Personal blog on early retirement and analytics projects. I write about what I learn as I am learning it.
People throw around “credit card hacks” like it’s a category of internet tips you read once and forget. But some of these are genuinely worth knowing, and a few of them — specifically the ones involving authorized users and tradelines — I’ve been running as an actual side income for years. So here’s my take: the stuff that works, the stuff that’s more trouble than it’s worth, and the one thing I’d tell someone just getting started.
I’ve read The Slight Edge twice, which tells you something. Most self-help books I finish once, appreciate in the moment, and forget by the following month. Jeff Olson’s central idea stuck around in a way that most don’t, and I think it’s because the framework is simple enough to actually use day-to-day rather than just appreciate as an idea.
There’s a specific question I get from people who’ve already done some shopping around: “why are tradelines so expensive through the big brokers, and is there a cheaper way to get the same thing?” It’s a completely reasonable thing to ask. The answer is yes — and understanding why prices vary so much is actually pretty useful if you’re trying to spend your money well.
Continue reading “Cheap Tradelines: What You’re Actually Paying For”
The phrase “credit hack” gets thrown around to cover everything from disputing errors to closing accounts to strategies that sound clever but don’t actually work. I want to talk about one that does: the authorized user tradeline strategy. I also want to clear up something that gets confused constantly—the difference between a legitimate credit hack and something that is actually illegal. Because that distinction matters, and the two things are nothing alike.
Continue reading “Credit Hack: The Authorized User Strategy (And Why It Works)”Buyers ask me about American Express cards more than almost any other issuer. The brand has a certain weight to it — people assume that a 15-year-old Amex card with a $30,000 limit is the crown jewel of authorized user tradelines. I understand the logic. But being an AmEx authorized user comes with a quirk that changes the math entirely, and most people selling tradelines won’t bring it up unless you ask directly.
Continue reading “AmEx Authorized User: What It Actually Does to Your Credit”