Spark Cash MS-Friendly?
May 18, 2018, 12:20 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,550
Spark Cash MS-Friendly?
I have several cards I MS on, all 2% cashback. I've got the pedal to the metal, doing about $120K/mo, cycling all my cards. Starting this month, I'm working on paying them off in such a way that each one has a near-zero balance on the statement date, so that my credit report shows me not owing much.
I got a Spark Cash card about 8 months ago. It had a $10K credit limit. I've asked for increases several times but have only been able to get it up to $11K.
I got an email from John Doe at Capital One introducing himself as my relationship manager. I have no reason to think the email isn't legit. He asked me to meet with him to discuss how they could best meet my needs.
I know I'm a great credit risk for them, and the bigger a credit limit they give me the more I'll use their card and the less I'll use others. I have a high-700's credit score and when I use the card I pay it off within days. But I don't know if it's worth the risk to explain exactly what I'm doing.
I've always wondered who's losing money here. I know I'm making money so someone much be losing. I've always figured it was either the people I buy the CG's from paying more in credit card fees than I pay them in purchase fees, and perhaps the GC vendors like Metabank sell them for less than 100 cents on the dollar, figuring they will get float on the money and some money will never get spent. I think the cc vendors must be making money, because I don't think they could afford to put 2% CB out there as a loss leader. From what I've seen, merchant fees on rewards credit cards go from 2.3% to 3%. I'm sure the cc vendors make a pile on the minority who carry a balance (much like I figure that the casinos aren't paying their bills on my $5 blackjack playing book strategy - they're relying on the people who double on 8's and play the side bets that have a 25% house edge).
And I also figure that the cc companies must know about MS, especially given the Fed's "Know Your Customer" policies. We know the Walmart personnel, at least below the corporate level, are clueless, but I'm sure the financial institutions risk management departments look at what I'm doing and say "OK, he's not money laundering."
The bottom line is, should I contact this guy? I'm leaning somewhat strongly against it because there's no imperative reason to go above the radar. The only thing that inclines me toward it is that logically he should have already looked at my account and seen what's going on so the fact that I'm MSing shouldn't be a surprise.
Opinions? Anyone have specific experience with Capital One on this?
I got a Spark Cash card about 8 months ago. It had a $10K credit limit. I've asked for increases several times but have only been able to get it up to $11K.
I got an email from John Doe at Capital One introducing himself as my relationship manager. I have no reason to think the email isn't legit. He asked me to meet with him to discuss how they could best meet my needs.
I know I'm a great credit risk for them, and the bigger a credit limit they give me the more I'll use their card and the less I'll use others. I have a high-700's credit score and when I use the card I pay it off within days. But I don't know if it's worth the risk to explain exactly what I'm doing.
I've always wondered who's losing money here. I know I'm making money so someone much be losing. I've always figured it was either the people I buy the CG's from paying more in credit card fees than I pay them in purchase fees, and perhaps the GC vendors like Metabank sell them for less than 100 cents on the dollar, figuring they will get float on the money and some money will never get spent. I think the cc vendors must be making money, because I don't think they could afford to put 2% CB out there as a loss leader. From what I've seen, merchant fees on rewards credit cards go from 2.3% to 3%. I'm sure the cc vendors make a pile on the minority who carry a balance (much like I figure that the casinos aren't paying their bills on my $5 blackjack playing book strategy - they're relying on the people who double on 8's and play the side bets that have a 25% house edge).
And I also figure that the cc companies must know about MS, especially given the Fed's "Know Your Customer" policies. We know the Walmart personnel, at least below the corporate level, are clueless, but I'm sure the financial institutions risk management departments look at what I'm doing and say "OK, he's not money laundering."
The bottom line is, should I contact this guy? I'm leaning somewhat strongly against it because there's no imperative reason to go above the radar. The only thing that inclines me toward it is that logically he should have already looked at my account and seen what's going on so the fact that I'm MSing shouldn't be a surprise.
Opinions? Anyone have specific experience with Capital One on this?
May 18, 2018, 5:36 am
#3
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 662
I have several cards I MS on, all 2% cashback. I've got the pedal to the metal, doing about $120K/mo, cycling all my cards. Starting this month, I'm working on paying them off in such a way that each one has a near-zero balance on the statement date, so that my credit report shows me not owing much.
I got a Spark Cash card about 8 months ago. It had a $10K credit limit. I've asked for increases several times but have only been able to get it up to $11K.
I got an email from John Doe at Capital One introducing himself as my relationship manager. I have no reason to think the email isn't legit. He asked me to meet with him to discuss how they could best meet my needs.
I know I'm a great credit risk for them, and the bigger a credit limit they give me the more I'll use their card and the less I'll use others. I have a high-700's credit score and when I use the card I pay it off within days. But I don't know if it's worth the risk to explain exactly what I'm doing.
I've always wondered who's losing money here. I know I'm making money so someone much be losing. I've always figured it was either the people I buy the CG's from paying more in credit card fees than I pay them in purchase fees, and perhaps the GC vendors like Metabank sell them for less than 100 cents on the dollar, figuring they will get float on the money and some money will never get spent. I think the cc vendors must be making money, because I don't think they could afford to put 2% CB out there as a loss leader. From what I've seen, merchant fees on rewards credit cards go from 2.3% to 3%. I'm sure the cc vendors make a pile on the minority who carry a balance (much like I figure that the casinos aren't paying their bills on my $5 blackjack playing book strategy - they're relying on the people who double on 8's and play the side bets that have a 25% house edge).
And I also figure that the cc companies must know about MS, especially given the Fed's "Know Your Customer" policies. We know the Walmart personnel, at least below the corporate level, are clueless, but I'm sure the financial institutions risk management departments look at what I'm doing and say "OK, he's not money laundering."
