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

[arebelspy]

Wouldn't it be easier and more clear if they all used a set scoring range?

They're not trying to make things easy, they're trying to make a profit.

They WANT their scores to be slightly different.  If they were all the same, one would only need one credit agency.  Where is the benefit there for them?

[TomTX]

Wouldn't it be easier and more clear if they all used a set scoring range?

They're not trying to make things easy, they're trying to make a profit.

They WANT their scores to be slightly different.  If they were all the same, one would only need one credit agency.  Where is the benefit there for them?

...and consumers only get to see a small fraction of the MANY variants available to lenders. Something close to 50 variants of FICO scoring have been confirmed.

[TomTX]

Okay, I called in this morning to remove 2 AUs, one call per AU.

The exact same rep answered for the second call! Same name, same pleasant recognizable voice.

I just disconnected.

Edit: Well, apparently the rep flagged the call, subsequent calls were routed directly to the fraud department and I had to go through an extended verification.

[VladTheImpaler]

Wouldn't it be easier and more clear if they all used a set scoring range?

They're not trying to make things easy, they're trying to make a profit.

They WANT their scores to be slightly different.  If they were all the same, one would only need one credit agency.  Where is the benefit there for them?

Good point, well said.🤔

[boarder42]

Okay, I called in this morning to remove 2 AUs, one call per AU.

The exact same rep answered for the second call! Same name, same pleasant recognizable voice.

I just disconnected.

Edit: Well, apparently the rep flagged the call, subsequent calls were routed directly to the fraud department and I had to go through an extended verification.

You can remove 2 au in one call if it's the same card.

[HAPPYINAZ]

Okay, I called in this morning to remove 2 AUs, one call per AU.

The exact same rep answered for the second call! Same name, same pleasant recognizable voice.

I just disconnected.

Edit: Well, apparently the rep flagged the call, subsequent calls were routed directly to the fraud department and I had to go through an extended verification.

What card company?

[ducky19]

Okay, I called in this morning to remove 2 AUs, one call per AU.

The exact same rep answered for the second call! Same name, same pleasant recognizable voice.

I just disconnected.

Edit: Well, apparently the rep flagged the call, subsequent calls were routed directly to the fraud department and I had to go through an extended verification.

What card company?

I believe any of them. I spoke to "the guy" from the tradeline company, and he said you can even remove using the secure message center on some cards - we were talking about Citi specifically - without even having to call! I would say if you are unsure, send "the guy" an email and he'll be happy to help you out. They want to make this as easy as possible for us, believe me!

One pointer he gave me was to try and call during the busier times of day. For one, you'll be less likely to get the same representative (statistically speaking), and two they will be in a hurry to help you and move on to the next customer. They really don't like for their call queues to get over a couple of minutes.

[arebelspy]

I think the concern is if you remove AUs from multiple different cards in one call (e.g. say you have two Barclays cards or whatever) it could raise a red flag or something.

[robartsd]

Since this company does the dates a bit different (payment date vs close date), does that affect when you see most of your activity?  I used to get most of my add's near the close date with TL company 1.

The statement date is pretty much always 21 days prior to the due date (minimum allowed by Federal Law) - having one date basically implies the other.

[d4future]

Started with company and haven't received any orders yet. I guess its a waiting game.

[HAPPYINAZ]

Okay, I called in this morning to remove 2 AUs, one call per AU.

The exact same rep answered for the second call! Same name, same pleasant recognizable voice.

I just disconnected.

Edit: Well, apparently the rep flagged the call, subsequent calls were routed directly to the fraud department and I had to go through an extended verification.

What card company?

I believe any of them. I spoke to "the guy" from the tradeline company, and he said you can even remove using the secure message center on some cards - we were talking about Citi specifically - without even having to call! I would say if you are unsure, send "the guy" an email and he'll be happy to help you out. They want to make this as easy as possible for us, believe me!

One pointer he gave me was to try and call during the busier times of day. For one, you'll be less likely to get the same representative (statistically speaking), and two they will be in a hurry to help you and move on to the next customer. They really don't like for their call queues to get over a couple of minutes.

My question was about which card company flagged his call.  I understand about how to remove AUs.  If you read what I originally quoted the guy says he called to remove two AUs and was flagged.  I was curious as to which card company he was dealing with. 

[beechnut]

I had an issue come up with my mailman, he was delivering mail when my wife was at the door, some of the mail was a number of AU cards, and the mailman reported "unless you can verify these people live here I can't deliver this mail". My wife said she couldn't, presumably then were then returned to sender. Anyone else have this problem or thoughts about how to mitigate it?

