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

[secondcor521]

Never bothered to do a second month charge even when they pay for 2 months

So....how do you know when they are paying for 2 months?

I inquired about if they would let me know when to remove an add I did in late January, they said they leave them up for 60-90 days, but I imagine we don't get paid for 2 or 3 months every time?

I believe the new company said that they will send you an email as to when to remove an AU.  I plan to leave the AUs on there until I get an email.

FWIW, I did get a sale today that is the second AU on this particular card with the new company.  In the body of the email it said to add the AU and keep the existing AU.  So I'm not sure how they do it but they do seem to stay on top of things pretty well via email.  Mistakes might be made, of course, but I'm sure they try to minimize them.

#mustachianpeopleproblems - I'm in India and tried to call the credit card company, but they're closed now.  Also, I chose to pack my cards so I could do the adds from the road - the credit card companies like to have you tell them the CVV code during the calls.

[rich182x]

Well, I guess I must be the 1'st to get my card closed with the new company.  I just received a letter from B of A saying "This account is closed due to irregularity in Authorized user activity."  I had enrolled in January, and had 2 sales last month, and had just added a 3'rd this month.  I'm wondering if I'll get paid for anything now?

Ick. 

Sorry.  =/

Can you CC me (you should have my email from the original referral info, but if not, PM me for it) when you message the tradeline company about it (or, if you've already messaged them, forward to me), so I can be in the loop as well?

I also just emailed them separately, and will keep everyone in the loop.

Ruh roh.  We have a 45k 1996 BofA with old company. Maybe we'll play it cool for a month or two.

I have multiple B of As enrolled between my wife and I, including a 45k card I added an AU to about 4 days ago.  =/

Well, this was one of the risks... I'll be interested to see how it plays out.

The Tradeline co I am using limits BoA AU's to one every 4 months. Seems like they saw this issue and implemented some mitigation techniques  to keep cards from closing...

[sw1tch]

I have not heard back now for about 2 weeks since sending off my information to the company.  I realize they are busy with implementing a web-portal as well as working with existing tradelines, but I was hoping for some kind of response.

I did send a courtesy e-mail over the weekend asking if I was missing any info needed to no avail.  Is this normal?

[DavidAnnArbor]

FYI, Citi can transfer credit line between cards, but most people at Citi have no idea WTF you are talking about, especially the front line CSRs. I was transferred numerous times and it was quite a long call. Basically once you strip out the "WTF" people it needed to go through: Another credit line increase request -> denied -> transfer credit line from another Citi card.

Tried numerous times but wasn't allowed to transfer a credit line from one Citi card to another.

[ducky19]

Was the card at least six months old? That is a stipulation with Citi...

[DavidAnnArbor]

Was the card at least six months old? That is a stipulation with Citi...

Yes

[MFG_Hotspur]

My BoA was closed on my first attempt to add any AUs. I added 3 AUs per the tradeline company's request and my account was closed less than a week a later. I am communicating with them right now on the topic, but I wanted to give everyone an additional heads up/data point.

[Malaysia41]

My BoA was closed on my first attempt to add any AUs. I added 3 AUs per the tradeline company's request and my account was closed less than a week a later. I am communicating with them right now on the topic, but I wanted to give everyone an additional heads up/data point.

Thanks for letting us know. I just logged on and confirmed our BofA is still open. We have two AUs on there now - and are slated to remove them in March. I may just let them stay a while and forgo BofA sales for a month or two. It's my husband's card from 2001 - it'd be a bummer to have it close. For $400 a month it was worth the risk. For $225* in an environment of increased closures being reported? Not so much.

When we called last time to remove AUs, we were on speaker phone so I could spoon-feed to husband what to say, as I manage this operation. One of the AUs was a woman. When the cc rep asked if we had the AU's card in our possession, I answered yes. After that, she referred to me by name as the AU. Maybe that lent credibility? IDK.

*Old company's new payment schedule should put our 15 year old $44k BofA card at a $225 per tradeline payout - but we only received $200. I've emailed them, asking for a correction. We'll see. $25 x2 is worth an email exchange.

[arebelspy]

Well, I guess I must be the 1'st to get my card closed with the new company.

My BoA was closed on my first attempt to add any AUs.

Damn.

