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

[CanuckExpat]

Point of reference: Bank of America shut down all of my accounts, not just those I was selling tradelines on. This included a business account. Thankfully, I wasn't relying on any of them.

Can also confirm this recently, last month or so: My wife was selling AU's on two BOA personal cards. Immediately after an AU add something triggered a security alert (locked out of her account, had to reset password, verify identity, etc.). End result was all her BOA personal credit cards, and a business credit card were shut down.

Tangential related warning if relevant, the net result on her credit score for those cards being closed seems to be about a 50 point ding. One of the closed cards was a bit older, and as a result her average age of credit now probably seems younger. The dip in credit score  is not at all the end of the world for us, more a slight chuckle/annoyance but thought it might be worth pointing out this happened as a warning for anyone who it might have larger impact on. Always one more thing to consider

[BikeFanatic]

@Catica I don’t know if discover has a hard limit on AU. I do know I have one and I must have put 30 or more on there. When they send out the card it had a number on it that seems to be the number of AU added as it goes up on each card. If I am correct about that then I have had 40 users on discover.
The discover is my oldest card and did tradelines on it from 3 different companies and only 2 to 3 users at a time rarely 4 users.

[MoneyTree]

Tangential related warning if relevant, the net result on her credit score for those cards being closed seems to be about a 50 point ding. One of the closed cards was a bit older, and as a result her average age of credit now probably seems younger. The dip in credit score  is not at all the end of the world for us, more a slight chuckle/annoyance but thought it might be worth pointing out this happened as a warning for anyone who it might have larger impact on. Always one more thing to consider

don't closed cards remain on your credit report for 10 years, even after closing?

So the 50 point ding may be more related to something like a drop in total available credit or a higher utilization ratio maybe?

[secondcor521]

Closure data point.

I had two USBank cards shut down.

The lines were approaching five years old.  The letter from USBank said "The pattern of adding and removing authorized users on your accounts poses a risk to the bank."  The letter and the closure were effective July 31.

They were with New Company from 1/2017 through 6/2019, then with Old Company from 7/2019 to now.  I had a total of 18 AUs with New Company and 27 AUs with Old Company across these two cards.  I never had more than three AUs on either card at any one time.

I followed all recommendations from both New Company and Old Company.  Although it is disappointing, it is not surprising and I certainly expected this to happen at some point.

I still have little to no need to use credit cards, and I still have twelve credit cards from nine other issuers, and I am comfortable with the ongoing risk.  So I plan to (a) continue selling on my other cards with Old Company, (b) age a couple of cards and enroll them when they get old enough, and (c) try to get more USBank credit cards for either SUBs or piggybacking at some point in the future.

Happy to give more details or answer questions although I may decline to answer some types of questions to maintain my privacy.

Further update, I received a phone call and an email from USBank reaching out to review my USBank checking account activity.  The CSR seemed mystified as to why I was referrred to their department for review, and I didn't express my opinion that it was due to my piggybacking activity on my USBank credit cards.  Anyway, he said that generally they reviewed to see if customers were using personal checking accounts for business activity, and the flagged activity clearly was not that (it was just general cash flow and paying my kids' college tuition bills and such).  He said he'd make some notes and close out the referral.

(My commissions from piggybacking go into a different checking account.)

[Catica]

@Catica I don’t know if discover has a hard limit on AU. I do know I have one and I must have put 30 or more on there. When they send out the card it had a number on it that seems to be the number of AU added as it goes up on each card. If I am correct about that then I have had 40 users on discover.
The discover is my oldest card and did tradelines on it from 3 different companies and only 2 to 3 users at a time rarely 4 users.

Thanks.  I think I'll let them age a bit.  It doesn't seem worth getting $25 per spot.

[solon]

Point of reference: Bank of America shut down all of my accounts, not just those I was selling tradelines on. This included a business account. Thankfully, I wasn't relying on any of them.

Can also confirm this recently, last month or so: My wife was selling AU's on two BOA personal cards. Immediately after an AU add something triggered a security alert (locked out of her account, had to reset password, verify identity, etc.). End result was all her BOA personal credit cards, and a business credit card were shut down.

