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Chase closed my National Geographic card. Joy.

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Chase closed my National Geographic card. Joy.

According to them, it was because 'balance owed on revolving accts too high'  and 'balance too high compared to crdt limit' per Experian.  I sent them a letter just now telling them to prove it, since I keep an eye on all of my credit reports.  I told them that I was angry that they would lie about the reasons for cancelling my account, in official correspondence; and gave them a copy of the link to the Financial Times version of the Jamie Dimon shareholder letter.  I told them I wanted the account re opened.   I have no hope that they will do so, but I needed to get that off my chest.  I want them to have my official response for their records.  I want them to know I am paying attention, even if

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-watchdogs-rarely-blame-banks-for-complaints

 

"Consumer complaints often dismissed or bounced, study finds"

This is a pay in full card, every month.  I had used it three times this month (april) for a total of seventeen dollars.  My credit limit is (was) 3200.   Chase closed the card four days after I had electronically paid in full.  I lost WaMu because I wasn't using it often enough (once a month); I lose this one because seventeen bucks paid off to zero before the due date, each month, is a balance too high compared to the 3200 credit limit I had to take a hard inquiry last year to get up to.

 

That's $5200 in available credit gone in less than 30 days.   My hard work in paying down balances on other cards, and paying off cards with high balances this month is wiped out, FICO wise.  But who cares?  stocks are on the rise, shareholders are happy, and our Chinese overlords can start to see a little profit in all the money they've put into paying off American executives hookers and blow bonuses these past two. three decades.  It's good to be king.  Not so a serf.

 

I am not going to open up any new credit union credit cards to take the place of the $5200 I have lost.  I'm not concerned about average age of accounts.  I am concerned about my inquiries.   I'm trying to look at this positively.  I hope to be in a better place five years from now, three years from now, a year from now, and afterwards, in spite of being treated like dung scrapped off a shoe. 

 

 

 

 

Message 1 of 19
18 REPLIES 18
Jazzzy
Valued Contributor

Re: Chase closed my National Geographic card. Joy.

What has your utilization been overall? They are looking at all your cards...not just this one. They don't mean that the $17 was too high.

 

You say, "My hard work in paying down balances on other cards, and paying off cards with high balances this month is wiped out."

 

It's those other cards with high balances that likely caused this.

Message 2 of 19
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Chase closed my National Geographic card. Joy.

card reporting:                        prev says owed:         credit limit:                       prev bal currently paid in full? if prev 0, usage during month paid in full?

PAYPAL                                         0                                    6000                            no  -- (wavering let 120 report since no bal rep several months)
CHASEFREE                           460                                    5000                            yes -- in full, zero bal
CHASENEOGEO                         0                                    3200                            yes -- (17.00)
ALLIANT                                 6176                                     7500                             no -- 192 (bal transfer)

UMB1                                        480                                     1500                            yes -- in full, zero bal (phenom APR, Ramsey would be sad)       
UMB2                                        300                                      1000                           yes -- in full, zero balance  (spectac APR, see above)
CITI                                                0                                       4000                          yes -- (100 bucks)
USAA                                             0                                         500                           yes -- (12 bucks)       
DISCOVER                            1169                                       6300                           no --  (paid 170 - auth user loves card; i don't use)

NATIONWIDE BIZ                         0                                      2500                           yes -- (38 bucks)
CAPONEBIZ                           4002                                      5000                           no -- 100

 

Land of the Dead (canceled past 30 days, but still on report as open):

Cap One Platinum                    0                                          500                             yes -- (21 bucks)

Wamu/Chase                            0                                        2000                             no

 

 

-  Data point:  All cards used every month, in naked attempt to prevent closures for non usage... except for the UMB cards. Great APRs (for now).

 

 

 

March 21, 2010

OPEN:    13 cards

W/Balance:  6

statement says owed:   12587

total credit limits:  45000

0.27971111

 

CC utilization ratio:     27.97%

 

 

April 20, 2010

OPEN:  11 cards

w/balance according to credit reports:  6 cards

w/balance in truth (vagaries of statement dates): 3 cards

statement says owed: 12587

total credit limits: 42500

 

0.2961647

CC utilization ratio:  29.62%

 

 

April 21, 2010

OPEN:  10 cards

w/balance:  3 cards

total credit limit:   39300

statement says owed: 12587

 

0.32027

CC utiilization ratio: 32.03%

 

 

 

FANTASY WORLD next month, if the three cards had been kept open

statement says owed:  11347

total credit limit: 45000

 

0.2521555

CC utilization ratio:  25.22%

 

 

 

 

 

I have no idea how this is going to format.   My arithmetic is probably also severely off.

 

Hi, Lynnette.  What would your suggestions be for tackling these cards at this point?

Message 3 of 19
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Chase closed my National Geographic card. Joy.

