topic Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close? in Credit Cards

BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

Uncle_Money — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 01:47:05 GMT

Hey guys,

This post is regarding my Bank of America Accelerated Rewards American Express card. I don't even think they still offer this card. The limit WAS $30,000. To my surprise (and not a good surprise) they CLD'd me down to $8,500! I literally had an $8,400 balance and it left me with nearly no available credit. The letter stated it was due to current economic trends and that I have too many accounts with balances.

I've fought tooth and nail to get them to restore the original credit line. I wrote to the corporate office in addition to speaking with some credit analysts but it's been a losing battle so far. However, I can continue to request CLIs in the future so there's always that possibility it will return to a higher line at some point.

So the question is do I just close this account? It now has a $0 balance because I paid off the balance in full and plan to keep it in the sock drawer but it does have history to it. Nearly 12 years to be exact. I'm just not sure I want to deal with a bank who behaves like this and cut me so drastically. This is a dramatic decrease.

And yes, Uncle Money knows that ultimately it's a bank's right to decrease a customer if they so feel like it. I just don't have to continue being a customer of that institution and that is why I want to get opinions from my fellow FICOers!

Choose an option and let me know!

Do I:

A) Keep the account open (nearly 12 years of credit history) and do nothing

B) Close the account and open another to compensate for the lost credit

Here are some DPs for my current credit profile:

- Card was opened in 2008 (nearly 12 years of credit history)

- Total personal credit limit: Approx $250K

- Overall utilization: 33%

- No baddies whatsoever

- Strong mix of 20+ open credit including mortgage

- Inquiries: Experian 2 / Tran 1 / Equifax 0

Interesting Fact: I have one more account with BofA but it's not on the personal side. It's the business advantage cash rewards credit card. The limit, until yesterday, was $20,500. I requested an increase to $35,000 and was approved instantly. 🤷‍♂️ I am guessing underwriting is different on the biz side?

Thanks!

Uncle Money

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

Remedios — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 01:52:33 GMT

Ugh, sorry this happened to you

Keep it open in SD, but do get another card

Is there a chance that your aggregate utilization will go down soon?
There is a good chance that they were looking not just at percentages, but also at raw dollar amount. 33% on $250K is a decent chunk

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

steelers1 — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 01:55:24 GMT

Same thing happened to me last year. They took me from $15,000 down to $7,500 with a balance around $5,000 (BT Offer).

So the next time the CLI button was available, I hit it and they shut me down with the exact same reasons that they gave you.

I don't miss them and I'll never pursue them again.

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

Uncle_Money — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 01:57:14 GMT

@remedios - Thank you.

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

Uncle_Money — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 01:58:02 GMT

@steelers1 - I don't blame you. That is how I feel at the moment. Sorry you had to deal with this also.

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

Remedios — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 02:02:46 GMT

That's why it's important you dont make any decisions while this is upsetting

You'd only hurt yourself of utilization goes up even more

Let the card simmer in SD till you secure replacement then decide.

I'd personally keep it out of spite and because of age

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

steelers1 — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 02:02:53 GMT

@Uncle_Money wrote:
@steelers1 - I don't blame you. That is how I feel at the moment. Sorry you had to deal with this also.

At least they are good to you on the business side.

Use them to benefit you!

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

kilroy8 — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 02:20:23 GMT

Well, math says you have > $80K in personal revolving debt.

I don't know your income, but unless close to a million a year, can't blame them for the hard look.

It's just good business.

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

Remedios — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 02:26:35 GMT

Their income is irrelevant because they are not asking why CLD happened, and they themselves touched on it.

All this does is make people unwilling to share and provide valuable data points to the community.

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

Uncle_Money — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 02:30:26 GMT

@kilroy8 - Your math is accurate. Income is more than adequate to handle the tradelines and the debt. IMO, a $21,500 CLD is unjustified. Of course, it doesn't matter what I think because they have the right to make that call. I'm a business man so I know the importance of good business. At this point I'm done trying to restore the original limit. I'm just trying to figure out if I should keep the card open or close it.

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 02:33:45 GMT

@Remedios wrote:
That's why it's important you dont make any decisions while this is upsetting
You'd only hurt yourself of utilization goes up even more
Let the card simmer in SD till you secure replacement then decide.
I'd personally keep it out of spite and because of age

This. There is no real objective upside to closing, you (eventually) lose the age, the remaining credit limit, and the possibility that sometime you will get an increase. It will maybe make you feel better for a bit ("Take that, BoA!" type stuff) but it won't hurt them at all, just get rid of an account they have concerns about.