Tangential related warning if relevant, the net result on her credit score for those cards being closed seems to be about a 50 point ding. One of the closed cards was a bit older, and as a result her average age of credit now probably seems younger. The dip in credit score  is not at all the end of the world for us, more a slight chuckle/annoyance but thought it might be worth pointing out this happened as a warning for anyone who it might have larger impact on. Always one more thing to consider

I bet her score won't be low for long. Check again in two months and it will be back up where it was.

[HBFIRE]

Just got my Discover login locked and they are requiring a 4506T verification.  Normally this is used for income verification purposes, but it's weird this is happening out of the blue so I'm pretty sure it's tied to authorized user additions.  Has anyone had this?  My limit on this card is around 35 K, so it's possible with the current economic conditions they are verifying income on higher limits.

Just an update here, account access is back open (card was never deactivated).   Just took a few days to process.  Next thing I did was request a limit increase obviously.  Denied for that haha.  It's a good card for AU use as it's over 30 K limit, so glad it's still active. 

[PVkcin]

I am thinking of starting tradelines but have never done it before. I have a Chase card that would be the best payout - but I also realize they have a higher closure rate.  They also mentioned that if I have other Chase cards they could end up closing all my chase cards.

If they end up closing my chase cards, does anybody know if I would still be eligible to sign back up for them in the future and get a signup bonus? Even if I waited 2 years to signup again, would I be approved or am I "banned for life?"

(I'm trying to figure out if it's worth enrolling a card)

[arebelspy]

Chase actually seems to have a very low closure rate, but when they do, they blacklist you. No new cards, close all cards. Not worth it to me, but YMMV.

[Catica]

What's the best way to ask for credit line increase?  Online or call?  I'm specifically interested in Barclays.  When I tried doing it online I got denied and it was a hard pull (showed up in Credit Karma, I'm not sure if it means hard or soft pull actually).  If I was to call is it up to the person I'm talking to or are they going to do the same thing I've done myself online?  Anyone know?

[erutio]

The customer service rep you talk to when you call just presses the same CLI button as you do.  They have no higher decision making authority.
If you apply for a CLI and get denied, you can talk to someone who may actually do something about it.  To do that, search online for something called a 'recon number' for your particular credit card.  Recon stands for reconsideration.  In that case, you may plead your case for a CLI.  These recon numbers are usually shared on credit-specific sites and forums.

[Catica]

The customer service rep you talk to when you call just presses the same CLI button as you do.  They have no higher decision making authority.
If you apply for a CLI and get denied, you can talk to someone who may actually do something about it.  To do that, search online for something called a 'recon number' for your particular credit card.  Recon stands for reconsideration.  In that case, you may plead your case for a CLI.  These recon numbers are usually shared on credit-specific sites and forums.

Thanks!

[MoMoney88]

Dang I just got an email from Capital One-- they are decreasing my CL from $30k to $10k!!!!  It's a 13 yr old card too.
In the 2.5 years of selling AU spots, it's brought in over $8k.... and to make matters worse... we just signed to build a new house and will be shopping for a good mortgage loan rate!   UGH!!!

I am going to call this afternoon to see if they will reconsider.  Has anyone else had to go through this recently?
The reason for the reduction was due using only a portion of my CL.  I've heard Chase and Cap One have been doing some auditing and reducing CL recently due to COVID/economy issues.

[MasterStache]

Dang I just got an email from Capital One-- they are decreasing my CL from $30k to $10k!!!!  It's a 13 yr old card too.
In the 2.5 years of selling AU spots, it's brought in over $8k.... and to make matters worse... we just signed to build a new house and will be shopping for a good mortgage loan rate!   UGH!!!

I am going to call this afternoon to see if they will reconsider.  Has anyone else had to go through this recently?
The reason for the reduction was due using only a portion of my CL.  I've heard Chase and Cap One have been doing some auditing and reducing CL recently due to COVID/economy issues.

