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

[lexde]

I got an add for my CITI card w/ the new Co.

The EMail telling me includes:
We have also found that making at least 1 small purchase to the authorized user card that you get in the mail from the bank is a good way to keep the card active and minimize the chance of closure due to lack of activity.  This is just a suggestion.

Citi card numbers for AUs are the same as the main cardholder number though, right? So it shouldn't matter if you charge on yours or theirs.

[FrugalSaver]

I logged in tonight and got a popup that said "URGENT: Upload cards - Picture of AU card required"

Anyone received this before?  I don't believe I have the card. 

It's also not clear on the site where I would even upload this picture if i had it as there's no active hyperlink on the popup box giving me this message.

[BikeFanatic]

Is this Discover? Whe I first started doing Tradelines I remember  Discover  used to ask for drivers license uploads. I have not been asked lately.

Have you activated and used the AU card yet? If no you could say the card was never delivered or lost.

Godd luck, Let us know how it goes.

[beekayworld]

I logged in tonight and got a popup that said "URGENT: Upload cards - Picture of AU card required"

Anyone received this before?  I don't believe I have the card. 

It's also not clear on the site where I would even upload this picture if i had it as there's no active hyperlink on the popup box giving me this message.

That sounds fishy. Since they were hacked last month, I would confirm by email before uploading anything.  Waiting for you to login isn't the way they would communicate an urgent message! When they want me to add an AU, they text me as well as emailing me. They don't wait for me to randomly login. And that's not even urgent.

FYI, there is a way to upload docs onto the website  (where you uploaded your cardholder agreement and  W-9 form.  I think it's called "My Documents".)

[beekayworld]

Is this Discover? Whe I first started doing Tradelines I remember  Discover  used to ask for drivers license uploads. I have not been asked lately.

Have you activated and used the AU card yet? If no you could say the card was never delivered or lost.

Godd luck, Let us know how it goes.

Capital One asked me for the signed social security cards and drivers licenses of my AUs.  One AU had both items on the website under "Documents". For the other AU I had to write to the TL company and they sent them to me attached to an email.

The difficult part was CapOne wanted them FAXed back LOL! I haven't had a FAX machine in 20 years, and didn't want to go out to a Kinko's or such, so I found a free email-to-FAX program that let me send the first two FAXes free. I didn't anticipate needing to send more, so that's what I used.

[RedwoodDreams]

Just got my first add with old TL co. on a US Bank card, so I logged in to see how to do the add... Do I really need to mail or fax in a paper form? I don't see an online form. I hope not. What a pain. Form also asks for AUs "signature..."

[secondcor521]

Just got my first add with old TL co. on a US Bank card, so I logged in to see how to do the add... Do I really need to mail or fax in a paper form? I don't see an online form. I hope not. What a pain. Form also asks for AUs "signature..."

I have US Bank cards with new company.  I call the number on the back of my card and add over the phone with a CSR.  They'll ask for name, DOB, SSN, and address.  They'll read a disclosure.  That's it.  Of all of the CC banks, US Bank currently seems to be the least suspicious / caring about AU activity.

[FrugalSaver]

Is this Discover? Whe I first started doing Tradelines I remember  Discover  used to ask for drivers license uploads. I have not been asked lately.

Have you activated and used the AU card yet? If no you could say the card was never delivered or lost.

Godd luck, Let us know how it goes.

No.  It's with a CAPITAL ONE card and the AU isn't even listed as an AU on my Capital One account.  I believe they had me try to add them about a year ago, but the add failed and I wasn't paid for it (it's a GM Capital One card). 

Now, about a year later, I'm supposedly being asked to upload a picture.  I'll email them.

[DarrellEW]

Just got my first add with old TL co. on a US Bank card, so I logged in to see how to do the add... Do I really need to mail or fax in a paper form? I don't see an online form. I hope not. What a pain. Form also asks for AUs "signature..."

