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

[Bibimbap]

What's the latest situation with Barclays?  This is my first Barclays AU add and I'm instructed (by the new company) to call in to add because there is no way to provide SSN online. Is this necessary? I'm away and can't call in.

Thanks!

[merula]

I never call for Barclays. I do it online and add the name, DOB and address and it's always posted fine for me.

[Bibimbap]

I never call for Barclays. I do it online and add the name, DOB and address and it's always posted fine for me.

Thank you!
The TL company doesn't matter, right?

[secondcor521]

I never call for Barclays. I do it online and add the name, DOB and address and it's always posted fine for me.

Thank you!
The TL company doesn't matter, right?

For posting, no.  For getting paid, probably.  For getting your card shut down, maybe.

[Zamboni]

I just had my first non-posting for an Amex AU with Old company. I added her back in April, activated the card with her soc number when it arrived. No idea why it didn't ever post!

[katsiki]

I just had my first non-posting for an Amex AU with Old company. I added her back in April, activated the card with her soc number when it arrived. No idea why it didn't ever post!

I have had 2 with same company.  1 was rejected by AMEX outright.  The second worked but I was unable to activate the card.

[Car Jack]

I've had some pretty regular AUs on my last remaining card with the new company.  For fun (yah...fun), I went through the last year and have not been paid a cent.  I sent in a message asking when they'll pay me.  I'll give it a month, see if they ignore me like last time, then PM Joe.  I think when the old company opens up cards again, I'll bring that last card over.

[frugalnacho]

I just had my first non-posting for an Amex AU with Old company. I added her back in April, activated the card with her soc number when it arrived. No idea why it didn't ever post!

Amex is spotty.  I've had a couple not post.  I've also had some issues where I am unable to proceed and fully activate the card because they required a new phone number be used to sign up for a new account, and I couldn't use my number because it was already associate with my account.  It seems like every time I get an AU on amex it's a slightly different process to fully activate the card.

[Cries]

I have personally had BofA shut me down, and am very aware of Discover & Chase being super sensitive to AU churning.  However, other than those 3 banks, I have seen very few repeat stories of shutdowns.  Are you guys aware of any other banks that are sensitive to high velocity AU churning? 

More specifically, does anyone have experience with Fidelity/Elan cards getting shutdown & Elan's general sensitivity to churning AUs?  I saw 1 specific post here about the unfortunate soul who was shutdown by Elan on their first AU due to an operational error, but it seems like that's the only occurrence. 

To be clear, I'm trying to make a list of banks/cards that I can list on more than 1 AU platform.  I've been churning USBank pretty hard, and assume the Fidelity card should be safe too given Elan is part of USBank.  Looks like Barclays is also pretty safe, and I just started double-listing it. 

[solon]

I lost an Elan card to AU churning. It was years ago so I don't remember the details. But it was an active card, lots of AUs, eventually they got tired of it.

From the AU's perspective, though, I believe it was a good card, always posted, etc.

[Cries]

I lost an Elan card to AU churning. It was years ago so I don't remember the details. But it was an active card, lots of AUs, eventually they got tired of it.

From the AU's perspective, though, I believe it was a good card, always posted, etc.

RIP.  Thanks for the datapoint.

[secondcor521]

I have personally had BofA shut me down, and am very aware of Discover & Chase being super sensitive to AU churning.  However, other than those 3 banks, I have seen very few repeat stories of shutdowns.  Are you guys aware of any other banks that are sensitive to high velocity AU churning? 

More specifically, does anyone have experience with Fidelity/Elan cards getting shutdown & Elan's general sensitivity to churning AUs?  I saw 1 specific post here about the unfortunate soul who was shutdown by Elan on their first AU due to an operational error, but it seems like that's the only occurrence. 

To be clear, I'm trying to make a list of banks/cards that I can list on more than 1 AU platform.  I've been churning USBank pretty hard, and assume the Fidelity card should be safe too given Elan is part of USBank.  Looks like Barclays is also pretty safe, and I just started double-listing it.

USBank shut down two of my cards for piggybacking in summer 2020.  I detailed my experience here on this thread or perhaps it was the original one.  I have two replacement USBank cards seasoning.

I've had a number of AUs on BofA and Chase, and so far no issues.  Knock on wood.

