Credit Cards

[CreditAble]

I applied for a Chase 12 month, no fee, 0% BT, & 0% Purchase offer.

 The offer even referenced my current Chase account, which meant the bank had already possessed my complete up to date credit histories through account reviews before making the offer. There would be absolutely no surprises when pulling the hard inquiry for the application. There was absolutely no valid reason for renegging on the offer upon reviewing the subsequent complete current reports. Balances were down and score was up since the issuing of the invitation.

Too good to be true in today's credit climate? It sure was.

 Chase pulled Experian (801 FICO) the next day. No negs. Only one $150 CC balance. The new card was approved within 24 hours, but only for the standard "go to" interest rate of 9.99% quoted in the 0% offer.

 My current Chase card is already at 6.99%. No promo rates were given on the new card. Chase pulled the old bait and switcheroo. I haven't applied for any credit at all in 4 years. I would prefer not to have a new low limit ($13,300) card added to my credit files.

 I would like to add the $13,300 CL from the new card to my current card and cancel the new card before activation. The CSR from the Chase "loan department" told me that the new card would not be reported to the bureaus if I canceled before activation.

I would like to see a show of hands. 

Does anyone think that I should believe what I was told?

I am inclined to believe that I am stuck with the tradeline on my reports whether I close it or leave it open. I don't want to cancel the card if it will end up as a closed account in my files.

 If I close the card and it does report, does anyone know if a dispute will be rewarded with a deletion since it was not the card for which I applied, and I never actually accepted the terms of usage?

 If I am going to be stuck with it on my reports, I would rather not close it for all of the conventional "best practices" FICO enhancing reasons. It will however not reside in the drawer with clean socks. The bottom of the sock hamper would be a more appropriate resting place for the card while I recover some average age and revert to "0 inqs & new accounts in the last 12 months".   

UPDATE 9/16/2008: Chase reconsidered and issued the card with all advertised terms and rates. See explanation here.

Message Edited by CreditAble on 09-16-2008 02:26 AM

[contractor]

My vote is it will show as a tradeline either open or closed. I think I would start calling people and keep calling people until I got some satisfaction if I had an 801 in my back pocket.

[felixfly2000]

I am shock by this bit of news. You would think Chase would be beyond these type of shenanigans. I think it should be possible to cancel the card and not have it report, because Chase does a hard for a CLI anyway. Should as simple as a keystroke to transfer the inquiry away from the card and towards a CLI. Though it will more than likely need to be done at the supervisor level.Or at the least you could combine the two. Keep the age and IR of the first and add the CL of the second to it. Out of curiosity, what card were you applying for? Anyway GL

[ficonovice]

Call them and you should be able to work it out. However, a $13K limit isn't a low initial starting line in this credit card climate....

[FretlessMayhem]

I opened a Chase card and didn't activate it, and it reports on my TU and EQ reports. So I would take that advice with a grain of salt.

[CreditAble]

contractor wrote:

 My vote is it will show as a tradeline either open or closed.

 Unfortunately I tend to agree with you.

---

  I think I would start calling people and keep calling people until I got some satisfaction

---

 I talked to quite a few people already. I'll make one more attempt to get satisfied after I receive the "welcome" package and am able to have all the final details in writing.

 The reason I posted was to gauge my chances of not having the new account report if I cancel it before activation. Once I cancel it, I don't want to be in the position of trying to reopen it if the card remains on my report.

---

if I had an 801 in my back pocket.

---

 Because of my in house history, my credit bureau reports, and I assume my FICO score, Chase has been sending me offers for other/additional cards for quite some time. I never responded since none of the offers were any better than my existing card which still gives 5% at the pump.

Chase finally got me to respond to a "Dodo_Bird" 

[CreditAble]

felixfly2000 wrote:

I am shock by this bit of news. You would think Chase would be beyond these type of shenanigans.

