Two Credit Bureaus You Should Freeze Before You Apply For A U.S Bank Credit Card

We’re re-posting this post due to the name change of IDA (now called SageStream LexisNexis) and they fact that it’s possible to request these freezes via fax. Thanks goes to Kenny from Miles4more first posting about the ability to fax in these requests.

U.S Bank is known as one of the toughest credit card issuers to receive an approval from, especially if you’ve applied for multiple cards in a short space of time. One way to improve your chances of approval is to freeze two of the lesser known credit bureaus that U.S Bank pulls for every applicant.

No other banks (that I know of) actually use these credit bureaus, so by freezing them you won’t hurt your chances of being approved for their cards. U.S Bank also still approves applicants if they aren’t able to access these reports.

The two companies you want to freeze are SageStream (formerly IDA) & ARS. Below we show you how to freeze both, followed by a sample letter.

Freeze LexisNexis (formerly IDA/SageStream)

You can now freeze online.

  • Go to their official website to retrieve their mailing address or fax number
  • Send a certified letter or fax requesting your IDA report be frozen
  • Make sure to include the following necessary information:
    • First and last name
    • Social security number
    • Date of birth
    • Primary phone number
    • Address including ZIP code
  • Two of the following forms of identification:
    1. A copy of a state-issued drivers license or state identification card.
    2. A copy of a “recent” cable, utility, or phone statement with an address matching the address provided in Step 1. “Recent” is defined as no more than 60 days old from the date of IDA, Inc’s receipt of a written request.
    3. A copy of a SSN card.
    4. A copy of a birth certificate.
    5. A copy of a U.S. passport (picture page only).
    6. A copy of a voided consumer check with an address matching the address you provided in Step 1.
    7. A copy of an Alien Registration Card.

For those living in Pennsylvania it’s not possible to fax in your request for this report to be frozen.

Freezing ARS (Advanced Resolution Services)

You can now freeze online.

ARS is a subsidiary of Visa and they don’t have a dedicated website (which is really in violation of the FCRA as contact information is supposed to be clearly displayed and available to the general public).

  • ARS doesn’t have a website but here is their contact information: 5005 Rockside Road, Suite 600
    Independence, OH 44131 or fax: 216-615-7642
  • Send a certified letter or fax asking for your credit report to be frozen
  • Include all of the following information
    • First and last name
    • Social security number
    • Full address
    • Primary contact number
    • Your signature
  • Two forms of identification:
    • A copy of a state-issued drivers license or state identification card.
    • A copy of a U.S. passport (picture page only)
    • A copy of a SSN card
    • A copy of a birth certificate
    • A copy of an Alien Registration Card

Sample Letter

Advanced Resolution Service, INC <Company Name>
5005 Rockside Road, Suite 600 <Street Address>
Independence, OH 44131 <City, State, Postcode>

To Whom It May Concern

I’m writing to you to put a security freeze on my credit report. Under the Fair Credit Report Act you’re required to comply. My information is clearly shown below:

  • Full Name: <First Name>, <Last Name>
  • Social Security Number: <SSN>
  • Current Address: <Current Address>
  • Previous Address: <Only Include If You Moved In The Last 2 Years>
  • Primary Contact Number: <Primary Contact Number>

I’ve included the following two documents that verify my identity:

  • <Name of document one>
  • <Name of document two>

After this credit freeze has been filed, can you also please send me written confirmation to the address listed above.

Kind regards,

<First Name>, <Last Name>

<Signature>

<Date signed>

Final Word

If you’re interested to see what’s actually in your credit report from each of these credit reporting agencies, you also have the right to see a copy once per year. You shouldn’t have any issue requesting this alongside your credit freeze. Make sure you follow all of these steps before applying for any U.S Bank card.

Hat tip to Hack My Trip

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138 Comments
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person
person (@guest_1752588)
December 6, 2023 15:01

I’m gathering from the latest data points below that the consensus is to only freeze these 2 reports when applying for US bank credit cards and leaving them unfrozen the rest of the time to avoid issues with bank account opening?

Keith
Keith (@guest_1700404)
September 22, 2023 20:05

I can’t say for sure, but I feel like having these two frozen caused me some issues opening a BMO checking account. Details here https://www.doctorofcredit.com/il-wi-mn-in-az-fl-ks-mo-bmo-harris-350-checking-300-savings-bonus/#comment-1700399

DrRyan
DrRyan (@guest_1644913)
June 30, 2023 17:40

 William Charles  Chuck

Can we update SageStream to say it is now LexisNexis and can be frozen at their website https://consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com/freeze

And ARS can now be frozen online as well: https://www.ars-consumeroffice.com/

Brett
Brett (@guest_1692599)
September 13, 2023 12:17

How long should I wait after requesting the freezes online before I apply for the US Bank credit card?

