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

[tj]

So we know that the SallieMae MasterCard is losing its awesome benefits, but recently I've been hearing that the card will no longer be serviced by Barclay once they do their changeover on March 1st. Apparently Commerce will be the new servicing bank, and we'll see a conversion similar to the AmEx --> Citi Costco card.

I assume this means my SallieMae will suddenly become ineligible for tradelines. :( Anyone else dealing with this and have any bright ideas to keep it going? Product change maybe?

Absolutely try the product change.

[Optimiser]

So we know that the SallieMae MasterCard is losing its awesome benefits, but recently I've been hearing that the card will no longer be serviced by Barclay once they do their changeover on March 1st. Apparently Commerce will be the new servicing bank, and we'll see a conversion similar to the AmEx --> Citi Costco card.

I assume this means my SallieMae will suddenly become ineligible for tradelines. :( Anyone else dealing with this and have any bright ideas to keep it going? Product change maybe?

I've got the same card, but didn't realize they were changing banks when they drop the good benefits. If you find a way to convert your account to another type of card or something let me know.

[TomTX]

So we know that the SallieMae MasterCard is losing its awesome benefits, but recently I've been hearing that the card will no longer be serviced by Barclay once they do their changeover on March 1st. Apparently Commerce will be the new servicing bank, and we'll see a conversion similar to the AmEx --> Citi Costco card.

I assume this means my SallieMae will suddenly become ineligible for tradelines. :( Anyone else dealing with this and have any bright ideas to keep it going? Product change maybe?

I've got the same card, but didn't realize they were changing banks when they drop the good benefits. If you find a way to convert your account to another type of card or something let me know.

Definitely call in and ask for a product change.

[arebelspy]

Got a last minute add. Cool beans.

 Will be harder to this when nomadic....

Yeah.  Leaves you two options:
1) Let them know you need a few days lead time.

The downside to this is you won't get the last minute adds, costing you money.

2) Pay for more expensive cell/data service so you can be connected, and are able to do the last minute adds even when remote.

The money you make likely more than makes up for the cost of the data service (which is itself an expense you can write-off). Since I have rentals I semi-manage, I need to be reachable anyways, so already have #2 set up, so last minute adds are no problem.

If I were going very off grid for a few days AND it was near my closing date, I'd just let them know.  Or try to time my off grid for when I don't have closing dates (easier to do in FIRE).  ;)

I've never bothered though, because I'm fairly connected anyways (and like it that way).  But if you don't, option #1 is easy enough.  :)

[Runner77]

Is the new company's website online yet? I want to add a few more cards but was waiting to do it online.

I signed up in late December but have not received any adds. I am hoping to increase my odds by adding more cards but it is getting a little frustrating seeing no activity.

[arebelspy]

Is the new company's website online yet? I want to add a few more cards but was waiting to do it online.

No.

I would not wait for anything.

I've found (in general, not just with this company) that it's better not to wait for particular promised updates by a particular deadline, especially when it comes to a giant technology rollout, which always seem to have hiccups.

In particular with this portal, I've been told since October it was coming.  I had not planned to post about the portal until it was actually up (and everyone was emailed about it), but then Kudy posted about it, so I figured I might as well fill in some details.

I would not be surprised if it is up tomorrow, or still not up a month from now.  So anyone counting on it being up for some particular reason, don't hold your breath.  Luckily the manual system works, as seen by all the people getting TL sales.

If anyone needs to have a portal, I can send you a recommendation to Old Company; as I said in the comparison post, they do have the distinct technological edge in this, though are worse in several other ways (hmm, I should have made a matrix/grid to compare them).

Also, people keep asking "Is it up?"  (I think you're the 5th or 6th person?) You'll know when it's up. You will get an email when it's up (and I'm sure someone will post when they get the email). You won't have to ask here, because you'll have seen the email, or it will already be posted in the thread).  :)

I signed up in late December but have not received any adds. I am hoping to increase my odds by adding more cards but it is getting a little frustrating seeing no activity.

It may be your cards available (limit, age, closing date all could be impacting it), or it might be luck of the draw, or it may be that you'll get some soon.