[solon]

One of the cards I registered with New Company turned another year older this week. So I wrote to New Company and told them my card was a year older. The reply I got was, thanks, but since it hasn't reached the next threshold for payouts, it doesn't matter.

I thought they were selling slots based on age and credit limit of the card? Even though I wouldn't get any more payout for this card, shouldn't they still want to know it's a year older so they can represent it properly to their customer?

Should I continue to report age and credit limit increases on my cards?

[ducky19]

Okay, I called in this morning to remove 2 AUs, one call per AU.

The exact same rep answered for the second call! Same name, same pleasant recognizable voice.

I just disconnected.

Edit: Well, apparently the rep flagged the call, subsequent calls were routed directly to the fraud department and I had to go through an extended verification.

What card company?

I believe any of them. I spoke to "the guy" from the tradeline company, and he said you can even remove using the secure message center on some cards - we were talking about Citi specifically - without even having to call! I would say if you are unsure, send "the guy" an email and he'll be happy to help you out. They want to make this as easy as possible for us, believe me!

One pointer he gave me was to try and call during the busier times of day. For one, you'll be less likely to get the same representative (statistically speaking), and two they will be in a hurry to help you and move on to the next customer. They really don't like for their call queues to get over a couple of minutes.

My question was about which card company flagged his call.  I understand about how to remove AUs.  If you read what I originally quoted the guy says he called to remove two AUs and was flagged.  I was curious as to which card company he was dealing with.

Yeah, my bad Happy... not sure how I misread that!

[boarder42]

this is by far the craziest/eassiest way i have ever made consistent money.  i'm amazed at the ease of this entire system. 

Profit this year 1575 so far with just 2 cards.  in 2 months.

[katsiki]

I had an issue come up with my mailman, he was delivering mail when my wife was at the door, some of the mail was a number of AU cards, and the mailman reported "unless you can verify these people live here I can't deliver this mail". My wife said she couldn't, presumably then were then returned to sender. Anyone else have this problem or thoughts about how to mitigate it?

You might call the local USPS office.  I don't think this is normal practice.  You could always have a story ready like traveling relatives are sending some mailing to you temporarily.

[arebelspy]

One of the cards I registered with New Company turned another year older this week. So I wrote to New Company and told them my card was a year older. The reply I got was, thanks, but since it hasn't reached the next threshold for payouts, it doesn't matter.

I thought they were selling slots based on age and credit limit of the card? Even though I wouldn't get any more payout for this card, shouldn't they still want to know it's a year older so they can represent it properly to their customer?

Should I continue to report age and credit limit increases on my cards?

They know the age.  They have the month/year it opened.    Definitely update them with credit limit increases.  :)

[NinetyFour]

One of the cards I registered with New Company turned another year older this week. So I wrote to New Company and told them my card was a year older. The reply I got was, thanks, but since it hasn't reached the next threshold for payouts, it doesn't matter.

I thought they were selling slots based on age and credit limit of the card? Even though I wouldn't get any more payout for this card, shouldn't they still want to know it's a year older so they can represent it properly to their customer?

Should I continue to report age and credit limit increases on my cards?

They know the age.  They have the month/year it opened.    Definitely update them with credit limit increases.  :)

The guy at the New Company told me that I should e-mail him when my card turns a year older, because his system will not automatically update that info.

[arebelspy]

Ah, good to know.  That's silly.

I'd have assumed they'd have the age somewhere and have excel (which they use for tracking everything) increment it by 1 when it passes the annual threshold.

Hope they get the portal up soon.  :)

[FrugalZony]

My statement date is at the end of this week and I had not heard, so I figured it's not going to happen this month, but then I got 3 adds at one time.

Do you guys actually activate the cards that get send to you?
My card has an option to not mail out a card and I was wondering if that would make a difference.
Rep at Company says it's more credible to have the card mailed out and activated, but it's not absolutely necessary.

What do you all do?

[arebelspy]

My statement date is at the end of this week and I had not heard, so I figured it's not going to happen this month, but then I got 3 adds at one time.

Yay!  I'm sure you have some good uses for that.  :)

It'll always be right around the end of your statement date.  Make sure you check email then and have internet/phone access to be able to add the AUs (just mentioning since I know you're off grid sometimes).  :)

Do you guys actually activate the cards that get send to you?
My card has an option to not mail out a card and I was wondering if that would make a difference.
Rep at Company says it's more credible to have the card mailed out and activated, but it's not absolutely necessary.

What do you all do?

1) No, I never activate it.
2) I always mail it.

I'm not convinced either makes a huge difference, but that's just what I do; if others do it differently, I have no argument.  :)

[d4future]

Got my first hit on new company.

