Syonyk

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That used to be the case and I'm fairly certain the post office no longer delivers that sort of stuff via a prepaid return envelope.

fattest_foot

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If this works to get rid of mortgage re-finance junk mail, I'd be ecstatic.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!