topic Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits? in Credit Cards

Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

SecretAzure — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:01:23 GMT

Both my oldest credit card and my newest are Synchrony. My FICO scores are just above 800 accross the board. I have all my credit limits above $9K (and a couple at $20K on the high end) across 7 cards (except on my newest Marvel CC).

Last year, on my oldest CC Texaco Synchrony card, they reduced my CL to $2,500 for insufficient use. I was angry but did get them to bump it back to $10K which they stated was the limit for the account. In between last year and now, I ran a purchase of several hundred dollars through it to show use and PIF next bill. Now Synchrony has once again reduced my CL to around $2,500.

Before this latest reduction, I was approved for the Marvel Card in middle of last year. They approved me for a measly $2K SL. Smaller than the rest of my profile by a wide margin. I have since received 2 small CLI's, and it's now sitting at $3800, still very low.

Synchrony is not a prestigious lender, they accept most people without a second thought. Now both of my lowest limit cards are with them and it is frustrating. I see people on MyFico with 8+ cards with them at $10K limits. I have been with them for over 8 years.

Why do you think they are being so difficult with me?

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

simplynoir — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:17:49 GMT

I see it's been roughly 3-4 months since you've last been on the forums and lot has happened with Synchrony from CLDs and closures reported by various people due to the current financial environment. They're not just being difficult with you but everyone. The Synchrony you used to know in the past is gone and today they're not as generous as they once were

With that said I don't see why you need a higher limit on a gas card unless you're on the road all the time, similar with the Marvel card unless your restaurant and online expenses are numerous. The way I see it is Synchrony believes you can work with the limits they have provided and any more than that will sit unused. If you're attempting to use Sync to pad your utilization note that is probably not a good idea anymore with them if the credit will not be used

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

SouthJamaica — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:21:08 GMT

@SecretAzure wrote:
Both my oldest credit card and my newest are Synchrony. My FICO scores are just above 800 accross the board. I have all my credit limits above $9K (and a couple at $20K on the high end) across 7 cards (except on my newest Marvel CC).

Last year, on my oldest CC Texaco Synchrony card, they reduced my CL to $2,500 for insufficient use. I was angry but did get them to bump it back to $10K which they stated was the limit for the account. In between last year and now, I ran a purchase of several hundred dollars through it to show use and PIF next bill. Now Synchrony has once again reduced my CL to around $2,500.

Before this latest reduction, I was approved for the Marvel Card in middle of last year. They approved me for a measly $2K SL. Smaller than the rest of my profile by a wide margin. I have since received 2 small CLI's, and it's now sitting at $3800, still very low.

Synchrony is not a prestigious lender, they accept most people without a second thought. Now both of my lowest limit cards are with them and it is frustrating. I see people on MyFico with 8+ cards with them at $10K limits. I have been with them for over 8 years.

Why do you think they are being so difficult with me?

Synchrony is reported in the financial media to be experiencing financial difficulties due to the high level of defaults and anticipated defaults.

According to reports in this forum they have been engaged in a program of closing high limit accounts. Each time they close an account or lower a limit, they get to decrease their loan loss reserves, which makes their losses lower.

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

blindambition — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:27:24 GMT

Sorry about your Synch frustrations. Consider yourself lucky it was only CLD and not closure. Synch is closing accounts left and right. Managing risk in these unprecedented times.

The Marvel limit is a standard limit for that card. I'd honestly tell you to focus on other lenders. If you aren't growing, put energy elsewhere.

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

SecretAzure — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:29:31 GMT

Both your responses are enlightening. I guess offering credit to everyone with a 600 has come around and bit them in the butt. I don't really drive that much. I do make numerous purchases on the Marvel for dining as well as digital purchases (iTunes subscriptions and the like) but I guess they think what I have is probably enough for as little as I'm spending in these cats.

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

SecretAzure — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:33:00 GMT

@blindambition wrote:
Sorry about your Synch frustrations. Consider yourself lucky it was only CLD and not closure. Synch is closing accounts left and right. Managing risk in these unprecedented times.
The Marvel limit is a standard limit for that card. I'd honestly tell you to focus on other lenders. If you aren't growing, put energy elsewhere.

