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

[solon]

I've learned not to be attached to my cards. I have a dozen+- of them at any given time. All of them are tools, being used for one purpose or another. If something changes that makes a card not as valuable anymore, or better suited to a different use, I switch it out. And if a bank shuts one down, I shrug my shoulders and transfer my activity somewhere else. I don't have any cards that I would be upset to lose.

[arebelspy]

As always, mitigate your risk.

The above poster reached out to me after Chase started investigating them.

They are using a TL company shilled in this thread* that I researched (and enrolled cards in, and had sales) and opted not to endorse/use any more after speaking with the owner and head programmer.

I thought the way they authenticated (or not) AUs created an increased shutdown risk. And then, for this poster, after two sales, Chase flagged them.

Likely coincidence (anyone can be shut down at any time), but still, IMO it's important where you sell your cards.

I've heard multiple stories of people getting shut down right away after a sale with various other companies. So even as bad as New Company is at paying (having to chase them down is so frustrating), I still appreciate their AU verification and how they keep the card holders safe. And Old Company is still the gold standard, IMO, other than a demand issue.


*Yet another reason we don't post company names. Someone did so a few times, this brand new poster saw it, tried them, and immediately had Chase having issues with them. That's a bummer to see.

[CornFarmer]

Live and learn - I'm now wondering if I just remove the two users but not close the account would be my best course of action. If the tradeline company is doing something shady then those lines would never even post - limiting my involvement. Again, if they close me so be it I just don't want to be accused of doing something illegal, because I now have reason to believe that these AUs may not have been properly verified by the tradeline company and for all I know they aren't even real people.

[WayDownSouth]

As always, mitigate your risk.

The above poster reached out to me after Chase started investigating them.

They are using a TL company shilled in this thread* that I researched (and enrolled cards in, and had sales) and opted not to endorse/use any more after speaking with the owner and head programmer.


*Yet another reason we don't post company names. Someone did so a few times, this brand new poster saw it, tried them, and immediately had Chase having issues with them. That's a bummer to see.

With all your knowledge, you should know that selling Chase is walking the tightrope right now in recent weeks.

When it comes to being honest, the "I can't recommend them" doesn't hold up under real-world logic. I've had 2 cards shutdown with the same comapny as Cornfarmer over a span of 3.5 years now. Your preferred companies performed FAR worse for me before I went 100% with the company we spoke about.

To each their own. As I said, I respect that this is your thread and I was literally and genuinely trying to help people here. I could care less about making money from it.

A "shill", is absolutely something I am not. I connected you to the owner. I explained my whole story to you. You know I'm not bullshitting. Anyway, agree to disagree. I have no hard feelings and have no reason to. Everybody is here making money on a great loophole.

[WayDownSouth]

Hmm...earlier this year I upped my Barclays credit limit to $25k and haven't had a sale since. This brought the commission schedule from $125 to $175 but again I haven't had any sales. Do upper credit limit cards not sell as well?

They were coming in pretty consistently when the credit limit was lower. 2 AU slots every few months. Anyone have any insight?

Most likely the company raised the price on your card by a much larger margin than the extra 50 you're getting paid for the higher limit. Couple that with using a company who has a potentially weak demand and you know have your answer.

The other problem could be that sometimes you'll encounter "grayish", middle-of-the-road places where certain cards will not sell very well. I've experienced this before. Example: Buyer wants this but it costs X, so it's more logical or economical to go a bit cheaper or go a bit higher.

[PJC74]

Had a large 1k+ fraudulent charge on my chase for tix in Calgary. What are the chances this is regular fraud vs the AU? Their card was sent to me.

[arebelspy]

Had a large 1k+ fraudulent charge on my chase for tix in Calgary. What are the chances this is regular fraud vs the AU? Their card was sent to me.

If it were a charge from an authorized user, wouldn't it be authorized? (And then you'd be going wtf to the TL company.)

It's very likely a normal fraudulent charge, nothing to do with an AU.

