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

[ravevan]

Whatever happened to the idea of Mustachians starting our own tradeline company? Is anyone still working on that?

Yea what's up with this?  We gotta be able to run it better than the current companies.

On the logistics and supply side?  Sure, while multitasking.  From the beach.

But the hard part is finding the buyers, and that's the sticking point I haven't figured out yet.  Anyone have any bright ideas on where to locate a steady stream of non-fraudulent credit line purchasers.  If we can solve that part, we can have our own company up and running before summer is over.

That definitely is. Facebook and Google ads for sure. Then if there is growth consider hiring someone for that. The profit margin potential seems so sigh that the main cost would be marketing.

[arebelspy]

Whatever happened to the idea of Mustachians starting our own tradeline company? Is anyone still working on that?

About a year ago, I spent a month starting one. Formed an LLC, found some "employees," made a website, etc.

After a forced break for a bit (wife got very bad "morning" sickness that lasted all day for awhile with her second pregnancy, and I was full time toddler duty), I realized when going back to it that it wasn't what I wanted to do with my (FIRE'd) life, and wound it down.

I think it's a super lucrative thing, and I'm still shocked no Mustachian (especially one who wants several million for a fat FIRE) has run with it, but there you go.

On the logistics and supply side?  Sure, while multitasking.  From the beach.

But the hard part is finding the buyers, and that's the sticking point I haven't figured out yet.  Anyone have any bright ideas on where to locate a steady stream of non-fraudulent credit line purchasers.  If we can solve that part, we can have our own company up and running before summer is over.

Sure, lots and lots of ideas.

Here's an easy one: People new to the country, with little to no credit, who just need a temporary boost to get started with life here (get a car loan, apartment, maybe a credit card). They plan to pay everything on time, not default, because their credit profile is important to them, it's just difficult for them to get it rolling.

I have some thoughts on where/how to find them, but you can probably come up with some yourself, as well.

I've got a document with a bunch of ideas of ways to find AUs. It still takes work, and interfacing with them. But the part you mention is just a marketing puzzle.

[dragoncar]

Whatever happened to the idea of Mustachians starting our own tradeline company? Is anyone still working on that?

Yea what's up with this?  We gotta be able to run it better than the current companies.

On the logistics and supply side?  Sure, while multitasking.  From the beach.

But the hard part is finding the buyers, and that's the sticking point I haven't figured out yet.  Anyone have any bright ideas on where to locate a steady stream of non-fraudulent credit line purchasers.  If we can solve that part, we can have our own company up and running before summer is over.

Why don't we set up the logistics and supply side, and recruit salespeople to find buyers.  We get a cut of their sales.  And the salespeople can each recruit their own team of salespeople, and get a cut of their sales, and so on.  The whole organization could be shaped like a reverse funnel.

[hgjjgkj]

I would love to be a part of the mustachian Tradeline company. Also unlike probably a lot of FIRE folks, I am willing to put the hours in and have done some small ventures before

[arebelspy]

Why don't we set up the logistics and supply side, and recruit salespeople to find buyers.  We get a cut of their sales.  And the salespeople can each recruit their own team of salespeople, and get a cut of their sales, and so on.  The whole organization could be shaped like a reverse funnel.

To the first sentence: I definitely had an affiliate thing set up for bringing in AUs.

I lol'd at the rest. :D

I would love to be a part of the mustachian Tradeline company. Also unlike probably a lot of FIRE folks, I am willing to put the hours in and have done some small ventures before

Then go, make it happen. You have a willing group of cardholders.

No one needs permission to start anything; just go and do it! :)

[ravevan]

Why don't we set up the logistics and supply side, and recruit salespeople to find buyers.  We get a cut of their sales.  And the salespeople can each recruit their own team of salespeople, and get a cut of their sales, and so on.  The whole organization could be shaped like a reverse funnel.

To the first sentence: I definitely had an affiliate thing set up for bringing in AUs.

I lol'd at the rest. :D

I would love to be a part of the mustachian Tradeline company. Also unlike probably a lot of FIRE folks, I am willing to put the hours in and have done some small ventures before

Then go, make it happen. You have a willing group of cardholders.

No one needs permission to start anything; just go and do it! :)

I'm happy to set up a call to talk with folks who are interested.