That's two now.  =/

Crossing my fingers my B of A cards aren't cancelled; I have several AUs on each (including an AU added within the last week or so).

Messaging the company for more info, but for now, it looks like B of A may be a no-go for a bit.

Can either of you confirm if you had other accounts with B of A besides the one card that was closed, and that those other accounts were not closed?

Guess the USAA, Capital One, Discover, Barclay, Citibank, etc. cardholders get more orders put their way now.

[ducky19]

Went to log into the portal this morning and got this message:

"**UserName and/or Password Not Found or account has been disabled"

Anyone else having issues? I asked for a password email (even though I know it's correct) and still have received nothing. Should I be concerned?

[Joel]

Glad I didn't bother with having my wife get her old Bank of America card that she hasn't used in a few years. I was going to have to get the card, use it for spending, and request credit limit increases. Glad we didn't waste any time doing that hearing about B of A.

Hearing about B of A shutting these down, and having no orders in two months, I'm paying a bit more attention nowdays. Given that tax situation of this income, the extra money may not be worth the hassle and risk. I'm going to give it a few more months and see though.

[ditkanate]

Got a confirmation that my info was received on Feb. 3rd. I still haven't received any emails about signing up for the portal.

I sent my info in on 2/17 and haven't received a portal email either, FYI.

[CanuckExpat]

Guess the USAA, Capital One, Discover, Barclay, Citibank, etc. cardholders get more orders put their way now.

This month I got a bunch of Discover orders. Discover makes it easy to add online, BUT with the last few adds, each one has requested a follow up call to to their security verification line to ensure that it was me who added the AU. Manageable, but slightly A PITA and nerve wracking the first time it happened.

[arebelspy]

I had the Discover fraud call when I did my first adds last June, but none since then.  Most the time they don't even make me upload the paperwork (they did the most recent time, but usually not).

[arebelspy]

Emailed with the company owner.

They stopped B of A adds last week.

They have seen this type of crackdown before, B of A last did it about three years ago.  Capital One has done the same in the past as well. They thought they might be done with B of A and Capital One for good, but then they've come back as useful.

Other tradeline companies are seeing the same thing; as boarder mentioned, the one he uses stopped using B of A a few weeks ago, and a few other companies are seeing the same thing.

It seems cyclical. Right now Citi and B of A are auditing and more dangerous to use.  They'll be good again in a bit, and something else may be annoying.

They're also reaching out to contacts at B of A to try to get more information.

Part of the risks of selling tradelines, unfortunately.  Bummer that it happened so soon for some of you.  =/

[arebelspy]

Okay, working on the communication issues.

They have been overwhelmed with emails, and getting the portal going, but are trying to get on track to make sure everything outstanding is answered.

If you are waiting on something, PM me (do not click the email button, please, but PM).

LINK TO PM ME HERE: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/pm/?sa=send;u=25

Please specify if you are waiting for:
- Initial contact (documents to fill out)
- Confirmation of your filled out documents received
- Portal Information
- Problem with the portal (and what)
- Other (specify)

Please include your email address.

I will be helping to make sure you didn't fall through the cracks, and ensure you get a response.

(Please note: You will only have portal information if your filled out paperwork has been received.)

My response time may be a slight bit lagged as well (I'm in a very different time zone than most of you, currently traveling in New Zealand, plus I'm doing an RV relocation, so my Internet is limited), but it should be less than 24 hours response time from me.

Cheers!

[secondcor521]

I'm in good shape personally with respect to everything with the new company, but I just wanted to pop in and say a big thank you to ARS for the extra work he's doing on this thread in terms of sharing the opportunity, and especially the extra help he just offered to help those of us who are running into issues.  He's also done some (probably a lot, actually) stuff behind the scenes.  He obviously doesn't need to do any of this, and some of what he has done has been detrimental to himself and his family.

Thanks, ARS!!

[RedwoodDreams]

I'm in good shape personally with respect to everything with the new company, but I just wanted to pop in and say a big thank you to ARS for the extra work he's doing on this thread in terms of sharing the opportunity, and especially the extra help he just offered to help those of us who are running into issues.  He's also done some (probably a lot, actually) stuff behind the scenes.  He obviously doesn't need to do any of this, and some of what he has done has been detrimental to himself and his family.

Thanks, ARS!!

