Lengthiest/Strangest evolution of a credit card in your portfolio.

[AlpedHuez]

What is the lengthiest/strangest evolution of a particular card in your portfolio? Could be through bank acquisition, discontinued product, voluntary product change, etc.

Mine is:

Charles Schwab Invest First Visa (old 2% CB, RIP - miss you) --> BoA Cash Rewards (Schwab portfolio acquired by FIA Card Services,  conversion due to discontinuation of Schwab Visa) --> BoA Travel Rewards (voluntary PC, no idea why I did this b/c reward structure was not useful to me) --> BoA BBR (voluntary PC, current status)

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

I think @UncleB has the best story about his cap1 card.

[M_Smart007]

@Anonymous, Probably has a good story or two

[PullingMeSoftly]

1998 started with a Providian Financial Visa

2005 Providian bought by Washington Mutual, my Visa became a WaMu card

2008 When the market collapsed, WaMu went under and was absorbed by JP Morgan, so my WaMu became a Chase card (don't remember what product).

After sockdrawing this card with zero usage for about 8 years, at some point Chase turned the card into a Slate.

2019 Product changed the Slate --> Freedom, which I now use regularly in my deck. This thing's been around the block.

[UpperNwGuy]

My oldest active credit card started out as a generic NFCU Visa in 1987.  In 2001 or 2002, NFCU product changed it to an nRewards Visa without consulting me.  In 2015, I asked NFCU to product change it to a GoRewards Visa.  Now I'm about to ask NFCU to product change it to a More Rewards Amex.

[NRB525]

I also have a Providian --> WaMu --> Chase card. Had a $3,500 limit when they converted it to a Freedom. Carrying a balance on it at conversion. With other AA at Chase, they CLD'd it twice, to $1,500 but didn't close or rate jack it except an alignment to advertised rates. They did balance chasing, rate jacking and outright closure of two or three other cards acquired by Chase. 

I finally realized I was getting the 10 UR per swipe, extra 10% UR and other incentives so used the card heavily for any category spend or small dollar items, PIF. I ended up getting the 10 UR per swipe for something like two years after it was generally announced as nerfed away. Built up a lot of points on that $1,500 CL Freedom card. 

They gave me an auto CLI to $3,000 in Sept 2018, then another auto CLI to $4,900 in June 2019. I kind of miss the symbolism of the $1,500 CL

[Remedios]

I'm in Providian/WaMu/Chase club also.

Providian and WaMu were fun. I had strings of lates because I couldn't remember to buy stamps or mail checks , but they weren't too bothered. 

I might have spent a fortune on late fees (oh to be that young and dumb again). 

It was closed around 2009 for no use, or at least that's what the letter said. I didnt care, because I wasnt using it. 

[K-in-Boston]

I also had a Providian to WaMu to Chase card; Chase immediately closed the card for inactivity.  Should be falling off of my reports any day now.

As for evolution, my Target card probably takes the cake.  TD Bank is the 4th lender to have the account since I opened it in 2002.  Started as a $1200 store card, changed lenders, changed lenders again around 2005 and got converted to a Visa and they strangely gave me a CLD to $800, where it sat for years and changed lenders yet again. TD changed it from Visa to MasterCard and finally started giving me auto CLIs every June and December starting in 2016 until it got to $10,300 and I didn't get one in December 2019.  Maybe next month?

The other weird one is Fingerhut.  Someone talked me into using them for a $100 purchase in the mid 90s.  Paid it and closed the account.  They changed lenders in January 2003 and decided to start reporting my account on Experian (and only Experian) as open with a date of January 2003 when they did the switch.  The original account fell off all 3 CRAs many years ago, but I still have that one transferred account showing closed by lender in September 2013 on Experian.  Guess it will finally fall off for good in 3 years. And might be a datapoint for Fingerhut that they won't close an account until the account has gone more than 10 years with no activity, or about 20 years with no use.  😂 

[91173]

I have a Synchrony BP Visa that started off in the late 80s or early 90s as an Amoco gas station card. At some point they converted it to a Visa, then BP bought out Amoco. It's been thru several banks over the years -- First Union or First USA, I don't recall which, Chase starting back 15+ years ago, eventually Synchrony.

For several years it was one of the best rewards cards going and most websites listed it as one of the top ones. Now it's not worth much, but I keep it around for age.

[DaveInAZ]

I had a Providian Visa, remember the name but I must have closed it before WaMu acquired them as I don't remember ever having anything with WaMu. As I remember Providian had a really high interest rate, probably why I closed it.

I lived in Honolulu 1992-1999 working in hotel management. I got a Bank of Hawaii Visa card in 1993. At some point, probably 1997-98 ,they converted it to a Bank of Hawaii issued Amex, it was really handy to use at Costco. My employer transferred me to Las Vegas in 1999 and I closed my BoH bank accounts and switched to Wells Fargo (bad move!) so BoH sold my Amex account to Bank America. At some point BoA converted it to Cash Rewards Visa, it still lives in my wallet.