[PJC74]

Makes sense, Joe.
Another question. I just disputed the charge and concurrently got the alert to add a new AU to the chase card. With all that, would it be better to hold off on adding the AU?

[arebelspy]

I don't personally mess with Chase, because I don't want to risk a shutdown with them.

Everything is to your own personal comfort level, so if you're worried, I'd probably play it safer, especially with that issuer.

That being said, I don't personally think they would have triggers around unauthorized charges and authorized user add/removals, but it's possible. (Perhaps people often mistake authorized user charges for a fraudulent activity, and report it, so they do flag it to look into it more?)

[Padonak]

Which cards/banks require you to to call to remove AUs? For me, it's Elan, USBank and Citi.

Calling to remove AUs is kind of annoying, is there any way around it for any of those banks? For example, with Chase, you can just message them.

[Reddart67]

I call them all in, except Chase and American Express (message), and Barclays(online).

[salt cured]

Which cards/banks require you to to call to remove AUs? For me, it's Elan, USBank and Citi.

Calling to remove AUs is kind of annoying, is there any way around it for any of those banks? For example, with Chase, you can just message them.

The last time I added someone to Elan (Fidelity), I asked the rep about the online AU add function, which hasn't been working for me for the last few months. She said the website had been updated and online adds were no longer possible BUT that online removals were still ok. But I don't see the option for that...anyone know if online removal is possible?

[Padonak]

The last time I added someone to Elan (Fidelity), I asked the rep about the online AU add function, which hasn't been working for me for the last few months. She said the website had been updated and online adds were no longer possible BUT that online removals were still ok. But I don't see the option for that...anyone know if online removal is possible?

For me, it's possible to add AUs online but I have to call to remove them. This is for Elan and USBank.

[Car Jack]

Live and learn - I'm now wondering if I just remove the two users but not close the account would be my best course of action.

NO!  Hopefully, you haven't done this yet.  My Chase account was shut down some time ago.  I asked why and they said that in a random check of my account, I had AUs added for a short time, then removed.  So if you want to be safe, stop adding for now and do NOT remove the AUs.  I would wait a year (pulled out of the air) to remove anyone.  And even then, I'd remove one, wait a quarter and then remove the next.  Short time AUs click their "cancel this one" switch.

[kindoflost]

I could not agree more. I got a card shut down and ever since I don't remove the AUs when they tell me but rather when I have to because I reached the max AUs for the card and need to make room for a new customer.
Weirdly, I got a message some time ago to remove a specific AU because the guy complained that the card still showed in their report months after he bought the tradeline...

[TheAgileCamel]

I could not agree more. I got a card shut down and ever since I don't remove the AUs when they tell me but rather when I have to because I reached the max AUs for the card and need to make room for a new customer.
Weirdly, I got a message some time ago to remove a specific AU because the guy complained that the card still showed in their report months after he bought the tradeline...

Is there any DPs on if Chase closes down the Biz cards as well?

[kindoflost]

I don't know about Chase. I got a Bank of America card closed and they closed both cards, personal and business. They left my checking alone. I have been a customer for 20+ years. I am about to apply for another card to see what happens.

[Mr. Metal Mustache]

I could not agree more. I got a card shut down and ever since I don't remove the AUs when they tell me but rather when I have to because I reached the max AUs for the card and need to make room for a new customer.
Weirdly, I got a message some time ago to remove a specific AU because the guy complained that the card still showed in their report months after he bought the tradeline...

I’ve sold my first few tradelines with good company. I have been removing the AU on the date it says to on my login portal with them… So you’re saying it’s better to leave those AU on for longer to decrease risk? I did have us bank take them all off at the same time no issues but that was my first sale…

[secondcor521]

I could not agree more. I got a card shut down and ever since I don't remove the AUs when they tell me but rather when I have to because I reached the max AUs for the card and need to make room for a new customer.
Weirdly, I got a message some time ago to remove a specific AU because the guy complained that the card still showed in their report months after he bought the tradeline...