[sol]

I would love to be a part of the mustachian Tradeline company. Also unlike probably a lot of FIRE folks, I am willing to put the hours in and have done some small ventures before

The problem here is one of profit.  This is a high risk venture requiring full time work from a single individual person, plus staff later on.  That person will want to make money, and probably should be allowed to retain the profits from their venture. 

How is the forum going to feel about sol (or anyone else here) making $200k/year off of the member's credit cards?  I'd probably be pissed to see one person getting rich, while the per-sale fee to cardholders continues to decline.  But I don't think anyone is likely to put in the time and effort required to do this properly without the opportunity for significant personal profit.

And it's not exactly a part time gig.  If you have a day job, you probably can't do this business the right way.  If you don't have a day job because you are retired (like rebs) then all of this hard work probably doesn't appeal to you.  We need someone who is young and hungry enough to put in the long hours for their chance at riches.

[arebelspy]

The problem here is one of profit.  This is a high risk venture requiring full time work from a single individual person, plus staff later on.  That person will want to make money, and probably should be allowed to retain the profits from their venture. 
...
And it's not exactly a part time gig.  If you have a day job, you probably can't do this business the right way.  If you don't have a day job because you are retired (like rebs) then all of this hard work probably doesn't appeal to you.  We need someone who is young and hungry enough to put in the long hours for their chance at riches.

I agree that it won't really be a "team effort" among Mustachians--it'll be one enterprising individual, and likely someone who throws himself or herself into it full time.

Most the tradeline companies have ~5 employees (some as few as 2-3), but it'll be one person starting it and driving all the decisions and doing everything themselves that kicks it off, then they'll hire employees (assistants). It won't be a team of equally shared individuals initially, IMO, as the diffusion of responsibility would mean a big lack of progress.

It'll be someone deciding "Yes, I want the chance to make a few million, and am willing to devote at least six months or a year of my life to launching a company to make that happen."

How is the forum going to feel about sol (or anyone else here) making $200k/year off of the member's credit cards?  I'd probably be pissed to see one person getting rich, while the per-sale fee to cardholders continues to decline.  But I don't think anyone is likely to put in the time and effort required to do this properly without the opportunity for significant personal profit.

I sure wouldn't be upset. If someone is willing to do all the work, provide more sales to all of us, great. That's win-win. I don't care how much someone else is making, if it works for me, too (and I wouldn't enroll cards if it didn't).

[hgjjgkj]

For me the sticking point is PCI compliance and best practices around handling SSNs.

[sol]

For me the sticking point is PCI compliance and best practices around handling SSNs.

Those are both problems you can solve with money.  If one of us starts this venture, there will be several thousand dollars of startup and security costs, but that should include all of the required encrypted cloud storage for businesses that store credit card info and ssns.

I still think this is the easy part.  Finding and verifying legit buyers is a much bigger bottleneck from my perspective, otherwise we would all be selling our personal cards as often as we wanted to.

[solon]

Yup, marketing is the sticking point. I started down this road a while back, just shortly after ARS. The webdev, legal work, accounting, is all pretty straightforward. Most of it can be handled by one person. This forum itself is a gold mine of available card holders. But who is going to buy? I had a few ideas for finding buyers. I think the discussion is somewhere in this thread, in fact.

In the end it was more work than I could put in. Too big an unknown.

ETA: I formed an LLC, finalized a company logo, hired a webdev who had the website up and running, retained an accountant (although he never had to do anything), and consulted with an attorney about the language of the contracts. All I had left to do was advertise here for card holders, and figure who would buy this stuff.

[hgjjgkj]

I think ARS originally did some work to determine how a reputable Tradeline company vets buyers to weed out scammers. Hopefully he can chime in.

[lexde]

Well, at least 1 of my 2 Citi AU's did not properly post with old company, even though I called to add SSN and have a physical card + they show up as AUs on my account. Bummer. I hope the other one worked, but I'm not holding my breath. :-| Thanks, Citi!

[BikeFanatic]

I have had the same problem with Citibank not posting. One tradeline company I use has stopped taking Citibank cards for that reason (not the AREBELSPY reccomended companies ).

[Timmm]

Why don't we set up the logistics and supply side, and recruit salespeople to find buyers.  We get a cut of their sales....