Hi Nonaii,

 

It's quite likely they were dismayed at your balances on Alliant and Cap One.  Possibly also unhappy with your number of accounts reporting a balance.

 

In addition to the high individual utilizations, some credit experts recommend not carrying a balance over $2500 on any card, no matter what the CL.

 

When you pull your credit reports on myfico.com, what comments are you receiving re :What's helping your credit?  and What's hurting your credit?

 

Looks like you'll be fine moving forward with the accounts you have.

 

Are you planning on paying down those two high balance accounts before there's any more closures or AA?

Message 4 of 19
Jazzzy
Valued Contributor

Re: Chase closed my National Geographic card. Joy.

How to tackle these? There are at least two schools of thought...

 

If you are trying to save $$$, then start paying as much as you can each month towards the highest interest card and paying minimum (or a bit above) on the rest of your cards. Then, when you knock off the highest interest card, start down the list with the next one. That process will save you money in interest.

 

If you are trying to maximize your FICO scores, start with the card with the lowest balance first and then work your way up the list by tackling the 2nd smallest one next. That way you won't show so many cards with balances. That will help your score. That is called the "debt snowball."

 

In either of these methods, you are reducing overall debt, but the methods have different effects. Personally, if you are not apping for any credit in the near future, I would start paying down according to interest rate. In my opinion, it's normally better to save $$$ than it is to save a few points on your FICO scores.

 

Also, it's important that you quit using your cards while you get this done. Be very frugal during this process, and you will be surprised how fast you can knock this debt out.

 

I don't know what you told Chase about your income, but $12k+ in credit card debt likely made them nervous. You have so many cards that this can also make your other creditors nervous, as well as new creditors. If I were you, I wouldn't app for any more cards, and I would eventually start selectively closing some of the cards I did have. Don't do that until you get your debt paid down.

 

You have to hope that this Chase closure is not the first in a string of closures. An adverse action by one company can trigger adverse actions from other cards. That is a downhill cycle you don't want. Either way you decide to pay it off is OK...but it is time. Just my opinion...

Message 5 of 19
jeffery581
Established Contributor

Re: Chase closed my National Geographic card. Joy.

I am glad I have read all the things about chase on here. I will avoid them. I know there was/is a credit crunch but chase is on here far more often than any other bank.

Capital One Quicksilver Visa | Capital One Quicksilver Matercard | Sony Visa | ebay Mastercard | Best Buy Visa| Shell Mastercard | CareCredit | Amazon Rewards Visa | Discover it | Lowes | Home Depot | Chase Freedom | Ebates Visa | TJMAX Platinum MasterCard | Stash Signature Visa | Hilton Amex | Bank of America Cash Rewards Visa | Bank of America Better Balance Rewards Visa | US Bank Cash Rewards | Blue Cash AMEX | IHG Rewards Club World Mastercard | Barclay Cash Foward World Mastercard | Bank of America Travel Rewards Visa | US Bank Cash 365 AMEX | Amex Everyday | Target | CITI Double Cash | WELLS FARGO PROPEL AMEX | Royal Carribean Visa | AARP REWARDS VISA | BEst Western Mastercard
Message 6 of 19
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Chase closed my National Geographic card. Joy.

 


@LynetteM wrote:

How to tackle these? There are at least two schools of thought...

 

If you are trying to save $$$, then start paying as much as you can each month towards the highest interest card and paying minimum (or a bit above) on the rest of your cards. Then, when you knock off the highest interest card, start down the list with the next one. That process will save you money in interest.

 

If you are trying to maximize your FICO scores, start with the card with the lowest balance first and then work your way up the list by tackling the 2nd smallest one next. That way you won't show so many cards with balances. That will help your score. That is called the "debt snowball."

 

In either of these methods, you are reducing overall debt, but the methods have different effects. Personally, if you are not apping for any credit in the near future, I would start paying down according to interest rate. In my opinion, it's normally better to save $$$ than it is to save a few points on your FICO scores.

 

Also, it's important that you quit using your cards while you get this done. Be very frugal during this process, and you will be surprised how fast you can knock this debt out.

 

I don't know what you told Chase about your income, but $12k+ in credit card debt likely made them nervous. You have so many cards that this can also make your other creditors nervous, as well as new creditors. If I were you, I wouldn't app for any more cards, and I would eventually start selectively closing some of the cards I did have. Don't do that until you get your debt paid down.

 

You have to hope that this Chase closure is not the first in a string of closures. An adverse action by one company can trigger adverse actions from other cards. That is a downhill cycle you don't want. Either way you decide to pay it off is OK...but it is time. Just my opinion...


 

Hello, Lynnette.  None of that advice helps with my fear of the 'use it or lose it' environment currently on the landscape. 

