Selling Tradelines / Piggybacking Part II: $1000+/hr, 20-40k/yr. Side Gig

[boarder42]

after travel hacking the last few years its very interesting to me personally how my new selections of signups are revolving around what will get me the most bang for my buck with adding AUs ... i no longer care as much about the sign up bonuses

[MasterStache]

after travel hacking the last few years its very interesting to me personally how my new selections of signups are revolving around what will get me the most bang for my buck with adding AUs ... i no longer care as much about the sign up bonuses

Yep. Although our travel hacking has slowed a bit. Just 1 or 2 cards here and there now. Definitely not closing cards down as often.

[cheapass]

Obviously you have less at risk as a cardholder, but security in general is a concern when dealing with any of this (the company has your SSN as a cardholder to issue you the 1099)

If you're concerned about the security of this, just get an EIN. It's free from the IRS and I have one entirely so that I don't have to give out my SSN for various freelancing opportunities. If my EIN gets compromised, I suppose that would suck, but not as bad as my SSN.

Do you need to have the cards registered to the EIN? Or what is the advantage of establishing an EIN?

[boarder42]

Obviously you have less at risk as a cardholder, but security in general is a concern when dealing with any of this (the company has your SSN as a cardholder to issue you the 1099)

If you're concerned about the security of this, just get an EIN. It's free from the IRS and I have one entirely so that I don't have to give out my SSN for various freelancing opportunities. If my EIN gets compromised, I suppose that would suck, but not as bad as my SSN.

Do you need to have the cards registered to the EIN? Or what is the advantage of establishing an EIN?

unless you already have something setup for something like that the costs wont be worth it.  i'd assume you'd have to claim as a company if you did that vs misc income making you responsible for all the FICA taxes on your money in addition to federal and state income taxes.

[tj]

Obviously you have less at risk as a cardholder, but security in general is a concern when dealing with any of this (the company has your SSN as a cardholder to issue you the 1099)

If you're concerned about the security of this, just get an EIN. It's free from the IRS and I have one entirely so that I don't have to give out my SSN for various freelancing opportunities. If my EIN gets compromised, I suppose that would suck, but not as bad as my SSN.

Do you need to have the cards registered to the EIN? Or what is the advantage of establishing an EIN?

The EIN is for the purpose of not giving your SSN on the W9 to the tradeline company, it has nothing to do with your credit cards.

[powskier]

Emailed with all info required have not heard back yet either. Wondering if they got maxed out already?

[ZagNation]

Emailed with all info required have not heard back yet either. Wondering if they got maxed out already?

I emailed my initial information yesterday morning and received a response in the evening. It may take longer than 'usual' for them to respond as they certainly have a good problem on their hands processing the elevated MMM traffic.

[DavidAnnArbor]

With all the mustachian volume, pretty soon we're going to need a 3rd tradeline company recommendation.

[arebelspy]

Emailed with all info required have not heard back yet either. Wondering if they got maxed out already?

I emailed my initial information yesterday morning and received a response in the evening. It may take longer than 'usual' for them to respond as they certainly have a good problem on their hands processing the elevated MMM traffic.

Yup, this.

If you don't hear back within 24 hours though, it probably slipped through the cracks, and following up is fine.

With all the mustachian volume, pretty soon we're going to need a 3rd tradeline company recommendation.

Hah. 

I think we have enough volume for the supply side of our own company, but the more difficult part--finding AUs, verifying them, and doing it all securely--remains a bigger problem.  Let the experienced guys handle that, IMO.  :)

[dragoncar]

We could do a mustachian AU swap, where people who want to boost their scores before a refi give reciprocal AUs on their highest-valued cards.

[arebelspy]

We could do a mustachian AU swap, where people who want to boost their scores before a refi give reciprocal AUs on their highest-valued cards.

Once you're past like 750, there's no extra benefit for credit boost.  May be helpful for some here, but I'm betting most of us are well past that.