Let many more come.

:)

[arebelspy]

Started with company and haven't received any orders yet. I guess its a waiting game.

Got my first hit on new company.

Looks like you won the waiting game!  ;)

For people still hearing nothing: Orders are being placed.  Be patient, you will get some!   Work on requesting credit line raises to improve your chances of people wanting to buy tradelines on them.

[FrugalZony]

Yay!  I'm sure you have some good uses for that.  :)

Yes, thanks again ARS!
I usually never count my money while sitting at the table, there'll be time enough for counting, when the dealin's done....
But this money INDEED, is already earmarked for donations, so I really really really hope it will all work out as planned!
Fingers crossed!
I did pause a bit when putting in authorized users....when the system said, that I'll be responsible for any charges they make...gulp!

Regarding being off grid, I did let Guy at Company know when signing up for this, that I may need longer lead times and that last minute adds my not always work out. He was fine with that.

I just prefer to be upfront, we sometimes go days without email / phone coverage. But I'll make it a point to try and have access a few days before statement date, now that I know I am "at the table".
Thanks again for doing all the work and sharing your findings!

[arebelspy]

I did pause a bit when putting in authorized users....when the system said, that I'll be responsible for any charges they make...gulp!

haha, same here, and I'm sure the same for most of us with our first (few) adds.  :)

But 10 years in business for this new company, 4 years for Old Company, and not a single time where an AU charged something to a tradeline.  So that makes me feel much, much better about it.

Regarding being off grid, I did let Guy at Company know when signing up for this, that I may need longer lead times and that last minute adds my not always work out. He was fine with that.

Smart.  :)

[missundecided]

For people still hearing nothing: Orders are being placed.  Be patient, you will get some!   Work on requesting credit line raises to improve your chances of people wanting to buy tradelines on them.

Is a credit line increase request a hard pull?

[arebelspy]

For people still hearing nothing: Orders are being placed.  Be patient, you will get some!   Work on requesting credit line raises to improve your chances of people wanting to buy tradelines on them.

Is a credit line increase request a hard pull?

Depends on the credit card company. Some do them, some don't.

Also, inquiries barely affect your credit score.  I have 12+ in the last year, and my score is well north of 800.  Hard inquiries are not even something I worry about anymore, since starting churning/tradeline sales. (Except in the case I was in the process of getting a mortgage or something--I wouldn't add new ones at that point.  But I'd be fine having a lot already on there.  Just try to keep underwriting clean.)

Also very likely the higher limit, if granted, will more than offset the temporary ding from the inquiry.

[missundecided]

I'm not that concerned about my score; I am trying not to rock the boat too much in my quest for the CSR! (I'm slightly over 5/24 so it's probably a moot point anyway.)

[TomTX]

Okay, I called in this morning to remove 2 AUs, one call per AU.

The exact same rep answered for the second call! Same name, same pleasant recognizable voice.

I just disconnected.

Edit: Well, apparently the rep flagged the call, subsequent calls were routed directly to the fraud department and I had to go through an extended verification.

What card company?

I believe any of them. I spoke to "the guy" from the tradeline company, and he said you can even remove using the secure message center on some cards - we were talking about Citi specifically - without even having to call! I would say if you are unsure, send "the guy" an email and he'll be happy to help you out. They want to make this as easy as possible for us, believe me!

One pointer he gave me was to try and call during the busier times of day. For one, you'll be less likely to get the same representative (statistically speaking), and two they will be in a hurry to help you and move on to the next customer. They really don't like for their call queues to get over a couple of minutes.

My question was about which card company flagged his call.  I understand about how to remove AUs.  If you read what I originally quoted the guy says he called to remove two AUs and was flagged.  I was curious as to which card company he was dealing with.

US Bank. I made several errors, and hopefully others will learn from them.

I didn't need to make 2 calls (prior sales had been staggered, this was my first time with 2 removes)

I called very early in the morning, because I wanted to wrap things up before a very busy rest of the week.

[flashflooder]

Here's a question for those already active:

From reading the thread, it sounds like the lead time between AU request and statement closing date can be quite small (sometimes 1-2 days)...  How do you guy ensure the statement posts with a balance (to make sure it gets reported).

I'm asking because a lot of my eligible lines are sockdrawered cards that I don't regularly use, and even if I make a purchase the instant I get notified of the AU add, they often take a day or two to post.  How do you get around this?

[secondcor521]

What I currently do is get the AU request, add them, and make a small purchase (coffee if I've got nothing else I need to buy, or top off the gas tank) all in the same day.  I then also make a note to myself to make an additional purchase after each card's closing date so that there will be a balance the second month as well.  But this has the risk you mention.