I’ve sold my first few tradelines with good company. I have been removing the AU on the date it says to on my login portal with them… So you’re saying it’s better to leave those AU on for longer to decrease risk? I did have us bank take them all off at the same time no issues but that was my first sale…

Not the person you asked, but...

It's a plausible theory.  CC companies are presumably OK with "normal" AU use, but dislike piggybacking - to varying degrees in my experience and observations.

I've long thought that the way CC companies try to cut down on piggybacking is to periodically run raids on their customers and do queries to identify piggybackers.  They have too many customers to look individually, so what would they put in a query to distinguish normal use from piggybacking behavior?

Total number of AUs lifetime would be one.  AUs with lots of different addresses or different last names might be another.  Quick adds and removes might also be used, which this strategy would avoid.  But removes followed immediately by adds might also be construed as risky behavior, which this strategy would exhibit.

Even if my theory is right - that CC companies periodically run queries - it is likely that nobody here knows how they distinguish.  And obviously different CC companies might distinguish in different ways, at different times, and use their query results differently:  blanket closures, review individually then close, close just the offending account or all, etc.

A person very worried about AU risk (not me, but could be some people) might also point out that the longer an AU is on the card, the longer there is for the AU to either commit fraud on the card (again, very unlikely).  Or just create issues in general like calling the CC company and asking them why the card is on their credit report.

Personally I remove the AU on the day the portal allows.  Occasionally a day or two later - I have two due to be removed today and one tomorrow, so I'm just going to do all three tomorrow.  Another (possible) benefit of my strategy:  A few weeks ago I had a same day request to add an AU on a very old, very large TL.  I was able to do the last minute add because I was home and saw the email and had the AU slot empty and ready to go.

Honestly, now that I write that all out, probably either way is fine.  Since the Good Company just requires you to wait until at least the portal date, they probably haven't observed any serious problems with leaving AUs on longer.

[kindoflost]

I could not agree more. I got a card shut down and ever since I don't remove the AUs when they tell me but rather when I have to because I reached the max AUs for the card and need to make room for a new customer.
Weirdly, I got a message some time ago to remove a specific AU because the guy complained that the card still showed in their report months after he bought the tradeline...

I’ve sold my first few tradelines with good company. I have been removing the AU on the date it says to on my login portal with them… So you’re saying it’s better to leave those AU on for longer to decrease risk? I did have us bank take them all off at the same time no issues but that was my first sale…

yes, especially for Citi Chase and BoA that are usually considered riskier

[bangbang]

Could someone send me a message and let me know who I can sell American Express tradelines through? I have seen a poster on her say it can be done.

[Mr. Metal Mustache]

@secondcor521 This was very helpful. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I have not yet sold a Chase or BOFA slot but also at the end of the day any card I have listed won’t make me cry if it’s closed.

[Pizzabrewer]

Is it no longer possible to remove an AU online with Barclays?  I can’t find a link to do it on the app or on the webpage. It’s been a while since I last had a Barclays AU but I remember it being easy to do.

TIA and sorry if this has already been discussed.

[Car Jack]

I've been able to do the adds and drops online with Barclays.  Services > Authorized users and then it shows #1.  You can hit the next arrow to go to the next AU.

There's pros/cons to keeping or removing an AU.  Keeping makes it less risky with the CC company.  But the tradeline company may not offer you a new AU if you've not yet removed an AU.  I find that my new AUs show up shortly after I remove one.

[Nutty]

Sold a tradeline for the third time to the same person.  What is the benefit to keeping a tradeline open for 6 months?  My understanding is these are to bump the credit score for one transaction.  Even a house sale should close within two months.

[secondcor521]

Sold a tradeline for the third time to the same person.  What is the benefit to keeping a tradeline open for 6 months?  My understanding is these are to bump the credit score for one transaction.  Even a house sale should close within two months.

I assume the AU is just disorganized or procrastinates.