[powskier]

Emailed with all info required have not heard back yet either. Wondering if they got maxed out already?

emailed again, got response within a few hours. All good.

[solon]

We could do a mustachian AU swap, where people who want to boost their scores before a refi give reciprocal AUs on their highest-valued cards.

Once you're past like 750, there's no extra benefit for credit boost.  May be helpful for some here, but I'm betting most of us are well past that.

What would a fellow mustachian give in exchange for pigtailing on my credit score? Would it be the same fee charged by the trade line company? Or would it be a non-monetary form of compensation?

[arebelspy]

He said swap, so I assume it would be in the case of both refinancing.

[TomTX]

We could do a mustachian AU swap, where people who want to boost their scores before a refi give reciprocal AUs on their highest-valued cards.

Once you're past like 750, there's no extra benefit for credit boost.  May be helpful for some here, but I'm betting most of us are well past that.

Shoot, with 5 hard pulls listed and 3 new cards in the past 6 months, Discover says I'm at 844, while Credit Karma is a more reasonable 825/829

[tj]

We could do a mustachian AU swap, where people who want to boost their scores before a refi give reciprocal AUs on their highest-valued cards.

Once you're past like 750, there's no extra benefit for credit boost.  May be helpful for some here, but I'm betting most of us are well past that.

Shoot, with 5 hard pulls listed and 3 new cards in the past 6 months, Discover says I'm at 844, while Credit Karma is a more reasonable 825/829

I don't think either of those are real fico's. Isn't the max 800?

[secondcor521]

We could do a mustachian AU swap, where people who want to boost their scores before a refi give reciprocal AUs on their highest-valued cards.

Once you're past like 750, there's no extra benefit for credit boost.  May be helpful for some here, but I'm betting most of us are well past that.

Shoot, with 5 hard pulls listed and 3 new cards in the past 6 months, Discover says I'm at 844, while Credit Karma is a more reasonable 825/829

I don't think either of those are real fico's. Isn't the max 800?

It used to be.  The new Vantage scores go up to 850.

[bigalsmith101]

I emailed this afternoon at 2pm PST with a simple,

"Hello, Any update on the process? I'm chomping at the bit here! Thanks!"

He responded 4 hours later with

 "Hi Alex, Ha ha, I don't blame you! Joe has referred has referred hundreds of cards/cardholders over the last week. You got in early but there were a good 30-40 ahead of you but my guess is 1-2 weeks till we can get you some adds."

So, we're in business!


[Mod Edit: Company info removed.]

[arebelspy]

I got 9 AU adds today (5 on my wife's Barclays, 4 on mine, one opened June 2014, 15k limit, the other opened Aug 2014, 15.5k limit), so they're still cranking away over there.  :)

[MasterStache]

I got 9 AU adds today (5 on my wife's Barclays, 4 on mine, one opened June 2014, 15k limit, the other opened Aug 2014, 15.5k limit), so they're still cranking away over there.  :)

Dang!!! Wish I had more cards to use. My wife is always skeptical of these little endeavors so I am a little hesitant in asking to use her card. However, she was hesitant of churning at first but loves it now.

I've only got 2 AU adds so far. But happy with that for now.

[TomTX]

We could do a mustachian AU swap, where people who want to boost their scores before a refi give reciprocal AUs on their highest-valued cards.

Once you're past like 750, there's no extra benefit for credit boost.  May be helpful for some here, but I'm betting most of us are well past that.

Shoot, with 5 hard pulls listed and 3 new cards in the past 6 months, Discover says I'm at 844, while Credit Karma is a more reasonable 825/829

I don't think either of those are real fico's. Isn't the max 800?

It used to be.  The new Vantage scores go up to 850.

No. The cap has always been 850. Very few people even see 800 because they fuck up along the way.

But I have a very long and deep credit history without a single late payment. Multiple mortgages, car loans, and 3 of my credit cards are over 20 years old. Utilization is below 5%

All 3 are listed as an 850 scale, just as it was when Fair Isaac introduced it in 1989.

