Bank of America ................ CC Account Reduced

[asphaltgambler]

...…………….So I have two major Cards. One MC from my credit Union with (obviously) great rates and the other...…………………….BOA CC that I've had for 15 or more years. The interest rates were high, I asked some time ago to have them lowered, after lengthy discussion with a 'manager'.....they did. But the rate is still higher than most

I have a limit of $11K of which I've never been close to. My current balance is @$100.00. I keep it around solely to maintain my credit history / high score. I know from experience that not using CC's for a time will also lower your score slightly. So I keep that and a few major store cards that I frequent in my file cabinet, use them once a year, sometimes longer periods.

I received my BOA statement Tuesday and there is a brief explanation because 'I'm not using my account fully' that they have lowered my limit to ………………$2K !!!

I work the score system to the max, I've also worked hard to maintain that as everything in your life is tied to that. Like it our not, Outside of your home and life a 780+ credit score is King, period. While the old saying was 'cash is king' which I still believe btw, high 700's score positively affects your financial life in everyway.

I'm p!!!sed, I know there is nothing I can do, I'm venting.

[MBAtarga]

I've had 3 cards recently do the same thing. Accounts with Chase, Capital One and another with BofA. I"ve had the BofA account since 1995!
We've got quite a number of cards over the years, so between the wife and I, our available credit would buy a moderate sized house. We've got just 1 card that normally carries a balance (0% interest) - all others are paid monthly.
They reduce the balance - because "you're not making use of your available limit."

[masraum]

If this was all recent, I wonder if the banks are trying to protect themselves in this crazy environment that we are in. I wonder if they are expecting more issues.

[KFC911]

I haven't had a CC for years....rarely used mine, and NEVER carried a balance. It used to piss me off when they increased my limit without asking....and I made them drop it back. I've only checked my credit score once (just out of curiosity) years ago... it was 825. I don't care what it is now, but it wouldn't be that high... a HELOC I had was terminated after 15 years recently (I never knew they had a fixed term)... never carried a balance for most of that time....I used it to purchase other properties, land, then promptly paid down to zero.

I need bags of fescue ... can someone loan me a few bucks

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by masraum

If this was all recent, I wonder if the banks are trying to protect themselves in this crazy environment that we are in. I wonder if they are expecting more issues.

Yep...without a doubt.

[Sooner or later]

I have one credit card. Chase for 24 years. 31,000 limit.

Always under 1000 on monthly charges. Always pay in full. My limit hasn't been reduced. Yet.

[Sooner or later]

My credit score never changes on Credit Karma. And I mean never. 787 month after month after month. I have had no loans of any type for over 30 years. Only the one credit card.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Big Banks s***.

Credit Unions give better card rates and treat you much better.

FDIC don't mean squat anymore, who keeps gobs of cash in a 2% savings account.

[GH85Carrera]

I have two cards with USAA. One I use as my personal card, and one is my "business" card. Both of them have 25K limits now. The personal card was at 20K and they just raised it for whatever reason.

Both are on automatic pay, and they pay on the statement due date, for the statement balance. After many years of use I have paid exactly $0.00 in interest. The business card has seen balances of 23K that were all current charges. We paid it early to get in on that year taxes, and we knew we had some more expenses that were going to hit after the first of the year.

I can tell you it is eye watering to see a credit card balance that that high. The silly thing is the federal government requires them to put a box on the statement that if I paid the minimum payment only it was going to be 20 something years to pay it off.

I had to talk to USAA to get them to accept that an airplane can indeed fill up with $200 in fuel in the morning, fly to Nebraska and buy $200 in fuel and then fly to Kansas for the night and get another $200 in fuel all on the same day.

[sammyg2]

A couple years ago, I applied for and received a chase credit card. One of them zero fee deals.
Used it once and paid it off that same month.
After 13 months of inactivity, they told me to use it or looose it.
The only difference I've noticed is that my wallet is slightly thinner now

[KFC911]

Average CC balance is 6,200 and the average CC limit is 31K. Based upon this thread, I'd bet those are no longer accurate figures.

[RWebb]

why do you care about the interest rates on a credit card?

I HOPE you are not paying interest...

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by RWebb

why do you care about the interest rates on a credit card?

I HOPE you are not paying interest...

Wow, I agree with you. Weird.

Yea, CC interest rates are insane even on the best cards. My CC company makes no money off of me for the money I run through them. They make the money on the fees they charge the merchant. Heck they even pay me a percentage of every purchase with cash back. The more I spend the more I make!

[Sooner or later]

I don't even know my interest rate.

[varmint]

wells ****ing fargo bumped me up to 18,000 hoping i guess that i'd go on a coke bender in vegas. they are not your friends. have had to call and lower it several times. at least the process was smooth.

[carreradpt]

^^^ Same here, no idea. I put everything on my MC every month and I haven't paid interest in ages.

[RWebb]

For the unfortunate who DO have to pay interest, Cons. Reports does CC articles periodically and will list best cards for travel, best cards for interest, etc.


But, no - don't pay interest on CCs.

[asphaltgambler]

Originally Posted by masraum

If this was all recent, I wonder if the banks are trying to protect themselves in this crazy environment that we are in. I wonder if they are expecting more issues.

Well, after some thought the other day, first thing came to mind after being mad.......

[legion]

Originally Posted by 3rd_gear_Ted

Big Banks s***.

Credit Unions give better card rates and treat you much better.

FDIC don't mean squat anymore, who keeps gobs of cash in a 2% savings account.

Credit Unions are better in every way.

A few weeks ago I went to get cash from an ATM and forgot my PIN (I remembered the individual numbers, but forgot their order)--I only use the ATM like once or twice a year. I entered the maximum number of tries and my card was locked out.

It turns out that my credit union recently put in new account security procedures. If your ATM card is locked out, so is all online access to your accounts. I called the Credit Union and got a very pleasant "Deborah" on the phone. I explained what had happened. She verified my identity and while on the phone with this single person she reactivated my ATM card and my online account access, and even waited for me to access my account to verify that everything worked. I hung up with her and went about paying some bills online to find that all of my saved payees had disappeared.

I called again and was answered again by a very pleasant Deborah. I explained the issue. She said: "Oh yeah, sorry about that. I forgot that I had restore your bill payment stuff with the new procedures too. It should all be fixed now." I hit refresh, and sure enough everything was back.

I've had similar issues with big banks, and it has generally taken hours of multiple phone calls were I get passed around and put on hold, and each person either can't help me, doesn't know who can, or just gives me a made up explanation to get rid of me. Each part of a problem requires a separate phone call to a separate department to address. If I visit a branch, no one is authorized to fix anything, though I have forced a branch manager or two to call customer service on my behalf and use what little weight they have to try to force a resolution (see my thread on Bank of America from 15 years ago). Ultimately, the issue is never fully resolved and I just have to limp along until it rears its ugly head again forcing more phone calls and branch visits to not really solve the problem.

The thing is, if I went into the Credit Union with my issue, I would have sat at Deborah's desk while she fixed it. I did tell her that I'd bring her some candy for her jar the next time I visited.

[flipper35]

How do you know she was single?