I appreciate your thoughts. I will just accept this as how things are for the moment. At this point, my focus is reaching 5 years of AAOA. I just hit 4 years because I slowly built my profile with 1/2 cards every year and a half or so.

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

Aim_High — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:53:36 GMT

@SecretAzure wrote:
@blindambition wrote:
Sorry about your Synch frustrations. Consider yourself lucky it was only CLD and not closure. Synch is closing accounts left and right. Managing risk in these unprecedented times.
The Marvel limit is a standard limit for that card. I'd honestly tell you to focus on other lenders. If you aren't growing, put energy elsewhere.
I appreciate your thoughts. I will just accept this as how things are for the moment. At this point, my focus is reaching 5 years of AAOA. I just hit 4 years because I slowly built my profile with 1/2 cards every year and a half or so.

If you do a search of the forums, you'll see a LOT of threads about this very topic with Synchrony over the past few months. Many many cases.

But something else is also very important to note if you haven't been on the forums: there are also numerous cases with many other lenders reported of closures or CLDs. There is also a higher incidence of new application denials, lower CLI's than recent past, and less tolerence for credit-seeking behavior. This is generally a good time to lay low and to make sure you're putting sufficient spend on all your cards if you want to keep them.

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

SouthJamaica — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:45:52 GMT

@SecretAzure wrote:
Both your responses are enlightening. I guess offering credit to everyone with a 600 has come around and bit them in the butt. I don't really drive that much. I do make numerous purchases on the Marvel for dining as well as digital purchases (iTunes subscriptions and the like) but I guess they think what I have is probably enough for as little as I'm spending in these cats.

Yes that Marvel card is a beauty. I really miss my Spiderman card.

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

SecretAzure — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:56:03 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
@SecretAzure wrote:
@blindambition wrote:
Sorry about your Synch frustrations. Consider yourself lucky it was only CLD and not closure. Synch is closing accounts left and right. Managing risk in these unprecedented times.
The Marvel limit is a standard limit for that card. I'd honestly tell you to focus on other lenders. If you aren't growing, put energy elsewhere.
I appreciate your thoughts. I will just accept this as how things are for the moment. At this point, my focus is reaching 5 years of AAOA. I just hit 4 years because I slowly built my profile with 1/2 cards every year and a half or so.
If you do a search of the forums, you'll see a LOT of threads about this very topic with Synchrony over the past few months. Many many cases.

But something else is also very important to note if you haven't been on the forums: there are also numerous cases with many other lenders reported of closures or CLDs. There is also a higher incidence of new application denials, lower CLI's that recent past, and less tolerence for credit-seeking behavior. This is generally a good time to lay low and to make sure you're putting sufficient spend on all your cards if you want to keep them.

Yeah, I just read the active thread regarding Amex. They are my second oldest card with my highest limit. Y'all have me paranoid now. I haven't used it in almost 6 months. I did get a nice letter from Barclays telling me they would close my account if I didn't use it soon so I immideately ran up some spend.

I typically use 2/3 cards regularly, my Chase Freedom Unlimited for daily, Marvel for digital/dining and semi-regularly Freedom for Category spend (depending on the category).

I will make sure to keep frequent spend across the board. For once, I envy my friend who has all his cards with 80%+ util paid with a minimum amount every month. /s

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

AverageJoesCredit — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:58:12 GMT

@SecretAzure wrote:
Both your responses are enlightening. I guess offering credit to everyone with a 600 has come around and bit them in the butt. I don't really drive that much. I do make numerous purchases on the Marvel for dining as well as digital purchases (iTunes subscriptions and the like) but I guess they think what I have is probably enough for as little as I'm spending in these cats.

Just want to add that even though it seems Synchrony gives out credit to anyone that isnt really true. Its very difficult to get a Sync card with 600 scores and when i was rebuilding , i was denied both Walmart and Sams with 670 scores. Sync is a very much ymmv lender and as @blindambition pointed out, 2k is standard sl, sometimes even more than usual, for their Marvel card.

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

Remedios — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 17:26:36 GMT

@SecretAzure wrote:
Both your responses are enlightening. I guess offering credit to everyone with a 600 has come around and bit them in the butt. I don't really drive that much. I do make numerous purchases on the Marvel for dining as well as digital purchases (iTunes subscriptions and the like) but I guess they think what I have is probably enough for as little as I'm spending in these cats.