[boarder42]

still none are real FICOs have to do a hard pull to get your real scores they just try to match what they think the formulas are.  My mortgage broker friends hate those sites b/c they always skew high and give people a false sense of where they are.  you can assume 30-50 points lower than CK in most cases.

[arebelspy]

CreditKarma and Mint just give an estimate, but some of my CCs claim to give an actual FICO (Barclays).

From an email I got earlier today:

There's been a change in your FICO® Score, "the score lenders use". To view your updated credit score at no cost, please visit www.BarclaycardUS.com/servicing/score, log in to your credit card account, and select "Tools". This Alert and complimentary online credit score access are available to you as a Barclaycard Arrival™ World MasterCard® Cardmember

I don't think they could use FICO (and the registered trademark) unless it actually IS the FICO score.  I could be wrong, but I think many are estimates, like you guys are saying, but some actually are FICO scores.

[TomTX]

CreditKarma and Mint just give an estimate, but some of my CCs claim to give an actual FICO (Barclays).

From an email I got earlier today:

There's been a change in your FICO® Score, "the score lenders use". To view your updated credit score at no cost, please visit www.BarclaycardUS.com/servicing/score, log in to your credit card account, and select "Tools". This Alert and complimentary online credit score access are available to you as a Barclaycard Arrival™ World MasterCard® Cardmember

I don't think they could use FICO (and the registered trademark) unless it actually IS the FICO score.  I could be wrong, but I think many are estimates, like you guys are saying, but some actually are FICO scores.

Sure, but even within FICO there are 4 different generations of scoring methodology current active, and each of the credit bureaus has a slightly different data set - potentially giving you 12 different "FICO" numbers.

When we got our last mortgage, the one the banker hard pulled was an 816 - highest she had ever seen, apparently. That was awhile ago, I have a considerably longer history now.

[NoStacheOhio]

So I've been following these threads for a little while, and I was wondering if store cards issued by an eligible bank (Home Depot/Citi in this case) work for this?

[tj]

So I've been following these threads for a little while, and I was wondering if store cards issued by an eligible bank (Home Depot/Citi in this case) work for this?

ARS's epic post identifies which issuers the old and new company will use.

[TomTX]

So I've been following these threads for a little while, and I was wondering if store cards issued by an eligible bank (Home Depot/Citi in this case) work for this?

Cobranded cards generally work fine. It's a Citi card. Citi handles everything. Sure, they slap the Home Depot name on it and probably have a discount deal for HD charges.

For tradelines it should not matter. Except for the Costco card. I have been told conflicting things with that one and should ask the tradelines company.

[dlawson]

The new company told me that the Citi Costco card wouldn't work unless the AUs were also Costco members. Since I don't have any cards (yet) that fit the current 2yr/+$10k parameters, I didn't press for any clarity about whether or not they'd ask for Costco membership information or if that meant they didn't do Costco cards at all.

[N]

Thanks for doing all the research ARS.
I only have 2 cards that are aged enough, (right now, but more in the pipeline!) but I was able to bump up their credit limits and Ive send my referral email to the new company.

The last company only gave me 1 sale in 4 months (admittedly I joined around august when they had their peak mustachian onslaught).

So Im hopeful for this new one!

Thank you!

[TomTX]

The new company told me that the Citi Costco card wouldn't work unless the AUs were also Costco members. Since I don't have any cards (yet) that fit the current 2yr/+$10k parameters, I didn't press for any clarity about whether or not they'd ask for Costco membership information or if that meant they didn't do Costco cards at all.

I looked it up, it is in the card's ToS. Mine is 2004, $16k limit. No dice though.

[ducky19]

Submitted every card I have that is eligible. He even took a couple less than a year old due to the limits ($20k and $30k). They will pay a little less until they hit a year, but still worth it.