I just signed up with the old company, and one of the PDFs they sent had instructions on how to add for each issuer. Specifically for US Bank, you have to call in and provide name, SSN and birthdate.

[FrugalZony]

I got an add for my CITI card w/ the new Co.

The EMail telling me includes:
We have also found that making at least 1 small purchase to the authorized user card that you get in the mail from the bank is a good way to keep the card active and minimize the chance of closure due to lack of activity.  This is just a suggestion.

Citi card numbers for AUs are the same as the main cardholder number though, right? So it shouldn't matter if you charge on yours or theirs.

All mine have been the same as the primary card, which I find odd. But oh well.

[FrugalZony]

I logged in tonight and got a popup that said "URGENT: Upload cards - Picture of AU card required"

Anyone received this before?  I don't believe I have the card. 

It's also not clear on the site where I would even upload this picture if i had it as there's no active hyperlink on the popup box giving me this message.

A few months ago this happened to me with the "new" company.
I did not have the card with me (nomad) and just made a screen shot of the page in my cc account, where you can see AU's.
I did make sure there's no info on there, that I did not want the to have, but that was pretty easy IIRC.

[frugalnacho]

How do you remove an AU from bank of america via the website?  I can't find any options to manage or remove AU, only to add them.

[hgjjgkj]

How do you remove an AU from bank of america via the website?  I can't find any options to manage or remove AU, only to add them.

You cant, you have to call

[cheapass]

Is this Discover? Whe I first started doing Tradelines I remember  Discover  used to ask for drivers license uploads. I have not been asked lately.

Have you activated and used the AU card yet? If no you could say the card was never delivered or lost.

Godd luck, Let us know how it goes.

Capital One asked me for the signed social security cards and drivers licenses of my AUs.  One AU had both items on the website under "Documents". For the other AU I had to write to the TL company and they sent them to me attached to an email.

The difficult part was CapOne wanted them FAXed back LOL! I haven't had a FAX machine in 20 years, and didn't want to go out to a Kinko's or such, so I found a free email-to-FAX program that let me send the first two FAXes free. I didn't anticipate needing to send more, so that's what I used.

Well shit, Capital One just restricted both of my accounts and told me I need to supply them with images of DL's and SS cards for all of my past AU's. Not sure that's possible or reasonable to ask. I may just forget about it and abandon those 2 cards.

[arebelspy]

Is this Discover? Whe I first started doing Tradelines I remember  Discover  used to ask for drivers license uploads. I have not been asked lately.

Have you activated and used the AU card yet? If no you could say the card was never delivered or lost.

Godd luck, Let us know how it goes.

Capital One asked me for the signed social security cards and drivers licenses of my AUs.  One AU had both items on the website under "Documents". For the other AU I had to write to the TL company and they sent them to me attached to an email.

The difficult part was CapOne wanted them FAXed back LOL! I haven't had a FAX machine in 20 years, and didn't want to go out to a Kinko's or such, so I found a free email-to-FAX program that let me send the first two FAXes free. I didn't anticipate needing to send more, so that's what I used.

Well shit, Capital One just restricted both of my accounts and told me I need to supply them with images of DL's and SS cards for all of my past AU's. Not sure that's possible or reasonable to ask. I may just forget about it and abandon those 2 cards.

The TL company should be able to provide, if you want to jump through the hoops. Some CC companies still close after providing all of that info, so it may not be worth it. I can't recall about Cap One, maybe someone else who had that request from them can chime in, or you can try to dig back through the thread.

[cheapass]

The TL company should be able to provide, if you want to jump through the hoops. Some CC companies still close after providing all of that info, so it may not be worth it. I can't recall about Cap One, maybe someone else who had that request from them can chime in, or you can try to dig back through the thread.

Yep. According to the TL company they have provided this info in the past but Capital One has always just ended up closing the accounts anyway. Sucks, because those are my 2 oldest accounts! Oh well. I guess Capital One doesn't want the revenue because I put almost everything I buy on one of them.