It's not worth getting frustrated about--it's basically free money you just sit and wait for.  :)

[CanuckExpat]

I've found (in general, not just with this company) that it's better not to wait for particular promised updates by a particular deadline, especially when it comes to a giant technology rollout, which always seem to have hiccups.

Old rule of thumb for estimating time for creating software comes to mind: make your best possible estimate based on years and years of experience, then triple it, then double it again. Often times you will still underestimate

If anyone needs to have a portal, I can send you a recommendation to Old Company; as I said in the comparison post, they do have the distinct technological edge in this

Nobody mentioned this yet, "Old Company" seems to have quietly updated their portal so that it lets you know when a sold tradeline has been successfully posted, and your pending commissions:


Very nice.

[KT's Stache]

I just got my first 2 sales today! Pretty excited to see the process getting started.

I had a quick question for the group. I initially enrolled 3 cards, I do have a couple others that will hit their 12 months in a few weeks. How do I go about getting those enrolled? Do I just need to send an email to the owner, or complete a new cardholder agreement form?

Also, is there a way I can specify that I only want to receive 1 or 2 AU's max on a specific card. I have a Bank of America card that is the longest opened card, with the highest balance. If it is closed, it will affect my credit score (but not a huge amount,and I am not planning to open any more credit cards or loans for a while). I would like to reduce the chance that it is closed. Is there a way to set this limit with them?

Thanks for everyone's help! It is much easier to navigate this with friends!

[arebelspy]

Nobody mentioned this yet, "Old Company" seems to have quietly updated their portal

Oh yeah, I meant to mention that in the other thread!  That occurred on Jan 24, I believe.  :)

I just got my first 2 sales today! Pretty excited to see the process getting started.

Nice!  :)

I had a quick question for the group. I initially enrolled 3 cards, I do have a couple others that will hit their 12 months in a few weeks. How do I go about getting those enrolled? Do I just need to send an email to the owner, or complete a new cardholder agreement form?

Also, is there a way I can specify that I only want to receive 1 or 2 AU's max on a specific card. I have a Bank of America card that is the longest opened card, with the highest balance. If it is closed, it will affect my credit score (but not a huge amount,and I am not planning to open any more credit cards or loans for a while). I would like to reduce the chance that it is closed. Is there a way to set this limit with them?

Yup, email the owner on both of those things (new cards enrolled, capping AUs).  :)

[MasterStache]

Got another add (last minute). Phone call with USAA this time was a bit more smooth. Perhaps because I know what questions they were going to ask and was a bit more prepared. Finally convinced my SO to join in after being hesitant. She has to get her credit limit increased first though. 

[SomedayStache]

So we know that the SallieMae MasterCard is losing its awesome benefits, but recently I've been hearing that the card will no longer be serviced by Barclay once they do their changeover on March 1st. Apparently Commerce will be the new servicing bank, and we'll see a conversion similar to the AmEx --> Citi Costco card.

I assume this means my SallieMae will suddenly become ineligible for tradelines. :( Anyone else dealing with this and have any bright ideas to keep it going? Product change maybe?

Product change to what?

[tj]

So we know that the SallieMae MasterCard is losing its awesome benefits, but recently I've been hearing that the card will no longer be serviced by Barclay once they do their changeover on March 1st. Apparently Commerce will be the new servicing bank, and we'll see a conversion similar to the AmEx --> Citi Costco card.

I assume this means my SallieMae will suddenly become ineligible for tradelines. :( Anyone else dealing with this and have any bright ideas to keep it going? Product change maybe?

Product change to what?

Anything without an annual fee that they will let you PC to.

[ketchup]

So we know that the SallieMae MasterCard is losing its awesome benefits, but recently I've been hearing that the card will no longer be serviced by Barclay once they do their changeover on March 1st. Apparently Commerce will be the new servicing bank, and we'll see a conversion similar to the AmEx --> Citi Costco card.

I assume this means my SallieMae will suddenly become ineligible for tradelines. :( Anyone else dealing with this and have any bright ideas to keep it going? Product change maybe?

Product change to what?

Anything without an annual fee that they will let you PC to.

Sorry for butting in, but any idea what those options might be?  I'm in the same boat.  I've never done a CC product change before.