Another approach that I am considering is to put all of my piggybacking cards in my wallet and use them in a rotating manner for purchases.  Since I make at least a dozen purchases a month and have fewer active piggybacking tradelines, this would ensure that there is always a balance on all of my cards.

A third approach (and I think this is one that ARS uses) is to put a small recurring auto charge on each piggybacking card - like an Amazon gift certificate purchase.  Just make sure the auto charge is large enough so that the credit card company doesn't forgive the small balance.  If it is something like an Amazon gift certificate that will get used eventually, $5 a month per line seems reasonable.

[flashflooder]

Thanks for your thoughts.

I guess I was trying to avoid having to "deal with" (make payments, look at statements, etc) all those inactive cards on a routine basis.  However, assuming the best case scenario (that these lines start getting used on a consistent basis - and making me $$$) I will be doing those things anyway.

If the train really gets rolling, I will probably set up some kind of automatic charge as per your 3rd suggestion.

[boarder42]

i cant figure out how to setup an amazon recurring charge ... you have to set it up to reload when your balance goes below a level not just add 5 bucks per month.

[boarder42]

Thanks for your thoughts.

I guess I was trying to avoid having to "deal with" (make payments, look at statements, etc) all those inactive cards on a routine basis.  However, assuming the best case scenario (that these lines start getting used on a consistent basis - and making me $$$) I will be doing those things anyway.

If the train really gets rolling, I will probably set up some kind of automatic charge as per your 3rd suggestion.

its not too difficult to login to amazon and add 5 bucks to your amazon gift card on each card once a month.  esp when you consider what the profits are.  i use them to pay utility bills as well

[robartsd]

Here's a question for those already active:

From reading the thread, it sounds like the lead time between AU request and statement closing date can be quite small (sometimes 1-2 days)...  How do you guy ensure the statement posts with a balance (to make sure it gets reported).

I'm asking because a lot of my eligible lines are sockdrawered cards that I don't regularly use, and even if I make a purchase the instant I get notified of the AU add, they often take a day or two to post.  How do you get around this?

In my experience using a credit card, some vendors are consistently fast at posting charges. Charges that are pre-authorized, but the final amount may change and charges at small businesses tend to be slower than charges at large businesses where the exact charge is know at time of authorization. I imagine that Amazon gift card purchases always post by the end of the next business day.

I can think of at least two good reasons for the tradeline companies to want to provide AU requests close to the statement date: 1) the tradeline will appear on the AU's credit report sooner, 2) the tradeline maximizes their available inventory of cards by filling AUs on the card with the closest statement date first. I think I saw a post by someone here indicating that they gave the company a date that was a few days prior to the actual date. I could see this causing problems on the other end (the tradeline not posting by the date expected) but I imagine that they have a buffer on that end too. 1-2 extra days could be very handy for someone who doesn't want to schedule this small chore on a tight time frame though.

[ducky19]

I took all of my monthly recurring charges (Netflix, Sling, utilities, Republic Wireless, etc.) and put one on each card. I still have two cards without recurring charges, so will need to make a small purchase on each of these, but for the others it's one less thing I have to think about.

[Shor]

i cant figure out how to setup an amazon recurring charge ... you have to set it up to reload when your balance goes below a level not just add 5 bucks per month.

Does the recurring charge not work? I don't... understand your post. Why can't you just add 5 every month?

[boarder42]

i cant figure out how to setup an amazon recurring charge ... you have to set it up to reload when your balance goes below a level not just add 5 bucks per month.

Does the recurring charge not work? I don't... understand your post. Why can't you just add 5 every month?

i cant figure out how to do 5 bucks per month on amazon.

[letired]

Another good option is a recurring monthly donation. I make a small monthly donation to a few charities, and I've just been spreading them out across my various cards. Then I set up auto pay and don't have to worry about anything.

[merula]

Another option for automated payments would be to automate charitable giving. I have a monthly recurring $5 donation to the local public radio station, but most charities love to have recurring gifts because they allow for better planning and budgeting. If there's any charity that you plan on giving more than $60/year, consider this option.

EDIT: Sorry, letired, (and/or jinx). I'm going to have a nap and then fire ze missiles.

[MsFrugalista]

i cant figure out how to do 5 bucks per month on amazon.

If you go here, you can enter the amount you want and set it on a schedule or select 'Monthly' under Frequency. Then select the credit card you want charged. Not sure if you can set up multiple auto-loads on multiple credit cards. But that's the link that should help you with auto-load.