Not recently but had a very similar experience with Cap One almost 3 years ago. They actually decreased my credit line significantly and refused to budge on increasing it.

[arebelspy]

Dang I just got an email from Capital One-- they are decreasing my CL from $30k to $10k!!!!  It's a 13 yr old card too.
In the 2.5 years of selling AU spots, it's brought in over $8k.... and to make matters worse... we just signed to build a new house and will be shopping for a good mortgage loan rate!   UGH!!!

I am going to call this afternoon to see if they will reconsider.  Has anyone else had to go through this recently?
The reason for the reduction was due using only a portion of my CL.  I've heard Chase and Cap One have been doing some auditing and reducing CL recently due to COVID/economy issues.

Ick, that's a bummer.

Regarding the mortgage rate, once you're past 750, you should be fine. The card is still just as old and with the same on-time payment, so unless your DTI is drastically affected, hopefully it won't hit your credit score too much.

Having it be worth a lot less in TL sales though is definitely a bummer.

[BikeFanatic]

Please report back if they agree to re instate your higher credit limit, I also got decreased by chase and Capital one.

[Padonak]

Please report back if they agree to re instate your higher credit limit, I also got decreased by chase and Capital one.

Were you using these cards at all? When was the last transaction?

[nickelwise]

I just got hit by a Capital One credit line reduction as well. I've been putting regular charges through on the card, hundreds of dollars most months, just keeping it under 10% utilization as per Old Company rules.

[secondcor521]

Closure data point.

I had two USBank cards shut down.

The lines were approaching five years old.  The letter from USBank said "The pattern of adding and removing authorized users on your accounts poses a risk to the bank."  The letter and the closure were effective July 31.

They were with New Company from 1/2017 through 6/2019, then with Old Company from 7/2019 to now.  I had a total of 18 AUs with New Company and 27 AUs with Old Company across these two cards.  I never had more than three AUs on either card at any one time.

I followed all recommendations from both New Company and Old Company.  Although it is disappointing, it is not surprising and I certainly expected this to happen at some point.

I still have little to no need to use credit cards, and I still have twelve credit cards from nine other issuers, and I am comfortable with the ongoing risk.  So I plan to (a) continue selling on my other cards with Old Company, (b) age a couple of cards and enroll them when they get old enough, and (c) try to get more USBank credit cards for either SUBs or piggybacking at some point in the future.

Happy to give more details or answer questions although I may decline to answer some types of questions to maintain my privacy.

Further update, I received a phone call and an email from USBank reaching out to review my USBank checking account activity.  The CSR seemed mystified as to why I was referrred to their department for review, and I didn't express my opinion that it was due to my piggybacking activity on my USBank credit cards.  Anyway, he said that generally they reviewed to see if customers were using personal checking accounts for business activity, and the flagged activity clearly was not that (it was just general cash flow and paying my kids' college tuition bills and such).  He said he'd make some notes and close out the referral.

(My commissions from piggybacking go into a different checking account.)

Further update, I received an email from Old Company saying they had to refund the existing AUs on those two cards since the account showed as closed on the AU credit reports.  I assume that they will take those commissions back from me as well - they had already paid me for them.  This is all understandable but of course a bit of a bummer.

[MoMoney88]

I just called Cap One about my CL decrease (from $30,000 to $10,000) and I asked to speak to manager level.  A "Sr Acct Rep" got on the phone and I explained I am purchasing a new build home and was counting on this CL to keep my credit score high so I can lock in the lowest possible mortgage rate in a few months.

He basically said he understands, but there is nothing they can do, the decision is final but I could check back in 6 months and reapply for an increase.

Yeah, well, that's too late for my mortgage rate lock.

It shouldn't affect my credit score much at all, it's really the tradelines that I'm disappointed with.

I've gotten 7 AU's so far this year, pretty busy with that card. 

Oh well, it happens I guess.

[MoneyTree]

What's the best way to ask for credit line increase?  Online or call?  I'm specifically interested in Barclays.  When I tried doing it online I got denied and it was a hard pull (showed up in Credit Karma, I'm not sure if it means hard or soft pull actually).  If I was to call is it up to the person I'm talking to or are they going to do the same thing I've done myself online?  Anyone know?