Honestly I think someone in some back office somewhere just has a tickler to go cancel piggybackers' cards periodically.  They run a query asking for cardholders with either different last names, or lots of AUs lifetime, or lots of AUs currently.  Then they either mass auto-cancel or some credit analyst looks at each situation.  That's how I imagine it works, anyway.
 I maintain a low profile and minimize my risks, but if any of them look at my AU history it's blatantly obvious; if they decide to cancel me that's their prerogative.

If you're using TL companies, they might blacklist you if they find out or figure out you're double listing cards.  If you're just listing them yourself, then you're probably fine, although obviously you might run into scheduling issues if you happen to oversell your slots.  Doing it yourself is also a bit riskier in that you won't know as soon (a) if CC companies are clamping down, and (b) whether CC companies are changing their practices, limits, etc. around AUs.

USBank and Elan are two different companies, although I think the former might own part of the latter.  Anyway, there's no reason to think that their policies or risk management are in any way related AFAIK.

[Reddart67]

I ran into trouble once with USBank tradelines (which I had posted before). One day their fraud dept called me and asked about a specific AU. I believe, though it’s just a guess in my part, that that AU tried to apply for another card or other service from US Bank. Anyway, he was for some reason on their radar, and when the fraud dept agent looked at my account, they didn’t like seeing all those other AUs on my account (I think I had 6 at the time). I had to cancel all my AUs and promise not to do that again to keep my account.

About a year after that, to test the waters, I added my stepson as an AU to that account (hey, a legitimate AU!!!).
There were no issues with that, so I eventually added 2 slots on old company and so far have not had any problems. So while they did not outright cancel me, it has not been without issues with USBank, but they did appear to “forgive” me.

[Cries]

I ran into trouble once with USBank tradelines (which I had posted before). One day their fraud dept called me and asked about a specific AU. I believe, though it’s just a guess in my part, that that AU tried to apply for another card or other service from US Bank. Anyway, he was for some reason on their radar, and when the fraud dept agent looked at my account, they didn’t like seeing all those other AUs on my account (I think I had 6 at the time). I had to cancel all my AUs and promise not to do that again to keep my account.

About a year after that, to test the waters, I added my stepson as an AU to that account (hey, a legitimate AU!!!).
There were no issues with that, so I eventually added 2 slots on old company and so far have not had any problems. So while they did not outright cancel me, it has not been without issues with USBank, but they did appear to “forgive” me.

6 at once is pretty aggressive.  Were you using 3 different AU platforms?  or did you just forget to remove people? 

Im a big fan of both USBank and Elan, because they let me cancel via secure message, hah.  So fast/easy. 

[Reddart67]

6 at once is pretty aggressive.  Were you using 3 different AU platforms?  or did you just forget to remove people? 

Im a big fan of both USBank and Elan, because they let me cancel via secure message, hah.  So fast/easy.

It was from one Tradeline company (not old or new company), in their experience 6 AU’s at a time we’re ok. These were added over the course of a couple months (for 3 month terms).

I now just have 2 slots on old company. Always fill them. I might drop off my stepson and add a 3rd slot.

[katsiki]

Fidelity / elan shut me down in 2020.  I posted about it at the time.  They cited AU activity as I recall in their letter.  Looks like I had added about 20 over a 2 year period before getting shut down.

[MoMoney88]

I know I have heard that when Chase shuts down and AU card, they shut down all of your cards.

But what about Capital One, Barclays and BOA?   Do any/all of these cards just shut down the AU card?

[Fireball]

I know I have heard that when Chase shuts down and AU card, they shut down all of your cards.

But what about Capital One, Barclays and BOA?   Do any/all of these cards just shut down the AU card?

Had Capital One shut me down a few years ago. Completely closed the account. I called to try to reinstate it once I found out and their CSR told me they didn't want to be associated with someone who sold their tradelines(I denied it).  lol

[secondcor521]

I know I have heard that when Chase shuts down and AU card, they shut down all of your cards.

But what about Capital One, Barclays and BOA?   Do any/all of these cards just shut down the AU card?

I don't think I've seen any data points one way or the other.  But the lack of data points makes me think they only shut down the AU card(s).

[Padonak]

My TL orders stopped completely since early June, approximately when everybody started to panic about an upcoming recession, high inflation and rising interest rates. I wonder if that's related. Maybe less people applying for car loans and mortgages so less demand for TLs?

[Cries]

My TL orders stopped completely since early June, approximately when everybody started to panic about an upcoming recession, high inflation and rising interest rates. I wonder if that's related. Maybe less people applying for car loans and mortgages so less demand for TLs?