I was a sales manager for a little while many years ago and I think I had a slightly unusual challenge that would apply to this business, too. You don't want every customer who wants to sign up. I think you want some kind of quality control. I don't know that the broker company could have any liability, but if there is rampant fraud on a big enough scale, you have a higher risk of having to find out in court. Plus your cardholders want to believe they're helping people with good intentions, and may avoid security review and closure if that's the case. You can't be right about all of them, and surely some with good intentions will default too.

But commissioned salespeople are only going to do what earns commissions. So there's still a lot of work after getting a prospect on the line, and commissions would need to reflect that buyer approval rate is very important.

It does seem that there is an opportunity for a new company in this space, just pointing out one factor I think should be considered.

[dragoncar]

Yup, marketing is the sticking point. I started down this road a while back, just shortly after ARS. The webdev, legal work, accounting, is all pretty straightforward. Most of it can be handled by one person. This forum itself is a gold mine of available card holders. But who is going to buy? I had a few ideas for finding buyers. I think the discussion is somewhere in this thread, in fact.

In the end it was more work than I could put in. Too big an unknown.

ETA: I formed an LLC, finalized a company logo, hired a webdev who had the website up and running, retained an accountant (although he never had to do anything), and consulted with an attorney about the language of the contracts. All I had left to do was advertise here for card holders, and figure who would buy this stuff.

This may have already been discussed, but if you partner with real estate agents and target people seeking mortgages, then you limit the amount of fraud you encounter since a licensed professional is meeting this person face-to-face, and banks are scrutinizing their identities (beyond a simple FICO)

This would be a great space for mortgage brokers to get into, since they can go back and say "hey these are your quotes, but I can probably lower this payment by $X if you pay $Y to a buddy of mine."

But maybe this runs afoul of ethics rules

[sol]

This would be a great space for mortgage brokers to get into, since they can go back and say "hey these are your quotes, but I can probably lower this payment by $X if you pay $Y to a buddy of mine."

But maybe this runs afoul of ethics rules

I have also considered real estate transactions to be a rich environment for finding legitimate buyers, and I don't think it is at ALL beneath a mortgage broker to help a buyer improve their credit.  Mortgage brokers are some of the shadiest people a normal law-abiding citizen will ever deal with.  Slightly shadier than used car salesmen.

[wudged]

The old tradeline company is looking for more cards.
...
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.

The old company shows the commission amount / date to be paid.  Is this supposed to include the referral bonus?  Mine only shows the base amount for the card issuer/limit.

Full payment received in addition to the referral bonus - and right on time no less!  I think I shall be dropping the new company.

[charuhans]

The old tradeline company is looking for more cards.
...
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.

The old company shows the commission amount / date to be paid.  Is this supposed to include the referral bonus?  Mine only shows the base amount for the card issuer/limit.

Full payment received in addition to the referral bonus - and right on time no less!  I think I shall be dropping the new company.

I received the bonus today but not the payment for an add which shows as paid today. So maybe it will hit my account tomorrow.

[hgjjgkj]

This would be a great space for mortgage brokers to get into, since they can go back and say "hey these are your quotes, but I can probably lower this payment by $X if you pay $Y to a buddy of mine."

But maybe this runs afoul of ethics rules

I have also considered real estate transactions to be a rich environment for finding legitimate buyers, and I don't think it is at ALL beneath a mortgage broker to help a buyer improve their credit.  Mortgage brokers are some of the shadiest people a normal law-abiding citizen will ever deal with.  Slightly shadier than used car salesmen.

I don't think this actually improves credit for a mortgage right ? It only works for renters and car buyers?

[frugalnacho]

This would be a great space for mortgage brokers to get into, since they can go back and say "hey these are your quotes, but I can probably lower this payment by $X if you pay $Y to a buddy of mine."

But maybe this runs afoul of ethics rules

I have also considered real estate transactions to be a rich environment for finding legitimate buyers, and I don't think it is at ALL beneath a mortgage broker to help a buyer improve their credit.  Mortgage brokers are some of the shadiest people a normal law-abiding citizen will ever deal with.  Slightly shadier than used car salesmen.

I don't think this actually improves credit for a mortgage right ? It only works for renters and car buyers?