 

But it does help with ways of choosing paying down.  The interest rates are basically all the same, after promos and stuff, so it's a toss up.   If I'm not going to use any cards, in order to pay down the cards I do have, then I like the second method. Discover would be easy.  My authorized user doesn't pay anything on any cards they have access to.    They are a true authorized user, not a FICO authorized user.  I can pay off Discover immediately, but it is always going to report a balance because it's the card my authorized user uses for their automatic charges.  It didn't seem like such a big deal to not pay it off immediately if it was always going to report a balance... but after the Chase closings, I'm starting not to care.  It's the smallest.

 

Alliant is a personal card, that gets taken care of next.

 

Then Cap One Biz (and the automatic account closure apparently coming my way for paying it off, if some reports around the net are to be believed).

 

 

Message 7 of 19
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Chase closed my National Geographic card. Joy.

 


@Anonymous wrote:

Hi Nonaii,

 

It's quite likely they were dismayed at your balances on Alliant and Cap One.  Possibly also unhappy with your number of accounts reporting a balance.

 

In addition to the high individual utilizations, some credit experts recommend not carrying a balance over $2500 on any card, no matter what the CL.

 

When you pull your credit reports on myfico.com, what comments are you receiving re :What's helping your credit?  and What's hurting your credit?

 

Looks like you'll be fine moving forward with the accounts you have.

 

Are you planning on paying down those two high balance accounts before there's any more closures or AA?


 

 

I don't regularly pull credit reports through myfico, because my credit reports are frozen.  I have credit monitoring, there is usually no need to access myfico unless I want to check my FICO98 score for my records and/or just before an apporama.  I accessed myfico earlier this year multiple times because of an issue with Equifax,which can be found elsewhere here.  The next time I was planning on pulling myfico was going to be in about October of this year, using the /12 url.   Why do the credit experts recommend not carrying a balance over 2500 on any card no matter the CL?  Is that recent?    The way I'd heard it was to not carry a balance over 35% on any card (and not to carry a balance transfer offer which took one's balance over 35%).   But that was 2008 and before, among credit card arbitrage master fiends over at the obese billfold site.

 

 

USAA  Credit Check Monitoring states (and yes, I realize Experian's PLUS score is used by no one except itself, and is therefore a bull**** FAKO):

 

 

 

Your Experian Plus Score Explanation

Your Credit Score ranks better than 55.80% of U.S. consumers 52.73% of U.S. consumers 88.93% of U.S. consumers

What factors raise your PLUS Score:
  • You have paid your bills on time and currently do not have any overdue accounts or derogatory information, such as a collection, charge-off, or bankruptcy, on your report.

  • You have a good cushion of available credit between your current balance and your credit limits on all open trades. This has a positive affect on your credit score. This cushion shows lenders that you are unlikely to overextend yourself financially.

  • You have no open installment loans, such as auto loans, on your credit report. This positively influences your credit score because lenders feel you are more likely to pay your other bills without the fixed monthly payment attached to an installment loan.

  • You have at least 2 or more open major credit cards, such as Discover, American Express, VISA, or MasterCard, on your credit report. This often tells lenders that you are a responsible borrower and they may be more likely to see you as a good credit risk and extend you credit.

  • You have paid your bills on time and currently do not have any overdue accounts or derogatory information, such as a collection, charge-off, or bankruptcy, on your report

  • What factors lower your PLUS Score:

    Each time a potential lender or landlord pulls your credit report for review, an inquiry is placed on your file. Inquiries stay on your credit report for up to 2 years. Having several inquiries on your credit report is negatively affecting your score. They are not necessarily negative information, but too many inquiries may indicate to lenders that you are trying to take on more new debt or possibly overextending yourself.

    Your Equifax Plus Score Explanation

    Your Credit Score ranks better than 55.80% of U.S. consumers 52.73% of U.S. consumers 88.93% of U.S. consumers

    What factors raise your PLUS Score:
  • You have paid your bills on time and currently do not have any overdue accounts or derogatory information, such as a collection, charge-off, or bankruptcy, on your report.

  • You have a good cushion of available credit between your current balance and your credit limits on all open trades. This has a positive affect on your credit score. This cushion shows lenders that you are unlikely to overextend yourself financially.

  • You have no open installment loans, such as auto loans, on your credit report. This positively influences your credit score because lenders feel you are more likely to pay your other bills without the fixed monthly payment attached to an installment loan.

  • You have at least 2 or more open major credit cards, such as Discover, American Express, VISA, or MasterCard, on your credit report. This often tells lenders that you are a responsible borrower and they may be more likely to see you as a good credit risk and extend you credit.
  • What factors lower your PLUS Score:

    Each time a potential lender or landlord pulls your credit report for review, an inquiry is placed on your file. Inquiries stay on your credit report for up to 2 years. Having several inquiries on your credit report is negatively affecting your score. They are not necessarily negative information, but too many inquiries may indicate to lenders that you are trying to take on more new debt or possibly overextending yourself.

