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Macys to Citi or not?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Macys to Citi or not?

I received a letter that read that my Macys card will be cancelled on Oct 1.  After that a new Citi card will be issued at zero APR for 3-6 months based on activity and sent to me instead.  If I choose to make a purchase on my Macys card it will stay active and the Citi card will not process.  Does anyone know what this means?  I am guessing it is a dormant account and Citi is trying to change it to a MC.  I am lost - this is confusing.
Message 1 of 11
10 REPLIES 10
Bella1980
Established Contributor

Re: Macys to Citi or not?

I'm not sure what is going on there, I thought when they upgraded you you got to keep the store card as well.


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Message 2 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Macys to Citi or not?

Yeah - I have 16 years of history on this card and I am afraid the account will close and wipe off my history.  On the other hand a new line may help.
 
Who knows?
 
Message 3 of 11
score_building
Senior Contributor

Re: Macys to Citi or not?



daWorm wrote:
Yeah - I have 16 years of history on this card and I am afraid the account will close and wipe off my history.  On the other hand a new line may help.
 
Who knows?

as you know, the boards are great and you will probably eventually get a response if someone knows, but just call them and ask all your questions. they usually have v. good cs and you are a long term card holder. after you see what they have to say, then you can return to share what you learn from them and get f/b and learn if others have any experience with this offer.


Message Edited by score_building on 09-25-2008 07:09 AM
DCU EQ 5.0, Citi EQ 08 Bankcard, PenFed EX NG2
EX 08: AFCU, Amex, Chase, PSECU EX 98(?)
TU 08: Barclays, Discover
Message 4 of 11
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: Macys to Citi or not?

why would you get a letter from citi about your macy's. citi does not back the macy's card?
Message 5 of 11
athensguy
Valued Contributor

Re: Macys to Citi or not?

The bank behind the Macy's card is a joint venture between Macy's parent and Citi.

I would keep the Macy's card in this case!
Message 6 of 11
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: Macys to Citi or not?

I would just call macy's and ask your account be upgraded to visa, then you would keep your macy's card and get a 2nd credit line for the visa.
Message 7 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Macys to Citi or not?

A poster in another forum (that shall not be named Smiley Wink ), who works for Macy's posted this:
 
They did a nearly identical thing last fall.

Don't count on sockdrawing your Macy's store card and getting an offer. All the offers are already mailed, and if you are not one of the 1.5 million who get an offer this week, you won't get one at all. They were mailed on Friday of last week.

QUOTE
Is this only for ppl with a zero balance for more than 18 months?
Or ppl who haven't charged on their card in that long?


Those who have not charged anything at all for 18 months. But it is not just this they used to determine who got the upgrade offer, it was a combination of Experian FICO score, inactivity on a store only account, and a few other things.

Out of the 30 million Macy's accounts, a large percentage are underwritten by CITI, yes. They used the Mastercard logo this time simply to differentiate it from the " co brand " accounts which are store/VISA cards. This is a " standalone " MC card with no associated store account. The store account will literally be wiped away, and the new MC will begin reporting right away, with a higher CL in most every situation, simply because Macy's store accounts typically have lower limits than MC cards. YES there are exceptions.

These cards will completely replace the Macy's store account, and the inactive store account will show up on the credit reports as " transferred to ", with the new Mastercard number (16 digit) as the new account number.

Remember that most all the rewards associated with the Macy's store account are not to be offered on the new MC. Also, be aware that their are some zero interest " motivators " to get you to convert. I think there are $99 and $299 purchases with zero interest for three months.

For those with Macy's VISA cards, there is far more differences between between these accounts and the new MC than similarities. I am too tired to list all the differeneces, but there are plenty.
Message 8 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Macys to Citi or not?

I, myself didn't ask any questions, but the part about the store account being "wiped away" concerns me. I would hate to lose that history if that is what he meant.
 
Edit for question. After reading further he states the account would transfer. That should keep the history intact, but would that then be lost at the end of 10 years or would it continue with the MC issued???


Message Edited by stef37 on 09-25-2008 02:37 PM
Message 9 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Macys to Citi or not?

This comes from Macy's-Citi MasterCard FAQ...
 
Q:How will my Macy's Credit Card account be reported to the credit bureaus?
 
A:After you recieve the Citi MasterCard, your Macy's Credit Card will be reported the the credit bureau as closed and sold to Citibank (South Dakota), N.A.  Any credit history about your Macy's Credit Card account will remain on your credit report for as long as the credit bureaus report that information.  If you choose not to accept the Citi MasterCard, your Macy's Credit Card will continue to be reported to the credit bureaus as before.
 
***Customer Service was no help - they seem to just give an answer they are not sure of just to appease me.  I called once and she told me "Nothing changes on your report".  I called again and another says, "I dunno, that is not my department - we really don't know how this will be reported".
 
I am leaning towards keeping the Macy's card just to make sure it doesn't result in a drop.  I am more worried about dropping my score right now then taking a chance at increasing it.  I think after time this "closed and sold" account will drop off my reports along with 16 years of history - my longest held card...
 
Anyone have any thoughts?
 
Message 10 of 11
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