Chase canceled my credit card

[jazz4cash]

I wonder how long before they say "you're being cancelled because you only used the card x times in xx months".

[bright eyed]

I have a chase card and they had credited a payment twice in one period vs for the next period - making me late, upping my % from 0 to 14% and tacking on a late fee.

Calmly, I called, complained - first ignoramous practically yelled at me and said i was irresponsible and why should they refund me the fee and that there would be little chance of getting the promo rate back...i calmly asked for the transfer to the appropriate person who kindly, quickly refunded me the late fee, got the payment credited to the correct period and I got my 0% back!

I thought i might not get the 0% back given the times and stories going on around, so perhaps there's still good things out there for those of us w/ sparkly credit?

[Notmuchlonger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bright eyed I have a chase card and they had credited a payment twice in one period vs for the next period - making me late, upping my % from 0 to 14% and tacking on a late fee. Calmly, I called, complained - first ignoramous practically yelled at me and said i was irresponsible and why should they refund me the fee and that there would be little chance of getting the promo rate back...i calmly asked for the transfer to the appropriate person who kindly, quickly refunded me the late fee, got the payment credited to the correct period and I got my 0% back! I thought i might not get the 0% back given the times and stories going on around, so perhaps there's still good things out there for those of us w/ sparkly credit?

I use the Pen Fed visa. This forum turned me on to the card. IF you don't carry a balance its pretty good. Specially when gas was 4.50 a gallon I have not found any other cards that offer better cash back rewards. Not saying they are not out there.

[Rustward]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urchina ... T-Al, we have several cards we don't use because we haven't cancelled them yet. Sheer laziness on our part. We also have a large balance outstanding on our HELOC, and cancelling a card would negatively affect our debt-to-credit ratio, so we're going to pay off the HELOC before we cancel the cards.

To keep them from being canceled, you might want to use those cards once or twice a year, at least for some token purchases.

[tjon72]

i have a Citi card which I have not used since issued (use mostly discover for cash rewards) apparantly it has expired, received a replacement in the mail yesterday, oh well, into the 'sock' drawer.......

[BanDit1]

Wondering...For those of you who have credit cards, why don't you use them?

I use my AMEX Green for online purchases (must be paid in full every month)

I use my Discover for all grocery, gas, and pet supply purchases (paid in full every month)

I rotate other purchases on my AMEX Blue, Chase, and FIA cards (all paid off each month).

I make 5 on-line payments a month from my checking account for virtually all purchases I make.

It keeps all the CC's active, current, and in good standing, and greatly simplifies my life.

Just wondering...

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanDit1 Wondering...For those of you who have credit cards, why don't you use them? Just wondering...

See post #33 above. http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...tml#post760595

[ziggy29]

I have a Visa with my CU that I've had since the early 1990s. I almost never use it any more because it doesn't offer points or cash back like my other two credit cards (a Schwab Visa and a USAA Amex) do. (Even my *debit* card gives me 1/2% cash back now.)

But because it has a $20,000 credit limit and it's been in good standing for over 15 years, it's good for the credit score to keep it. So I charge one $10 item with it every few months just to make sure the CU doesn't close it.

[frayne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanDit1 Wondering...For those of you who have credit cards, why don't you use them? I use my AMEX Green for online purchases (must be paid in full every month) I use my Discover for all grocery, gas, and pet supply purchases (paid in full every month) I rotate other purchases on my AMEX Blue, Chase, and FIA cards (all paid off each month). I make 5 on-line payments a month from my checking account for virtually all purchases I make. It keeps all the CC's active, current, and in good standing, and greatly simplifies my life. Just wondering...

Four or five credit cards to keep track of, makes your life easier. One credit card, paid in full every month makes my life easy.

[BanDit1]

frayne: I do see your point. However, I have had these cards for eons, going back to much younger, less wiser days. Now they predominantly make up my FICO score. I don't want any longstanding cards to be cancelled due to non-use, and thereby hurt the FICO score. Yes..Using only 1 card would be infinitely simpler.

[frayne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanDit1 frayne: I do see your point. However, I have had these cards for eons, going back to much younger, less wiser days. Now they predominantly make up my FICO score. I don't want any longstanding cards to be cancelled due to non-use, and thereby hurt the FICO score. Yes..Using only 1 card would be infinitely simpler.

Guess being 57, never having paid a dime of CC interest or made a late payment on any loan I don't know or for that matter care about my FICO score. One of the nicer things about being older and debt free !

[bssc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by frayne Guess being 57, never having paid a dime of CC interest or made a late payment on any loan I don't know or for that matter care about my FICO score. One of the nicer things about being older and debt free !

Well, if you drive, you should care about FICO since some insurance companies use them to determine your rates. More at Bankrate.com

[CuppaJoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz4cash .... When they cancel your card, do they at least give you advance warning, or is it likely that you could be trying to make a purchase and the card was cancelled yesterday? ....

I received notice from Union Bank several weeks after the cancellation date, a good reason to keep more than one card.

[BanDit1]

BSSC is right. For the last 2 years my insurance company has sent me advance notice that they were going to pull up my credit records. Each year my auto insurance has gone down and this year my homeowners insurance has gone down. All of that due to a good FICO score.

[Rustward]

This is hard to believe but it really happened: Two or three years ago my auto insurance agent called to tell me that because of my credit score they were lowering my premiums and I should expect to receive check in the mail refunding a pro-rated amount of premium I had already paid.

I see queries on the credit report from both auto and homeowners insurance companies, so they are watching.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl What are the reasons you guys have credit cards that you don't use?

Ideally, I would just keep two: a main card and a just-in-case-the-dog-chews-the-main-card. But there are other considerations, mostly related to credit score. I can't cancel the one card because it is my oldest credit line still active. Another I keep because it has a high limit. A third is a Costco Amex, which is the only thing I can use to get a rebate at Costco. But 95+% of my charge volume is through the Pen Fed card.

[Gardnr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bssc Well, if you drive, you should care about FICO since some insurance companies use them to determine your rates. More at Bankrate.com

Yes, we are all being held hostage to the credit scores. There's no way around it, you are your number. It's being used more and more to assess our character, trustworthiness and risk profile; not just our credit usage. So we have to play this game to make ourselves look good to the world. Rather aggravating at times, no doubt.

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanDit1 BSSC is right. For the last 2 years my insurance company has sent me advance notice that they were going to pull up my credit records. Each year my auto insurance has gone down and this year my homeowners insurance has gone down. All of that due to a good FICO score.

It's not ONLY insurers, either. More and more employers are checking in pre-employment screenings. The idea is that a good credit risk is less likely to be desperate enough to scam the company to deal with their debts. A lousy (or even non-existent) credit score can make the difference as to whether you get hired.

Like it or not -- and this is something folks like Dave Ramsey ignore when they refer to the FICO as an "I Love Debt" score -- it's used for a lot more than just getting credit these days.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggy29 It's not ONLY insurers, either. More and more employers are checking in pre-employment screenings. The idea is that a good credit risk is less likely to be desperate enough to scam the company to deal with their debts.

Yep. If this had been SOP 15 years back then maybe my old company wouldn't have hired the guy who, six months after taking the job as our CFO, had his Mercedes repossessed from our parking garage...

[ohfrugalone]

Just read on Bloomberg that Discover and Capital one are closing down all the inactive accounts because they consider them potential defaults. The Discover probably will affect my credit score because I have had that one for probably 25 years - my oldest card. Frankly, I can't find it to run it up and default on it. I don't think I have activated it in 24 years.