Hear, hear! As I happily use the extra $125-$300 per month to chip away at medical bills, I'm so grateful to ARS for sharing what he knows, and for everyone who chimes in with tips and advice.

[hoping2retire35]

My BoA was closed on my first attempt to add any AUs. I added 3 AUs per the tradeline company's request and my account was closed less than a week a later. I am communicating with them right now on the topic, but I wanted to give everyone an additional heads up/data point.

craptastic! say it aint so. I wonder why they wanted you to add three? I thought BoA was max of 2. Maybe it would still be safe to only do 1.


edit; nevermind read the other responses...

[ditkanate]

Got a confirmation that my info was received on Feb. 3rd. I still haven't received any emails about signing up for the portal.

I sent my info in on 2/17 and haven't received a portal email either, FYI.

FYI - my email came last night, thanks for bringing this to their attention. 

In getting my cards added, I thought I'd note that they are currently only taking Chase cards with 25k and above credit limits. This goes along with their restriction of having to use Chase cards in tandem with another card.  I'd shuffled some credit limits around with Chase to give myself one with 15k on it, but to no avail.  Oh well.

One question I had - the Citi card I registered with them has a family member on there as an AU.  I didn't see anywhere in the portal to note how many AU's are on a card.  Should I just take that family member off to be safe?  Or would that just bring attention to the account...

[boarder42]

Emailed with the company owner.

They stopped B of A adds last week.

They have seen this type of crackdown before, B of A last did it about three years ago.  Capital One has done the same in the past as well. They thought they might be done with B of A and Capital One for good, but then they've come back as useful.

Other tradeline companies are seeing the same thing; as boarder mentioned, the one he uses stopped using B of A a few weeks ago, and a few other companies are seeing the same thing.

It seems cyclical. Right now Citi and B of A are auditing and more dangerous to use.  They'll be good again in a bit, and something else may be annoying.

They're also reaching out to contacts at B of A to try to get more information.

Part of the risks of selling tradelines, unfortunately.  Bummer that it happened so soon for some of you.  =/

Yep i have the same information on BofA from the company i use.  They expect BofA adds to be allowed again in 20-30 days at my company.  really sucks to not be pulling my 875 a month from those cards but its free money and a small blip in the grand scheme.  I've really just missed one month of adds.

[Shade00]

Just got the email and signed up for the online portal. I added my Discover and will add the Citi card tonight - I don't have the Citi card on me so I don't have the phone number or website off the back of the card. Hoping to see some adds soon. Thanks again ARS!

[Shade00]

Ok, got both of my cards active in the system (Discover and Citi) - each one shows what I assume to be only two spots for AUs. Are they limiting AUs on these cards due to the audit issues?

[sw1tch]

I finally got enrolled in the portal and am now getting the Card Add Error.  I'll have to try Internet Explorer when I get home.

[MFG_Hotspur]

Well, I guess I must be the 1'st to get my card closed with the new company.

My BoA was closed on my first attempt to add any AUs.

Damn.

That's two now.  =/

Crossing my fingers my B of A cards aren't cancelled; I have several AUs on each (including an AU added within the last week or so).

Messaging the company for more info, but for now, it looks like B of A may be a no-go for a bit.

Can either of you confirm if you had other accounts with B of A besides the one card that was closed, and that those other accounts were not closed?

Guess the USAA, Capital One, Discover, Barclay, Citibank, etc. cardholders get more orders put their way now.

I have a checking, savings and a brokerage account with them and they did not do anything to those accounts.

[katsiki]

Ok, got both of my cards active in the system (Discover and Citi) - each one shows what I assume to be only two spots for AUs. Are they limiting AUs on these cards due to the audit issues?

I have 3 cards - 2 have 4 spots and 1 has 3 spots.  I think their system determines that based on their rules for AUs per issuer.

[arebelspy]

I'm in good shape personally with respect to everything with the new company, but I just wanted to pop in and say a big thank you to ARS for the extra work he's doing on this thread in terms of sharing the opportunity, and especially the extra help he just offered to help those of us who are running into issues.  He's also done some (probably a lot, actually) stuff behind the scenes.  He obviously doesn't need to do any of this, and some of what he has done has been detrimental to himself and his family.

Thanks, ARS!!

