Boost Credit 101 was actually the first tradeline broker I ever heard of. I came across them in a thread on the Mr. Money Mustache forum — one of those long, sprawling threads spanning years of posts where people casually mention earning a few hundred dollars a month adding strangers as authorized users to their credit cards. I thought it was too good to be true. Took my chances with it anyway, and that’s how I ended up selling tradelines through Boost Credit 101 as one of my first brokers. One option worth knowing about: you can rent tradelines directly — adding someone else’s aged card to your report as an authorized user.
This Boost Credit 101 review is written from the seller side — I’ve never bought a tradeline through them, so I can’t speak to the buyer experience directly. But I can tell you exactly what it’s like to list your cards, how they handle the process, and how they compare to the other brokers I’ve used.
What Boost Credit 101 Actually Does
BC101 is a tradeline broker — they sit between sellers like me (people with good, aged credit cards) and buyers who want to be added as authorized users to improve their credit scores. The buyer pays BC101, BC101 takes their cut (around 70% of what the buyer pays is typical across the industry), and the seller — me — gets the remaining ~30%. In exchange, I add the buyer as an authorized user to my card, the account shows up on their credit report for three billing cycles, then I remove them. No contact with the buyer, no money exchanged directly.
If you’re new to how all this works mechanically, the tradelines FAQ I put together covers the basics — what moves a credit score, why authorized user accounts matter, how long things take to post.
Getting Started as a Seller
The signup process is straightforward, but there’s a catch: BC101 periodically closes enrollment when they have more sellers than demand. (I mean more sellers than they have buyers for, which does happen — tradeline demand isn’t constant.) When I signed up, I had to get on a waiting list and wait for an email saying they were accepting new sellers again. Worth doing if you’re patient, but don’t expect to be listing cards the same week you apply.
Once in, they verify your cards meet their requirements — typically the card needs to be at least two years old, in good standing, with a clean payment history and low utilization. They’re not interested in a card you opened six months ago. The seasoning requirement is standard across all brokers I’ve worked with.
The Selling Process Day-to-Day
When BC101 has a buyer for one of your cards, they send you the authorized user’s details and a deadline. You have a window — usually 24 to 48 hours before the card’s statement closes — to add the AU through your card issuer’s website. Miss that window and the AU misses the reporting cycle, which is a problem for everyone. In practice it’s not hard to stay on top of, but it does mean you need to be reachable and reasonably responsive when orders come in. If you want a quick win, check out this 5-minute credit score trick — it can move your score faster than most people expect.
The standard product is three billing cycles — the AU appears on the credit report for roughly three months, then you remove them. Some brokers offer a one-month extension for a fee; BC101 does have this as an option for buyers who want a third cycle.
I never had direct contact with buyers. BC101 handles all of that, which is one of the things I actually liked about working with them — I didn’t have to explain anything to anyone or deal with questions about whether the tradeline posted. Their support team was responsive when I had questions on my end.
What Cards They Accept and What They Pay
BC101 is selective about which cards they’ll list. Not every issuer is created equal from a buyer’s perspective — Chase cards tend to sell faster because buyers recognize the brand, but honestly once the data hits the credit report, the issuer name is irrelevant. A $30K Capital One card that’s ten years old does the same thing for a buyer’s score as a $30K Chase card that’s ten years old. What matters is the credit limit and the account age, not the logo.
You can see which specific cards BC101 currently accepts, and what they pay per sale, in the tables below. These are pulled live so the data should be current:
Find out how much you can make by searching for BC101 on this table:
One thing worth knowing: Citi cards are notorious for missing authorized user postings across the industry — the AU gets added but doesn’t always show up on the credit report. BC101 is aware of this (most brokers are), but it’s worth keeping in mind if you’re thinking about which cards to build up for selling. Bank of America is the other issuer I’d flag as tricky — they’ve been known to close cards or even unrelated accounts when they detect tradeline-selling activity. I had a $40,000 BoA card closed on me for this reason. It stung. I don’t list BoA cards anymore.
How BC101 Compares to Other Brokers
I’ve also sold through Tradeline Supply Company, Improve My Credit Fitness, and Coast Tradelines, so I have a few data points for comparison. BC101 isn’t the highest-paying broker — TSC tends to move more volume and is generally considered the biggest in the space — but BC101 is solid and reliable. Payments come via direct deposit after the buyer and broker confirm the tradeline posted, which typically happens around the two-month mark. I never had a payment issue with them.
The pricing chart below shows how BC101’s rates stack up against what buyers actually pay across the industry:
The 70/30 split (buyer pays, seller gets ~30%) is more or less standard across the industry. If you want a bigger cut, the alternative is selling directly — which is what I do through my own store — but that means sourcing your own buyers, which is a different kind of work.
Is Boost Credit 101 Worth It?
For someone just getting started selling tradelines, yes — BC101 is a legitimate broker with a real process and prompt payments. The enrollment waitlist is a mild annoyance but not a dealbreaker. If your cards qualify and you’re willing to stay responsive when orders come in, it’s a reasonable passive income stream.
The main limitation is the same as any broker: you’re giving up most of what the buyer pays to let them handle the customer side. That trade-off is worth it when you’re starting out and don’t want to deal with buyers directly. Less so once you’re comfortable with how everything works.
Yes — BC101 is an established tradeline broker that has been operating for years. As a seller, I’ve received accurate payments on time and never had issues with their process. Tradeline selling is a legal practice in the US, though it exists in a gray area that credit card issuers don’t love.
It depends on your card’s credit limit and age. Sellers receive roughly 30% of what the buyer pays — the broker takes the rest. The data tables above show current BC101 rates for specific card profiles.
Payment typically comes around the two-month mark, once the buyer and BC101 confirm the tradeline posted to the buyer’s credit report. Payment is via direct deposit.
Resources
The following is a list of resources to start learning about tradelines. We have a list of tradelines for sale, and a tradelines FAQ. Also various posts about tradelines, and a chart of tradeline prices from competitor sites. Finally, a contact form to ask further questions.
If you’re on the buyer side and considering a tradeline purchase, you can browse what’s available in my store — I sell directly, which means no broker markup.
Please feel welcome to ask any questions below.
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