[Car Jack]

Sold a tradeline for the third time to the same person.  What is the benefit to keeping a tradeline open for 6 months?  My understanding is these are to bump the credit score for one transaction.  Even a house sale should close within two months.

2 months is way fast to close.

I would guess an AU would first buy a tradeline.  Then get a pre-approval.  Then spend months looking for a house.  Then make an offer, get accepted and wait a couple months to close.  So I'd expect the bank to do a pull before giving a pre-approval and then again before actually approving the mortgage.  I've heard of them pulling again just before closing.  They don't want to be handing you the money if you and your spouse were both just laid off from your jobs.

[MoseyingAlong]

Is anyone else having issues with Discover?

In early May I tried to add an AU, wouldn't go thru. Then I got the banner about no more AUs until early June. That changed to late June. That banner disappeared. When I tried to add one recently, the banner reappeared with mid-August.

There haven't been any AUs on the card since mid-May.

So now I'm wondering if Discover is limiting lifetime AUs.

[Nutty]

Discover limits to 7 AUs per year.  I had to wait a year to add a new AU.

How many AUs have you added in the last 12 months?  I think this is a rolling number and not per calendar year.

[MoneyTree]

Everyone says discover allows 7AUs in a year including the TL company I'm selling with. On the discover page where I can add AUs it says 5. Can I only add 5 or is it 7? I sold 3 in 2 days time and don't want to oversell.

Discover will tell you when you reach your limit.  I sold 7 and was locked for a year.  They may change it with no notice.  My take is sell until Discover says no more then start checking in 8 months.

Discover has been inconsistent with this for my cards. Sometimes they will prevent more AUs sooner than I expect. Sometimes the block will mysteriously disappear before it is supposed to. Sometimes they will say that I can add more AUs after a specific date, and then the date will change for no reason. I would just check each month when deciding if your discover card should be made available for sales.

It is not a lifetime limit. It is a rolling limit, but Discover is very inconsistent with how it is applied, see the mini exchange quoted above...

[MoseyingAlong]

Everyone says discover allows 7AUs in a year including the TL company I'm selling with. On the discover page where I can add AUs it says 5. Can I only add 5 or is it 7? I sold 3 in 2 days time and don't want to oversell.

Discover will tell you when you reach your limit.  I sold 7 and was locked for a year.  They may change it with no notice.  My take is sell until Discover says no more then start checking in 8 months.

Discover has been inconsistent with this for my cards. Sometimes they will prevent more AUs sooner than I expect. Sometimes the block will mysteriously disappear before it is supposed to. Sometimes they will say that I can add more AUs after a specific date, and then the date will change for no reason. I would just check each month when deciding if your discover card should be made available for sales.

It is not a lifetime limit. It is a rolling limit, but Discover is very inconsistent with how it is applied, see the mini exchange quoted above...

Thanks for posting this.
Yes, inconsistent is the word for it.

Depending on how you count I've put 10-14 AUs on the one Discover card in the last year.

[Car Jack]

This isn't tradeline, but low balance forgiveness but since I originally found it in this thread, here ya go.

Amazon used to take as little as 50 cents in gift card added funds.  Maybe a year ago or so, they went to $1.  Ok, so my cards that forgive $1 or $2 are still fine.  I went in yesterday and now it's $5.  I've reverted to bringing my low balance cards to the gas station.  Ok, put in 93 cents on this card.  Now 96 cents on that card.  Now $1.94 on this card.  Now $1.92 on that card.  It's still worth it to me.  I get about $7 a month for free.  Amazon has no lost out on this.  I'm sure they don't care.

[secondcor521]

Question for the group:

My rule of thumb is to make sure there is at least a balance on each card with any AUs on it each month.  I do this by charging $5 Amazon gift cards.  The rest of my spending goes on my 2% daily driver.  Eventually I buy something on Amazon and use my credit balance up that way.

Nice person at Good Company has mentioned a couple of times that they think CC companies might require at least a $10 statement balance in order to report AUs to the bureaus.  In fact, there is a current order that may not have posted even though I added the AU properly before the closing date, received the AU card, and the statement closed with a balance...albeit only a $5 balance.

