How to Stop Receiving Credit Card Offers
Published August 24th, 2008 in Credit Help and Tips.
By now you’ve probably heard of the website OptOutPrescreen.com or the associated toll-free hotline 1-888-5-OPTOUT.
But that service only prevents certain pre-approved credit offers from being sent to you based on information provided by credit reporting bureaus such as Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and TransUnion.
That still leaves credit card offers from your current card issuers and direct mail providers unaccounted for.
Unfortunately, the Direct Marketing Association charges $1 for you to opt-out of direct mail offers, so I wouldn’t endorse paying them a dime to remove your name, especially when there’s no guarantee the mailers will stop.
However, you can tackle your current card issuers incessant mailings by logging into your online account and changing your preferences or by making a quick phone call.
For example, in the American Express online control panel, you have the ability to manage the offers you receive from the company, including whether they can share your credit information with affiliates, or send you mail, e-mail, or telephone offers.
By simply checking “no” for all these categories, you will significantly reduce the amount of unwanted mail you receive, effectively reducing your risk of identity theft in the process.
Chase, Citi, and Discover all require a phone call to opt-out of the mailers. Citi and Discover said it could take up to 30 days for the mailers to cease, while Chase said it could take up to 90 days.
If you have multiple accounts with each, make sure you specify that they stop mailers for ALL accounts. The Chase representative only opted-out for one of my cards, at which point I had him take care of the other one as well.
To stop information sharing, telemarketing, and direct mail at Wells Fargo, simply call 888-528-8460 and follow the automated system. It’s easy and fast to clear yourself with them.
I asked each why there wasn’t an option to opt-out online, and no one had a single answer for me. They came off a bit guilty, as if they’d been asked the same question numerous times but weren’t divulged to explain their policies.
It’s quite sad that global companies resort to these efforts to endlessly market to us, but that’s how they became so dominant to begin with.
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