Sorry about you Synchrony issues.

There are plenty of members here with scores in 600s.

Some are just starting out, some are deep into the rebuild, and they spend their time here helping others.

They do not deserve to be used as lowest common denominator or examples of who bit Synchrony in the butt.

If we are really addressing that, we should mention that using a lender for utilization padding is a form of butt biting.

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

CreditCrusader — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 17:53:15 GMT

@Remedios wrote:
@SecretAzure wrote:
Both your responses are enlightening. I guess offering credit to everyone with a 600 has come around and bit them in the butt. I don't really drive that much. I do make numerous purchases on the Marvel for dining as well as digital purchases (iTunes subscriptions and the like) but I guess they think what I have is probably enough for as little as I'm spending in these cats.
Sorry about you Synchrony issues.

There are plenty of members here with scores in 600s.
Some are just starting out, some are deep into the rebuild, and they spend their time here helping others.
They do not deserve to be used as lowest common denominator or examples of who bit Synchrony in the butt.

If we are really addressing that, we should mention that using a lender for utilization padding is a form of butt biting.

This...+1000

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

Iusedtolurk — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 19:55:09 GMT

@Remedios wrote:
@SecretAzure wrote:
Both your responses are enlightening. I guess offering credit to everyone with a 600 has come around and bit them in the butt. I don't really drive that much. I do make numerous purchases on the Marvel for dining as well as digital purchases (iTunes subscriptions and the like) but I guess they think what I have is probably enough for as little as I'm spending in these cats.
Sorry about you Synchrony issues.

There are plenty of members here with scores in 600s.
Some are just starting out, some are deep into the rebuild, and they spend their time here helping others.
They do not deserve to be used as lowest common denominator or examples of who bit Synchrony in the butt.

If we are really addressing that, we should mention that using a lender for utilization padding is a form of butt biting.

I wish my daughters credit was in the 600s. I told her yesterday to give me her Credit Karma login and went to check her credit (she just started caring about it (young 19) OMG not long ago my credit was abysmal averaging 500 hers are low 400s. We got work to do!

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

Aim_High — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 21:29:57 GMT

@Remedios wrote:
@SecretAzure wrote:
I guess offering credit to everyone with a 600 has come around and bit them in the butt. ... I guess they think what I have is probably enough for as little as I'm spending in these cats.
There are plenty of members here with scores in 600s. They do not deserve to be used as lowest common denominator or examples of who bit Synchrony in the butt.

If we are really addressing that, we should mention that using a lender for utilization padding is a form of butt biting.

I agree that "hating" on people with 600s (or less) is inappropriate here. We all are where we are at the moment, and it is what it is. My scores have been low, my scores have been high.

On the utilization topic, consumers didn't start that whole debacle. FICO and the lenders decided to use it as a major factor in scoring. Back in the earlier days of credit, I probably was penalized a lot more for it than I even knew, before more articles about credit scoring were written and before websites like My Fico or Credit Karma. "What do you mean you're penalizing me for daring to USE the credit limit you gave me!?!"

Not to mention that our needs may vary over time, so what exactly defines excessive utilization anyway? What I need today may not be what I need tomorrow. And if I start to be penalized for carrying more than 8.9% utilization per card, why wouldn't I want that padding to protect my credit score? That number is ridiculously low and may have little bearing on whether someone is becoming a higher risk. Knowing how utilzation is scored makes me know that I can never actually USE more than 10% of my credit limits, so I need them 10x higher than spend to be useful.

If lenders want to stop excessive utilization padding, they should encourage FICO to reduce the penalties for using the credit lines we were approved to use. And they should seek out more industry standardization among themselves about what an appropriate credit limit is for a given consumer profile. Something is wrong when the same profile gets SL approvals that vary by 10's of thousands of dollars, depending on the lender.

Until the industry cleans up the mess they made over utilization, I feel absolutely no remorse in adding whatever excess utilization that lenders will approve. Besides, if they approve it, is it really "excess"? Apparently they don't think so.

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

JR_TX — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 22:53:31 GMT

@SecretAzure Sorry to hear about your Sync misfortune.