Do any of you think a $10 balance works any better than a $5 balance?  Do you make sure your balance is at least $10, or just non-zero?  Does anyone have written formal guidance from Good Company that $10 is required (my copies are dated)?

I suppose I can accommodate the new $10 balance recommendation, but with multiple cards with AUs on them every month, I'd really rather not.  Interested in people's data points and opinions.

[arebelspy]

I don't have any extra information, but just my own anecdotal data: I always do $5 as well, and don't have an issue with them always posting. Many many dozens of sales. (Actually I think maybe once in 2017 one didn't post, but my memory is hazy, so I couldn't say for sure either way.)

[secondcor521]

I don't have any extra information, but just my own anecdotal data: I always do $5 as well, and don't have an issue with them always posting. Many many dozens of sales. (Actually I think maybe once in 2017 one didn't post, but my memory is hazy, so I couldn't say for sure either way.)

Thanks, ARS.  That's been my experience as well.  But she's suggested it a couple of times when I've had posting troubles which is why I wondered.  The posting troubles have never been conclusively linked to "only" a $5 balance.

[jnw]

Discover is a card these tradeline companies like right?  How many can be made per month with it if it is 1 year old and say $10k credit limit?  Is Discover pretty lenient like Barclay's?  Or will they shut you down fast like Chase does? 

[tj]

Discover is a card these tradeline companies like right?  How many can be made per month with it if it is 1 year old and say $10k credit limit?

i should be contained in the spoiler in the first post.

[Michael in ABQ]

Question for the group:

My rule of thumb is to make sure there is at least a balance on each card with any AUs on it each month.  I do this by charging $5 Amazon gift cards.  The rest of my spending goes on my 2% daily driver.  Eventually I buy something on Amazon and use my credit balance up that way.

Nice person at Good Company has mentioned a couple of times that they think CC companies might require at least a $10 statement balance in order to report AUs to the bureaus.  In fact, there is a current order that may not have posted even though I added the AU properly before the closing date, received the AU card, and the statement closed with a balance...albeit only a $5 balance.

Do any of you think a $10 balance works any better than a $5 balance?  Do you make sure your balance is at least $10, or just non-zero?  Does anyone have written formal guidance from Good Company that $10 is required (my copies are dated)?

I suppose I can accommodate the new $10 balance recommendation, but with multiple cards with AUs on them every month, I'd really rather not.  Interested in people's data points and opinions.

I try to run real spending through all my cards each month. Some have a monthly recurring bill while others I just try to remember to rotate through and use for various reward categories if applicable like grocery stores or restaurants. So far, no shutdowns on four cards over a few years. I think just have minimal charges each month would raise more of a red flag than occasionally running the balance up to 3-5% of the credit limit instead of always keeping it at 0.1% or less.

[jnw]

Discover is a card these tradeline companies like right?  How many can be made per month with it if it is 1 year old and say $10k credit limit?

i should be contained in the spoiler in the first post.

That first post is 8 years old. Nevermind my question. I don't want to take a deep dive into this again.  Was just hoping it wasn't that much so I could forget the idea.

[tj]

Discover is a card these tradeline companies like right?  How many can be made per month with it if it is 1 year old and say $10k credit limit?

i should be contained in the spoiler in the first post.

That first post is 8 years old. Nevermind my question. I don't want to take a deep dive into this again.  Was just hoping it wasn't that much so I could forget the idea.

I could be wrong but I am pretty sure they haven't increased their payouts even though it has been 8 years.

[ducky19]

Speaking of increasing payouts, how do you all handle it when your card ages up to the next level? I have had some success contacting the company (I work with multiple) and asking for the commission to be raised, but other times have had to delist the card and enroll elsewhere. Just curious if others have thoughts or suggestions on requesting an increase.

