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

[Shade00]

I had an add on June 27 and another add on July 25. I haven't been paid for the June add... seems like I should've but I can't remember the pay frequency.

Contact the owner. I didn't see the payment for the June add till August 10th, asked here but didn't get any response, so I contacted the owner. He said that they were still working on streamlining the payment process and sent my payment the same day. Received the ACH on 15th.

Thanks. I just sent a ticket through the online portal. My Discover also crossed the 8 year mark so I should be earning $225 per add now. The portal still shows fee at $150, so I asked them to correct that as well.

[secondcor521]

I noticed an AU pending order on one of my cards.  I can see it in the card view but not in the my tasks view.

Does anyone know how long it takes for a pending order to become an actual order?  How often does a pending order convert (or not) into an actual order?

[ditkanate]

I haven't had any pending ones not show up as an actual order.  A couple of them took quite a while though, weeks maybe. 

[Joel]

I haven't had any pending ones not show up as an actual order.  A couple of them took quite a while though, weeks maybe. 

Last month I had three pending orders show up that never came through. That was a bummer, especially since I haven't had any sales in 3-4 months.

[FrontRanger]

Can someone PM me the old company? Thanks

[FrugalZony]

I have had pending ones that never became orders, actually have one from two months ago still pending right now.

[TomTX]

Can someone PM me the old company? Thanks

PM sent.

[arebelspy]

As it says in the OP, PM me with referral requests, or for any other assistance (e.g. trying to get ahold of either company and not getting a response, checking on payment or other question, etc.).

I deal with a fair amount of that for people; through PMs is the easiest way to do so.  :)

[Shade00]

My wife's Discover just passed 2 years and it has over a 20k limit, so I was thinking about signing it up. Both of my current cards are with the new company and my Discover has sold four spots (two at a time) since I signed up several months ago, which is pretty good. My Citi Visa card hasn't sold anything, but it has a lower limit (like $11k) although it is 8 years old. You guys think the new company is still the way to go for my wife's card? Thanks!

[katsiki]

My wife's Discover just passed 2 years and it has over a 20k limit, so I was thinking about signing it up. Both of my current cards are with the new company and my Discover has sold four spots (two at a time) since I signed up several months ago, which is pretty good. My Citi Visa card hasn't sold anything, but it has a lower limit (like $11k) although it is 8 years old. You guys think the new company is still the way to go for my wife's card? Thanks!

Old TL requires 30K limit or greater.  I think new TL is your only option.

[Shade00]

My wife's Discover just passed 2 years and it has over a 20k limit, so I was thinking about signing it up. Both of my current cards are with the new company and my Discover has sold four spots (two at a time) since I signed up several months ago, which is pretty good. My Citi Visa card hasn't sold anything, but it has a lower limit (like $11k) although it is 8 years old. You guys think the new company is still the way to go for my wife's card? Thanks!

Old TL requires 30K limit or greater.  I think new TL is your only option.

Good to know. Thanks!

[flashflooder]

FYI: a credit issuer beginning with the letter "D" recently closed my card.  They did not give a reason, and could not elaborate at all when I called to inquire.  All they could tell me was that they had made a "business decision" to close the account after a review.  I only ever had 2 AUs on this card. 

[sobezen]

This is cause for alarm?  Why would "D" close your account without any explanations? 

@arebelspy:  Does engaging in the tradelines and adding AUs have any impact?  Should others be concerned?

[DavidAnnArbor]

Make sure to use these credit cards some, that way there's less of an incentive for them to close your credit card account.

[yachi]

Make sure to use these credit cards some, that way there's less of an incentive for them to close your credit card account.

+1.  There is a cost to the CC company to add users, mail cards, field your cards, etc.  If this isn't being recouped with credit card usage fees to vendors, they have no financial incentive to continue having you as a user.  I heavily use my cards that I have in this program while still maintaining balances below 10%.  I hope to be using the cards enough that the CC companies think twice before closing the account.

[arebelspy]

FYI: a credit issuer beginning with the letter "D" recently closed my card.  They did not give a reason, and could not elaborate at all when I called to inquire.  All they could tell me was that they had made a "business decision" to close the account after a review.  I only ever had 2 AUs on this card.

Very odd. Usualy they tell you it's for AU usage. Maybe this wasn't related to the AU thing? But then why close it? The strange part isn't that it closed, but that they'd give no reason.