Still going relatively strong.  5 new adds this month.  Have 22 slots listed with leslie and only 7 slots open on them as of today.  4 of those 7 available slots are on new cards that I just added to the platform and havent reached their first billing date yet. 

Pretty good for a so-called recession & rates going to the moon.   

I was also able to list a few cards that the referred platforms wouldnt take with a competitor, and they surprised me with 2 sales in the first week (last week). 

[secondcor521]

My TL orders stopped completely since early June, approximately when everybody started to panic about an upcoming recession, high inflation and rising interest rates. I wonder if that's related. Maybe less people applying for car loans and mortgages so less demand for TLs?

After doing this for several years, it seems variable to me with no particular rhyme or reason.  I have good months and bad months, but it seems to average out so I'm able to approximately predict how much I'll earn each year.  Historically June seems to be above average for me, but I have no idea why.

[Car Jack]

I know I have heard that when Chase shuts down and AU card, they shut down all of your cards.

But what about Capital One, Barclays and BOA?   Do any/all of these cards just shut down the AU card?

BoA shut down all my cards (4) at once.  BAM, the end.

[secondcor521]

I know I have heard that when Chase shuts down and AU card, they shut down all of your cards.

But what about Capital One, Barclays and BOA?   Do any/all of these cards just shut down the AU card?

BoA shut down all my cards (4) at once.  BAM, the end.

Were you selling on all four, or a subset?

[Michael in ABQ]

I enrolled two newer cards (less than 2 years old) with a different company (neither the old or the new) and just got my first sale today. Hopefully it's a smooth process getting paid. So far it seems pretty good.

[Pizzabrewer]

My TL orders stopped completely since early June, approximately when everybody started to panic about an upcoming recession, high inflation and rising interest rates. I wonder if that's related. Maybe less people applying for car loans and mortgages so less demand for TLs?

Still going relatively strong.  5 new adds this month.  Have 22 slots listed with leslie and only 7 slots open on them as of today.  4 of those 7 available slots are on new cards that I just added to the platform and havent reached their first billing date yet.

Pretty good for a so-called recession & rates going to the moon.   

I was also able to list a few cards that the referred platforms wouldnt take with a competitor, and they surprised me with 2 sales in the first week (last week).

Is the old company enrolling new cards?

[Car Jack]

I know I have heard that when Chase shuts down and AU card, they shut down all of your cards.

But what about Capital One, Barclays and BOA?   Do any/all of these cards just shut down the AU card?

BoA shut down all my cards (4) at once.  BAM, the end.

Were you selling on all four, or a subset?

I had my first sale on each of 3.  I activated all the AUs and put small purchases on each.

[jeromedawg]

Anyone here by chance have a Gap credit card? They were previously serviced by Synchrony and recently switched over to Barclays... anyone know in these situations if the card/account would still be considered "seasoned" enough to proceed with adding AUs ?

[Padonak]

Anyone here by chance have a Gap credit card? They were previously serviced by Synchrony and recently switched over to Barclays... anyone know in these situations if the card/account would still be considered "seasoned" enough to proceed with adding AUs ?

No experience with this specific card but if you check your credit history using Credit Karma or something similar, you can see the age of all your cards. If the age doesn't change for this one (it usually doesn't in this case), you can use it.

[jeromedawg]

Anyone here by chance have a Gap credit card? They were previously serviced by Synchrony and recently switched over to Barclays... anyone know in these situations if the card/account would still be considered "seasoned" enough to proceed with adding AUs ?

No experience with this specific card but if you check your credit history using Credit Karma or something similar, you can see the age of all your cards. If the age doesn't change for this one (it usually doesn't in this case), you can use it.

This is my wife's card and it shows 13~yrs but is associated with the old bank (Synchrony) so not sure.

[jeromedawg]

On a related note: are there any 'strategies' or methods for successfully getting a credit limit increase? Particularly in the case of Barclays and when they ask you how much more you'd like to add? My own Barclays I've got $5k on but I'm still in the seasoning period. I may have jumped the gun with my wife's Gap (Barclays now) as I requested $10k on a whim... her limit is currently $4800.

[secondcor521]

On a related note: are there any 'strategies' or methods for successfully getting a credit limit increase? Particularly in the case of Barclays and when they ask you how much more you'd like to add? My own Barclays I've got $5k on but I'm still in the seasoning period. I may have jumped the gun with my wife's Gap (Barclays now) as I requested $10k on a whim... her limit is currently $4800.