Why wouldn't it? It's increasing their credit score, which should get them a better mortgage rate.

[ditkanate]

The old tradeline company is looking for more cards.
...
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.

The old company shows the commission amount / date to be paid.  Is this supposed to include the referral bonus?  Mine only shows the base amount for the card issuer/limit.

Full payment received in addition to the referral bonus - and right on time no less!  I think I shall be dropping the new company.

I received the bonus today but not the payment for an add which shows as paid today. So maybe it will hit my account tomorrow.

I received the total for 2 adds and the bonus today all as one payment.  I'm impressed with the "old" company so far. 

[sol]

I received the total for 2 adds and the bonus today all as one payment.  I'm impressed with the "old" company so far.

It's a sign of how far we've come that paying the correct amount at the agreed upon time counts as impressive improvement.

[ditkanate]

I received the total for 2 adds and the bonus today all as one payment.  I'm impressed with the "old" company so far.

It's a sign of how far we've come that paying the correct amount at the agreed upon time counts as impressive improvement.

Indeed it is a low bar.  But after only having dealt with the "new" company until now, this feels like a breath of fresh air.

[sol]

I received the total for 2 adds and the bonus today all as one payment.  I'm impressed with the "old" company so far.

It's a sign of how far we've come that paying the correct amount at the agreed upon time counts as impressive improvement.

Indeed it is a low bar.  But after only having dealt with the "new" company until now, this feels like a breath of fresh air.

Hey I'm right there with you, bud.  We switched our cards too, and are much happier.

[katsiki]

is there anyone on here who is selling tradelines on a particular card for over 2 years and having them not shut down? i wonder what is a typical lifespan of a tradeline with a carefull piggybacking strategy

I have about 30 AUs sold on a barclays card.  It has been almost 2 years.  So far, so good.  Does that help you?

[NAEByrd85]

I added an authorized user (through the "new" company) to my Capital One card back in Feb. Now Capital One has frozen the account and opened a case. They want the drivers license and SSN of the user. Has anyone else experienced this with Capital One? Or is the user I added likely illegit?

[BikeFanatic]

Capitol ONE has done that before to others. My account is in restricted status after abouit six total AU adds, 2 at a time, for last six months.  I have not called them to ask why, I assume they want info on the AU's

[meatgrinder]

Citi's site doesn't let me add the SS# online so I have to call, and the calls to them generally suck and take forever.  I tried adding online once but the AU didn't post since I didn't add the social.

For Citi, after the AU has been added online, I've been submitting the AUs SSN through the secure contact us link and its worked fine so far. Have not had to call in yet after 15 or so AU aDDS.

[monarda]

Got my first sale from the old company, for a card I transferred from the new company, that had 6 sales on it in 2017.  Today I got a letter from US Bank. The card is now "restricted". I haven't called them yet. I'm interpreting that meaning no more AUs can be added to that card, but I'm not sure what happens to the AU I just added. And whether or not I can use the card for small purchases anymore.  I sent a copy of the letter to the old company today, no response yet. I have a balance on the card that I'll pay down slowly. Hopefully I can get that card reinstated eventually. But that one is done for tradelines.

Anyone else get a letter from US Bank?

[MasterStache]

I received the total for 2 adds and the bonus today all as one payment.  I'm impressed with the "old" company so far.

It's a sign of how far we've come that paying the correct amount at the agreed upon time counts as impressive improvement.

Indeed it is a low bar.  But after only having dealt with the "new" company until now, this feels like a breath of fresh air.

Hey I'm right there with you, bud.  We switched our cards too, and are much happier.

Yeah, it's nice to work with an efficient and competent company.

[BikeFanatic]

Got my first sale from the old company, for a card I transferred from the new company, that had 6 sales on it in 2017.  Today I got a letter from US Bank. The card is now "restricted". I haven't called them yet. I'm interpreting that meaning no more AUs can be added to that card, but I'm not sure what happens to the AU I just added. And whether or not I can use the card for small purchases anymore.  I sent a copy of the letter to the old company today, no response yet. I have a balance on the card that I'll pay down slowly. Hopefully I can get that card reinstated eventually. But that one is done for tradelines.