This is cause for alarm?  Why would "D" close your account without any explanations? 

@arebelspy:  Does engaging in the tradelines and adding AUs have any impact?  Should others be concerned?

It is, of course, the main risk to selling tradelines: that you get that credit line closed.  The OP (first post in this thread) throughly discusses this, and anyone not okay with the risk of their card being shut down should not be using that card to sell lines on.

I only use cards that are literally sitting unused, in a drawer, otherwise. I don't mind if they're closed then.

I think so far in a year+ of Mustachians selling tradelines, making hundreds of thousands of dollars, we've had like 3, maybe 4 closures? Out of hundreds of cards?

It happens. It's just not common. It's a risk, and you have to be willing to take that risk if you want to sell lines, and go "...dang, bummer" if it happens, but be able to shrug it off.  :)

[dragoncar]

Make sure to use these credit cards some, that way there's less of an incentive for them to close your credit card account.

+1.  There is a cost to the CC company to add users, mail cards, field your cards, etc.  If this isn't being recouped with credit card usage fees to vendors, they have no financial incentive to continue having you as a user.  I heavily use my cards that I have in this program while still maintaining balances below 10%.  I hope to be using the cards enough that the CC companies think twice before closing the account.

If you really want to piss them off, charge under $1.99 every month.  Discover has (haven't verified recently) a "small balance credit" that basically makes the small purchase free.  Not really sure why, unless payment processing really costs them $1.99

[RedwoodDreams]

Make sure to use these credit cards some, that way there's less of an incentive for them to close your credit card account.

+1.  There is a cost to the CC company to add users, mail cards, field your cards, etc.  If this isn't being recouped with credit card usage fees to vendors, they have no financial incentive to continue having you as a user.  I heavily use my cards that I have in this program while still maintaining balances below 10%.  I hope to be using the cards enough that the CC companies think twice before closing the account.

+1 again. I've had Chase cards (that were not being used for tradelines or used at all) closed suddenly and it was kind of jarring, but it does make sense. Use it or lose it. Anecdotally, I can say that I used my cards often and this has seemed to help when I request credit line increases.

[flashflooder]

I agree that the closure is very weird, and it makes no sense to me that it would be due to piggybacking since I've only had 2 adds... however, I've had this card for over 10 years and I wouldn't say that my usage pattern has changed at all recently.  I suppose it could just be a fluke.

Either way, don't care much other than the fact that it's one less card to sell spots on.

[flashflooder]

I agree that the closure is very weird, and it makes no sense to me that it would be due to piggybacking since I've only had 2 adds... however, I've had this card for over 10 years and I wouldn't say that my usage pattern has changed at all recently.  I suppose it could just be a fluke.  I was a little surprised and miffed that they couldn't even give me a reason, but I didn't really push it.

Either way, don't care much other than the fact that it's one less card to sell spots on.

[monarda]

Strange- yesterday I got a phone call for one of the old AUs. Don't know who from. How would they get this number?

[cheapass]

Are they not doing Chase cards anymore?

[secondcor521]

Are they not doing Chase cards anymore?

Chase cards are all resting (and have been for a while).  They are concerned that Chase is doing audits and the risk of shutdown is higher.  They'll take them off resting when they think the risk has passed (how they tell I have no idea).

[sobezen]

Strange- yesterday I got a phone call for one of the old AUs. Don't know who from. How would they get this number?

Woah!  How in the world did that happen?  Has this happened to anyone else?

[arebelspy]

Strange- yesterday I got a phone call for one of the old AUs. Don't know who from. How would they get this number?

Woah!  How in the world did that happen?  Has this happened to anyone else?

Yes, it's happened once before, too. Might have been in the old thread, can't recall.  Presumably based on your address that temporarily shows up on the AU credit report, a previous creditor may dig up your phone number. It seems rare (getting junk mail for a previous AU is another thing that happens, but rarely).

If you have not had a TL sale yet, and have been enrolled 6+ months, contact the owner at the previously provided email address.  There is the potential to sell lines for a lower commission in orer to get a sale for those individuals.

[Car Jack]

Make sure to use these credit cards some, that way there's less of an incentive for them to close your credit card account.

+1.  There is a cost to the CC company to add users, mail cards, field your cards, etc.  If this isn't being recouped with credit card usage fees to vendors, they have no financial incentive to continue having you as a user.  I heavily use my cards that I have in this program while still maintaining balances below 10%.  I hope to be using the cards enough that the CC companies think twice before closing the account.