    Your TransUnion Plus Score Explanation

    Your Credit Score ranks better than 55.80% of U.S. consumers 52.73% of U.S. consumers 88.93% of U.S. consumers

    What factors raise your PLUS Score:
  • You have paid your bills on time and currently do not have any overdue accounts or derogatory information, such as a collection, charge-off, or bankruptcy, on your report.

  • You have a good cushion of available credit between your current balance and your credit limits on all open trades. This has a positive affect on your credit score. This cushion shows lenders that you are unlikely to overextend yourself financially.

  • You have no open installment loans, such as auto loans, on your credit report. This positively influences your credit score because lenders feel you are more likely to pay your other bills without the fixed monthly payment attached to an installment loan.

  • You have at least 2 or more open major credit cards, such as Discover, American Express, VISA, or MasterCard, on your credit report. This often tells lenders that you are a responsible borrower and they may be more likely to see you as a good credit risk and extend you credit.
  •  

    What factors lower your PLUS Score:

  • Each time a potential lender or landlord pulls your credit report for review, an inquiry is placed on your file. Inquiries stay on your credit report for up to 2 years. Having several inquiries on your credit report is negatively affecting your score. They are not necessarily negative information, but too many inquiries may indicate to lenders that you are trying to take on more new debt or possibly overextending yourself.
  •  

    Message 8 of 19
    Anonymous
    Not applicable

    Re: Chase closed my National Geographic card. Joy.

     

    For comparison, here's True Credit, which I've found usually mirrors myFico (also notice not a word about my inquiries):

     

    Nonaii these are the factors impacting your score:

    • You have no real estate accounts that can be used in determining a credit score. [TransUnion, Experian , Equifax]   A healthy balance of credit and loan accounts is key to achieving a high credit score. It is important to build a record of responsible credit use over time with different types of accounts.
    • Your oldest revolving credit account was opened too recently. [TransUnion, Experian , Equifax]   Time is an important factor for a healthy credit score. Giving the accounts time to mature may allow creditors to better understand how you pay your debts.
    • The available credit on your open revolving credit accounts is too low. [TransUnion, Experian , Equifax]   Having credit available to you is a sign that you are able to manage your finances responsibly. Lenders usually like to see that consumers have a large amount of credit available to them.
    • The sum of your bank credit card account balances is too high. [TransUnion, Experian , Equifax]   High credit balances may be considered by lenders to be a negative factor when determining creditworthiness. Paying down your balance may improve your score.

     

     

     

    It's too bad no one can synchronize their reasons for selling scores to people.

     


    @jeffery581 wrote:

    I am glad I have read all the things about chase on here. I will avoid them. I know there was/is a credit crunch but chase is on here far more often than any other bank.


    Maybe, maybe not.  Read the shareholder letter mentioned above.  Also, the link to Chase having the most consumer complaints directed towards it... in 2006.  However, that's not going to apply to everyone (and the 2006 information is ancient history).  If you fit a certain profile, Chase will love you and cherish you and treat you like gold.  There are several threads here from posters who are very, very happy with their experiences with Chase.  Don't let folks like me turn you off of the bank.  I'm not Chase's type of cardholder/member, and they wouldn't p--- on me if I were on fire; they don't even want my transaction fee/interest/annual fee money, that's how much they don't want my business when it's just business.
    But that never means you yourself may not be Chase material.  Take all the good experiences and suck experiences together, then dive in and see what happens for yourself, which is the only experience which matters in the long run.


    Message 9 of 19
    Anonymous
    Not applicable

    Re: Chase closed my National Geographic card. Joy.

    I think this has little, if at all, to do with your credit profile. The reason that card was canceled was most likely because Chase is closing out a few affiliation cards that it used to offer through First USA. Rumor is that Chase will no longer be offering the National Geographic card, and so your account had to be closed. One can suppose that Chase might have offered to issue another card instead, but I'm guessing that they were in the "portfolio adjustment" mode. It's kinda like when they got rid of all the WaMu accounts. They wanted to stop servicing those accounts, and so they decided on criteria, and all the accounts that met any one of those criteria were closed. And I suspect that the criteira aren't only about the account holder's credit profile. They are probably weighing the chances of default against the expected profitabiliy of keeping the account open. I think it's all **bleep**ty and ridiculous, but that's what Chase and AMEX are constantly doing. My suggestion is to boot them out, pay off debt, and get credit union cards, and when you are able, churn Chase/AMEX cards only for account opening bonus as much as you can.

     

    Here's a little post about Chase ending some affilation programs: Link

    Message 10 of 19
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