I had that situation with Capitol one. I did as you did, pay it off slowly so that the tradeline AU on there can have success, and I would get paid. Even with my card in restricted status, my AU posted OK. I paid the minimum for those two months. I never contacted them to see what was up.

[topshot]

I paid the minimum for those two months.

You felt paying interest would look less suspicious?

[DavidAnnArbor]

Citi's site doesn't let me add the SS# online so I have to call, and the calls to them generally suck and take forever.  I tried adding online once but the AU didn't post since I didn't add the social.

For Citi, after the AU has been added online, I've been submitting the AUs SSN through the secure contact us link and its worked fine so far. Have not had to call in yet after 15 or so AU aDDS.

How do you draft an online message to let them know you want to add the SSN with the Authorized User?

[frugalnacho]

Citi's site doesn't let me add the SS# online so I have to call, and the calls to them generally suck and take forever.  I tried adding online once but the AU didn't post since I didn't add the social.

For Citi, after the AU has been added online, I've been submitting the AUs SSN through the secure contact us link and its worked fine so far. Have not had to call in yet after 15 or so AU aDDS.

How do you draft an online message to let them know you want to add the SSN with the Authorized User?

OMG this would make the process infinitely more efficient with citi.

[beekayworld]

For Citi, after the AU has been added online, I've been submitting the AUs SSN through the secure contact us link and its worked fine so far. Have not had to call in yet after 15 or so AU aDDS.

This is a great idea! Then I can be sure they spell the name correctly as well.

[beekayworld]

How do you draft an online message to let them know you want to add the SSN with the Authorized User?

Two methods:
Under "Services" select "Statements & Documents". From that page click "View Secure Message Center."

Or, on the front page at the very bottom in the black area with all of the categories, under the "Help & Support" choices, select "Contact us." On the next page, at the bottom on a white background is "Read messages from secure message center." (In spite of it's name, it allows you to send, not just read.)

[frugalnacho]

How quickly do you add AU?  I got an email monday evening saying I had new AU to add, but I didn't have time to log in and get the info and call yet.  I got an email from TL company today asking if they were added saying there were due by 5/21 (the night I got the notification).  Now I'm ready to add them, but the email made it sound like if they weren't added by 5/21 she had to replace them, so I don't know if I should go ahead and add them or if she's going to move them to another card.  This card has been filling up consistently and I just removed 2 AU last week, so I expect I'd get another 2 slots right away.

Do you jump on adding AU immediately? What's a reasonable time frame to get them added?  I feel like it often takes a week or so to show up after adding them anyway.

Well apparently if you don't add them by the due date you don't get paid.  So I got 6 hours notice to add them (got emails at 5:29 PM and 5:48PM on 5/21 that were apparently due to add by 5/21).  Since I added them late (48 hours after notified) I got to take all the risk of adding weird names to my card, used up my 2 slots (since it's suspicious to remove AU so quickly I've been instructed to leave them), got to sit on the phone with citi for 20 minutes, and I don't get paid.  wtf new company?

Now I have in my tasks to remove both AU 2 months after I added them (plus a couple extra days for some reason), so they will come off just after my July statement posts, which means the next AU that gets added will actually post August 22.  Since I'm not getting paid, what's the risk in removing them early?  Is removing them after 2 weeks (and moving the card to the old company) really going to look more suspicious than me adding/removing 2 random names every 2 months?  I could get a full cycle of 2 new AU on in the meantime rather than letting the current ones get 2 credit report postings for free.   Or should I just ride it out? 

EDIT:

How long does it take for the tradeline companies to vet potential AU?  Last cycle I ran into the same situation where I was notified just before closing date, and I had to call citi 3 times to get them added.  When I looked on my portal it showed that each AU purchased the tradeline 2-3 weeks prior, but I wasn't notified until just before closing, and when I inquired why I was told that it takes them a bit of time to verify the AU and they didn't want to jump the gun until they properly vetted them.  Seemed funny to me that both cleared the process just a day or so before I needed to add them.  This cycle one of the AU shows a purchase date the same day I was notified to add.  How do some of them apparently take 2-3 weeks to verify, but this one got same day approval?

