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

[Padonak]

How many AUs can you add to one Barclays card before it reaches its limit? I've already added 38 and it still lets me add more. Not sure what's going on, i thought the lifetime limit per card was around 35-36?

[Nutty]

How many AUs can you add to one Barclays card before it reaches its limit? I've already added 38 and it still lets me add more. Not sure what's going on, i thought the lifetime limit per card was around 35-36?

38 is what is advertised.  Count your blessings and keep going or will you retire this one?  I need to start a running tally on mine now.

[hoodedfalcon]

How many AUs can you add to one Barclays card before it reaches its limit? I've already added 38 and it still lets me add more. Not sure what's going on, i thought the lifetime limit per card was around 35-36?

38 is what is advertised.  Count your blessings and keep going or will you retire this one?  I need to start a running tally on mine now.

Barlcays cut me off when I tried to add my 37th.

[secondcor521]

How many AUs can you add to one Barclays card before it reaches its limit? I've already added 38 and it still lets me add more. Not sure what's going on, i thought the lifetime limit per card was around 35-36?

It used to be.  But this stuff slowly changes over time.  Maybe Barclays changed their system.  That's why it's good to keep reporting data points.

[dantheman46]

Anyone tried this company?

https://www.tradelinescore.com/whats-in-it-for-you-as-a-cardholder-investor/

[Mr. Metal Mustache]

I sent Arebelspy a message about that yesterday. He's currently unavailable to dig deeper into it but it doesn't  ring a bell with him unless it's a rebranded company.

Did they solicit you via your email? I asked them some questions about how they got my info and how long they have been in business and how to handle their data, ect. but they have not replied yet.

[dantheman46]

I sent Arebelspy a message about that yesterday. He's currently unavailable to dig deeper into it but it doesn't  ring a bell with him unless it's a rebranded company.

Did they solicit you via your email? I asked them some questions about how they got my info and how long they have been in business and how to handle their data, ect. but they have not replied yet.

Yes, I got a solicitation email from them out of the blue.

[katsiki]

I sent Arebelspy a message about that yesterday. He's currently unavailable to dig deeper into it but it doesn't  ring a bell with him unless it's a rebranded company.

Did they solicit you via your email? I asked them some questions about how they got my info and how long they have been in business and how to handle their data, ect. but they have not replied yet.

Yes, I got a solicitation email from them out of the blue.

Same here.  I just saw the email as it went to my spam folder.

Not sure what to make of it but they had my first and last name and email address.  I don't think the MMM forums have our names (I don't see it).  I hope this is social engineering or the like, not a breach of one of the two original companies.

@arebelspy @secondcor521

[secondcor521]

I sent Arebelspy a message about that yesterday. He's currently unavailable to dig deeper into it but it doesn't  ring a bell with him unless it's a rebranded company.

Did they solicit you via your email? I asked them some questions about how they got my info and how long they have been in business and how to handle their data, ect. but they have not replied yet.

Yes, I got a solicitation email from them out of the blue.

Same here.  I just saw the email as it went to my spam folder.

Not sure what to make of it but they had my first and last name and email address.  I don't think the MMM forums have our names (I don't see it).  I hope this is social engineering or the like, not a breach of one of the two original companies.

@arebelspy @secondcor521

I've no idea.

I have never shared anyone's personal information in the context of piggybacking (or otherwise, really).  I really doubt MMM or rebs would either.

A breach is always possible, either from one of the recommended companies or from other piggybacking companies that you may have shared your info with.  Or maybe one of the piggybacking companies involved sold their customer list for extra cash.

I haven't received any unsolicited emails from any piggybacking companies.  I only deal with The Company Which Pays On Time now, and of course I get periodic emails from them, but that's it.

[arebelspy]

The company reached out to me, too.

I'm going to have a call with them soon, I'm just traveling at the moment.

[katsiki]

Thanks guys!  I wasn't implying anyone or MMM forums/MMM did anything improper.  Just wanted to make folks aware.

ARS - thanks as always!

I also only do business now with the company that pays on time.  I did business with the bad/non-payer years ago.  I recently got an email from them which was odd.  I suppose I'm just on a mailing list which is fine.

