Check your credit cards people...

[tplyons]

I just got off the phone with Citibank. I logged in to check the status on my cards, and noticed my credit line was suddenly reduced to $100. I called Citibank Customer Service, who transferred me to Credit, who transferred me back to Customer Service who told me my account was being closed due to inactivity.

Apparently, inactivity means last using the card in September 2009, at which I still had my full credit limit, and suddenly in December 2009 they're closing my account without notifying me. Good thing I checked my account before going out to make a decent sized purchase.

I will never deal with Citibank again. Apparently my perfect track record with making payments, and never over extending myself means nothing to these companies. But do yourself a favor and ensure that your cards are still active.

[GeneralElectric]

I had Chase reduce my credit limit from 12,000 to 2,100 when I had a payment arrive 2 days late while waiting for them to clear a government check.

[WookieeForLife]

That sounds soooo dumb.

[tplyons]

So who's got a good credit card that I should consider looking at?

I'll be in the market for a 2nd card soon.

[elgecko]

Most credit card companies seem to be doing that these days.

[iamlowsound]

That sucks man. I have no idea about American banks, so no ideas on who you should look into.

lowsound

[Jefenator]

Originally Posted by tplyons

Apparently my perfect track record with making payments, and never over extending myself means nothing to these companies.

Oh, they hate that!

But if you run up $5K in bar tabs & liquor purchases, they'll give you another $5K of rope to hang yourself with. (True story - yaay, exploiting mental illness! )

But when I (with my good record) could have really used an interest-free loan for some dental work last year, I got declined... by the same bank (GE) that'll give me $6K at 20% on my Mastercard, no questions asked.

Pretty much the only blight on my record comes from me canceling a card (because I was ticked off with Wells Fargo's petty, bogus late fees). Since I paid them off in full before ending our relationship, I have no idea why that should be a demerit?

Whatever... AFAIC all the big banks are weasels. I thought about cutting GE loose, but now I'm thinking more like the Godfather (keep your friends close...) If I need credit, I go down to the local bank where we're on a first-name basis. I use the credit card for convenience, but they'll never get another nickel in interest from me... ever.

[/rant]

[jrthebassguy]

Check with your local credit union. If you don't have one you can use...I have a card with Capital One and I've never had any issues with them.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by tplyons

So who's got a good credit card that I should consider looking at?

I'll be in the market for a 2nd card soon.

Suggest you start here: http://www.cardratings.com/

Hit the Credit Cards link and enter your criteria. One of the cards that showed up when I did a test run is my Simmons Visa at 9.56% interest.

The ONLY criterion I choose by is low interest. Keep your miles, your points, etc. etc. Just charge me as little as possible.

[Chunk-O-Funk]

That sounds really odd. Must be something new.

I've had credit cards that were inactive or haven't been used in months that I've canceled myself, and I've had one account that I simply never activated after receiving the new card (after the old card expired).

My current card, I requested they lower my available credit. From what I understand, having multiple credit cards all with high limits is not the best thing for your credit score especially in regards to applying for a loan. Banks look at that available credit as a risk. (FWIW, YMMV, IDK, WTH, pfft.)


I've had a Capital One (what's in your wallet) card for a long time with no problems. This account has gone through some inactive periods, but for the past couple of years I've had a NetFlix account tied to it, so every month there is a charge made to the account.

[casualmadness]

Originally Posted by tplyons

I will never deal with Citibank again

Citibank seriously sucks. I've had the displeasure of dealing with them and will never do so again.

[Lady Kayri]

Another thing to look at is interest - according to recent news reports, at least one company just raised its interest rate to 79%... yeah, thats seven-nine, seventy-nine, NOT 7.9 ... Glad I got rid of all my credit cards a few years back!

[tplyons]

Originally Posted by Lady Kayri

Another thing to look at is interest - according to recent news reports, at least one company just raised its interest rate to 79%... yeah, thats seven-nine, seventy-nine, NOT 7.9 ... Glad I got rid of all my credit cards a few years back!