[ducky19]

I had that happen and the TL company said they were going to close the account regardless, so I just dropped the matter and did nothing. Fast forward a year, and the account has never been closed - just restricted. I called them and asked them to remove the restriction, which they promptly did after speaking with a supervisor (stating it was an error on their part). I removed the AUs from the card and started using it again with no problems. The TL company advised me to not use it for selling TL's, at least for now. I may add a family member at some point in the future (with a different name/address that can not easily be linked to me) and see if they restrict it again. If not, I will probably re-enroll it. Good luck to you, YMMV for sure.

[cheapass]

I had that happen and the TL company said they were going to close the account regardless, so I just dropped the matter and did nothing. Fast forward a year, and the account has never been closed - just restricted. I called them and asked them to remove the restriction, which they promptly did after speaking with a supervisor (stating it was an error on their part). I removed the AUs from the card and started using it again with no problems. The TL company advised me to not use it for selling TL's, at least for now. I may add a family member at some point in the future (with a different name/address that can not easily be linked to me) and see if they restrict it again. If not, I will probably re-enroll it. Good luck to you, YMMV for sure.

Thanks for the data point, hope my experience goes as well as yours did.

[bernardnb]

Thanks for the data point, hope my experience goes as well as yours did.

I posted about it a few pages back, but had the same thing happen to me.  I supplied all 20 AU's licenses and SS cards, but one card was not signed, so they wouldn't accept it.  Accounts have been restricted since December.  Sometime this summer I'll call and try to get it lifted.

[erutio]

Is this Discover? Whe I first started doing Tradelines I remember  Discover  used to ask for drivers license uploads. I have not been asked lately.

Have you activated and used the AU card yet? If no you could say the card was never delivered or lost.

Godd luck, Let us know how it goes.

Capital One asked me for the signed social security cards and drivers licenses of my AUs.  One AU had both items on the website under "Documents". For the other AU I had to write to the TL company and they sent them to me attached to an email.

The difficult part was CapOne wanted them FAXed back LOL! I haven't had a FAX machine in 20 years, and didn't want to go out to a Kinko's or such, so I found a free email-to-FAX program that let me send the first two FAXes free. I didn't anticipate needing to send more, so that's what I used.

Well shit, Capital One just restricted both of my accounts and told me I need to supply them with images of DL's and SS cards for all of my past AU's. Not sure that's possible or reasonable to ask. I may just forget about it and abandon those 2 cards.

Another data point. Capital One restricted my account like yours, about a year ago. It asked for licenses and social security cards for all my past added authorized users, probably around 8 total.  Took a couple days for the TL Company to email those PDFs to me. I then uploaded it to the Capital One site using their link.  I had just assumed that account was going to be close anyways, but about a month later the account magically went from restricted to normal, as far as it looks from the website.
I waited about 8 months and just started adding a users to that account again last month.

[Belief10]

Discover closed me this month. I would estimate I made $1,500 over the past year and a half on this card. I don't need the credit, other than I'm sure my credit score took a hit. Here's what I sent to the first piggyback company when I found out it was closed:


"Hello, was going to add the two new Discover lines today. Logged in to my Discover account, there was a number to call instead of adding manually. When I got the rep, he informed me that my card had been closed. He put me on hold, and came back fairly cold. Then I asked to speak with his supervisor. He was even more cold and said they decided to close my account due to "business decisions". They said they sent a letter when this happened April 4th, but I didn't get it. They gave my an address to write into for complaints, but I'm thinking that's a lost cause now. They would not tell me anything over the phone as to why it was closed other than "business decision." I was actually quite surprised how cold and disgruntled they were when I was talking with them. Anyway...

So, my $19,8000 Discover card is gone and you can remove that from the system. Not sure what will post or not from what was added previously, but there you have it."

RIP Discover

[Belief10]

On a more upbeat note...I recently got my new job as a college instructor and I talk about Mr. Money Mustache on the regular in my personal finance class!!

[lexde]

Signed up with old company about a week ago. Looking forward to trying this out.