All told, if I get the maximum number of adds each month I will be somewhere in the $1650/mo range! With all the new cards they have, he said it will probably be 2-4 weeks until I get my first add. Can't wait to get going with this, will definitely help curl the ends of my 'stache a little bit!

[dlawson]

The new company told me that the Citi Costco card wouldn't work unless the AUs were also Costco members. Since I don't have any cards (yet) that fit the current 2yr/+$10k parameters, I didn't press for any clarity about whether or not they'd ask for Costco membership information or if that meant they didn't do Costco cards at all.

I looked it up, it is in the card's ToS. Mine is 2004, $16k limit. No dice though.

What's in the card's TOS specifically? That AUs have to be Costco members? If so, theoretically the new company could ask for that information at some point during the process and, if yes, open up available cards to purchase spots on as a result. That's what I meant—the new company didn't seem to have a hard line about "we don't accept Costco cards", just "it wouldn't work unless the AU has a Costco membership".

[TomTX]

The new company told me that the Citi Costco card wouldn't work unless the AUs were also Costco members. Since I don't have any cards (yet) that fit the current 2yr/+$10k parameters, I didn't press for any clarity about whether or not they'd ask for Costco membership information or if that meant they didn't do Costco cards at all.

I looked it up, it is in the card's ToS. Mine is 2004, $16k limit. No dice though.

What's in the card's TOS specifically? That AUs have to be Costco members? If so, theoretically the new company could ask for that information at some point during the process and, if yes, open up available cards to purchase spots on as a result. That's what I meant—the new company didn't seem to have a hard line about "we don't accept Costco cards", just "it wouldn't work unless the AU has a Costco membership".

I suspect they have more than enough low hassle cards coming in at the moment...

[dlawson]

The new company told me that the Citi Costco card wouldn't work unless the AUs were also Costco members. Since I don't have any cards (yet) that fit the current 2yr/+$10k parameters, I didn't press for any clarity about whether or not they'd ask for Costco membership information or if that meant they didn't do Costco cards at all.

I looked it up, it is in the card's ToS. Mine is 2004, $16k limit. No dice though.

What's in the card's TOS specifically? That AUs have to be Costco members? If so, theoretically the new company could ask for that information at some point during the process and, if yes, open up available cards to purchase spots on as a result. That's what I meant—the new company didn't seem to have a hard line about "we don't accept Costco cards", just "it wouldn't work unless the AU has a Costco membership".

I suspect they have more than enough low hassle cards coming in at the moment...

A fair point, that. :D

[kudy]

Quick question - how quickly does the "new" company expect you to add an AU, 24 hours? 48 hours? Basically, how far ahead of time do you receive the order?

[arebelspy]

Quick question - how quickly does the "new" company expect you to add an AU, 24 hours? 48 hours? Basically, how far ahead of time do you receive the order?

Typically 3-4 days. The email I got yesterday (Thurs in the States) said to add by Monday.

I've had longer, can't remember if I had shorter, as I almost always do it right away. But that's the typical range, I believe.

[katsiki]

I got 9 AU adds today (5 on my wife's Barclays, 4 on mine, one opened June 2014, 15k limit, the other opened Aug 2014, 15.5k limit), so they're still cranking away over there.  :)

Wow!  I only have 1 card enrolled on the old recommendation.  It happens to be a Barclays also.  It seems like they are one of the easiest for AUs.  I may get a couple of their cards for DW and I so they can start aging.  :)

[MasterStache]

Quick question - how quickly does the "new" company expect you to add an AU, 24 hours? 48 hours? Basically, how far ahead of time do you receive the order?

Seems to depend. I got an order for a single AU and added right away. They were appreciative of the quick response and I got another one that they requested be added that day because of my cards closing date.   

[arebelspy]

Quick question - how quickly does the "new" company expect you to add an AU, 24 hours? 48 hours? Basically, how far ahead of time do you receive the order?