Interest is a fairly moot point for me, since I very seldom carry a balance. However, this is actually what got me looking at my account. My other credit card bumped me from 6.9% to 11.9% and I was checking on my other to find out I was shut down.

I didn't think I'd have to do this for a while.

[Bassman316]

Originally Posted by Lady Kayri

Another thing to look at is interest - according to recent news reports, at least one company just raised its interest rate to 79%... yeah, thats seven-nine, seventy-nine, NOT 7.9 ... Glad I got rid of all my credit cards a few years back!

I saw the same thing on the news a few days ago. Can't remember what card it is, or who they're trying to get with a 79% interest rate, but I do remember not believing my eyes/ears.

[casualmadness]

Originally Posted by Lady Kayri

Another thing to look at is interest - according to recent news reports, at least one company just raised its interest rate to 79%... yeah, thats seven-nine, seventy-nine, NOT 7.9 ... Glad I got rid of all my credit cards a few years back!

Yeup. I have outstanding credit; use my two cards regularly and always pay them at the end of the month and I just noticed that my interest on one card went from 4% to 29.9%. So I just went on their website and paid it in full and now I'm closing the account. My Amex is still safe with a nice low interest rate. Hope it stays that way.

[tplyons]

Originally Posted by casualmadness

Yeup. I have outstanding credit; use my two cards regularly and always pay them at the end of the month and I just noticed that my interest on one card went from 4% to 29.9%. So I just went on their website and paid it in full and now I'm closing the account. My Amex is still safe with a nice low interest rate. Hope it stays that way.

And because of this, the credit companies are slowly crippling the economy. We're slowly on our way back to a cash economy, which will prevent people from building credit, and will keep me from being able to buy my own home anytime in the near future.

[varunkapahi]

a lot of banks are doing this here too, to prevent anymore economic crisis eh?

[Unrepresented]

From my understanding: closing card accounts is a bad thing for your credit score. It will likely increase your debt to credit ratio if you carry any balances, and it will decrease your period of active credit. It should be avoided to keep your credit score as high as possible.

I agree that credit cards are evil, and clearly they're actively looking for people they can most effectively gouge. I'm paying mine off and am concerned I will have mine closed or reduced because of the lack of activity. I too got a rate increase despite never having had a late payment or going over my limit. I don't plan on ever giving them unnecessary money again, myself.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by Unrepresented

From my understanding: closing card accounts is a bad thing for your credit score. It will likely increase your debt to credit ratio if you carry any balances, and it will decrease your period of active credit. It should be avoided to keep your credit score as high as possible.

I agree that credit cards are evil, and clearly they're actively looking for people they can most effectively gouge. I'm paying mine off and am concerned I will have mine closed or reduced because of the lack of activity. I too got a rate increase despite never having had a late payment or going over my limit. I don't plan on ever giving them unnecessary money again, myself.

+1

My wife and I haven't decided whether or not to close the accounts for this very reason. Like another poster, we went from interest rates of around 2-4% to 24.9 overnight and I'm pissed enough to close them. You're more or less screwed, if you haven't noticed.

The rates have been inflated to nearly incomprehensible levels. Your instinct is to pay off the balance ASAP and keep the account open so your credit score doesn't take a hit. Yet, as the OP has noticed, if you don't use the card, they close the account for you. Maybe a cash society isn't that bad a thing.

As for me, I bumped my "new" car purchase up several months because of all this. My next car purchase will be replacing my commuter (30K miles annually)within 12-18 months and I'm OK with buying a beater for a couple grand cash.

I'm not sure how this will all play out, but I expect I can weather my credit score taking a dive if that's what happens.

Mike

[MadMan118]

Closing somebody's line of credit due to inactivity is unjustly damaging somebody's credit for the gain of the company. Banks are high on my **** list after microwaves, Oprah, and escalators.