[secondcor521]

Thanks guys!  I wasn't implying anyone or MMM forums/MMM did anything improper.  Just wanted to make folks aware.

No worries on my part.  I was just sharing data points since I was tagged.

[solon]

I got the email too. Went to spam.

My guess is one of the other companies sold their supplier list.

[Reddart67]

As a data point, I haven’t found any email, even in my spam folders, and I have never contacted or dealt with bad/new company.

[beekayworld]

I also received the email. It was in the account I use for both TL companies.

It was NOT in the email account I use for MMM.

[shingy]

I received the email solicitation as well

[Zamboni]

Just as a data point, I don't seem to have an email from the company cited above.

I have only ever sold tradelines through the old/good company in ARS's original recommendation, and I've never reached out to new/bad company.

Add that to previous posts and draw your own conclusions.

[MoMoney88]

Has anyone had this experience with Citi?....
I called Citi this morning to add an AU. The rep asked to confirm my mailing address and cell, then said "OK great, sure I can help you and it looks like you currently have one AU on your account. Now let me verify your cell, I am sending you a Text Code."
But before receiving the text from him, he suddenly said "Oh! Uh... you will have to speak with another department, let me transfer you".

I immediately hung up.  Is this a sign they are going to shut down my Citi card?
Since 2022, this is only my 8th AU... and only my 2nd this year.
Should I try to add via online?

[ducky19]

No, they aren't planning to shut down your card. I have been transferred to their fraud prevention department more often than not - just an extra step they insert to C their A's. One of the reasons I quit selling on Citi though, the call in process for adds and removals was already tedious.

[Reddart67]

It depends on which Citi card you have, but for mine I can do all online adds and removals.

[ducky19]

Do some Citi cards let you add SS#online? I have 5 cards, and none of them do. I've also never been able to remove online, that's always a phone call as well. If there are Citi cards that allow online add/removal, please share!

[MoMoney88]

Can't add SSN online (at least not with my Citi DoubleCash), so the two TL companies I use always state to add via Phone call.

Years ago, I was told I could add online, then follow-up with a call to Citi and have them add the SSN, but that was hit or miss.

[Reddart67]

I don’t add the SSN unless the TL company I use for Citi specifically requests it. Then I will call it in after adding it online. Otherwise just online adding and removal.

[Mr. Metal Mustache]

I have had this exact thing happen to me. It felt super weird but it was the "fraud" dept, and all they did was verify who I was and that I did in fact want to add a an AU. Everything went fine. (I almost did hangup lol)

[MoMoney88]

After I hung up on Citi, I waited an hour and called back to low and behold they took the AU request no problem.  No mention about transferring me.

Well, about an hour after adding the AU I decided to log into my Citi online to verify the AU was there, and BAMM!  I had bold red warning "call Citi Fraud, also card may be restricted until you call".  I called and they just wanted to verify a couple of charges and verify my "secret word", etc. and that was it.

[ducky19]

How long has Citi allowed online removal!?! I stopped selling my Citi spots because you used to have to call in adds and removals both! Looks like the last one I had was at the end of 2023. This could definitely make me reconsider...

[Reddart67]

Recently, since at least Dec 30 2024 according to an earlier post.

[Mr. Metal Mustache]

Does anyone know if good company that pays on time is recently taking capital one or Citi? I see they have some on the site, especially Citi. I've asked awhile ago but they've said no

[Nutty]

Does anyone know if good company that pays on time is recently taking capital one or Citi? I see they have some on the site, especially Citi. I've asked awhile ago but they've said no

If you have a current relationship, ask good/old company.  Capital One is high risk and they put them on pause for awhile.  I just reactivated my Capital One card but you do have to ask.

[Mr. Metal Mustache]

They are now taking them again. Added mine. Thanks.

[MoneyTree]

How long has Citi allowed online removal!?! I stopped selling my Citi spots because you used to have to call in adds and removals both! Looks like the last one I had was at the end of 2023. This could definitely make me reconsider...

This is fairly recent. it does make the removal process much easier. Adding them can still be a PITA though. sometimes adding is super easy, just one call, 5-10 minutes. Other times, i'm put on hold for 30 minutes, transferred several times, and the rep cannot seem to understand what I'm trying to do, and still get the details wrong after I painstakingly spell out every letter with phonetic words.