So, as Remedios says, wait for a while, getting a replacement card (if needed) and decide later on. IMO, the above should still be true after the wait, and I would just sock drawer the card, but if the annoyance is still too great, then close!

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 02:34:36 GMT

I would keep it. Closing it just benefits them while costing you the entire line and 12 years of history is a lot of history to risk losing. While accounts can stay up to (and sometimes beyond) 10 years when they're closed, there have been plenty that have lost them much sooner.

I would just SD it but if BoA found you to be risky, you might want to rethink balances on other cards too so that they don't get slashed as well.

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

kilroy8 — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 02:41:05 GMT

Not a single reason to not keep it.

Sorry about the earlier input, these numbers are the stuff of nightmares for me. For others, not so much.

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

Gotham- — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 03:46:44 GMT

Keep it open...

Chase and I started a relationship like this back in 2007 before the credit crisis I had a $8200 SL and in less than 6 months it went to $2800 with $2000 outstanding
I called it the reversal of the 2 &; 8 and far as I could remember I just didn’t like chase for doing that to me but I never closed it’s still a premium bank and card so it sat in the draw as I ranked up in other cards until they wanted back in the game and started the CLI in 2010 and today I’m over $30K with them.

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 05:30:41 GMT

The only one that would be hurt by closing the card would be you (albeit only marginally).

I am sorry that this happened, but I am sure that once the utilization issue in your profile is handled restoring the limits through a series of CLI's is certainly a possibility.

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

CreditInspired — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 11:28:57 GMT

Hi OP
I say keep the card open and just SD it. The bad taste in your mouth will wear off in time.

And since you had the capability to pay that huge balance off in what seem to be “in record time,” BOA will be able to see that even in this economic climate, you are not a risky customer.

I believe they’ll change their tune when they see the balance is 0 and you’re not putting swipes on the card.

Also, no sense in your getting vindictive closing them down and then they get vindictive and claw back their recent CLI on your business card, and worse, close the business card down altogether. Just my 2cents.

So, like others have said, keep it open until your frustration has subsided and you can think about your decision more rationally.

Yep, coming here first was the right decision.

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

BearsCubsOtters — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 15:11:50 GMT

I know it is difficult to not take things like this personal...but do not take it personal. During the Great Recession, Citibank decided to reduce my credit line by $2,700 (from $10,800 to $8,100) stating that I was not utilizing my full credit line yadda yadda. And that was on the card that I used almost daily and paid in full each month. They never touched my other Citibank cards that I rarely ever used. I was livid; but after I gave it some time I realized that it was not personal and it was their business decision. And within I think 4 months I started using a better card anyway. It was their loss. I was also one of those that suffered a CLD from Capital One in 2017. But because I had dealt with Citibank many years before, I took it in stride. In both cases I was left with a healthy credit line and in time I was able to get CLIs on the cards.

TL DL I know it was a kick in the teeth to lose your highest credit line. But I would keep the card and use it sparingly. An old trade line is always beneficial and I am willing to bet that within a year or so you can get the card back up to $20K at least.

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

LittleSal — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 16:30:45 GMT

I would also keep it open.

Do you bank with BoA? Preferred Rewards?

I ask because I have two BoA cards with high balances ($40k+) that are 0% right now.

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

CramEiko — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 18:22:35 GMT

Since you pif, just wait a month and request the original limit be reinstated. It will show your highest $ amount of credit used but it's back down to $0. Keep it open, request CL be returned and then SD it for a while.

Best of Luck!

Re: BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

kdm31091 — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 20:29:41 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Remedios wrote:
That's why it's important you dont make any decisions while this is upsetting
You'd only hurt yourself of utilization goes up even more
Let the card simmer in SD till you secure replacement then decide.
I'd personally keep it out of spite and because of age
This. There is no real objective upside to closing, you (eventually) lose the age, the remaining credit limit, and the possibility that sometime you will get an increase. It will maybe make you feel better for a bit ("Take that, BoA!" type stuff) but it won't hurt them at all, just get rid of an account they have concerns about.

So, as Remedios says, wait for a while, getting a replacement card (if needed) and decide later on. IMO, the above should still be true after the wait, and I would just sock drawer the card, but if the annoyance is still too great, then close!

I agree. You really gain nothing by closing it out of anger. Just throw it in the drawer for now until your emotions clear up and you get a replacement card.