DrRyan
DrRyan (@guest_1644905)
June 30, 2023 17:35

Since there is some confusion on whether it is still okay to have these two reports frozen (now LexisNexis and ARS), I am adding a data point of cc approval where both of these were reports were frozen…
Approved 25k credit limit. Froze LexisNexis and ARS on 6/26, applied at usbank.com for world Mastercard elite version of Business Triple Cash Rewards 6/27 (late afternoon), called status line daily, approved 6/30 (afternoon). Have an EIN for sole proprietorship, but used SSN. Only pulled TransUnion (Eq and Ex were NOT locked and NOT pulled) and Have 1 new card opened 7 months ago and 1 new car loan opened 2 months ago. Opened a business banking checking out for bonus earlier this month (June 2023). No additional information was requested, and even when calling underwriting number, they told me there was nothing that could be done to speed up the approval process. Just trying to provide a data point with all the information that I wanted to know through the process – this has by far been the slowest application process I have ever done and causes some anxiety. Happy to finally be approved.

Matt Underwood
Matt Underwood (@guest_1607865)
April 28, 2023 12:39

I don’t think the ARS fax works any more. When I called for the PIN, he only told me the mailing address. On the website, the fax is gone. When I try to fax to 2166157642 it’s always busy.

AllwaysLearning22
AllwaysLearning22 (@guest_1550961)
February 6, 2023 13:19

I had SageStream frozen a while back. It seems LexisNexis took over and it is frozen. I called LexisNexis at the phone number listed on their freeze page – https://consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com/freeze and was able to unfreeze it over the phone. The CSR said it takes about 10 minutes

Amanda
Amanda (@guest_1465708)
October 14, 2022 22:44

It seems like a lot has happened since this post was originally written. Time for an update?

Roboat
Roboat (@guest_1481139)
November 6, 2022 14:07

I think only 3 important things changed since the post last updated: 1-You can now request both freezes online; 2- Lexis Nexius took over SageStream, meaning your Lex Nex is automatically frozen if your SageStream was frozen during the merger according to Gadget’s experience below; 3-having Lex Nex frozen definitely causes a lot of issues with getting approved for some checking accounts with some smaller banks if u churn/collect bank account bonuses, and some banks may site Chex as the issue when Lex Nex is the really culprit. (I missed out on combing a Huntington Bank Biz checking $750 with a $500 Biz Voice Credit card SUB because of a Lex Nex fiasco) Best practice I’d say would be to Call Lexis Nex and request only SageStream be frozen and Lex Nex be unfrozen, as I that will minimize most issues and they can do that fairly easily within a few min of calling them. Safest Practice though will be to just temporarily/permanently unfreeze all of these smaller reports whenever applying for a smaller-footprint bank account, and only have them frozen when applying for US Bank Credit cards (I believe they need to be unfrozen when applying for bank accounts but I could be mistaken). You never know if you bump into a bank that will actually require one of these reports, so just be aware whenever applying.

Mike
Mike (@guest_1311138)
January 7, 2022 14:10

ARS has online freezing/unfreezing now.

https://www.ars-consumeroffice.com/

nik
nik (@guest_1305349)
December 27, 2021 17:38

I will add to the few posts below. Got a call from US bank that my CR is frozen. I had specifically unfrozen Chex, so that is not it. This was for the US bank business checking account. Experian/equifax/TU are frozen and the rep did not care about them.

The rep said these are the ones that are the issue:

Sage Stream, LLC: 1-888-395-0277
https://www.sagestreamllc.com/security-freeze/
https://www.sagestreamllc.com/contact-us/

Innovis 1-800-540-2505
https://www.innovis.com/personal/securityFreeze

Dave Morris
Dave Morris (@guest_1246733)
August 31, 2021 16:16

DO NOT Freeze your credit with these two agencies. If you do so, they will communicate with a company called Chex Systems that a Security Freeze has been placed on your account. Chex System is a company many banks use to check if it’s OK to open a savings or checking account. If Chex Systems tells your new bank that there’s a security freeze, the bank WILL NOT let you open a checking or savings account. this has happened to me with three banks already and it’s been a nightmare.

Repeat: DO NOT place security freezes with these two companies. You will never be able to open a bank account at many banks in the United States if you do.

Dee
Dee (@guest_1325344)
February 2, 2022 17:28

Or open your accounts first. Keep them long term anyway. And then freeze if necessary. If you need to open more US bank accounts unfreeze well in advance, do your business and refreeze if needed.

Trenton
Trenton (@guest_1338470)
February 24, 2022 12:58

hmm Don’t think that’s true, I have Sage and Lexis, and ARS and Innovis frozen. And I was able to open a checking account with NFCU.

Gadget - BankBonusGeek dot com
Gadget - BankBonusGeek dot com (@guest_1527223)
January 5, 2023 20:20

NFCU is EWS only… not Chex. And yes, some banks do not pull LexisNexis. But the majority of ChexSystems banks DO pull LexisNexis too.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/banks-credit-unions-dodont-pull-chexsystems/#comment-1430106