[twg5]

I have the Sallie Mae card with Barclays. I called in and asked for a product change but they said that they can't do a product change. All that was offered was to open another card. : (

[Optimiser]

So we know that the SallieMae MasterCard is losing its awesome benefits, but recently I've been hearing that the card will no longer be serviced by Barclay once they do their changeover on March 1st. Apparently Commerce will be the new servicing bank, and we'll see a conversion similar to the AmEx --> Citi Costco card.

I assume this means my SallieMae will suddenly become ineligible for tradelines. :( Anyone else dealing with this and have any bright ideas to keep it going? Product change maybe?

Product change to what?

Anything without an annual fee that they will let you PC to.

Sorry for butting in, but any idea what those options might be?  I'm in the same boat.  I've never done a CC product change before.

I reread the letter that I got about this card changing and I got the impression that the card was changing from the SallieMae card to the Commerce card, but that Barclays would still be the bank. I assume this means that my credit limit and account age will remain the same allowing me to still sell tradelines on this new commerce card.

[secondcor521]

I hesitate on where to put this (ARS, feel free to move to the other thread if you want).

For those filing schedule C + SE with their piggybacking income, are you deducting annual fees on schedule C?

If so, are you deducting all of them, or only those that received AU sales?

Are you deducting churning expenses (gift card fees, MO fees)?

Any other expenses you are deducting?

[With the CSR card and maybe 8 others that I paid annual fees on last year, I may come out ahead by filing as a for-profit activity (C+SE) rather than hobby income (line 21).  Based on the criteria posted by brooklynguy in the other thread, it could be argued/defended either way I think.]

[tj]

Are you deducting churning expenses (gift card fees, MO fees)?

I'm not sure how the above is related to the tradeline business.

[secondcor521]

Are you deducting churning expenses (gift card fees, MO fees)?

I'm not sure how the above is related to the tradeline business.

Right; good point.  It's early here and I'm not a morning person.

[katsiki]

For those of you who have a few different cards enrolled from different banks, is there any specific bank that has easier tools for managing AUs than the others? I'm looking to sign up for a card or two now to use for this down the road, and so if I'm concentrating only on AU's the fees or sign up bonuses that I'd normally take into account aren't as relevant. What card/bank would be ideal for this?

I have had an easy time with Barclays.  My experience is limited to them however.  I just signed up for "Cash Forward" from Barclays.  $500 spend with $200 cash back. 

[ketchup]

Dumb question: can we use multiple cards (under the same name) from the same issuer with New Company?  I have two different Barclays cards, for example.

[tj]

Dumb question: can we use multiple cards (under the same name) from the same issuer with New Company?  I have two different Barclays cards, for example.

Most likely. It's possible that some issuers have AU limits per person rather than open card, I would ask the tradeline guy.

[secondcor521]

Dumb question: can we use multiple cards (under the same name) from the same issuer with New Company?  I have two different Barclays cards, for example.

Yes.  I have two US Bank cards enrolled with new company now.  Each card would of course have to individually meet the credit limit and age guidelines.

[dlawson]

Update about the Barclay SallieMae thing:

There's a lot of conflicting information right now, with different CSRs saying that 1) it will be serviced by Barclay and 2) it won't be serviced by Barclay. However, the official Barclaycard Twitter account says the card will remain with Barclay. It seems like the Barclaycard CSRs just haven't been educated about what's happening with the switch, but I'm still a little concerned. Best to keep a close eye on this over the next couple weeks.

If you want to err on the safe side, there are multiple data points of people being able to product change to the Barclay Rewards MasterCard. It sounds like it's best to immediately ask for a supervisor as few have had success with frontline CSRs. If they reject you, hang up and call back a few times.

[twg5]

Data Point:

I just called Barclays and asked about the Commence Mastercard. The CSR I spoke to said that the Commence Mastercard would be serviced by Barclays. So unless she was mistaken everyone with the Sallie Mae Barclaycard should be good. It will change to the Commence Mastercard but it will still be with Barclays.

[MasterStache]

Payout question (perhaps a dumb question). I know ARS said 4 weeks after closing but I am curious if that means say you get two AU adds at the beginning of the month just prior to closing date. Is it 4 weeks from that closing date or next closing date?