What was the reason you were denied? There is a reason, either you've opened accounts too recently, your usage of the card is too low, your stated annual income isn't high enough, or some other reason. The reason isn't purely because you attempted online. If you didn't get a reason right away, some companies will send you a letter telling you why your request was denied. That way you'll have a better idea of what you need to change the next time you ask for an increase

[Catica]

What's the best way to ask for credit line increase?  Online or call?  I'm specifically interested in Barclays.  When I tried doing it online I got denied and it was a hard pull (showed up in Credit Karma, I'm not sure if it means hard or soft pull actually).  If I was to call is it up to the person I'm talking to or are they going to do the same thing I've done myself online?  Anyone know?

What was the reason you were denied? There is a reason, either you've opened accounts too recently, your usage of the card is too low, your stated annual income isn't high enough, or some other reason. The reason isn't purely because you attempted online. If you didn't get a reason right away, some companies will send you a letter telling you why your request was denied. That way you'll have a better idea of what you need to change the next time you ask for an increase

I don’t remember now but I think they said something about having multiple cards with them and the total credit being already high.

[modulus]

Any tips on how to best "spend" on these cards without raising red flags?  Most of the cards I posted for tradelines were sitting unused for the last several months/years.  Obviously I will be keeping below 10% utilization.  I was thinking about just buying a $10 Amazon giftcard on each card every month - any issues I may be overlooking with this strategy?

[secondcor521]

Any tips on how to best "spend" on these cards without raising red flags?  Most of the cards I posted for tradelines were sitting unused for the last several months/years.  Obviously I will be keeping below 10% utilization.  I was thinking about just buying a $10 Amazon giftcard on each card every month - any issues I may be overlooking with this strategy?

People probably do things in various ways, but I do a $2.50 Amazon gift card every month on cards that currently have AUs.  This appears to work just fine to ensure that the CL posts to the AUs' credit reports, and nobody else (Amazon or the CC issuers) seems to care.  I also have all my cards set up for autopay full balance on the due date, but that's pretty standard fare.

If your credit card does come to the attention of the bank for whatever reason due to piggybacking, if you're doing what I'm doing you're probably toast.  It's unclear if a more normal pattern of usage (putting groceries and gas and regular purchases on the card) would help out in this case.  I can imagine it might or might not.  I don't think there are many data points on this.

[Car Jack]

If you have a bunch of cards doing tradelines, it helps to keep a spread sheet with the closing and pay dates and when you last made a purchase.  I color code so I can see which ones have AU's on them and write myself notes like "spend Barclays" when I'm out on errands.  If I need to just get them done, then $3 on Amazon it is.

I also do low balance forgiveness and there, amazon is the absolute best way.  Too difficult to maximize $1.99 with a gas pump. 

[aetherie]

Dang I just got an email from Capital One-- they are decreasing my CL from $30k to $10k!!!!  It's a 13 yr old card too.
In the 2.5 years of selling AU spots, it's brought in over $8k.... and to make matters worse... we just signed to build a new house and will be shopping for a good mortgage loan rate!   UGH!!!

I am going to call this afternoon to see if they will reconsider.  Has anyone else had to go through this recently?
The reason for the reduction was due using only a portion of my CL.  I've heard Chase and Cap One have been doing some auditing and reducing CL recently due to COVID/economy issues.

Same thing just happened to me ($31k card reduced to $10k). Ugh.

[Riker626]

I have a Capital One card with an AU on it.  My most recent statement went positive due to a refund and bad timing.  I have a credit of 62 dollars on the card.  Will Capital One still report this since it's not zero or am I screwed on this?  The prior month I had a balance I owed on.

I am also wondering that when a card has a balance it reports (I know that).  But then the next period it goes to zero, does it still report?  Just for that period since it just went to zero?

Thanks in advance

[MoneyTree]

If you have a bunch of cards doing tradelines, it helps to keep a spread sheet with the closing and pay dates and when you last made a purchase.  I color code so I can see which ones have AU's on them and write myself notes like "spend Barclays" when I'm out on errands.  If I need to just get them done, then $3 on Amazon it is.