Several have been mentioned on this thread.  The easiest way to find them is to click on the "print" button on this thread and then search for "CL increase" and similar terms.  I've shared my thoughts here a few times, as have several others.  I think all of the main strategies have been mentioned at one time or another.

As to your specific question, if an issuer asks me that question, I always answer with a very large number - perhaps twice the CL I think they will give me.  They'll usually just review your inputs and then give you the max they can.

I don't think Barclays is special in any way with respect to CL increases.  They'll look at credit score, HHI, how much you spend on the card, how old the card is, that sort of stuff.

[Padonak]

This is my wife's card and it shows 13~yrs but is associated with the old bank (Synchrony) so not sure.

It takes awhile for credit reports to update. Maybe check again after the statement date.

[dantheman46]

On a related note: are there any 'strategies' or methods for successfully getting a credit limit increase? Particularly in the case of Barclays and when they ask you how much more you'd like to add? My own Barclays I've got $5k on but I'm still in the seasoning period. I may have jumped the gun with my wife's Gap (Barclays now) as I requested $10k on a whim... her limit is currently $4800.

I find this information helpful

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/maximize-your-credit-limits-for-the-citi-gold-deal/

[Zamboni]

Well, holy moly. I just tried to increase the credit limit on one of my Barclay Cards. They have an online process for this, but it came back with "An error occurred while processing your request. We apologize for any inconvenience." Then it said I could call a phone number for customer service and gave the same number on the back of my credit card.

This is where things get super sketch.

The customer service rep who answered asked me the normal questions (last four digits of card, last for digits of social, birthdate.) Then, though, he said he would not be able to assist with a credit line increase request himself, and that I needed to call another number for that. Ok, fine, I was half expecting that, and it was an 800 number. I wrote the number down and repeated it back to him to make sure I had recorded it correctly so I could call after hanging up.

This is where things get super sketch:
I called that new number, and the computer voice asked me if I was interested in a special offer to press one if I was over 50. Well, that's not normal. Huge red flag. So I pressed 1. And the new rep that answered went into this bizarre hard sell for a "medic alert bracelet."

Okay, well that's clearly fraud. I hanged up and dialed again to make sure I hadn't made a typo in dialing.

I hanged up again and called the number on my card to report it to their fraud department. Seems obvious that they have at least one corrupt customer service agent, if not an entire subcontract call center that is just a front for a scam call center.

Sheesh.

[jeromedawg]

Well, holy moly. I just tried to increase the credit limit on one of my Barclay Cards. They have an online process for this, but it came back with "An error occurred while processing your request. We apologize for any inconvenience." Then it said I could call a phone number for customer service and gave the same number on the back of my credit card.

This is where things get super sketch.

The customer service rep who answered asked me the normal questions (last four digits of card, last for digits of social, birthdate.) Then, though, he said he would not be able to assist with a credit line increase request himself, and that I needed to call another number for that. Ok, fine, I was half expecting that, and it was an 800 number. I wrote the number down and repeated it back to him to make sure I had recorded it correctly so I could call after hanging up.

This is where things get super sketch:
I called that new number, and the computer voice asked me if I was interested in a special offer to press one if I was over 50. Well, that's not normal. Huge red flag. So I pressed 1. And the new rep that answered went into this bizarre hard sell for a "medic alert bracelet."

Okay, well that's clearly fraud. I hanged up and dialed again to make sure I hadn't made a typo in dialing.

I hanged up again and called the number on my card to report it to their fraud department. Seems obvious that they have at least one corrupt customer service agent, if not an entire subcontract call center that is just a front for a scam call center.

Sheesh.

OMG that's super shady! And quite surprising too.... did you try calling back once more to see who you would talk to and if they gave you that same runaround (and fake #) btw?

[Zamboni]

I did call again to the number on the back of my card. Of course I got a different rep, still sounded like in the same country (from accent I'd guess India?) This time I simply asked to speak to a supervisor in the US. I was connected and she seemed legit. I outlined what happened to her and she is sending it to their fraud department. She said they have recordings of all of the calls and will review them.

While I was talking with her I verified in my mobile phone outgoing log that all of the numbers I had dialed were correctly dialed.

Anyway, just wanted to post here since many of us have Barclay cards and since many of us call into customer service lines fairly regularly to either add or remove AU's or to go through the credit line increase request process. I suspect Barclays will stamp it out, and hopefully they will up their game on the vetting process for their call centers.