Seems to depend. I got an order for a single AU and added right away. They were appreciative of the quick response and I got another one that they requested be added that day because of my cards closing date.

That's a good point, I have got a few "last minute" adds, typically on ones I've already added to.

[TomTX]

Well, all my cards close within the next 10 days - hopefully they're listed by now and I'll get some of those last-minute orders :)

[DavidAnnArbor]

Does anyone else have trouble with adding users on Discover's website?  IF you don't type in the authorized user's  address correctly in the format that Discover likes, it claims the "physical address" is incorrect. You can try to retype the address in different ways and still get the same outcome, it's like their software has no common sense. I have had a couple of users declined because of this.

[arebelspy]

Does anyone else have trouble with adding users on Discover's website?  IF you don't type in the authorized user's  address correctly in the format that Discover likes, it claims the "physical address" is incorrect. You can try to retype the address in different ways and still get the same outcome, it's like their software has no common sense. I have had a couple of users declined because of this.

Yes, I've had that happen, but now I always tweak the address to what they want (I think matches US postal regulations or something?), and never had an AU not show up correctly.

Once with the old company I had to email for clarification on an address, but now just manually tweak myself.

For example, I use "APT" instead of #, if they're like "123 Main Street #54."

Also I put APT and the number in Barclays, too, in the main line, even though they have a separate box for apartment (I just ignore that, and put it on the main line).

[medinaj2160]

Are you guys geting notified by the owner when you have to add an AU? Or the company?


MOD EDIT: Company info redacted.

[arebelspy]

Are you guys geting notified by the owner when you have to add an AU? Or the company?

No, there's several employees handling different things.

The person who emails you the AU info is not the main point of contact you've been using (though he is CC'd, and you'll reply all confirming when you've added the AU(s)).

PM if you'd like more details, or you'll see when you get your first AU add.  :)

[Fireball]

still none are real FICOs have to do a hard pull to get your real scores they just try to match what they think the formulas are.  My mortgage broker friends hate those sites b/c they always skew high and give people a false sense of where they are.  you can assume 30-50 points lower than CK in most cases.

I have a team of people that work for me where all they do everyday is respond to credit disputes. About 10% of their work is due to CreditKarma giving borrowers inaccurate information. I agree with your friend, those sites suck donkey $@#&!.

PS - If anyone has any credit reporting or dispute type questions, feel free to PM me. Credit reporting is a big part of my daily life(yay - lol).

[LifeHappens]

I need to call Citi and ask for a credit line increase. I have an old Forward card with them that had a $7000 credit limit. I asked for an increase on the web page and they bumped me to $8900. Obviously, I want to get it above $10,000 to use for this, but I've never called and asked for an increase before.

Are there any questions I should be prepared for, such as why I want a further increase?

[kudy]

Typically 3-4 days. The email I got yesterday (Thurs in the States) said to add by Monday.

I've had longer, can't remember if I had shorter, as I almost always do it right away. But that's the typical range, I believe.

Thanks everyone for the info on lead times.

Another quick question on the new company - their FAQ says that if you can't add an AU's SSN online, then you need to call to add it. The old company directed me to not worry about the SSN for Barclay (after the SSN option was removed from the online add), as long as I included their address. ARS & others, are you calling in to add the SSN for Barclay card adds after adding them online with the new company?

[Joel]

Well, I submitted my application today. We will see when I get my first sale. I've only got two cards I'm willing to test this out with. There's two cards in my wife's names I would be willing to use as well, but she's not ready.

[westtoeast]

Posting to follow-- I'm close to having had one of my eligible cards long enough to qualify and will hopefully do this soon.

[FrugalSaver]

The last response I received was on 1/4 saying they'd received my bank account info. I've had no responses to any of my follow ups since so I assume I'm signed up and good to go and will patiently wait. If you call them, you'll typically go to a voicemail that's full so it's clear they are very busy.

I'm chomping at the bit to see how this goes so hopefully I'm fully enabled in their queue :)