An entirely different Synchrony scenario

[Anonymous]

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.

[AverageJoesCredit]

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

[UncleB]

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@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.

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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. 

[ddemari]

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.

[wasCB14]

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?

[Anonymous]

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@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. 

[Anonymous]

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".

[RonM21]

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.

[grillandwinemaster]

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."

[Anonymous]

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@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."

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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.