I'm in good shape personally with respect to everything with the new company, but I just wanted to pop in and say a big thank you to ARS for the extra work he's doing on this thread in terms of sharing the opportunity, and especially the extra help he just offered to help those of us who are running into issues.  He's also done some (probably a lot, actually) stuff behind the scenes.  He obviously doesn't need to do any of this, and some of what he has done has been detrimental to himself and his family.

Thanks, ARS!!

Hear, hear! As I happily use the extra $125-$300 per month to chip away at medical bills, I'm so grateful to ARS for sharing what he knows, and for everyone who chimes in with tips and advice.

Thanks.  :)

A) I like helping. It's just cool to see the posts where people are excited about getting a sale, or getting paid, or whatnot.  :)

B) I feel bad that I recommended a company, and then people are disappointed (not getting an email back or being stuck in limbo, or whatever). Luckily the same thing happened with old company (they got overwhelmed, had to put on an email autoresponder, shut down new accounts for a bit, etc.), and it all worked out okay.

Everyone seemed happy with old company, except for wanting more sales.

Likewise, everyone who has had sales from new company seems pretty happy with it, aside from the recent unfortuate B of A shutdowns.

The hardest part is waiting for sales.

C) It's not 100% altruistic; I am getting referral commissions.

It has hurt my sales, again.

The smartest move financially (what would have made me the most money) would have been for me would be to have kept everyone at old company, while moving just my cards to the new one.  Maximum sales at new company, while getting commissions from old company.

I wouldn't feel right about that though, having recommended one company, and then secretly using a different one, just to make more money.  I'd rather make less money, but feel good about it, and see fellow Mustachians make more money as well. 

But even though doing it that way nets me less overall, the referral commissions do make up for some of the sales loss, and that is still a selfish incentive to help other Mustachians with it. :)

[arebelspy]

One question I had - the Citi card I registered with them has a family member on there as an AU.  I didn't see anywhere in the portal to note how many AU's are on a card.  Should I just take that family member off to be safe?  Or would that just bring attention to the account...

I'd take them off personally, to be able to add more lines (and only add them if that family member will need the credit bump for something--e.g. applying for a mortgage or whatever), but if you want to keep them, email the tradeline company, and they can reduce the # of AU slots available on the card.

Ok, got both of my cards active in the system (Discover and Citi) - each one shows what I assume to be only two spots for AUs. Are they limiting AUs on these cards due to the audit issues?

Not current audit issues, but each card type has its own limits based on the issuer, and the amounts that are okay to add without throwing up red flags (in general, occasional audits aside).

I have a checking, savings and a brokerage account with them and they did not do anything to those accounts.

That's good. Seems like Chase is still the only one doing this.  Losing my $45k B of A CC would be a bummer, but still worth the sales. Losing my other accounts, not so much. I didn't think I would, but appreciate the confirmation.  :)

[windupnerd]

Hi.  I just e-mailed today with two cards.

Discover - 15 yrs old with 15,800 limit and CapitalOne - 14 yrs. old with 6,000 limit.  Hope my chances of getting sales in the future are reasonably good.

Chase would only increase my limit by 1,000 (from 5,000).

Thanks again to ARS to sharing this information with everyone.

[dragoncar]

I finally signed up on their new website... I think some previous messages went to spam so check that if you are hoping for a reply.  I only have 1-2 cards that fit the bill, but I won't say no to extra money.

On the other hand, is anyone signing up for new cards specifically for piggybacking?  Lets say I sign up for a citi card, no/little bonus.  It will be a couple years before this will make me any money as a piggyback.  So it's kind of a gamble, but what are you guys doing?  Sorry, I'm 90% sure this has been discussed in the past in one of these threads but I can't easily find it.

[sw1tch]

I finally got enrolled in the portal and am now getting the Card Add Error.  I'll have to try Internet Explorer when I get home.

Just a quick update/question: I am still unable to add any cards to my account.  I get the infamous "**Card Add Failed!!" error message when I try to do so.  I also get the failure message when trying to add a ticket for the help desk.

I ended up sending an e-mail to the support e-mail address under contacts - still waiting for a reply which is fine since I didn't send it until late Friday.

Did anyone else run into these issues; if so, how did you get it to work?  I've tried multiple browsers (IE, Chrome, Firefox) to no avail.