[ditkanate]

Anyone had their US Bank card shut down before?  Had 2 sales from the "old" company last month, after many months of no activity from the "new" company.  Today I got an email from Netflix to update my payment details.  I'd been charging Netflix to my US Bank card for the nominal tradeline activity.  I updated the card details with Netflix but still kept getting an error message.  Now I log in to my US Bank account online and there aren't any accounts listed.  I'm assuming it's a shutdown? 

Kinda sucks, actually got sales for once and kapow.  No more.  :(

Received the letter today and I quote:

"Dear CARDHOLDER NAME: (that's not me protecting my identity, that's actually what it says on the letter)

The overall credit performance of our cardmembers is periodically reviewed.  As a result of a recent review your account has been restricted effective immediately.  Our decision was based on the following principal reason(s):

    -    The pattern of adding and removing authorized users on your account(s) poses a risk to the bank. 

if you have any questions about this decision, you can speak with one of our Credit Specialists blah blah blah blah.

Sincerely,
Risk Department"

[DavidAnnArbor]

How do you draft an online message to let them know you want to add the SSN with the Authorized User?

Two methods:
Under "Services" select "Statements & Documents". From that page click "View Secure Message Center."

Or, on the front page at the very bottom in the black area with all of the categories, under the "Help & Support" choices, select "Contact us." On the next page, at the bottom on a white background is "Read messages from secure message center." (In spite of it's name, it allows you to send, not just read.)

My question is not how to send receive emails, but what are you going to state in this email to them?  "Include the social security number for the authorized user for this card" 

[lmf]

Anyone had their US Bank card shut down before?  Had 2 sales from the "old" company last month, after many months of no activity from the "new" company.  Today I got an email from Netflix to update my payment details.  I'd been charging Netflix to my US Bank card for the nominal tradeline activity.  I updated the card details with Netflix but still kept getting an error message.  Now I log in to my US Bank account online and there aren't any accounts listed.  I'm assuming it's a shutdown? 

Kinda sucks, actually got sales for once and kapow.  No more.  :(

Received the letter today and I quote:

"Dear CARDHOLDER NAME: (that's not me protecting my identity, that's actually what it says on the letter)

The overall credit performance of our cardmembers is periodically reviewed.  As a result of a recent review your account has been restricted effective immediately.  Our decision was based on the following principal reason(s):

    -    The pattern of adding and removing authorized users on your account(s) poses a risk to the bank. 

if you have any questions about this decision, you can speak with one of our Credit Specialists blah blah blah blah.

Sincerely,
Risk Department"

I just got the exact same letter.  Same scenario as you.  I added two AUs with the old company after many months of no activity with the new company and now my account is restricted.  Apparently US Bank is cracking down.

[dragoncar]

Anyone had their US Bank card shut down before?  Had 2 sales from the "old" company last month, after many months of no activity from the "new" company.  Today I got an email from Netflix to update my payment details.  I'd been charging Netflix to my US Bank card for the nominal tradeline activity.  I updated the card details with Netflix but still kept getting an error message.  Now I log in to my US Bank account online and there aren't any accounts listed.  I'm assuming it's a shutdown? 

Kinda sucks, actually got sales for once and kapow.  No more.  :(

Received the letter today and I quote:

"Dear CARDHOLDER NAME: (that's not me protecting my identity, that's actually what it says on the letter)

The overall credit performance of our cardmembers is periodically reviewed.  As a result of a recent review your account has been restricted effective immediately.  Our decision was based on the following principal reason(s):

    -    The pattern of adding and removing authorized users on your account(s) poses a risk to the bank. 

if you have any questions about this decision, you can speak with one of our Credit Specialists blah blah blah blah.

Sincerely,
Risk Department"

I just got the exact same letter.  Same scenario as you.  I added two AUs with the old company after many months of no activity with the new company and now my account is restricted.  Apparently US Bank is cracking down.

Wow, that sounds awfully specific.  Nothing like "unable to service your needs"

[BikeFanatic]

I paid the minimum for those two months.
You felt paying interest would look less suspicious?

NO, Once Cap One placed me on restricted status,  I was not able to add AU, however the ones on there still posted. I paid the minimum to make my small balance last 3 months, in that way I am assured the AU will post adn I will get paid for those two. But now we are done - unable to add any more AU.

[meatgrinder]

How do you draft an online message to let them know you want to add the SSN with the Authorized User?