If you really want to piss them off, charge under $1.99 every month.  Discover has (haven't verified recently) a "small balance credit" that basically makes the small purchase free.  Not really sure why, unless payment processing really costs them $1.99

I do this with about 5 cards and I don't think it pisses them off at all.  Most of the cards I do the "small balance forgiveness" are also in for tradelines, so I get something out of them whether I get an AU or not.  Remember that if the balance is forgiven, it doesn't report to the credit bureaus.  So if you have an AU, you need something that'll report.  I have a routine where I keep my small balance cards in a separate case and go to the gas station when they're all cleared, put in gas below the forgiveness limit, move to the next one.  I write the limit on the card with a sharpie so I don't even need to be awake to do this.  End up with $5 of free gas every month.  There have been times (like in August) where I then get an AU on the card and need to do a regular purchase.  Big deal.  So I have to pay the $1.99 for the gas I just pumped.....I'm picking up some hundred(s) dollar income.  I'll take it.

Funny thing (to me) on the small balances.  They still earn rewards points/dollars.  This includes the bonus categories.  So when Discover had gas as the bonus for 5%, I'd get 10 cents every month in bonus.  I'm a guy who picks pennies off the ground, so yah.....I'll take it.

[wadatong]

Just had my discover card credit line terminated under normal account review procedures. It has no reason listed. It just says "our credit decision was based in whole on the information found on your account."

This was the first card I had authorized users put on a few months ago. Seems they are doing an audit. Oh well, there goes one of my oldest accounts. Good thing I have others.

[DavidAnnArbor]

Wow that's scary. I have 2 cards with Discover and I hope they don't get shut down. Admittedly I am spending some money on them.

[TomTX]

Please give the TL company a heads up.

[wadatong]

I sent them a message.

[SimpleSpartan]

BM

[madage]

Just had my discover card credit line terminated under normal account review procedures. It has no reason listed. It just says "our credit decision was based in whole on the information found on your account."

This was the first card I had authorized users put on a few months ago. Seems they are doing an audit. Oh well, there goes one of my oldest accounts. Good thing I have others.

I received the same notice on my Discover card. Oh well.

[Can't Wait]

I just added my wife as an authorized user on my Chase Sapphire Preferred card and all they asked for was her name and address. How does a "sold" tradeline get reported to the credit bureaus if they don't ask for a social security number?

[arebelspy]

I just added my wife as an authorized user on my Chase Sapphire Preferred card and all they asked for was her name and address. How does a "sold" tradeline get reported to the credit bureaus if they don't ask for a social security number?

All of them do ask for SSN except Chase.

Chase, thus, will not report on its own. You need another card that has the same address.  Thus when you sell a line on Chase, you have to "pair" it with another card and sell a line there, too, so the Chase will report correctly.

Presumably your wife has the address already on her credit report, so it should report okay for her. For an AU, another card would need to be used in tandum.

[boarder42]

I just added my wife as an authorized user on my Chase Sapphire Preferred card and all they asked for was her name and address. How does a "sold" tradeline get reported to the credit bureaus if they don't ask for a social security number?

All of them do ask for SSN except Chase.

Chase, thus, will not report on its own. You need another card that has the same address.  Thus when you sell a line on Chase, you have to "pair" it with another card and sell a line there, too, so the Chase will report correctly.

Presumably your wife has the address already on her credit report, so it should report okay for her. For an AU, another card would need to be used in tandum.

barclay's doesnt and i've never had an issue with an unpaired user reporting properly when not calling in to give the SSA number and i've never called in to give the SSA number and all adds work.

[sobezen]

Looking to test this since the old company did not generate any interest. Send ARS pm. Thanks for sharing.

[ditkanate]

Calling in my 7th add overall today and had my first encounter with a fraud department.  Ended up not being a big deal, they just want to make sure the actual account owner is the one calling in to add these people.  Asked me to repeat the AU's SS# and Bdate 3-4 times and put me on hold for a while.  But ended up going through fine.  Just a little more annoying than the typical call in. 

[lfstyl_stag]

Got my first two AUs today. Added without a hitch.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

How long after signing up did it take to get an add? I just went through the signup process today.

[lfstyl_stag]

With the old company, I have a Discover card at $9500.  I have always had my four spots full on that card because it is the cheapest rate for buyers at <$10k limit.  I'd try to get right under the next pay threshold.