[Pizzabrewer]

I finally signed up on their new website... I think some previous messages went to spam so check that if you are hoping for a reply.  I only have 1-2 cards that fit the bill, but I won't say no to extra money.

On the other hand, is anyone signing up for new cards specifically for piggybacking?  Lets say I sign up for a citi card, no/little bonus.  It will be a couple years before this will make me any money as a piggyback.  So it's kind of a gamble, but what are you guys doing?  Sorry, I'm 90% sure this has been discussed in the past in one of these threads but I can't easily find it.

I've signed up for a few (Capital One, BofA, Barclay, Discover).  Not sure if this scheme will still be around in 2 years but if so I'll jump on it.  In the meantime I'm getting some nice signup bonuses and cash back rewards (Discover 10% on gas!).

[TomTX]

No, I'm not signing up for new cards just for piggybacking. I do still sign up for cards for a suitably nice signup bonus.

[MasterStache]

I finally signed up on their new website... I think some previous messages went to spam so check that if you are hoping for a reply.  I only have 1-2 cards that fit the bill, but I won't say no to extra money.

On the other hand, is anyone signing up for new cards specifically for piggybacking?  Lets say I sign up for a citi card, no/little bonus.  It will be a couple years before this will make me any money as a piggyback.  So it's kind of a gamble, but what are you guys doing?  Sorry, I'm 90% sure this has been discussed in the past in one of these threads but I can't easily find it.

Yes and no. We were looking for some new cards for travel hacking with some trips coming up in the future. We made sure to sign up for cards that offered great sign up bonuses and could be used for possible piggybacking in the future. If it's still viable, great, if not then no big deal. We still made good use of rewards.

[aetherie]

I finally got enrolled in the portal and am now getting the Card Add Error.  I'll have to try Internet Explorer when I get home.

Just a quick update/question: I am still unable to add any cards to my account.  I get the infamous "**Card Add Failed!!" error message when I try to do so.  I also get the failure message when trying to add a ticket for the help desk.

I ended up sending an e-mail to the support e-mail address under contacts - still waiting for a reply which is fine since I didn't send it until late Friday.

Did anyone else run into these issues; if so, how did you get it to work?  I've tried multiple browsers (IE, Chrome, Firefox) to no avail.

Same exact issue here. I told the guy about it last week and he said he would check with the developer and get back to me, but I haven't heard anything since then.

[solon]

I created a help ticket on March 1, to raise a credit limit. It was addressed today, March 6. So they have quite a bit of back log.

And, I signed up when rebs started this thread, months ago. Still haven't got any sales! How long am I supposed to wait?

[bigalsmith101]

I created a help ticket on March 1, to raise a credit limit. It was addressed today, March 6. So they have quite a bit of back log.

And, I signed up when rebs started this thread, months ago. Still haven't got any sales! How long am I supposed to wait?

I got two sales at the end of last month. They were the first two I have had, and signed up at the same time as you. It's VERY dependent on the age and credit limit of the card, so it may be that your cards aren't very desirable. Though, they have so many "vendors" to choose from, it may just be that they sales aren't very evenly spread out.



As a side note, I got a couple cards in the mail for the two AU's I added to my card. Any reason I shouldn't just shred them?

[arebelspy]

As a side note, I got a couple cards in the mail for the two AU's I added to my card. Any reason I shouldn't just shred them?

Shred them.

[sol]

And, I signed up when rebs started this thread, months ago. Still haven't got any sales! How long am I supposed to wait?

Right there with you bro.  Months of waiting on what should be desirable cards, zero sales, no info on new portal, nothing.   Just silence.  Watching everyone else here supposedly rake in the dough, while I sit in the corner trying to be patient. 

I'm beginning to think they just never registered our cards in the first place.

Consider how this looks from my perspective.   Some stranger on the internet convinced me to hand over all of my credit card info with the promise of easy money while working from home, and then absconded with my info, never to be heard from again.  Internet stranger tells me everything is fine, I should do nothing.  Have I fallen prey to an online scam?  Do I need to file a fraud report?

[arebelspy]

Consider how this looks from my perspective.   Some stranger on the internet convinced me to hand over all of my credit card info with the promise of easy money while working from home, and then absconded with my info, never to be heard from again.  Internet stranger tells me everything is fine, I should do nothing.  Have I fallen prey to an online scam?  Do I need to file a fraud report?