The bottom line is, should I contact this guy? I'm leaning somewhat strongly against it because there's no imperative reason to go above the radar. The only thing that inclines me toward it is that logically he should have already looked at my account and seen what's going on so the fact that I'm MSing shouldn't be a surprise.
Opinions? Anyone have specific experience with Capital One on this?
I got a Spark Cash card about 8 months ago. It had a $10K credit limit. I've asked for increases several times but have only been able to get it up to $11K.
I got an email from John Doe at Capital One introducing himself as my relationship manager. I have no reason to think the email isn't legit. He asked me to meet with him to discuss how they could best meet my needs.
I know I'm a great credit risk for them, and the bigger a credit limit they give me the more I'll use their card and the less I'll use others. I have a high-700's credit score and when I use the card I pay it off within days. But I don't know if it's worth the risk to explain exactly what I'm doing.
I've always wondered who's losing money here. I know I'm making money so someone much be losing. I've always figured it was either the people I buy the CG's from paying more in credit card fees than I pay them in purchase fees, and perhaps the GC vendors like Metabank sell them for less than 100 cents on the dollar, figuring they will get float on the money and some money will never get spent. I think the cc vendors must be making money, because I don't think they could afford to put 2% CB out there as a loss leader. From what I've seen, merchant fees on rewards credit cards go from 2.3% to 3%. I'm sure the cc vendors make a pile on the minority who carry a balance (much like I figure that the casinos aren't paying their bills on my $5 blackjack playing book strategy - they're relying on the people who double on 8's and play the side bets that have a 25% house edge).
And I also figure that the cc companies must know about MS, especially given the Fed's "Know Your Customer" policies. We know the Walmart personnel, at least below the corporate level, are clueless, but I'm sure the financial institutions risk management departments look at what I'm doing and say "OK, he's not money laundering."
The bottom line is, should I contact this guy? I'm leaning somewhat strongly against it because there's no imperative reason to go above the radar. The only thing that inclines me toward it is that logically he should have already looked at my account and seen what's going on so the fact that I'm MSing shouldn't be a surprise.
Opinions? Anyone have specific experience with Capital One on this?
May 18, 2018, 7:55 am
#4
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: Continental Onepass, Hilton, Marriott, USAir and now UA
Posts: 6,422
I have several cards I MS on, all 2% cashback. I've got the pedal to the metal, doing about $120K/mo, cycling all my cards. Starting this month, I'm working on paying them off in such a way that each one has a near-zero balance on the statement date, so that my credit report shows me not owing much.
I got a Spark Cash card about 8 months ago. It had a $10K credit limit. I've asked for increases several times but have only been able to get it up to $11K.
I got an email from John Doe at Capital One introducing himself as my relationship manager. I have no reason to think the email isn't legit. He asked me to meet with him to discuss how they could best meet my needs.
I know I'm a great credit risk for them, and the bigger a credit limit they give me the more I'll use their card and the less I'll use others. I have a high-700's credit score and when I use the card I pay it off within days. But I don't know if it's worth the risk to explain exactly what I'm doing.
The bottom line is, should I contact this guy? I'm leaning somewhat strongly against it because there's no imperative reason to go above the radar. The only thing that inclines me toward it is that logically he should have already looked at my account and seen what's going on so the fact that I'm MSing shouldn't be a surprise.
Opinions? Anyone have specific experience with Capital One on this?
I got a Spark Cash card about 8 months ago. It had a $10K credit limit. I've asked for increases several times but have only been able to get it up to $11K.
I got an email from John Doe at Capital One introducing himself as my relationship manager. I have no reason to think the email isn't legit. He asked me to meet with him to discuss how they could best meet my needs.
I know I'm a great credit risk for them, and the bigger a credit limit they give me the more I'll use their card and the less I'll use others. I have a high-700's credit score and when I use the card I pay it off within days. But I don't know if it's worth the risk to explain exactly what I'm doing.
The bottom line is, should I contact this guy? I'm leaning somewhat strongly against it because there's no imperative reason to go above the radar. The only thing that inclines me toward it is that logically he should have already looked at my account and seen what's going on so the fact that I'm MSing shouldn't be a surprise.
Opinions? Anyone have specific experience with Capital One on this?
I highly suspect John Doe is a Rat. I also suspect that if you keep up the current activity as you presented it, the next time we hear from you will be in the "I was shut down by...." discussion.group.
So I would probably stop your MS'ing on your Spark card ASAP and start doing some significant legit spending on it if you want to keep it (which at this point I think is fairly tentative, but you may be lucky), and I would ignore the kind invite unless it become persistent. If he becomes that insistent, then that is not a good sign.
May 18, 2018, 11:51 am
#7
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
the blogger who had a similar experience with his spark CC with $10K CL saw a huge CLI when he logged in one day. Credit line was up from $10K to $80K without requesting it. He asked other heavy users of this CC if they experienced this and he was told to close the card. Apparently, offers like this means one's account has been flagged and there are eyeballs on it.
In OP's case, tread lightly because the signs are there that your account is being watched. It's up to you if you will proceed with your "usual" MS activities but be prepared for consequences.
In OP's case, tread lightly because the signs are there that your account is being watched. It's up to you if you will proceed with your "usual" MS activities but be prepared for consequences.
May 19, 2018, 9:55 am
#8
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Indeed! Say "Meow!" next time you talk to him and see if you can detect a certain tremor in his voice. Heard a few years back that there was a Jakarta Card offered in Indonesia that paid $2 cash back on every rat you catch. 
https://www.smh.com.au/world/jakarta...21-gs7koz.html
https://www.smh.com.au/world/jakarta...21-gs7koz.html