HOWEVER, i recently learned from someone on this forum that some Citi retail store cards you can also do adds fully online, as they are administered through a different portal. I recently opened Citi Best Buy card, and started the process of seasoning it so that I can use it for tradelines in a few years.

[Padonak]

When Citi sends you AU cards, do they arrive with your name on the envelope or AU's name? The mailbox that i use for TLs doesn't accept letters addressed to someone else, so all of them get returned to the sender which may cause a shutdown or other issues at some point. Any way to fix this?

[secondcor521]

When Citi sends you AU cards, do they arrive with your name on the envelope or AU's name? The mailbox that i use for TLs doesn't accept letters addressed to someone else, so all of them get returned to the sender which may cause a shutdown or other issues at some point. Any way to fix this?

The only way I know of is to talk to your mailbox service or postal carrier.

I *think* the rules are they have to deliver anything to the address on the envelope regardless of name unless there is a forwarding order in place.  But I am not sure.  But I've heard of postal carriers trying to be helpful and only delivering what they think is the right mail.  The most mine does is occasionally write a question mark on the envelope.

[Nutty]

I talked with my PO Box attendant and assured them that I'd be receiving mail with different names for business purposes.  The response was that a lot of people complain about getting someone else's mail.  Granted we have a small Post Office and I know them by name and they know me because of the amount of interaction we've had. 

Ask the counter and see if you can talk to the person who does the sorting.  May be the easy to solve.

Cheers!

[salt cured]

When Citi sends you AU cards, do they arrive with your name on the envelope or AU's name? The mailbox that i use for TLs doesn't accept letters addressed to someone else, so all of them get returned to the sender which may cause a shutdown or other issues at some point. Any way to fix this?

Citi has the AU name on the envelop. This [my mailbox manager returning them to Citi] is how my card got shut down.

[Reddart67]

When Citi sends you AU cards, do they arrive with your name on the envelope or AU's name? The mailbox that i use for TLs doesn't accept letters addressed to someone else, so all of them get returned to the sender which may cause a shutdown or other issues at some point. Any way to fix this?

Citi has the AU name on the envelop. This [my mailbox manager returning them to Citi] is how my card got shut down.

I’m surprised it hasn’t happened to me yet. I figure it is just a matter of time.

[Reddart67]

Heh, while always waiting to see if my Citi account will be closed, my USBank account was just closed due to “The pattern of adding and removing authorized users on your account”.

Tried to call and see if I could do anything to keep the card….nope.

Usually add 1-2 users every 2 months with good company. Oh well, that’s the risk we take. Was a great card, 20years old, $25k credit line. 😭

[ducky19]

I just lost a PNC card for the same reason - and I was only adding 1 every two to three months. $25k card, 5 years old. Very sad!

[secondcor521]

Heh, while always waiting to see if my Citi account will be closed, my USBank account was just closed due to “The pattern of adding and removing authorized users on your account”.

Tried to call and see if I could do anything to keep the card….nope.

Usually add 1-2 users every 2 months with good company. Oh well, that’s the risk we take. Was a great card, 20years old, $25k credit line. 😭

I had USBank close two of my cards for AU patterns.  Waited several months, applied for two new cards, approved for both, and both are now enrolled again with Good Company.  Details are probably way back on this thread somewhere.

[Reddart67]

I talked with my PO Box attendant and assured them that I'd be receiving mail with different names for business purposes.  The response was that a lot of people complain about getting someone else's mail.  Granted we have a small Post Office and I know them by name and they know me because of the amount of interaction we've had. 

Ask the counter and see if you can talk to the person who does the sorting.  May be the easy to solve.

Cheers!

I did this so hopefully it works. I also noticed that AmEx is now addressing the AU cards to their name now.

[PJC74]

Hey guys,

I just got a news add for my 25k Chase. I get two every 4 months almost like clockwork.
I have couple cards with them , a biz a checking account .
Today’s add has a citizenship status as Brazil.
I know the good company does their homework but would this be an extra red flag to Chase?
I have $$ on another of theirs 0% balance xfer so I don’t mind taking the extra risk but this seems even more riskier. Thoughts?