[arebelspy]

Payout question (perhaps a dumb question). I know ARS said 4 weeks after closing but I am curious if that means say you get two AU adds at the beginning of the month just prior to closing date. Is it 4 weeks from that closing date or next closing date?

Approximately a month after you add the AUs.  So basically with Old Company, payouts ranged from 4 weeks from adding to AU to 8 weeks (depending if you added them the beginning of the month or end, and it paid out end of the next month).  This one pays out 4 weeks after the closing date where you add them (so a bit over 4 weeks from the actual add, depending on how many days before the closing date you added them).

[CanuckExpat]

Are you deducting churning expenses (gift card fees, MO fees)?

I'm not sure how the above is related to the tradeline business.

Right; good point.  It's early here and I'm not a morning person.

There was an open topic of discussion regarding counting annual card fees as business expenses against the income produced. I believe kudy first brought it up. Annual fees can be written off, but you would need to have only business related expenses charged to the card. The question was, what to do about the "dummy charge" that you have to incur in order to make a statement post.

i.e., you buy an Amazon gift card, which you then use for a personal purchase, then annual fee no longer counts as a business expense.

I was thinking more about this, what if you were to do PayPal transfer or buy a PayPal cash card? You would more or less be using the funds to transfer back to a bank account to pay off the same card. Would that allow you to still write off the annual fee (and the Paypal expenses) while still allow you to make a minimum purchase which causes the statement to post?

[arebelspy]

1) Why not buy at least one business item from Amazon that covers all those small "activity" charges?

2) Can you not "prorate" the card fees based on percent business use?  E.g. a $90 annual fee, used half for business, would be $45 expensed? (Similar to deducting a percent of your cell phone bill or percent of utilities for a home office.)

I have no idea, I'm just throwing it out there.  :)

[secondcor521]

Are you deducting churning expenses (gift card fees, MO fees)?

I'm not sure how the above is related to the tradeline business.

Right; good point.  It's early here and I'm not a morning person.

There was an open topic of discussion regarding counting annual card fees as business expenses against the income produced. I believe kudy first brought it up. Annual fees can be written off, but you would need to have only business related expenses charged to the card. The question was, what to do about the "dummy charge" that you have to incur in order to make a statement post.

i.e., you buy an Amazon gift card, which you then use for a personal purchase, then annual fee no longer counts as a business expense.

I was thinking more about this, what if you were to do PayPal transfer or buy a PayPal cash card? You would more or less be using the funds to transfer back to a bank account to pay off the same card. Would that allow you to still write off the annual fee (and the Paypal expenses) while still allow you to make a minimum purchase which causes the statement to post?

1.  Why?  IRS cite?
2.  You might accrue cash advance interest / fees, but in this scenario they might also be deductible.

[TomTX]

So we know that the SallieMae MasterCard is losing its awesome benefits, but recently I've been hearing that the card will no longer be serviced by Barclay once they do their changeover on March 1st. Apparently Commerce will be the new servicing bank, and we'll see a conversion similar to the AmEx --> Citi Costco card.

I assume this means my SallieMae will suddenly become ineligible for tradelines. :( Anyone else dealing with this and have any bright ideas to keep it going? Product change maybe?

Product change to what?

Anything without an annual fee that they will let you PC to.

Hell, even annual fee is probably fine (not as good, but fine) - if you get 1 sale, it should more than cover the fee.

[CanuckExpat]

2) Can you not "prorate" the card fees based on percent business use?

1.  Why?  IRS cite?

Good questions. I haven't done the research yet myself, was continuing the conversation based on this earlier remark (emphasis mine):

The interpretation of the rule I've seen after 5 minutes of searching is... if the expenses on the card are all business related, then you can deduct the fee.

[secondcor521]

Well this is a new one.

I just got an email from new company asking me to add an AU to one of my cards.  It's the same person who I added as an AU to a different one of my cards a few days ago.

In other words, there is a person who has paid new company to be added to two cards, both of which happen to be mine.

I wonder how often that happens.

[arebelspy]

Well this is a new one.

I just got an email from new company asking me to add an AU to one of my cards.  It's the same person who I added as an AU to a different one of my cards a few days ago.

In other words, there is a person who has paid new company to be added to two cards, both of which happen to be mine.

I wonder how often that happens.

Never saw it with old company, but have already seen it a few times with new company. 