Two methods:
Under "Services" select "Statements & Documents". From that page click "View Secure Message Center."

Or, on the front page at the very bottom in the black area with all of the categories, under the "Help & Support" choices, select "Contact us." On the next page, at the bottom on a white background is "Read messages from secure message center." (In spite of it's name, it allows you to send, not just read.)

My question is not how to send receive emails, but what are you going to state in this email to them?  "Include the social security number for the authorized user for this card"

I tell them "Please add SSN # xxx-xx-xxxx for authorized user Joe schmoe".  The card number referenced is already selected in the secure message center.

[frugalnacho]

Wow, that sounds awfully specific.  Nothing like "unable to service your needs"

Maybe they had a run in with @PointsLawyer and decided to get specific.

[DavidAnnArbor]

How do you draft an online message to let them know you want to add the SSN with the Authorized User?

Two methods:
Under "Services" select "Statements & Documents". From that page click "View Secure Message Center."

Or, on the front page at the very bottom in the black area with all of the categories, under the "Help & Support" choices, select "Contact us." On the next page, at the bottom on a white background is "Read messages from secure message center." (In spite of it's name, it allows you to send, not just read.)

My question is not how to send receive emails, but what are you going to state in this email to them?  "Include the social security number for the authorized user for this card"

I tell them "Please add SSN # xxx-xx-xxxx for authorized user Joe schmoe".  The card number referenced is already selected in the secure message center.

Thanks

[MasterStache]

First Discover, now US Bank? And possibly Cap One? Seems the well is drying up. I wonder who is next.

[secondcor521]

Anyone had their US Bank card shut down before?  Had 2 sales from the "old" company last month, after many months of no activity from the "new" company.  Today I got an email from Netflix to update my payment details.  I'd been charging Netflix to my US Bank card for the nominal tradeline activity.  I updated the card details with Netflix but still kept getting an error message.  Now I log in to my US Bank account online and there aren't any accounts listed.  I'm assuming it's a shutdown? 

Kinda sucks, actually got sales for once and kapow.  No more.  :(

Received the letter today and I quote:

"Dear CARDHOLDER NAME: (that's not me protecting my identity, that's actually what it says on the letter)

The overall credit performance of our cardmembers is periodically reviewed.  As a result of a recent review your account has been restricted effective immediately.  Our decision was based on the following principal reason(s):

    -    The pattern of adding and removing authorized users on your account(s) poses a risk to the bank. 

if you have any questions about this decision, you can speak with one of our Credit Specialists blah blah blah blah.

Sincerely,
Risk Department"

Despite me crowing upthread that I hadn't been affected with my USBank cards, I got two letters in the mail today from USBank dated 5/30.

A couple of data points:

I actually have three USBank cards listed with New Company and only received letters on two of them.  Since the beginning of 2017, one had 6 AUs, one had 8 AUs, and one had 1 AU.  So it may be that one can continue to milk things at a lower rate.  Or it could be that more than X AUs will get you selected.

The letter didn't actually restrict my accounts, it just warned me that they might restrict my account at some future point if they "continue to notice a patter of activity that poses risk to you or to the bank it may result in closure to further transactions."

One of the things I think would be valuable in this thread is if people start to post more data points about adverse action and things they have done that have resolved the adverse action, and/or data points so people can start to figure out what triggers adverse action and what doesn't.

[ditkanate]

For my US Bank card I had originally listed it with the "new" company. 

Had 4 sales in 2017:
1 in May 2017
2 in June 2017
1 in Oct 2017

Didn't see any sales for a while so moved it over to the "old" company when ARS posted the referral bonus from them. 

Got 2 sales right away in April. 

Had my account restricted in late may. Haven't done anything to remedy it and likely won't any time soon. 

[Padonak]

For my US Bank card I had originally listed it with the "new" company. 

Had 4 sales in 2017:
1 in May 2017
2 in June 2017
1 in Oct 2017

Didn't see any sales for a while so moved it over to the "old" company when ARS posted the referral bonus from them. 

Got 2 sales right away in April. 

Had my account restricted in late may. Haven't done anything to remedy it and likely won't any time soon.

Btw am i the only one who gets almost no sales with the "new" company? I got only one sale this year. I always registered AUs on time but refused to register one or two because they were too risky.