I have a Citi card - are they shutting down like discover?

[RedwoodDreams]

Just got my first add with old TL co. on a US Bank card, so I logged in to see how to do the add... Do I really need to mail or fax in a paper form? I don't see an online form. I hope not. What a pain. Form also asks for AUs "signature..."

I have US Bank cards with new company.  I call the number on the back of my card and add over the phone with a CSR.  They'll ask for name, DOB, SSN, and address.  They'll read a disclosure.  That's it.  Of all of the CC banks, US Bank currently seems to be the least suspicious / caring about AU activity.

Thank you. I'm impressed with their customer service and how quickly these transactions take place over the phone. No muss, no fuss.

I assume you have to also call to remove AUs?

I signed up 2 TLs x 2 US Bank cards with old TL co. ($75 per AU add for 15k credit line) last month and sold all 4 spots this month (!) so hopefully this continues and hopefully my calling 4x in the span of 2 days doesn't send up any flags.

[secondcor521]

Just got my first add with old TL co. on a US Bank card, so I logged in to see how to do the add... Do I really need to mail or fax in a paper form? I don't see an online form. I hope not. What a pain. Form also asks for AUs "signature..."

I have US Bank cards with new company.  I call the number on the back of my card and add over the phone with a CSR.  They'll ask for name, DOB, SSN, and address.  They'll read a disclosure.  That's it.  Of all of the CC banks, US Bank currently seems to be the least suspicious / caring about AU activity.

Thank you. I'm impressed with their customer service and how quickly these transactions take place over the phone. No muss, no fuss.

I assume you have to also call to remove AUs?

I signed up 2 TLs x 2 US Bank cards with old TL co. ($75 per AU add for 15k credit line) last month and sold all 4 spots this month (!) so hopefully this continues and hopefully my calling 4x in the span of 2 days doesn't send up any flags.

It varies by bank how to add and remove AUs, but yes, for USBank you call to remove AUs.  But it is similarly painless and can usually be done in just a few minutes.

[FrugalZony]

I got an add with "new" company for an 82 year old today.
I googled the name and found some info on him, but nothing suspicious.
Out of curiosity why would someone that age need to boost their credit? Reverse Mortgage or something like that?

Someone please enlighten me. Thanks

[sol]

I got an add with "new" company for an 82 year old today.

Potentially not even a real person.  Synthetic identity fraud is a real thing.

https://frankonfraud.com/fraud-trends/is-credit-repair-fueling-the-rise-in-synthetic-id-fraud/

short answer: Some (lots?) of these tradeline buyers aren't real people at all.  They're fake identities created with fake numbers, which then use tradelines to artificially inflate their credit scores, then they take out huge loans and credit debts which they then promptly default on.  It's a scam, and we're all supporting it.  Ask the FBI:  https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/newark/press-releases/2013/eighteen-people-charged-in-international-200-million-credit-card-fraud-scam

Alternately, some of these "credit repair" companies are doing what they call "file segregation" for a client, which is basically the same thing except there's a real person behind it who wants to keep their new fake credit profile clean instead of cashing out and burning it.  They change the IDs enough to generate a second credit report for the same individual, but in order to get the second profile up and running they need to buy your credit payment history (your tradeline) so that the new profile isn't worthless to them.  Details:  https://nacso.org/news/credit-scams-avoid/

[CanuckExpat]

At this point, is there anyone still actively selling tradelines on their Discover card and have not had their card shut down?

I have my Discover card enrolled with the old recommended company (I like working with this company), and have been getting fairly regular* sales on my Discover card. So far no shutdown, which each add I keep wondering if it will be my last one. I think I'll get another one this month. Will report back if card shut down when I add AU or remove previous AUs.

My Discover card was shut down yesterday.
Had an add last week. Don't know if related to last add, or systematic review.

[katsiki]

At this point, is there anyone still actively selling tradelines on their Discover card and have not had their card shut down?

