topic Re: Synchrony Bank Suspicion in Credit Cards

Synchrony Bank Suspicion

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 21:31:30 GMT

Hi everyone. Last night, I applied for a Walmart store credit card and an Amazon.com store credit card. I was approved for both ($200 for one, $400 for the other). Before applying, I thought I'd done some pretty good research. However, it wasn't until afterwards that I began reading (literally) hundreds of horrible reviews about Synchrony bank, who is the issuing bank for both, plus many others. I've heard stories about people's credit limits being decreased for no reason, despite the fact that they are paying their bills on time or early. Other people have said their accounts have been closed despite them regularly making purchases and paying them on time. Has anyone here had similar experiences with these particular cards or this bank? What should I do?!

Re: Synchrony Bank Suspicion

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 21:44:03 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi everyone. Last night, I applied for a Walmart store credit card and an Amazon.com store credit card. I was approved for both ($200 for one, $400 for the other). Before applying, I thought I'd done some pretty good research. However, it wasn't until afterwards that I began reading (literally) hundreds of horrible reviews about Synchrony bank, who is the issuing bank for both, plus many others. I've heard stories about people's credit limits being decreased for no reason, despite the fact that they are paying their bills on time or early. Other people have said their accounts have been closed despite them regularly making purchases and paying them on time. Has anyone here had similar experiences with these particular cards or this bank? What should I do?!

Welcome to the forums.

Every credit profile is different, so that does not mean that you will fall victim to the same fate. If you plan to keep and use the cards, then all you can do is maintain good payment history and hope for the best. We can all be subject to having accounts shut down or credit limit decreases. I have both accounts and have had them for 2 1/2 years and knock on wood have not experienced AA. It's good to stay informed on what happens in the credit world, but ultimately do not allow it to drive all your credit decisions.

Have a great week.

Re: Synchrony Bank Suspicion

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 21:50:07 GMT

Hi, kaykay65.

Thank you so much for responding so quickly. And I appreciate your wisdom; it's comforting. I think I was just alarmed at finding horrible reviews on every page. But as you suggested, I'll just be sure to maintain a good payment history, stay well-informed & diligent and hope for the best.

Re: Synchrony Bank Suspicion

austinguy907 — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 21:55:09 GMT

It depends more on your overall profile than just getting a couple of new accounts. There's an extremely long thread on "what's going on with Synchrony" and many run ins from members regarding the AA of Synch.

The only AA I've had with them was my Sam's store card that wasn't used for 22-23 months because I applied for and got the Sam's MC version instead. I've had the accounts for several years and never had any issues with them doing true AA for use related transactions.

Some get shutdown for having too many accounts, too much available credit combined, and some for no reason that's disclosed. If you use the cards responsibly it shouldn't really be an issue. They're both decent cards to grow into massive 25K limits if you have the scores and income to support them. Worrying about what others have had happen is just too much effort. Being aware that there's potential for issues down the road though is something to file away in the back of your mind though.

I wouldn't go for more Synch based cards though in the near future as that does seem to trigger them taking a 2nd or 3rd look at your activity. Just like any other lender anything is possible if you attract attention to yourself.

Re: Synchrony Bank Suspicion

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 22:39:37 GMT

I have both Amazon Prime and Walmart myself, the latter obtained last month, and so far no problems with either. That being said, I've heard/read many of the same stories you have, about Comenity (whose Overstock store card I have) as well as Synchrony. In point of fact, you can find at least one of those stories about every credit card issuer on these forums if you look hard enough. Synchrony gets particular notice because it issues cards for two of the biggest retailers, Amazon and Walmart, and Comenity because it's the locus of the so-called Shopping Cart Trick, which you may have heard of.