I also do low balance forgiveness and there, amazon is the absolute best way.  Too difficult to maximize $1.99 with a gas pump.

I just make sure that making a purchase is one of my steps in adding an AU. You will get the add request before your statement date, so right after adding the AU, I immediately go and purchase a gift card.

Amazon gift card works fine, but I opt to buy Target gift cards at a discount on a discount gift card website (i usually get between 7%-12% discount) , and then immediately add it to my Target gift card balance online.

[arebelspy]

I am also wondering that when a card has a balance it reports (I know that).  But then the next period it goes to zero, does it still report?  Just for that period since it just went to zero?

I only ever do the charge the first month. I think once it's on, it's fine, until you remove them.

[frugalnacho]

I just had citi recommend a "security closure" when removing an AU.  Seems bizarre.

We recommend a security closure when removing users to prevent fraudulent use of the account. If you refuse to close you will be responsible for all charges made by the authorized user unit the account is security closed.

[ducky19]

I just had citi recommend a "security closure" when removing an AU.  Seems bizarre.

We recommend a security closure when removing users to prevent fraudulent use of the account. If you refuse to close you will be responsible for all charges made by the authorized user unit the account is security closed.

I get a similar question from Citi reps asking if I feel there is a risk with the AU making fraudulent charges once removed, and if so they will "close" the account and issue a new card. I put "close" in quotes because the tradeline remains the same on your credit report (age included), they just issue you a new number. I always respond that there is no risk and I have the user's card in my possession. That usually satisfies them. There's really nothing wrong with them issuing you a new number unless you're like me and have your Netflix / Hulu / electric bill, etc. on autopay, then it's a PITA.

[Car Jack]

A new card/number won't interrupt AUs.  My son (an AU) thought he lost his wallet.  I contacted Cap One and got a new card just for him.  As it turned out, Cap One uses different numbers for every AU, so when I look into transactions, I can see who used the card.  Not all card issuers do this.  I noted Discover does not.  AU cards have the same number as my own.

[frugalnacho]

Ah that makes more sense than actually closing the account. When I remove them over phone I get asked if I think there is a risk and if I got the card, but haven't heard the terminology security closure.

[MoMoney88]

If anyone knows of a decent Tradeline company that sells CITI card, and you are willing to share, please PM me the info.
I am also looking into the old company but I'm not sure if they are selling CITI still.

Gotta make up for the loss of my Cap One CL somehow  :-)
(went from $30k CL down to $10k)

[arebelspy]

If anyone knows of a decent Tradeline company that sells CITI card, and you are willing to share, please PM me the info.
I am also looking into the old company but I'm not sure if they are selling CITI still.

Gotta make up for the loss of my Cap One CL somehow  :-)
(went from $30k CL down to $10k)

Old Company does indeed take Citibank.

[bangbang]

I have a question about Barclay tradelines. I have a Barclay card that is now eligible. I have read in the past that Barclay will not close accounts, but only allows a lifetime max of AU's. Is this correct? Is there a reason I should take the old company's recommendation and add only 2 AU's at a time, or should I max them out?

[secondcor521]

I have a question about Barclay tradelines. I have a Barclay card that is now eligible. I have read in the past that Barclay will not close accounts, but only allows a lifetime max of AU's. Is this correct? Is there a reason I should take the old company's recommendation and add only 2 AU's at a time, or should I max them out?

All issuers probably close accounts from time to time, so I wouldn't take the lack of Barclays action as a guarantee.

There has been some anecdotal data on this thread about Barclays having a lifetime max.  IIRC it's 35-45 or thereabouts.

The degree of risk you take is up to you.  Personally I follow the TL company's recommendations to the letter as best I can (and still had two US Bank CC's shut down recently, FWIW).  Others don't.  I happen to suspect that more AUs at a time increases your risk of getting shut down, but I also don't think it's a hard and fast rule.