Did you really hand over any actual credit card info (numbers, expiration dates, security code)?  Cause you shouldn't have, nor should that have ever been requested.

[tj]

Some stranger on the internet convinced me to hand over all of my credit card info

I certainly didn't provide that info.

[arebelspy]

I finally got enrolled in the portal and am now getting the Card Add Error.  I'll have to try Internet Explorer when I get home.

Just a quick update/question: I am still unable to add any cards to my account.  I get the infamous "**Card Add Failed!!" error message when I try to do so.  I also get the failure message when trying to add a ticket for the help desk.

I ended up sending an e-mail to the support e-mail address under contacts - still waiting for a reply which is fine since I didn't send it until late Friday.

Did anyone else run into these issues; if so, how did you get it to work?  I've tried multiple browsers (IE, Chrome, Firefox) to no avail.

Same exact issue here. I told the guy about it last week and he said he would check with the developer and get back to me, but I haven't heard anything since then.

They think this is fixed (said it was related to having a username/email of more than 25 characters not being recognized by the card holder table, which is no longer an issue)--can anyone who experienced this try again and let us know?

[sol]

Did you really hand over any actual credit card info (numbers, expiration dates, security code)?  Cause you shouldn't have, nor should that have ever been requested.

You're right, we didn't have to hand over card numbers.  Just banks and dates and credit limits, home address and phone number, plus SSN and a copy of signature.  Oh, and checking account and routing number.  Gee, I feel so much better now.

Please, internet stranger, tell me everything is okay and I should do nothing.

[arebelspy]

Everything is okay, and you should do nothing.

[arebelspy]

Unless you're joking, I'm not sure what you're driving at.

You think this is all a scam?

If so, do you think that:
A) All of the people saying they have sales, in both the old thread and this one, are liars in a giant conspiracy to trick you?  Con artists all part of the same scam? Fake accounts?

Or

B) The company is real, those people are real and telling the truth, but the company (which must be making tons of money to pay out thousands of Mustachians) is also going to engage in a little identity theft and fraud alongside their normal business?

Or it's sol making a funny observation about how this could appear.  I'm inclined to think this, but just want to be clear.

[sol]

I don't think it's actually a scam, but from the perspective of someone in my situation it certainly does look like one, doesn't it?

I MADE $900 PER HOUR WORKING FROM HOME AND YOU CAN TOO!  Just send us all your bank account info, SSN, and a copy of your signature, and wait for the money to start rolling in!

Keep waiting!

Just a little bit longer!  Any day now!

[dlawson]

Please, internet stranger, tell me everything is okay and I should do nothing.

Actually, given the circumstances, I think the best course of action is to demand that the tradeline company disenroll your cards and shred every bit of paperwork you sent them (plus photo proof!). Just in case. ;)

[arebelspy]

I don't think it's actually a scam, but from the perspective of someone in my situation it certainly does look like one, doesn't it?

If you just look at just those narrow statements, sure, absolutely.

If you look at the fact that you have to then accept either A or B, posited above, much less so.

If you add in the fact that there have been no reports of anything resembling issues despite the fact that dozens and dozens of Mustachians have signed up (some getting sales, some not yet), it's even less likely (unless, again, they're also all fake accounts, or real ones in on a giant conspiracy).

In other words, if you were the sole person PM'd about this, there were no threads, and you added all your info and then heard nothing for months, that would be worrisome.  Having dozens of people say it's legit makes it much more likely to be so.

[tj]

ust send us all your bank account info, SSN, and a copy of your signature, and wait for the money to start rolling in!

This is why you should use an EIN and a separate checking account. Not that I am worried about this company, but why send your SSN and primary banking info to anyone when there are less sensitive alternatives available?

[secondcor521]

Did you really hand over any actual credit card info (numbers, expiration dates, security code)?  Cause you shouldn't have, nor should that have ever been requested.

You're right, we didn't have to hand over card numbers.  Just banks and dates and credit limits, home address and phone number, plus SSN and a copy of signature.  Oh, and checking account and routing number.  Gee, I feel so much better now.

Er...the information and risks were clearly stated, you had a chance to ask any questions or raise any concerns, and you freely made a choice as an adult.  I don't understand how you justify your complaining.