Author Topic: Unfreeze my credit file to chase credit card bonuses?  (Read 2484 times)

FIREin2018

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Unfreeze my credit file to chase credit card bonuses?
« on: April 28, 2024, 01:29:16 PM »
My home + car insurance bills are due every July and Dec.
I'm like 10yrs late to this credit card bonus chasing but since i'm spending the $ anyway, might as well take advantage of new credit card bonus offers.

Result: https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/which-credit-card-bonus-to-chase/msg3237880/#msg3237880
Failed because i locked my credit file. Thought it was a 3yr lock but apparently it was permanent.

I locked it because I could and not because of any specific reason.

I'm single, no debt, and FiRED in 2018.
I don't need the $ but the idea of 'free' $ is appealing.

Unlock my credit file and do credit card bonuses twice a year for the free $?
(Wish MMM has a poll option)

NotJen

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Re: Unfreeze my credit file to chase credit card bonuses?
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2024, 01:50:29 PM »
Yes.  It is very easy now to freeze and unfreeze your credit at will.  I don't see why you would let this small step stop you from churning credit cards to your advantage (churning already takes some amount of work in research and tracking, the freeze/unfreeze isn't much compared to that). 

Also, MMM does have a poll option.  Instead of 'New Topic' you choose the 'New Poll' button.

Michael in ABQ

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Re: Unfreeze my credit file to chase credit card bonuses?
« Reply #2 on: April 28, 2024, 03:54:52 PM »
All my credit reports are frozen, and I just spend five minutes logging in to each of the three bureaus to unfreeze them if I want to open a new credit card or bank account to churn for a bonus. All of the credit bureaus have made it very easy to do now.

Catbert

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Re: Unfreeze my credit file to chase credit card bonuses?
« Reply #3 on: April 29, 2024, 11:51:54 AM »
Should be easy to lock/unlock your credit file now.  This might be a good start if you have a Chase Bank branch nearby:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/in-branch-starting-4-28-chase-sapphire-preferred-80k-offer/

FIREin2018

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Re: Unfreeze my credit file to chase credit card bonuses?
« Reply #4 on: November 16, 2024, 03:55:26 PM »
So i tried to unfreeze my credit reports.
I froze them over a decade ago.

I am shocked that I do not have an eqifax or experian acct.
Apparently, i used my transunion acct to perm freeze all 3.

I easily created an acct on eqifax but experian gave me an error.
i tried on 2 browsers and 2 computers over a period of a week.
"We are experiencing technical difficulties.
We have been notified and will actively work on fixing the issue. Please try again later."

It asked for the last 4 of my SS# and my phone #.
Maybe it has a problem with google voice #s?

So could only Temp unfroze credit file with transunion and eqifax.
Fortunately, the credit card i applied for was approved.

I'll worry about experian another day

rantk81

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Re: Unfreeze my credit file to chase credit card bonuses?
« Reply #5 on: November 17, 2024, 05:09:57 AM »
So i tried to unfreeze my credit reports.
I froze them over a decade ago.

I am shocked that I do not have an eqifax or experian acct.
Apparently, i used my transunion acct to perm freeze all 3.

I easily created an acct on eqifax but experian gave me an error.
i tried on 2 browsers and 2 computers over a period of a week.
"We are experiencing technical difficulties.
We have been notified and will actively work on fixing the issue. Please try again later."

It asked for the last 4 of my SS# and my phone #.
Maybe it has a problem with google voice #s?

So could only Temp unfroze credit file with transunion and eqifax.
Fortunately, the credit card i applied for was approved.

I'll worry about experian another day

I have had a ton of problems with experian's website too.  The link from annualcreditreport.com to experian almost never lets me get my free credit report.  So eventually I later did create an account on experian's website, but it was extremely slow and glitched out many times, causing me to have to start over.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!