I have my Discover card enrolled with the old recommended company (I like working with this company), and have been getting fairly regular* sales on my Discover card. So far no shutdown, which each add I keep wondering if it will be my last one. I think I'll get another one this month. Will report back if card shut down when I add AU or remove previous AUs.

My Discover card was shut down yesterday.
Had an add last week. Don't know if related to last add, or systematic review.

Same here.  I had been resting my card since February so I assume this is an ongoing audit.

[arebelspy]

I got an add with "new" company for an 82 year old today.
I googled the name and found some info on him, but nothing suspicious.
Out of curiosity why would someone that age need to boost their credit? Reverse Mortgage or something like that?

Someone please enlighten me. Thanks

Are you assuming most people that age have their finances together and wouldn't need credit?  I wouldn't think so, I'd think Mustachians are the exception there.

[arebelspy]

Final bump for the month--last chance to get the $150 signup bonus (April only) if you sign up with the "old" tradeline company (as a new customer, or switching from another tradeline company).

Most MMM folks who have signed up this month have already seen sales! If you haven't been seeing sales elsewhere, it's probably worth switching, with the signup bonus being gravy.

Details below; PM me for a referral.


The old tradeline company is looking for more cards.

After still more research, they are still only one of two companies that I'd recommend (and currently the main one I'd recommend, since the "new" company, as we've been calling it, has a huge glut of cards).

Criteria: Minimum $5k limit, minimum two years old. Barclays, Capital One, Citibank, Discover, PNC, US Bank, USAA.

They obviously pay more for higher limits. Card age has no effect on payments with this company.

Here is their commission schedule (click to expand):

Spoiler: show

Discover, Citibank, Barclays, US Bank, and PNC - 2 Month Cycle Commission:
    Limit $5,000 - $15,000 and 2+ years old - $75 per spot
    Limit $15,000 - $20,000 and 2+ years old - $125 per spot
    Limit $20,001 - $30,000 and 2+ years old - $175 per spot
    Limit $30,001 - $40,000 and 2+ years old - $200 per spot
    Limit $40,001 - or more 2+ years old - $225 per spot

 
Capital One and USAA - 3 Month Cycle Commission:
    Limit $5,000 - $15,000 and 2+ years old - $75 per spot
    Limit $15,000 - $20,000 and 2+ years old - $150 per spot
    Limit $20,001 - $30,000 and 2+ years old - $200 per spot
    Limit $30,001 - $40,000 and 2+ years old - $250 per spot
    Limit $40,001 - or more 5+ years old - $275 per spot

2/3 month cycle means you are paid that one amount to keep the AU on for 2 months or 3 months, respectively.

They're also offering a $150 signup bonus this month--April 2018--for referrals, which I told them to give to you (that will be paid  with your first payment when your first AU posts).

If you originally got it when tradeline stuff started in July 2016 with "old company" it's the same info, but if you only ever signed up with "new company" post-January 2017, feel free to PM me for a referral for their information.  :)



Disclaimer: I will get a referral commission when you sell AU spots, but you will get paid the same whether you use my referral or not--it will not reduce your payment to have me as the referral, and for this month, you'll make $150 more than you would otherwise due to the signup bonus.

[Imustacheyouaquestion]

I switched two cards to the old company in April, no sales yet. Do I still get the $150 bonus?

[dragoncar]

I'm not switching because once I do sales will dry up for everyone.  Same reason I don't buy stocks

[MasterStache]

I'm not switching because once I do sales will dry up for everyone.  Same reason I don't buy stocks

I don't know why but this made me crack up.

[aetherie]

I switched two cards to the old company in April, no sales yet. Do I still get the $150 bonus?

Same.

[arebelspy]

Yes, if you signed up in April, whenever you do have your first sale, the bonus should post with your first payment.

[Padonak]

If I already had cards with the old company and added a brand new card a few days ago, do I get a $150 bonus?

[afuera]

At this point, is there anyone still actively selling tradelines on their Discover card and have not had their card shut down?