I asked the same question when it first happened.

Owner explained to me it's better for AUs to get their lines from one person if possible because then if/when your address temporarily shows up on their report, there's only one address. They can explain "I am an authorized user by that person" to whomever may be looking at their now boosted credit. Appears more awkward if they're saying "I am an AU for these multiple random people."

Makes sense to me, through of course a lot of people may only be buying one line, or there may not be multiple good lines by the same person available. But when possible, they try to have one AU get multiple lines from one person.

[tj]

So with all the last minute adds with the new company, are you guys just doing $5 charges every month on ALL of your enrolled cards even though you have no idea which cards you will need to add an AU on?

[secondcor521]

So with all the last minute adds with the new company, are you guys just doing $5 charges every month on ALL of your enrolled cards even though you have no idea which cards you will need to add an AU on?

I am only doing charges on the ones with AUs on them.

As I understand things, the new company figures your statement close date by working backwards from your billing due date.  The formula they use, at least in one case with me on a USAA card, resulted in a "last minute" add four days before my statement close date.  In that situation, I still had 3 AUs from the old company that needed to be removed, so I worked with new company to complete the AU add a day or two after the new company's requested date (and after the 3 old AUs had been removed) and everything worked out fine - the new AU showed up on my statement that closed a day or two after I added the new AU.

All that to say, I think it is perfectly safe to get the email from new company, add the AU that day or the next, and then also make a purchase to ensure the card has a balance.  It is my impression that most cards report to the credit bureaus on your statement close date.

I also have reminders set up in my calendar to do charges every month on the five cards I have enrolled with new company (to ensure that the card has a balance the second month if the AU has paid for two cycles).

[boarder42]

Just a PSA/FYI

The site i'm using has just haulted all BofA adds due to abnormal shutdowns for authorized user activity.  I'm unsure if this will effect the site ARS is recommending but BofA may be making policy changes similar to what Chase does.

[tj]

I also have reminders set up in my calendar to do charges every month on the five cards I have enrolled with new company (to ensure that the card has a balance the second month if the AU has paid for two cycles).

Does the tradeline company let you know if they have paid for 2 cycles? Do they let you know when to remove the AU?

[ducky19]

Well this is a new one.

I just got an email from new company asking me to add an AU to one of my cards.  It's the same person who I added as an AU to a different one of my cards a few days ago.

In other words, there is a person who has paid new company to be added to two cards, both of which happen to be mine.

I wonder how often that happens.

I received an email from the new company with an add request for the same guy, but it was for the same card I had already added him on. I contacted them and they confirmed it was an error on their part.

Never saw it with old company, but have already seen it a few times with new company. 

I asked the same question when it first happened.

Owner explained to me it's better for AUs to get their lines from one person if possible because then if/when your address temporarily shows up on their report, there's only one address. They can explain "I am an authorized user by that person" to whomever may be looking at their now boosted credit. Appears more awkward if they're saying "I am an AU for these multiple random people."

Makes sense to me, through of course a lot of people may only be buying one line, or there may not be multiple good lines by the same person available. But when possible, they try to have one AU get multiple lines from one person.

[secondcor521]

I also have reminders set up in my calendar to do charges every month on the five cards I have enrolled with new company (to ensure that the card has a balance the second month if the AU has paid for two cycles).

Does the tradeline company let you know if they have paid for 2 cycles? Do they let you know when to remove the AU?

I don't think I've seen them say whether it is for one cycle or two (or three).  They do say they will let me know when to remove the AU (and destroy the card), but I haven't gotten that far yet.  All of my sales are within the last few weeks and thus too recent.

[arebelspy]

So with all the last minute adds with the new company, are you guys just doing $5 charges every month on ALL of your enrolled cards even though you have no idea which cards you will need to add an AU on?

I go on and purchase an Amazon gift credit for $2.50 when I get the tradeline order.  One time it did not post in time out of dozens and dozens of adds; don't know why that was, the order showed pending right away, and the charge actually showed the date like 3 days before the previous statement.

Yes, on the next statement, it showed a charge from 3 days before the statement opened.  Weird.  But the AU add posted fine anyways.