So $14,999, $19,999, $29,999, or $39,999.

Wow, that seems like a really good idea. Are you confident that this method works? Maybe i'll try to bump $15,000 CL up to $19,500 or so.

[Shade00]

Still have not been paid for an add back on June 25. I know this is minimal work for the money, but it's still frustrating to have to follow up with them repeatedly to get adds paid every time.

[kpd905]

With the old company, I have a Discover card at $9500.  I have always had my four spots full on that card because it is the cheapest rate for buyers at <$10k limit.  I'd try to get right under the next pay threshold.

So $14,999, $19,999, $29,999, or $39,999.

Wow, that seems like a really good idea. Are you confident that this method works? Maybe i'll try to bump $15,000 CL up to $19,500 or so.

I sell all the spots on that card every month.  If the customers have to pay a set amount for any cards under $10k, they are going to pick the ones with the highest limit possible.  I assume this will be the case with all brackets if the customers are able to pick the cards from a list.

[Optimiser]

I have a 10 or 12 year old Discover card with a $9500 limit. It's the only card I have that's had any sales, but it's only had two sales in 9 months with the new company.

[MasterStache]

With the old company, I have a Discover card at $9500.  I have always had my four spots full on that card because it is the cheapest rate for buyers at <$10k limit.  I'd try to get right under the next pay threshold.

So $14,999, $19,999, $29,999, or $39,999.

Wow, that seems like a really good idea. Are you confident that this method works? Maybe i'll try to bump $15,000 CL up to $19,500 or so.

I sell all the spots on that card every month.  If the customers have to pay a set amount for any cards under $10k, they are going to pick the ones with the highest limit possible.  I assume this will be the case with all brackets if the customers are able to pick the cards from a list.

How old is the card if you don't mind me asking?

[hoping2retire35]

any ideas on how the equifax breach will effect this? seems like it would be difficult to add lots of AUs if you have to do all of that verification everytime.

[erutio]

Just wanted to add another data point.

Credit company "D" shut down my card yesterday (after I added a new AU on Tuesday), with no warning and no reason given, except the generic "our credit decision was based in whole on the information found on your account" that someone else above got.

Card was 19 years old, had a 20.5k limit, I use it regularly over the years, averaging 200-2000 dollars monthly spend. I've had 7 adds on it since Jan.

I've spent close to an hour on the phone with "D" and they were utterly unhelpful in getting my account reopened.  They were not even able to tell me why, but instructed me to write to the corporate office.  I had the senior person admit to me that nothing would probably change even if I wrote in.  I was extremely nice the whole time, but changed my tone towards the end to try a different tactic.  Didn't work.  I can't believe they wouldn't even give a 19-year customer the courtesy of explaining their reasons over the phone rather than having to use snail mail.

ETA:  This card was used through the new TL company

[DavidAnnArbor]

Yikes. The good times are about to end with Discover it seems like.

[RedwoodDreams]

Yikes. The good times are about to end with Discover it seems like.

What a shame. That was one that I sold consistently 1-2x/ monthly. ARS warned us it could happen, and here we are.

[dakota5176]

It is upsetting to see so many Discover cards being shut down.  This is where I have had all my AUs as my card is very old with a high limit.  I recently got approved for a second to Discover card in my maiden name to "season."  If my old card gets shut down would my new one be at risk too? It's not old enough for AUs and even though it's in my maiden name obviously the ss# and addresses are the same.

[arebelspy]

It is upsetting to see so many Discover cards being shut down.

Definitely.  =/

Totally sucks if that's your main card for AU sales.

It's good to have a diversity of cards. Barclay, Capital One, Citi, US Bank, etc. all seem good still.

B of A and now Doscover have both had issues this year.

This is where I have had all my AUs as my card is very old with a high limit.  I recently got approved for a second to Discover card in my maiden name to "season."  If my old card gets shut down would my new one be at risk too? It's not old enough for AUs and even though it's in my maiden name obviously the ss# and addresses are the same.

No, Chase is the only one that may shut down other accounts; other companies, including Discover, to this point have only shut down the one card, but not other cards you have with them.  (Obviously it's their perogative at any point to close any accounts you have with them, so I suppose that's possible, but no other companies have done so historically besides Chase, as mentioned in the OP).

[monarda]

So, What does this Equifax breach mean for this whole strategy? If I choose to freeze my credit does that mean I'm entirely out of this game?