@Anonymous wrote:Hi All
After reading all the strange happenings with Synchrony lately, I've decided to move my exposure away from them. I haven't been affected like others, but I don't want to ever get caught up in a situation where I'm locked out of my account with any creditor that I have a relationship with. I think the way they have handled this situation leaves a lot to be desired.
Here is my credit situation:
AMEX Charles Schwab Investors Card $10,000 limit, $1,200 balance
Walmart Mastercard $8,000 limit, $4,000 balance (I've been using like crazy at walmart.com for 3% cash back)
Discover It $5,500 limit, $1,200 balance
JCPenney Store Card $1,000 limit, $0 balance
I'm going to do a balance transfer of the $4,000 Walmart to my Discover (0% for 18 months, 3% transfer fee)
Here is my question. This transfer will make my Discover utilization over 90%, and I just opened this card in May. Does anyone have experience with Discover taking any adverse action for a nearly maxed out card that was just opened a few months prior?
My credit profile is pretty thin. Oldest account is 1 year old, average age is 4 months. Scores are 700-710 between the 3.
Thanks to all !
First of all, welcome to the forums! 
Now about your situation... to answer your question, you would most likely be fine with Discover with high utilization since they aren't known to be concerned about that as long as you're making the payment. I kept my own Discover at 60%-70% the first nine months I had it (0% BT and 0% purchases) and there was no issue at all. I will only say that if you're looking for CLIs from Discover, you might get one while carrying a significant balance (I got two) but they will likely be small... my own first two CLIs were $500 each.
Regarding Synchrony... while there are a few people on here who have been impacted, there are many (many, many...) more who have not... I'm one of those. While there's always a chance your account will have issues (heck, there's a chance you'll be struck by lightning walking to your car...) most likely you'll be fine. If it were me, I wouldn't be in a hurry to move a balance away from Synchrony for that reason.
That brings me to my next thought... if you're carrying a balance on a Wal-Mart card, you're losing money (unless your purchases are on a 0% promo). Assuming you don't have a promo on your Wal-Mart card, you would be better off to simply use your Discover card while shopping Walmart.com. There is a 'Discover Deal' for 5% off most Walmart.com purchases (there are a few exclusions) and if your Discover card has the 'Double Rewards' promotion, at the end of your first year that will be doubled, so it's like getting 10% off your Walmart.com purchases.
Putting the cash back aside for a moment, if your only way out of paying Synchrony's sky-high interest is to do the balance transfer to Discover, that would be the thing to do regardless of any 'shenanigans' Synchrony might be up to later on with our accounts. Paying a 3% fee would be a bargain compared to the normal interest rate on a Wal-Mart credit card.
Hope this helps! 
Note: Here's a screen print of the Wal-Mart.com Discover deal... keep in mind that if your account is new you probably have the 'double' promo, which means that next May your cash back will be doubled. Also keep in mind there are a few exclusions in the 'fine print'... check the deal online to read (it's too lengthy to post here).
@Anonymous wrote:Wow UncleB!
I was hoping for clarity, but you went above and beyond anything I expected!
Yes, my Walmart APR is 23.15% so 0% for 18 months with Discover is a great deal even with the 3% transfer fee.
Even though the number of Synchrony customers affected is small, what really bugged me is the locking out of your account. If Sycnhrony wants to freeze my credit, fine. But taking away my ability to pay my bills online through my Synchrony account and being able to verify they received my payment online was what put me off. You can freeze my account, but what they have done with some others seems so amateurish to me.
I'm going to keep my Walmart tradeline open after the balance transfer and swipe a BigMac once a month. If they aren't happy with a $5 swipe per month on a $8,000 credit line, they can close my account. No hard feelings because they sprung me forward in the credit world, but I have to do whats best for me.
It sounds like you've got a great plan!