The fundamental thing to remember is that no issuer ever takes adverse action (AA) against a customer without reason, even if that reason is hidden from public views (in some cases, such as when a so-called "suspicious activity report" is filed, the reason must be kept confidential). The best way to keep from attracting the negative attention of card issuers is very simple; manage your credit responsibly and wisely. Pay your bills on time and always pay as much as you can over minimum even if, as very often recommended here, you can't pay the balance in full each month. Keep your utilization as low as practical; the figure of 30% of total utilization is a standard recommendation both from issuers and customers. If you find yourself in the position of not needing or wanting a particular card anymore, make sure it's paid off/down and give thought to closing that account. Avoid, at all costs, abusive practices such as "manufactured spending" (it's against the rules to discuss this practice here but Google it; suffice it to say that it WILL cause card issuers to jump on you if they detect it going on) and "churning". If you apply for more than one account in a short period of time, take a break from any new applications for a few months after your spree and give your new cards time to develop a history of responsible use and on-time payment and increase the average age of your accounts (AAoA). Monitor your FICO credit scores regularly.

Re: Synchrony Bank Suspicion

AverageJoesCredit — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 23:34:55 GMT

Welcome to the forum Lebron0724

Congrats on your 2 new cards!

Simple advise when dealing with Synchrony backed credit cards would be to use them, always pay on time, and try not to apply for multiple cards in too short of a time span. When used wisely, as your score grows, these cards will grow nicely with you and open up even more doors for you credit limit wise.

Its good to keep up todate on credit issues but for all the horror stories out there on Sync, youll also find alot of romantic comedies

Re: Synchrony Bank Suspicion

AverageJoesCredit — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 00:57:47 GMT

Lol, will post this over in approvals for the data points but to show you a good story, i just tried for a sp cli increase on my Pennies and they gave it to me. From 500 to 12k in 2 years. Take care of your Sync cards they will take care of you

Re: Synchrony Bank Suspicion

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 01:38:42 GMT

if it's a card you'd like, go for it. Different profiles and actions cause different reactions. I've had my Wally store card for almost 10 years. Havent had a decrease so far.

Re: Synchrony Bank Suspicion

wanttobeinthe700club — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 02:28:50 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi everyone. Last night, I applied for a Walmart store credit card and an Amazon.com store credit card. I was approved for both ($200 for one, $400 for the other). Before applying, I thought I'd done some pretty good research. However, it wasn't until afterwards that I began reading (literally) hundreds of horrible reviews about Synchrony bank, who is the issuing bank for both, plus many others. I've heard stories about people's credit limits being decreased for no reason, despite the fact that they are paying their bills on time or early. Other people have said their accounts have been closed despite them regularly making purchases and paying them on time. Has anyone here had similar experiences with these particular cards or this bank? What should I do?!

I have had all these cards for a year. I applied for all for all in the same day with scores from 670-687. When Syncrhony let me in last year(I have been trying since my BK from 2011 and no go) I went crazy. I have used all the cards except Sony Fin. and Husqvarvna(not easy to use these and didn't know until afterwards). I make about $65k a year. No CLD's.

Lowes

Amazon Store Card

Walmart

Sony

Husqvarvna

Care Credit

Chevron

Concoco

Sony Fin.

Paypal Smart Connect

9 Comenity Store Cards that range from 1-2 years old.

10 credit cards and AU on a bunch of others (Comenity & Syncrhony included on top of what I already have) that are paid off or have low usage.

4 paid car loans from the last 4 years.

Re: Synchrony Bank Suspicion

jc2 — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 03:36:06 GMT

My wife and I had a few Synchrony Cards between the two of us, put thousands through them, Paid in full and never late, scores steadily increasing etc so no big red flags (from our perspective) and then we logged in and accounts were frozen, could not be accessed. Called in and they said we are sending you IRS verification forms (the infamaous "Blue Envelope"). When we recieved the envelope, we called in, paid off last of balance and closed all accounts...never looked back. They share all of your tax info with 3rd parties and you are not in control of who or how many. Bad deal IMHO.

Much better cards out there

Re: Synchrony Bank Suspicion

TiggerDat — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 14:44:22 GMT

I think by now you get the fundamentals of it.

In summation most have no problems. Some have problems which might be due a persons credit report or income in question. And then the ones who simply did something wrong and won't tell the truth about it. My sister complained to me once that her Merrick bank account was closed unjustly because she reported a transaction issue. She didn't tell me that thy asked her to put that in writing. If I were a betting man then I would not wager on my sister and the true reason for it being closed! She is very lucky none of her other creditors closed her accounts when that one went delinquent. I have a friend who simply got too much credit in a short period of time and one of his cards was shut down because they feared he was over extended. (He probably should have updated his income with....)