  I was and still am willing to give Chase the benefit of the doubt. I tried to get someone to tell me why I didn't get the card with the advertised terms. A reasonable explanation was all I asked. No one could tell me for sure. The only explanation was the standard disclaimer that "upon reviewing my credit history, things (probably) had changed (deteriorated)". That is simply not the case.

felixfly2000 wrote:

 I think it should be possible to cancel the card and not have it report,

---

 I don't feel that it should be considered a new account until I agree to the terms which would complete the contract. Activating or using the card would be construed as my accepting the contract. Until then my position would be that Chase is only making me an offer of a new account

felixfly2000 wrote:

because Chase does a hard for a CLI anyway. Should as simple as a keystroke to transfer the inquiry away from the card and towards a CLI.

I understand the inquiry should probably remain. I did apply for credit.

felixfly2000 wrote:

at the least you could combine the two. Keep the age and IR of the first and add the CL of the second to it.

 I had actually anticipated combining limits with the old card at some point in the future. Many people feel that obtaining a new card and reallocating the CL to the old is the best way to get the largest CLIs with Chase since it is a "hard" either way.

 I would not however normally applied to Chase for an additional tradeline. A new card from another issuer would have more benefit. Eggs in more baskets is usually the best practice. I like to keep my card issuers competing with each other. You might say I create "Luv buttons" in my credit files for my card companies to push. 

felixfly2000 wrote:

what card were you applying for?

---

This_one.

  However the terms of the invitation were for 15 months of 0% interest for both Balance transfers and Purchases. There were no BT fees for transfers made at the time of the offer although subsequent fees would be 3% capped at $99.

[CreditAble]

ficonovice wrote:

Call them and you should be able to work it out.

 I definitely do believe that something will get worked out. If it doesn't get worked out sooner it will get worked out later. If I end up leaving the new card open and in the sock hamper, sooner or later Chase will notice that I haven't been using its cards for anything but gas. At the same time a lot of high PIF monthly charges will be showing up on Chase's competitor's cards (Experian Account Reviews).

 Chase will eventually make me offers connected to the new seldom used card. I would at that time remind Chase that it screwed me on the last offer and I expect to be compensated with a better offer to motivate me to use both of my existing cards.

 

ficonovice wrote:

a $13K limit isn't a low initial starting line

 $13K is not that low for starters, however Chase requires "hards" for CLIs while some other CC banks don't. Furthermore Chase has internal (risk) limits for total credit limits for all cards possessed by the consumer. The credit limit from a new card from a different credit card provider would not be constrained by Chase's total credit limit exposure and affinity for hard inquires.

 I am at my internal risk limit with BoA/FIA cards. I don't know how far away I am from any internal risk exposure limit with Chase.

 I could obtain at least $35,000 or $50,000 limits from new providers. Even if the initial limits might not be that high, I am pretty sure I can make > $35K happen within a year or so.

[ficonovice]

ficonovice wrote:

a $13K limit isn't a low initial starting line

 $13K is not that low for starters, however Chase requires "hards" for CLIs while some other CC banks don't. Furthermore Chase has internal (risk) limits for total credit limits for all cards possessed by the consumer. The credit limit from a new card from a different credit card provider would not be constrained by Chase's total credit limit exposure and affinity for hard inquires.

 I am at my internal risk limit with BoA/FIA cards. I don't know how far away I am from any internal risk exposure limit with Chase.

 I could obtain at least $35,000 or $50,000 limits from new providers. Even if the initial limits might not be that high, I am pretty sure I can make > $35K happen within a year or so.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Both Citi and BoA are very generous with CLIs and have always been soft pulls for me. Chase has always been more rigid (in most areas) and in my few dealings with them have heard loud and clear that any CLI request will result in a hard pull. They started me with a line of $14,900 in May but haven't seemed too flexible with any requests the few times I've chatted with them. They do want to follow their scripts though and try to get you to purchase everything under the sun from them....

[shelby127]

Hopefully you'll get the terms that you thought you would, but in reading the small print for the link that you posted this little thing showed up:

     "Chase cardmembers who currently have or have had a Chase credit card in this Rewards Program or have received a similar bonus offer, may not be eligible for a second Chase credit card in the same Rewards Program, or for this bonus offer. Chase cardmembers currently receiving promotional pricing, or Chase cardmembers with a history of only using their current or prior Chase card for promotional pricing offers, are not eligible for a second Chase credit card with promotional pricing. "

I got this card in the mastercard version and received the stated terms, but I applied as a new customer.  Hope everything works out.