Never bothered to do a second month charge even when they pay for 2 months... I figure if it posts correctly the first time, it's on their report, and even if it's now showing as 0, it's fine and will be good til they're removed.  If you're paranoid, you can do the small charge the second month, I've just never bothered, and never had something not post a second month because of it.

[katsiki]

You can also see what charges same day for you.  In my case, my local grocery stores posts same day.  If I were in a pinch, I would stop there and buy something small.  Some online vendors post quickly as well. 

[RedwoodDreams]

A question about how to make the transition from the old TL co. to the new one: If you've sold a tradeline on a Barclays card with the old co. and the TL has posted, but it's a 2-month slot, is it OK to go ahead and move said credit card over to the new TL co.? Do I need to worry about that at all and make sure it's a clean break?

ETA: Sales still extremely slow with old co., so my hope of picking up extra sales from fleeing Mustachians hasn't come to pass, at least not yet!

[arebelspy]

A question about how to make the transition from the old TL co. to the new one: If you've sold a tradeline on a Barclays card with the old co. and the TL has posted, but it's a 2-month slot, is it OK to go ahead and move said credit card over to the new TL co.? Do I need to worry about that at all and make sure it's a clean break?

ETA: Sales still extremely slow with old co., so my hope of picking up extra sales from fleeing Mustachians hasn't come to pass, at least not yet!

I'd just email old company customer service to ask them to reduce the available lines to zero, then email new company to sign paperwork and add card.  By the time you get a sale, you should be good to remove the old AU.  Even if you have an AU on there, you should have the room to have an overlap.

[kpd905]

How long has it taken to get set up with the new company for most of you?  I sent in my W9 and agreement form 6 days ago and haven't heard anything back.

[arebelspy]

How long has it taken to get set up with the new company for most of you?  I sent in my W9 and agreement form 6 days ago and haven't heard anything back.

That should mean you are good to go.  You can email and confirm or ask if they need anything else, but it should just be a matter of waiting for an email that you sold a TL containing AU info to add.

[kpd905]

That should mean you are good to go.  You can email and confirm or ask if they need anything else, but it should just be a matter of waiting for an email that you sold a TL containing AU info to add.

Ah, good to know, thanks.  My closing date is coming up in about a week so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[FrugalSaver]

How long has it taken to get set up with the new company for most of you?  I sent in my W9 and agreement form 6 days ago and haven't heard anything back.

They were flooded a few weeks ago but should be through that now.  I've heard back from the point person in that time.  I'm still waiting on my first TL add and have been in over a month, but know i need to be patient.  Clearly others are starting to see adds which is encouraging.  I had a card that closed on 2/7 but didn't get a bite on it and it's been in for a month so just be patient and things will start to flow soon I'm sure.

Hope that helps give you some perspective!

[tj]

So with all the last minute adds with the new company, are you guys just doing $5 charges every month on ALL of your enrolled cards even though you have no idea which cards you will need to add an AU on?

I go on and purchase an Amazon gift credit for $2.50 when I get the tradeline order.  One time it did not post in time out of dozens and dozens of adds; don't know why that was, the order showed pending right away, and the charge actually showed the date like 3 days before the previous statement.

Yes, on the next statement, it showed a charge from 3 days before the statement opened.  Weird.  But the AU add posted fine anyways.

Never bothered to do a second month charge even when they pay for 2 months... I figure if it posts correctly the first time, it's on their report, and even if it's now showing as 0, it's fine and will be good til they're removed.  If you're paranoid, you can do the small charge the second month, I've just never bothered, and never had something not post a second month because of it.

Great. So your experience is that $2.50 is large enough on all your issuers to not trigger the CC company to write it off and not post a balance?

[arebelspy]

Great. So your experience is that $2.50 is large enough on all your issuers to not trigger the CC company to write it off and not post a balance?

Yep, never had an issue with that.

[DavidAnnArbor]

I had some more difficulty trying to add authorized users on Discover card. Again the support staff person gave me an address for the authorized user that was different then the address on the driver's license. The driver's license address is the one that is used though. Moreover, on those authorized users where I had to upload documents like driver's license to confirm the identity - the Discover card portal would freeze during the upload. I had to finally call the customer service number listed on the portal in order to verify the documents were uploaded, and then while the customer service did that they also confirmed that the authorized addition was approved.