DPB

It sounds like the next step is for you to speak to a real estate attorney.

OP is obviously looking for someone to give him a specific answer and any other answer is wrong in his mind. OP, why not think about this logically? If everyone here is telling you that what you’re asking is the wrong way to do things, that should tell you something. Also, if you have $300k of available CC limits, your credit can’t be too terrible. So why not get a proper loan as asked above? You originally said you calculated, and we’re fine with, a 10% loss. If that’s the case, get a private hard-money loan. There are hard-money lenders that specialize in short term real estate loans. You should have no problem finding something well under 10%. Then, you’re not making out credit cards and tanking your scores. And more importantly, you’re not committing fraud. Or do it the way you originally intended. But please keep us updated with links to the relevant court cases. I’ll stock up on popcorn.

Show you what?

Just to be clear, I’m not earning $2-10k a month. I’m earning points & miles that when cashed in are worth roughly $2-3k per month when comparing the same airline ticket/hotel stay in cash value. Nothing illegal at all in what I’m doing. Does it violate the T&C on some cards? Yes, but not on all. And that isn’t an illegal activity. Also, the card issuer can cancel the card if they decide they don’t want me using the cards how I am. Also, the one hour per week I spend doing this is specific to me and the area in which I live. My usual work schedule makes it more convenient for me. I don’t make special trips to stores to MS, as many others do. If I did, the time spent would significantly go up for the same return. Anything over the amount I currently do would require far more time invested, which is something I’m not interested in.

I don’t do much on cash back cards. The majority of my MS is on cards that give airline miles and hotel points. Any activity on cash back cards is to cover the little bit of cost associated with the rest of my MS activity. Free luxury vacations are nice. And $5-10k per month is definitely doable. Some are still doing more. Not in pure cash back, but definitely doable in a combination of miles/points value and cash back. I don’t have a need for that much return. I spend maybe an hour of week on this activity, which yields about $2-3k per month in value.

Agreed. There are definitely some aspects of MS that I consider to be over the line. And I’ve always said, I’m not against committing fraud but only if I can make enough to move somewhere without extradition and have enough money to live very, very comfortably for the rest of my life. Otherwise, I keep it legal.

There are still plenty of ways to MS. The ship has definitely not sailed. Some methods are dead, but there are always new ones. Anything that currently works well just isn’t talked about publicly. But that’s a discussion for a different thread and possibly a different forum.

Most cards worth using for MS have terms that make the activity a violation of the card agreement. I do a decent amount of MS myself, but my approach is far more cautious than most. Cycling your CL a bunch of times is just begging to have your account closed. And the Apple Card is not good for MS to begin with. Sure you can use it for the 3% at Walgreens. But there are far better card options, even for Walgreens. But this is a perfect example of the idiots that are on flyertalk.

This is probably the worst thing about EWS. I believe their claim is that they aren’t a CRA, and therefore don’t have to allow a security freeze. Which is complete BS. They are ChexSystems, but with tons more data. Yet you can freeze Chex, but not EWS. And imagine if they ever were hacked. Now the hackers know exactly how much is in each of your accounts, when your paycheck is deposited, etc.

He’s saying not to open cards just for the sake of opening cards. If there is a card that fits your needs/spending habits then you could get that. For example, if you fly a lot and always fly Delta, get a Delta card for the miles. If you buy a lot of groceries, get a card that gives you the best rewards/cash back on grocery purchases, etc. Just don’t apply for a random card for the sake of adding another card.

Who are we talking about here? I haven’t disputed with EX, TU, or LN. Only EQ. If it’s permanently attached to EQ, then there’s nothing I can do. I’d just keep that file frozen when applying for credit.

I meant I’d clear up LN and then remove the freeze and opt-out. Then I’d dispute EX and TU so they can verify with LN, which would be clean.

Thanks for the info. I’ll dispute with LN. If I can get them to delete the BK, challenging it with EX and TU should theoretically work since they verify with LN.

Also, 5.29% with that credit score? The CUs around me are offering 3.75% on that term.

What reason did you use in your dispute to LN? Since EX deleted for you, I’m definitely interested in giving this a try. EX is by far my most pulled file.