Using Bribes and Threats To Get a Good Credit Account

Yes, you read the title correctly. If you need to add a good credit account to your credit report (and the only way you can raise your credit score is if you have some good credit accounts), you can try using a bribe to get one. And , yes, this is legal to do!

The best place to start when trying to add a new credit account is your bank. Go in and talk to a new accounts manager. Yes, physically walk in to the bank and talk face-to-face with a person. If you have a copy of your credit report already, take that with you. Explain that you are trying to get your credit back on track and you would like some help.

They’ll Try to Push You Off

Ask if they will let you open a new credit card account with a small credit limit. Show them your credit report (so you won’t get the “You’ll need to fill out an application and wait a week to find out” run-around). They’ll try to push you off and not give you a decision, but try to get an answer on the spot. Not an iron-clad guarantee, just an “opinion – based on what you see” answer.

To improve your chances, pull out the bribe. No, I’m not talking about small bills in an unmarked envelope. Your “bribe” is your paystub. “If” the bank is willing to give you a new credit card, you would be willing to set up a direct deposit checking account with your paystub.

Do NOT Under-Estimate The Value Of Your Paystub!

Banks need deposits right now. In this economy, banks are failing because they are running out of money. Even if you only make a few thousand a month, that is a huge amount of money to them for a couple reasons.

• Reserve Requirements – Banks have to keep a certain amount of assets on hand at all times. They can count a certain percentage of their real estate holdings as part of their reserve requirements, but with the value of these holding eroding lately, they are scrambling to keep enough assets on hand. Your measly little paycheck just became far more valuable to them.
• Leverage – Banks are allowed to lend out more money than they actually have, based on their liquid asset base (they acquire extra money through the FED based on how much cash they have on hand). Your little $2,000 deposit could mean the bank can lend out an additional $10,000 or more – earning interest on all that extra loan volume. The bigger your paycheck, the more they can lend, the more profit they earn.

Offering to have your paycheck automatically deposited into your checking account every payday is huge to them – especially in this uncertain economy. Letting you have a little $300 limit credit card in exchange is something they really can afford to do.

The “Threat”

The “threat” in our above article title is the idea that if that bank won’t help you, you’ll have to go find another bank who will. You may have had an account at that bank for years, and the thought of losing you – even if you’re a lousy customer – is not something they want to think about. Don’t immediately close your account. Don’t get nasty. Don’t call the poor new accounts manager dirty names. Be nice. But let him/her know that you are serious about wanting to get your credit back on track and how disappointed you are that they won’t help you.

Can You Suggest Someplace That WILL Help Me?

Then ask for suggestions on where you should go try next. Which bank or credit union would they recommend who would value your direct deposit business in exchange for a little credit card? They might back-peddle on the spot and “see what they can do”. But if they can’t or won’t help you, go find some place that will.

This Bribe & Threat routine really does work. And when you do get your new account, don’t make them sorry they gave it to you. Use it wisely and pay off your bill in full each month. After a few months, you’ll be able to use this good account to help you get more good accounts.

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• Credit Report Errors? Or Deliberate Misreporting?
• Seven Steps to Disputing Bad Credit – A Do It Yourself Job
• Credit Repair – The Process, and How to Detect Scammers
• Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Early?
• Know your Statutes of Limitations