[BikeFanatic]

Barclays may be one of the more tolerant cards for number of concurrent  users. I have 6 AU right now on my wife’s barclay card.
However If you are only getting 25 or 50 dollars a user then I would wait until it is worth at least 100 dollars a user. I maxed out a Barclays card, they did not close my account but they will not let me add any more users. I probably had 35 or more on that card over a year or so.

[ducky19]

Another data point - I had two different Barclay cards hit the lifetime limit at 30 users, so yes, season those suckers before using them! I have anywhere between 5-6 users added at any given time and they are so easy to add and remove. I currently have 2 cards enrolled, one earns $125 a pop and the other $200, so definitely make sure they are over 2 years old and your limit is as high as you can get it.

If you decide to close a card so that you can open another (they have a limit of 4 cards at any given time), be sure to move some of that available credit to another line that you're getting ready to enroll - you can't get the increase after you close the account. Learned that one the hard way on one of my wife's accounts.

[Catica]

Any idea when it's a good time to ask Barclay for credit increase?  My cards are about 6 months old. for the past 2 months I'm trying to use all my Barclay card so they see activity.  Should I wait longer before I ask for increase?

[frugalnacho]

I'm starting to get adds for my discover card now, and holy shit it's easy.  Everything is done online for the adds and the removal, it's so fast and easy compared to every other card I've been dealing with! I think i'm going to go apply for additional discover cards for me and my wife. 

[MoneyTree]

I'm starting to get adds for my discover card now, and holy shit it's easy.  Everything is done online for the adds and the removal, it's so fast and easy compared to every other card I've been dealing with! I think i'm going to go apply for additional discover cards for me and my wife.

Yeah, discover and Barclays are great in terms of online only adds. I think you can only have 2 discover cards per person, though. One thing I have run into with discover is that their address verification is sometimes overly strict. on more than one occasion, their interface would not allow me to save the AU's address. Sometimes I can get it to save by slightly modifying it, like spelling out "Street" instead of "St" or somthing like that, but sometimes I've had to actually call in and have a rep add the address for me

[Rusted Rose]

Hi all. New to the forums, but used to hang out on Creditboards a lot until, well, I didn't need to anymore. They rocked and I'll always be grateful.

Well, I have some cards lying around, so this subject caught my eye.

Question: Does anyone have experience with Synchrony getting squirrely about AU activity? I have 2 of their cards and one would be better as a tradeliner, but I don't want to jeopardize the other.

Thanks for any info!

[FrugalZony]

I had a weird experience with Citi today.
I added an AU online and got an error message "can't help you with that...call this number" or some such thing.
While reaching for my phone, I went back to my AU screen and it actually did have the AU on the card.

I decided not to call, because it shows the AU on the account now and I don't want to get unnecessary attention

But I am wondering if I should?

Last time I had a city add, months ago, I called to try and add the SSN and they told me that wasn't possible after I had been on hold for ever.
The AU posted anyways, but it's always a bit of a nail biter for me, as I had several not post a while ago.
I'd prefer not to call, but if anyone has any insight on what that error message could have triggered, please let me know.

Quoting myself to add extra data points:
The AU mentioned above did post, albeit with a month delay.

Today I added another AU and got the same error message, when I went back to check the user appeared to be on my account, so I'm not going to call,
based on that previous experience.

Also really odd, the user I added today, sounded familiar, so I checked my records and I have had him as an AU on the same card back in November 2019.
This is with New Company. New Company confirmed that this is intentional.

[Richie Poor]

If anyone knows of a decent Tradeline company that sells CITI card, and you are willing to share, please PM me the info.
I am also looking into the old company but I'm not sure if they are selling CITI still.

Gotta make up for the loss of my Cap One CL somehow  :-)
(went from $30k CL down to $10k)

Old Company does indeed take Citibank.

I tried to add a couple of cards with the old company about two weeks ago. One of them was a citi card. They said they were not actively enrolling citi cards due to recent posting issues. They offered to give it a shot with a single spot but I declined that option and stuck with just adding the other card. I dislike dealing with posting issues but may see if anything changes down the road.