[harrydogyo]

My experience with Barclays is that your best bet for CL is when you get the initial card OR if you spend (which you wouldn't be doing if you're selling for TL) When I've talked to a rep before they asked me why I wanted a CL when I wasn't really using the card.

Better to add another one and move the limits around, just in my experience.  YMMV

[secondcor521]

AMEX tip / data point:

When the card arrives and they ask you to activate it, there is a URL they provide.  When I went to that URL, AMEX started asking me for the AU's full SSN and possibly some other info I didn't have.

There is also a QR code on the paper to which the card is affixed.  When I went to that URL via my cell phone's QR reader, it was a similar AMEX login page, but it knew about me and the AU, and, in a clunky way, reflected that the AU's card was activated.

Point being, the QR code lets you avoid having to get the AU's SSN and ID and stuff.  At least this one time, for me, it worked that way; I know people have been reporting a variety of AMEX AU behaviors here.

[TheAgileCamel]

For Navy Federal, do you all use your address or call in and add an address? I do not see an address field in the online portal.

[secondcor521]

For Navy Federal, do you all use your address or call in and add an address? I do not see an address field in the online portal.

I haven't looked - my Navy Federal card is aging now - but if they ask for name/SSN/DOB, they don't need address.  In those scenarios, I just use mine.

If you use your own address for an AU, be aware of two consequences:

1.  You might get junk mail for the AU at your address.  When this happens I either shred (if junk) or "return to sender" (if first class; rare).

2.  Your address will show up on the AU's credit report.  This usually confuses the AU.  If it bothers the AU they can dispute the address off their account.  Some people might be concerned about an AU knowing where they live.  It's a bit offputting to me, but not enough to do anything about it.

[Reddart67]

2.  Your address will show up on the AU's credit report.  This usually confuses the AU.  If it bothers the AU they can dispute the address off their account.  Some people might be concerned about an AU knowing where they live.  It's a bit offputting to me, but not enough to do anything about it.

Yeah, if I could do it over again, I’d get a local mailbox services before starting tradelines…but yeah, still not bothered enough to do that now.

[katsiki]

AMEX tip / data point:

When the card arrives and they ask you to activate it, there is a URL they provide.  When I went to that URL, AMEX started asking me for the AU's full SSN and possibly some other info I didn't have.

There is also a QR code on the paper to which the card is affixed.  When I went to that URL via my cell phone's QR reader, it was a similar AMEX login page, but it knew about me and the AU, and, in a clunky way, reflected that the AU's card was activated.

Point being, the QR code lets you avoid having to get the AU's SSN and ID and stuff.  At least this one time, for me, it worked that way; I know people have been reporting a variety of AMEX AU behaviors here.

Good tip - thanks!

I will see if I have that option next time. 

[TheAgileCamel]

2.  Your address will show up on the AU's credit report.  This usually confuses the AU.  If it bothers the AU they can dispute the address off their account.  Some people might be concerned about an AU knowing where they live.  It's a bit offputting to me, but not enough to do anything about it.

Yeah, if I could do it over again, I’d get a local mailbox services before starting tradelines…but yeah, still not bothered enough to do that now.

I actually have a PO box. The amount of junk mail was getting out of hand. BUT, Citi cant seem to delivery at the PO box so my accounts are randomly frozen. And I think Amex needs a physical home address. Besides those two banks, all the rest go to the PO box.

[Bibimbap]

Do you guys call in to add AU for Elan or do you add online?

[katsiki]

Do you guys call in to add AU for Elan or do you add online?

I used to do it online when I had that card.

[Cries]

Do you guys call in to add AU for Elan or do you add online?

Elan/Fidelity I always do online.  Have never called this in.  I also remove the AUs by sending private messages on the website. 

[Cries]

Is this the message you get from Barclays when your card is maxed out on AUs (35 lifetime limit)?

"Authorized User not added.  The information you entered is not correct."

[Reddart67]

Is this the message you get from Barclays when your card is maxed out on AUs (35 lifetime limit)?

"Authorized User not added.  The information you entered is not correct."

I think the consensus is “yes”, but…I have been able to add 2 more AUs since receiving this message. I am nearing my AU limit though.

[Cries]

Is this the message you get from Barclays when your card is maxed out on AUs (35 lifetime limit)?

"Authorized User not added.  The information you entered is not correct."

I think the consensus is “yes”, but…I have been able to add 2 more AUs since receiving this message. I am nearing my AU limit though.

What resulted in your adding 2 more after getting the message? Did you just keep trying to submit the same AU repeatedly?  or did you just wait for the next AU?