One thing I've learned since joining this forum is that the credit game is a whole lot of AI causing YMMV!
Scores don't matter as much as we're lead to believe as far as being the be all and end all of this crazy roller coaster of the credit ride. Someone with a 650 can be luckier than me as much as me being luckier than someone with an 800.
Just the nature of this game.
Sometimes there really just is no answer for every question.
F this Pandemic that much I can say!!!!!

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

KLEXH25 — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 00:34:53 GMT

@SecretAzure wrote:

Yeah, I just read the active thread regarding Amex. They are my second oldest card with my highest limit. Y'all have me paranoid now. I haven't used it in almost 6 months. I did get a nice letter from Barclays telling me they would close my account if I didn't use it soon so I immideately ran up some spend.

I typically use 2/3 cards regularly, my Chase Freedom Unlimited for daily, Marvel for digital/dining and semi-regularly Freedom for Category spend (depending on the category).

I will make sure to keep frequent spend across the board. For once, I envy my friend who has all his cards with 80%+ util paid with a minimum amount every month.

Wait. What? No!! That is not a position anyone wants to be in, if they can help it, and certainly not one to envy. Your friend is at huge risk to be balance chased and/or have cards closed.

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

MacCreed — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 04:00:51 GMT

Surprise! Bottom feeder Synch disappoints again!

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

AverageJoesCredit — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 12:42:40 GMT

@MacCreed wrote:
Surprise! Bottom feeder Synch disappoints again!

Why are they bottom feeders? Nobody complains about getting 5% discount off Amazon or when they receive 2, 4, 6k increases or achieve 10k plus limits. What they are doing is wrong imo, could be done better, but in no way are they bottom feeder. Thats kind of a disservice to those who use their Sync cards responsibly and Synchrony has helped many build up their profile where many others may not have.

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 12:51:42 GMT

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
@MacCreed wrote:
Surprise! Bottom feeder Synch disappoints again!
Why are they bottom feeders? Nobody complains about getting 5% discount off Amazon or when they receive 2, 4, 6k increases or achieve 10k plus limits. What they are doing is wrong imo, could be done better, but in no way are they bottom feeder. Thats kind of a disservice to those who use their Sync cards responsibly and Synchrony has helped many build up their profile where many others may not have.

You're comparing apples to oranges. Sync is certainly not at the top of the list of respectable lenders. Just because people, that have stronger credit profiles, have their cards doesn't mean they are respectable. They handle business in an awful way.

Re: Why is Synchrony so Difficult with Credit Limits?

CreditCrusader — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 13:06:50 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
@MacCreed wrote:
Surprise! Bottom feeder Synch disappoints again!
Why are they bottom feeders? Nobody complains about getting 5% discount off Amazon or when they receive 2, 4, 6k increases or achieve 10k plus limits. What they are doing is wrong imo, could be done better, but in no way are they bottom feeder. Thats kind of a disservice to those who use their Sync cards responsibly and Synchrony has helped many build up their profile where many others may not have.
You're comparing apples to oranges. Sync is certainly not at the top of the list of respectable lenders. Just because people, that have stronger credit profiles, have their cards doesn't mean they are respectable. They handle business in an awful way.

In fairness, neither are any store card providers in recent memory (not the co-branded cards, just simple store cards).

Think back to GE Capital and now to Comenity, Sync and Cap1. They are more or less required to market and approve credit products to folks with scores in the 600 range in order to produce profits because those stores cannot stay solvent without those 600-699 FICO folks buying with credit. Regardless of the circumstances that landed folks in the 600s, they are statistically deemed a higher credit risk to store card lenders.

Now, this is the bed these store card lenders have made for themselves, so let's not shed any tears for their plight in credit life. I personally think these lenders handing out large lines to prime borrowers who only marginally use them is GOOD for their business. Virtually no one with a $25,000 credit line will use anything close to that amount, but the cards are being used nonetheless and stores are benefitting from that business. Sure, those large lines represent potential losses, but how often will someone with 750-850 FICO scores roll up large balances and walk away from them?

Nevertheless, they givith and can taketh away at their whim. Folks who use store cards to mask their true usage are always rolling the dice, as we have seen time and again since the pandemic took hold.