[letired]

Another option for automated payments would be to automate charitable giving. I have a monthly recurring $5 donation to the local public radio station, but most charities love to have recurring gifts because they allow for better planning and budgeting. If there's any charity that you plan on giving more than $60/year, consider this option.

EDIT: Sorry, letired, (and/or jinx). I'm going to have a nap and then fire ze missiles.

ahahhaha GREAT MINDS ETC ETC

[ketchup]

Been considering looking into this for a while now.

I have three eligible cards (Barclays, Discover, and Citi), all 3-4 years old.  However, they have fairly low limits (highest is 3k) so they wouldn't work for this as-is.  My income (about triple) and credit (had no real history before, now I have a mortgage and a FICO of ~710) have improved with time, so should I pretty much be a shoe-in for credit line increases?  Any particular order or strategy to trying this?  Should I do only one at a time?  (Am I overthinking this?)

[Pizzabrewer]

Been considering looking into this for a while now.

I have three eligible cards (Barclays, Discover, and Citi), all 3-4 years old.  However, they have fairly low limits (highest is 3k) so they wouldn't work for this as-is.  My income (about triple) and credit (had no real history before, now I have a mortgage and a FICO of ~710) have improved with time, so should I pretty much be a shoe-in for credit line increases?  Any particular order or strategy to trying this?  Should I do only one at a time?  (Am I overthinking this?)

In my (very limited) experience, they won't bump you up that much at once.  I had a $5000 credit limit with a PNC credit card, requested $12,000, they gave me $7500 citing my lack of experience with such high limits.

Then I just applied for a Discover card and they gave me $12,500.

[Pizzabrewer]

...but it certainly doesn't hurt to ask.  I'm pretty sure though that, once you make the request, it is 6 months before they'll consider a second request.

[ketchup]

Been considering looking into this for a while now.

I have three eligible cards (Barclays, Discover, and Citi), all 3-4 years old.  However, they have fairly low limits (highest is 3k) so they wouldn't work for this as-is.  My income (about triple) and credit (had no real history before, now I have a mortgage and a FICO of ~710) have improved with time, so should I pretty much be a shoe-in for credit line increases?  Any particular order or strategy to trying this?  Should I do only one at a time?  (Am I overthinking this?)

In my (very limited) experience, they won't bump you up that much at once.  I had a $5000 credit limit with a PNC credit card, requested $12,000, they gave me $7500 citing my lack of experience with such high limits.

Then I just applied for a Discover card and they gave me $12,500.

Hmm, annoying.  My GF just had something similar happen actually which was part of why I was concerned; Chase finally raised her many-years-old $600 limit card all the way to... $1200.  Then she applied for some Amex and got instantly approved with a 10k limit.  Dumb.

...but it certainly doesn't hurt to ask.  I'm pretty sure though that, once you make the request, it is 6 months before they'll consider a second request.

Alright.  I could put in requests soon and then do another round in 6mo if need be.  Hopefully the first round would at least get me one card into eligibility-land ($5k).

[boarder42]

i cant figure out how to do 5 bucks per month on amazon.

If you go here, you can enter the amount you want and set it on a schedule or select 'Monthly' under Frequency. Then select the credit card you want charged. Not sure if you can set up multiple auto-loads on multiple credit cards. But that's the link that should help you with auto-load.

thank you so much i couldnt figure that out ... all i could find was a different page.

[boarder42]

i've found cards you pay for with annual fees typically come with higher CL's

[CanuckExpat]

I like the recurring charitable donation thought, especially if it was a donation you would be making that way anyways
We've already lump summed our planned donations through a donor advised fund for tax reasons, but this is something I might think about. It would just be more forced giving :)

My only worry would be about the efficiency of small recurring credit card transactions and small donations vs one large non credit card donation towards the charity. Presumably this is a charity I like, so I don't want to nickel and dime them. But from what I understand, charities like signing you up for recurring giving.

The approach for us has so far to wait for a tradeline sale, and then when it goes through walk over to a grocery store and buy something small with that credit card. The grocery stores seem to post relatively quickly, as opposed to other establishments, and we usually try to be in walking distance of a grocery store. It has been tricky if we've been in the middle of travel/transit when a tradeline sold, then we have to hope to find reliable internet, make a purchase, hope it goes through in time. Etc. No missed sales yet because of that, but some close calls.

The safer thing would be to make regular purchases on the first of each month with every enrolled card. Amazon gift certificates or what have you. Our cards are sufficiently sock drawered, and our sales few enough between, that I've been willing to take the risk and extra effort (and I have time on my hands and I like taking walks to the grocery store ).

If we were making regular sales on a high enough percentage of enrolled cards, I'd consider changing my approach.

[supomglol]

Posting to follow.