BOA HUGE CLD 👎 Keep open or close?

[Uncle_Money]

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

[Remedios]

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

[steelers1]

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.

[Uncle_Money]

@remedios - Thank you.

[Uncle_Money]

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

[Remedios]

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

[steelers1]

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@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.

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

Use them to benefit you!

[kilroy8]

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.

[Remedios]

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.

[Uncle_Money]

@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.