[arebelspy]

tl;dr for below: Testing a new company. Looking for a few people to test with me. PM me if you're interested.

------------------------------------------

Some big things happening in the Tradeline space (industry-wide and with specific companies).

I spent almost three hours on the phone a few weeks ago with the former owner of Good Company, who I have known for almost 10 years now. He's the one that developed the gold-standard for AU verification (based on his banking compliance/fraud background) that the best companies use, he's the one that figured out all the issuer's quirks (and developed the guidelines for how long to leave on AUs for each individual bank, how many slots to sell, etc.), all of those sort of things.

A lot of things I can't share at this particular moment, but in about two months I expect the biggest update to this thread (or a new thread?) since 2016. A new TL company recommendation, most likely, but also things alluded to in the first sentence of this post that I told him I wouldn't share until a few things happen.

In the meantime, I'm testing a new TL company. I won't publicly endorse it yet without further actual testing (multiple card cycles/payments/etc.), but based on my conversations with them as well as my experience over the last few weeks, I feel very confident this will be a good company to work with.

(Unlike multiple other tradeline companies that I talked to last year, one that I even tried cards with, but pulled after a single cycle and a few sales and decided not to recommend for various reasons.)

Their only red flag is that they are a newer company. However, the owners have 12+ years of experience in the industry before launching this company, and given the former owner of Good Company whom I spoke to is behind it, with all the same practices as good company from this thread (same automated payment systems via Paychex, even better AU verification, etc.), I don't think that will be an issue.

However, because it's newer, they are looking for some people to give feedback, therefore I'm looking for a few people to test it with me.

I have enrolled my personal cards and have had a few sales, and am proceeding with them.

If anyone that would like to give this new company a try now and get their cards in their system, please send me a PM.

Because of their AU verification process, I think the card shutdown risk is as low, or lower, than any other TL company, however that is always a risk, of course.

Anyone who wants to wait for further info, I should have a more detailed update with some interesting info coming in the next few months.

Cheers!

[Reddart67]

tl;dr for below: Testing a new company. Looking for a few people to test with me. PM me if you're interested.

------------------------------------------

Same cards accepted as the old/good company?

[arebelspy]

Same cards accepted as the old/good company?

Oh, good question. Basically.

Alliant CU, Bank of America, Barclay, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, Elan Financial, Navy Federal CU, PNC, TD Bank, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo

[secondcor521]

@arebelspy how about the pay structure compared to Good Company?  (Approximately is sufficient for me, thanks!)

[solon]

I signed up. The first card I tried was a Capital One, currently receiving $220/AU, but TestCo only offered $175.

Then I tried a Citi card, currently earning $175/AU, and TestCo offered $200.

So I submitted the Citi card but not the CapOne.

[secondcor521]

Thanks.  For me I'd only consider switching if TestCo were as good and paid notably better.  But I know others might have different opinions.

[arebelspy]

@arebelspy how about the pay structure compared to Good Company?  (Approximately is sufficient for me, thanks!)

I thought it was the same. $125/$175/etc. for cards over 2 years of various limits.

I'm gonna follow up with solon to see why theirs was different.

Either way, similar range, so if you're already maxing out sales with Good Company and have all your cards enrolled, no compelling reason to switch. (Well, you'd get $5 more per AU, but that's not significant enough, likely.) For someone who has cards Good Company doesn't enroll or aren't seeing much sales, I think it'd be worth it to pause over there and try with TestCo.

[solon]

I signed up. The first card I tried was a Capital One, currently receiving $220/AU, but TestCo only offered $175.

Then I tried a Citi card, currently earning $175/AU, and TestCo offered $200.

So I submitted the Citi card but not the CapOne.

The CapOne card is with a non-ARS-approved company, which is why the weird payout of $220.

The Citi card I got wrong. It was earning $200, not $175. And TestCo offered $200, so no change there, but I enrolled it anyway.

[Mr. Metal Mustache]

I just added a 2 year old 15k limit card... Was offered $25.00 which seems kinda low but I haven't been able to do anything with it anyways so may as well list it. If good company would take it I believe the payout would be $75 instead.