Let’s just get this out of the way: I’m stupid. Yup, we’re clear on that.
I’ve had a PayPal Mastercard for ages—started back in the SmartConnect days, maybe around 2010. Over the years, the credit limit crept up to $30k and held steady there for a long while.
Well, this month’s statement brought a surprise: the limit got chopped down to $1,500. (Not even a fun number like $1,524—just $1,500 flat.) I haven’t received the official letter yet, but I called 877-379-8173 to ask for reinstatement. I got shot down instantly—as opposed to the normal "please hold" for 10 minutes while it is manually reviewed. I left a voicemail for a supervisor on Sunday. Still waiting on that callback (shockingly, I know).
I received a digital letter about the cli request (funny how they send that one digitally) which cited the only reason as "inactivity". Sure enough, it had been exactly 12 months since I used the card. Yep... I know.
Since then, I tossed a charge on the card—needed to top off a prepaid account anyway. But now that I’ve only got $1,500 to work with, I’m actually paying attention. A $100 charge is already nearly 7% utilization, which makes me twitch.
Credit has been the same. Scores over 790. My only Auto loan paid off in March. 5 New accounts in last 12 months, all around June-Aug 2024, except Care Credit in March @ $20k. No large CC Balances. Sync has never CLD me in the past, always been paid early, and we generally just left each other alone.
My problem seems to be purely inactivity. So, my questions:
1) Do I need to wait before calling again?
2) Did I even call the right number for a real human review? Did not feel like it
3) Is there a known path to restoring limits after inactivity drops?
I searched but most data points were around xx24, super old, or did not provide a decent resolution.
Looks like you got more than enough credit without that big CL on Paypal CC that you never use. Probably won't mean a thing, the CLD. Did you a favor for sock drawering the card and forget about it. Myself, I would have never allowed Synch to take my CL higher from day 1, reduce it if necessary to my needs.
Citi:
US Bank:
Chase:
Aven:
RH:
In fairness, I used the card a way more in the past. I did a lot of ebaying, just not as much now.
@RootDet wrote:In fairness, I used the card a way more in the past. I did a lot of ebaying, just not as much now.
I hear ya. Today there are better cards with rewards bigger than paypal MC, as I'm sure you are aware thus the lack of use anymore.
@RootDet wrote:Let’s just get this out of the way: I’m stupid. Yup, we’re clear on that.
I’ve had a PayPal Mastercard for ages—started back in the SmartConnect days, maybe around 2010. Over the years, the credit limit crept up to $30k and held steady there for a long while.
Well, this month’s statement brought a surprise: the limit got chopped down to $1,500. (Not even a fun number like $1,524—just $1,500 flat.) I haven’t received the official letter yet, but I called 877-379-8173 to ask for reinstatement. I got shot down instantly—as opposed to the normal "please hold" for 10 minutes while it is manually reviewed. I left a voicemail for a supervisor on Sunday. Still waiting on that callback (shockingly, I know).
I received a digital letter about the cli request (funny how they send that one digitally) which cited the only reason as "inactivity". Sure enough, it had been exactly 12 months since I used the card. Yep... I know.
Since then, I tossed a charge on the card—needed to top off a prepaid account anyway. But now that I’ve only got $1,500 to work with, I’m actually paying attention. A $100 charge is already nearly 7% utilization, which makes me twitch.
Credit has been the same. Scores over 790. My only Auto loan paid off in March. 5 New accounts in last 12 months, all around June-Aug 2024, except Care Credit in March @ $20k. No large CC Balances. Sync has never CLD me in the past, always been paid early, and we generally just left each other alone.
My problem seems to be purely inactivity. So, my questions:
1) Do I need to wait before calling again?
2) Did I even call the right number for a real human review? Did not feel like it
3) Is there a known path to restoring limits after inactivity drops?
I searched but most data points were around xx24, super old, or did not provide a decent resolution.
Sorry to hear about the CLD, those always suck. 
Who did you call to request the CLI? If you called regular customer service they might be limited in what they can do.
It's been a while since I've seen much discussion on it, but you might give Credit Solutions a call... back in the day they were the ones with the power to give generous CLIs. There's an 'overseas' number that was especially easy to do business with (that's the one I called a couple of times). I'll add that it's odd for you to get a CLD with a new credit line that doesn't end in '24' so things may have changed, but it still might be worth a try.
Note that the process used to be they'd do a soft pull while you were on hold, and this required TU to be unlocked.
The number i called -- "Synchrony Credit Solutions: 877-379-8173 (Overseas)". But like I said was not the experience I got. I had TU unlocked being prepared for that.