topic Re: An entirely different Synchrony scenario in Credit Cards

An entirely different Synchrony scenario

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 00:09:51 GMT

My five Synchrony accounts are fine, no freezes, etc.

But, today I became aware of the fact that my AJ Madison card, which is a Synchrony account with a $6800 limit, is no longer viable. Seems that AJ Madison left Synchrony and partnered with Citi to offer another card for their promotional financing. I had purchased all my kitchen appliances from AJ Madison when I remodeled my kitchen two years ago, and not only did they have the best prices and a great reputation, they offered 18 months at 0% with this card, which is why I opened the account.

Now, it's an account in good standing, zero balance, but seemingly orphaned, with no retailer that will take it. So I will be closing this one; I have Blispay for any needed 0% purchases.

Re: An entirely different Synchrony scenario

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 00:13:13 GMT

Thanks for sharing! Now lets grow this thread monster size . Just kidding, but interesting nonethe less

Re: An entirely different Synchrony scenario

UncleB — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 01:16:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
My five Synchrony accounts are fine, no freezes, etc.

But, today I became aware of the fact that my AJ Madison card, which is a Synchrony account with a $6800 limit, is no longer viable. Seems that AJ Madison left Synchrony and partnered with Citi to offer another card for their promotional financing. I had purchased all my kitchen appliances from AJ Madison when I remodeled my kitchen two years ago, and not only did they have the best prices and a great reputation, they offered 18 months at 0% with this card, which is why I opened the account.

Now, it's an account in good standing, zero balance, but seemingly orphaned, with no retailer that will take it. So I will be closing this one; I have Blispay for any needed 0% purchases.

This is not so much a Synchrony issue but a 'store card' issue (i.e. the issue would be the same regardless of the bank). In any case, I do understand your frustration, though.

The same thing happened a few months back with one of the furniture/mattress stores and with Newegg; they changed credit account partners and instead of moving the old accounts to the new issuer the old customers had to reapply (the old accounts were abandoned). In my own "humble opinion" this is the worst way to handle a transition from one issuer to another, since not only is it inconvenient, it can impact the credit standing of existing customers when they reapply for the new product (AAoA 'ding', inquiry hit, etc.). This also doesn't take into account the customers that will simply be lost.

I agree that Blispay does seem to be a nice alternative, especially if you only need six months to PIF.

Re: An entirely different Synchrony scenario

ddemari — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 02:01:18 GMT

Some store card transitions are just not smooth.
In this case, I would be very annoyed my card was closed due to just a lender switch.

Re: An entirely different Synchrony scenario

wasCB14 — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 16:50:42 GMT

I'm surprised. When Citi replaced Synchrony on the Brooks Brothers accounts, there was a very smooth transition and the accounts remained open.

*Is it more common for the old accounts to be moved to the new issuer, or closed/made useless like in this case?

Re: An entirely different Synchrony scenario

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 17:42:08 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
I'm surprised. When Citi replaced Synchrony on the Brooks Brothers accounts, there was a very smooth transition and the accounts remained open.

*Is it more common for the old accounts to be moved to the new issuer, or closed/made useless like in this case

Good question.

Re: An entirely different Synchrony scenario

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 21:53:46 GMT

Synchrony didn't close the account, I just found out the AJ Madison no longer accepted the AJ Madison card (lol) that was through Synchrony, and now have a "Brandsource" credit card through Citi. My account on the Synchrony side was still open and in good standing. As a matter of fact, when I called them this morning to close it, they tried to talk me out of it, reminding me that I'd be missing out on great promotional financing deals. I laughed..."THERE'S NOWHERE FOR ME TO USE THE CARD!"...therefore nothing to miss out on. So it is now "closed by consumer".

Re: An entirely different Synchrony scenario

RonM21 — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 21:34:27 GMT

At least you didn't have a lot tied in to it, other than it being a part of your profile. Can't blame you for closing it.

Re: An entirely different Synchrony scenario

grillandwinemaster — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 15:02:14 GMT

Now in the past, card issuers, in this case synch would try to keep the customer by switching the card to a different product. I recall having a Montgomery Wards Credit card ( remember those folks?) when they closed there doors down, I received a Wal-Mart card. Granted, there isn't always an adequate substitute available, such as I the case of the op. But this seems like a better strategy than just letting the account become "orphaned."

Re: An entirely different Synchrony scenario

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 15:36:38 GMT

@grillandwinemaster wrote:
Now in the past, card issuers, in this case synch would try to keep the customer by switching the card to a different product. I recall having a Montgomery Wards Credit card ( remember those folks?) when they closed there doors down, I received a Wal-Mart card. Granted, there isn't always an adequate substitute available, such as I the case of the op. But this seems like a better strategy than just letting the account become "orphaned."

My Comenity card is kind of orphaned. The store associated with the card went out of business a few years ago, but the card remains open.

Re: An entirely different Synchrony scenario

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 15:13:38 GMT

So the account I closed just reported to EX, status "paid loan". Result? A 23-point drop in FICO 8 on EX. I swear, just when I think I have this stuff figured out...I give up, I'm just going to quit trying to micromanage my scores and just pay my bills and be happy to be in the vicinity of 800.

Edit: The account reported to EQ yesterday, "closed at consumer's request/paid account", and there was no resulting score drop whatsoever for EQ.