I have my Discover card enrolled with the old recommended company (I like working with this company), and have been getting fairly regular* sales on my Discover card. So far no shutdown, which each add I keep wondering if it will be my last one. I think I'll get another one this month. Will report back if card shut down when I add AU or remove previous AUs.

My Discover card was shut down yesterday.
Had an add last week. Don't know if related to last add, or systematic review.

Same here.  I had been resting my card since February so I assume this is an ongoing audit.

Discover just shut me down for "business decisions".  Won't know anymore until I get the letter in the mail.  Was good while it lasted at least.

[arebelspy]

If I already had cards with the old company and added a brand new card a few days ago, do I get a $150 bonus?

I think it was for new account signups (or people who hadn't currently had any enrolled, even if previously, and switching from another company), not new card signups, but it probably wouldn't hurt to ask them, the worst they can say is no.

It was only with my referral info, so you may need that, too (you may have had it from originally signing up, IDK). Without that, the person referring you got the $150, but I told them to pass it on to you guys with your first payment.  (FYI, someone PM'd me they signed up at the end of March  with the referral, saw an immediate sale, and got paid, including the bonus, a few days ago, so they definitely have that streamlined.)

[wudged]

Any updates on the new company regarding timing of payouts?  For February adds, I didn't get paid until 4/13 after begging multiple times.  I still haven't been paid for March adds either but haven't resorted to begging yet...

[arebelspy]

Any updates on the new company regarding timing of payouts?  For February adds, I didn't get paid until 4/13 after begging multiple times.  I still haven't been paid for March adds either but haven't resorted to begging yet...

About the same as it's been since the fall... they're around a month behind (but slowly have caught up), but have always paid everyone. I now just count on a two month lag for those payments. Hopefully it'll be all caught up soon.

[lexde]

Signed up with old company about a week ago. Looking forward to trying this out.

I have a Citi card - are they shutting down like discover?

Still waiting on a sale. :-) 10k/2-3 year Citi card. I’m probably in a saturated group.

I think I’m going to look into other cards I can age for future trade line sales too. What companies are safest? I’m not willing to risk Chase.

[arebelspy]

Barclays is my favorite. All add/removes done online, never had an issue with one posting, never heard of them doing audits and mass closing accounts.

[lexde]

Barclays is my favorite. All add/removes done online, never had an issue with one posting, never heard of them doing audits and mass closing accounts.

Nice, okay thanks for the info. I’ll have to pick one up soon and then use it in a few years once it’s aged up. :-)

[Padonak]

What's the maximum number of AUs you feel "safe" to keep open on a Barclaycard credit card? 2 AUs at a time? 5? 10?

[Car Jack]

What's the maximum number of AUs you feel "safe" to keep open on a Barclaycard credit card? 2 AUs at a time? 5? 10?

sigh.....coming up on a year since my last add.....with both old and new company.

[ducky19]

Just got another add on my Barclay with the "old" company - they are definitely the best card issuer for this, never had an issue. Between the "old" and "new" company, I'm up to $1,100 this year. Last year was $2,525 total, but had a Citi Hilton card that accounted for $1,800 of that - lost it when they switched to AmEx...  :( Overall happy with the volume of adds I've been getting, can't wait for a couple of others I've got to age so I can start using them, too.

[MasterStache]

Barclays is my favorite. All add/removes done online, never had an issue with one posting, never heard of them doing audits and mass closing accounts.

Does that include all Barclay cards? I have a couple I intend on "seasoning" for tradelines. USAA has become the biggest PITA to deal with. Their reps are utterly clueless.

[katsiki]

What's the maximum number of AUs you feel "safe" to keep open on a Barclaycard credit card? 2 AUs at a time? 5? 10?

I do 5 with barclays.  I think my first card will be finished soon (I think someone said the lifetime AU limit for barclays is 32 or thereabouts).

[erutio]

After reaching the limit, do they tell you?

Also, did I read before that you can call and request a new card number and that will reset your limit for authorized users?