On their open enrollment emails Citi was missing from the list. That was my experience anyway.

[arebelspy]

I tried to add a couple of cards with the old company about two weeks ago. One of them was a citi card. They said they were not actively enrolling citi cards due to recent posting issues. They offered to give it a shot with a single spot but I declined that option and stuck with just adding the other card. I dislike dealing with posting issues but may see if anything changes down the road.

On their open enrollment emails Citi was missing from the list. That was my experience anyway.

Interesting.

I got updated list from the owner on Aug 11 and then a slightly revised one from the main customer service person who enrolls cards on Aug 17 (subsequent to their newsletter), and both included Citibank.

Bottom line, if you're looking to enroll a Citi card, probably worth emailing to ask.

Thanks for the info!

[katsiki]

I have a question about Barclay tradelines. I have a Barclay card that is now eligible. I have read in the past that Barclay will not close accounts, but only allows a lifetime max of AU's. Is this correct? Is there a reason I should take the old company's recommendation and add only 2 AU's at a time, or should I max them out?

All issuers probably close accounts from time to time, so I wouldn't take the lack of Barclays action as a guarantee.

There has been some anecdotal data on this thread about Barclays having a lifetime max.  IIRC it's 35-45 or thereabouts.

The degree of risk you take is up to you.  Personally I follow the TL company's recommendations to the letter as best I can (and still had two US Bank CC's shut down recently, FWIW).  Others don't.  I happen to suspect that more AUs at a time increases your risk of getting shut down, but I also don't think it's a hard and fast rule.

Thanks @bangbang  and @secondcor521  for bringing this up...

I have a number of barclay cards with old company.  I added 2 more when they opened up a while back.  They asked me if I wanted more than 2 spots each.  I didn't give it a second thought at the time.  I always have done 2 per and have been happy with the sales.  I am now wondering if I should increase this knowing that shutdown risk is pretty low with BC and these sell well.  Maybe 3 spots per card..

Anyone have any further thoughts or opinions on this?  Thanks for any input!

[CanuckExpat]

I have a number of barclay cards with old company.  I added 2 more when they opened up a while back.  They asked me if I wanted more than 2 spots each.  I didn't give it a second thought at the time.  I always have done 2 per and have been happy with the sales.  I am now wondering if I should increase this knowing that shutdown risk is pretty low with BC and these sell well.  Maybe 3 spots per card..

Anyone have any further thoughts or opinions on this?  Thanks for any input!

Is there a huge difference for you based on whether you get the income from selling three spots vs two?

Given that each Barclays card has a life time maximum number of users you can add, I'd operate under the assumption that given enough time, you will make those sales and max out the card. So if I could spread out the taxable income longer, and lower the risk of shutdown, I would. Your calculus could be different.

[arebelspy]

I have a number of barclay cards with old company.  I added 2 more when they opened up a while back.  They asked me if I wanted more than 2 spots each.  I didn't give it a second thought at the time.  I always have done 2 per and have been happy with the sales.  I am now wondering if I should increase this knowing that shutdown risk is pretty low with BC and these sell well.  Maybe 3 spots per card..

Anyone have any further thoughts or opinions on this?  Thanks for any input!

Is there a huge difference for you based on whether you get the income from selling three spots vs two?

Given that each Barclays card has a life time maximum number of users you can add, I'd operate under the assumption that given enough time, you will make those sales and max out the card. So if I could spread out the taxable income longer, and lower the risk of shutdown, I would. Your calculus could be different.

Maybe just to churn through the card's max AUs and then replace the card with a new one? But might as well let the new one age while that's happening, unless they just won't issue you more without closing some.

[arebelspy]

Capital One has dropped a lot of credit limits lately (some people in this thread have said it happened to them), and thus are not posting as advertised for AUs, and a refund is needing to be given. Make sure if your limit is decreased you inform the TL company it is enrolled with! OldCompany has had dozens of cards/orders impacted by this, and will be sending out a newsletter on this today or tomorrow, I believe, and may try to email individually and verify with cardholders their current limit.