[secondcor521]

Speaking of increasing payouts, how do you all handle it when your card ages up to the next level? I have had some success contacting the company (I work with multiple) and asking for the commission to be raised, but other times have had to delist the card and enroll elsewhere. Just curious if others have thoughts or suggestions on requesting an increase.

This was an issue for me when the company I was using had age brackets at 2 years and 7 years.

I addressed the 2 year boundary by simply not enrolling cards younger than 2 years.  The payouts were low enough before 2 years to not make it worth it to me personally.

For the 7 year boundary, I just made a tickler entry in my to do list for when my next card was going to cross the 7 year boundary.  I would then send them an email and they'd update it for me.

I only had to do this a few times because I only had a few cards this applied to and the company I use now no longer has a 7 year boundary.

[Michael in ABQ]

Just a reminder to go and request credit line increases - especially if your current CL is just below the next payment tier. I've got a Barclays card I'm ageing that will be 2 years old in a few months. I just requested an increase online from current $18k up to $21k and it was approved instantly. Now it will be worth $175 per slot instead of $125.

[chuckster]

I just got a warning from Capital One that they are conducing a "review" of accounts and might decrease my credit limit on one of my cards due to low usage. It's one I only charge $10 at a time on to report AUs, otherwise the rest of the 10K limit is generally unused. They gave me a number to call to "opt out" of the review. Just curious if anyone's gone through that process before or heard of it happening?

I have some planned spending I can throw on that card in the next month or so, and if worse comes to worse, I guess if it is reduced I can hopefully transfer some credit limit from another Capital One card I'm not selling AUs on back to return it to the 10K level. It would just suck because the cashback/rewards are better on that card I'm not selling AUs on. Capital One has already closed one of my accounts for AUs in the most recent purge so I'm not sure if I'm on their radar or something...

[secondcor521]

I just got a warning from Capital One that they are conducing a "review" of accounts and might decrease my credit limit on one of my cards due to low usage. It's one I only charge $10 at a time on to report AUs, otherwise the rest of the 10K limit is generally unused. They gave me a number to call to "opt out" of the review. Just curious if anyone's gone through that process before or heard of it happening?

I have some planned spending I can throw on that card in the next month or so, and if worse comes to worse, I guess if it is reduced I can hopefully transfer some credit limit from another Capital One card I'm not selling AUs on back to return it to the 10K level. It would just suck because the cashback/rewards are better on that card I'm not selling AUs on. Capital One has already closed one of my accounts for AUs in the most recent purge so I'm not sure if I'm on their radar or something...

I received the same letter and am in a similar position.

I called the number they provided and opted out of the review.  It was super easy and they clearly confirmed my opt out.  My understanding is that my limit will remain unchanged for now.

[tj]

I just got a warning from Capital One that they are conducing a "review" of accounts and might decrease my credit limit on one of my cards due to low usage. It's one I only charge $10 at a time on to report AUs, otherwise the rest of the 10K limit is generally unused. They gave me a number to call to "opt out" of the review. Just curious if anyone's gone through that process before or heard of it happening?

I have some planned spending I can throw on that card in the next month or so, and if worse comes to worse, I guess if it is reduced I can hopefully transfer some credit limit from another Capital One card I'm not selling AUs on back to return it to the 10K level. It would just suck because the cashback/rewards are better on that card I'm not selling AUs on. Capital One has already closed one of my accounts for AUs in the most recent purge so I'm not sure if I'm on their radar or something...

You're only on their radar for not using your card. Capital One does this to a lot of people.

[chuckster]

Cool, thanks! I'll be sure to call before their deadline and opt-out.

[Padonak]

Does anyone use Wells Fargo cards for TLs?

It looks like the good company doesn't accept them, does anyone know which ones do? (PM if you don't want to mention the companies here).

[MoneyTree]

I sell Wells Fargo tradelines with a different company than the ones mentioned in this thread. Anyone interested can PM me.

[Mr. Metal Mustache]

How many slots does everyone have open per card? Is there a time length you have to be with good company before you can currently have more slots/spots? All of mine are at 2 except for my Discover.