Synchrony/Lowe's Card Warning!

[signaturecardmember]

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@Anonymous wrote:

OP, don’t let the masses get you down.  We all have our own strategies for managing our credit and utilization.  Nobody here knows your history with that card or intentions.  I for one would love to know how long you went without using the card before they closed it.

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Thank you everyone and glad I am helping some, and others said points in a perfectly respectful way so no problem hearing/addressing them. That is why we are all here.

To answer some questions and address some points:

1) the card was about 4 years old

2) I would say I had not used the card in about 2 years

3) When the CLD happened I called to find out why and they told me it was to not using it but not closing it. They offered to immediately restore my previous CL no problem. As I did not need it at the time I told them not to worry about raising it back up.

4)The card had maybe several hundred dollars max run though it.

5)Credit card companies extend credit to people all the time who dont use any where near the limit, even if I had used the limit I PIF or 0% so I would have been just as (un)profitable to them

6)Some people here close cards they dont use, others keep them open...I think its obvious which side I go for lol no right or wrong answer here for the most part

7)This is my only Synchrony card

8)Its pretty obvious to all why the card was closed, however it is very disappointing no warning was given.

9)I agree they could be cleaning up as the prime rate is changing and debt is on the rise overall

10)they did offer to re-instate my account but it would show as a new account, I am using my 5/24 spots for much more valuable cards so graciously declined.

11)I do still think this was a great card for the purpose it served me and lots of others on these forums, just make sure you use it a little more then I did

Hope this helps clarify some points!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for circling back and providing that response above.  2 years of inactivity is quite a while on a revolver.  With most lenders it's recommended to put a transaction through a card at least once every 6 months, as many are known to start pulling the plug around that time or at the 1 year mark.  I'd say you got away with about twice that, which isn't all that bad.

I agree that it sucks having an account closed without warning, but in this case it wouldn't have really made a difference, would it?  Had they sent you a letter stating that they were going to close your account for non-use, would you have used it?  If you would have, from the lender perspective you can see why they don't give any warning, as your only reason for using it would have been to attempt to keep it alive.  That doesn't benefit the lender in any way.

[Anonymous]

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@signaturecardmember wrote:

5)Credit card companies extend credit to people all the time who dont use any where near the limit, even if I had used the limit I PIF or 0% so I would have been just as (un)profitable to them

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Using the card generates money for the issuer via swipe fees, they don't need to rely on interest payments.    And yes, companies do do this often, and they also often do CLDs or closure when they think their risk level is too high.

In the last three months I have had two cards closed, without warning, for non-use.   I guess from the issuers view, you are not using the card, so why should I waste more money on a process to warn!

[Anonymous]

Timely warning. I BT'ed my older Discover IT to a lower-interest card last week and had been planning to SD it completely until my newer Discover ages to 1 year next spring and I can combine the two, but I see it may be better to put small purchases on the older Discover every so often to keep it active until it's combo time. Same thing for Overstock.

[UpperNwGuy]

Never expect a bank to be sympathetic with your desire to hang on to their credit card without using it.  Banks don't share your concerns about padding utilization or about keeping your AAoA high.  Why should they?

[Anonymous]

I’ve always known card issuers don’t give out cards to serve a purpose other than for us to buy and pay it back under terms. And I know dormant accounts are closed and should be as a matter of good business practice. This post has me rethinking the use of my dormant accounts and waking them up - especially if I want to keep them.

[Anonymous]

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@signaturecardmember wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

OP, don’t let the masses get you down.  We all have our own strategies for managing our credit and utilization.  Nobody here knows your history with that card or intentions.  I for one would love to know how long you went without using the card before they closed it.

---

Thank you everyone and glad I am helping some, and others said points in a perfectly respectful way so no problem hearing/addressing them. That is why we are all here.

To answer some questions and address some points:

1) the card was about 4 years old

2) I would say I had not used the card in about 2 years This is a common issue, even if you put $30 it "reactivates" the timeframe

3) When the CLD happened I called to find out why and they told me it was to not using it but not closing it. They offered to immediately restore my previous CL no problem. As I did not need it at the time I told them not to worry about raising it back up. It seems that they were willing to work with you and you declined

4)The card had maybe several hundred dollars max run though it.

5)Credit card companies extend credit to people all the time who dont use any where near the limit, even if I had used the limit I PIF or 0% so I would have been just as (un)profitable to them Not so, they just want to see some activity

6)Some people here close cards they dont use, others keep them open...I think its obvious which side I go for lol no right or wrong answer here for the most part

7)This is my only Synchrony card

8)Its pretty obvious to all why the card was closed, however it is very disappointing no warning was given. They did when you called them after the CLD, they just didn't spell it out for you

9)I agree they could be cleaning up as the prime rate is changing and debt is on the rise overall

10)they did offer to re-instate my account but it would show as a new account, I am using my 5/24 spots for much more valuable cards so graciously declined.

11)I do still think this was a great card for the purpose it served me and lots of others on these forums, just make sure you use it a little more then I did

Hope this helps clarify some points!

Sometimes we get so offended when CCCs do this, but honestly we have to look in the mirror and ask ourselves "did I do this to myself?"

Thank you for giving us the background, so many times folks don't share.  I can only recommend put a couple of dollars on the cards that are "sock drawer" every 6-12 mos to avoid AA or closing for non-use.  Because it can throw off you UTI overall when they get closed and your available credit drops.  Most have CCs used strictly for that "padding" and it feels so personal when it goes away because it can hurt us across our credit journey/life but to the CCCs it's not .. to them it's just business.  If you take pride out of the equation and look at things in a non personal way, it helps.

** edited for highlights

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[Anonymous]

Reason #2432 to keep a spreadsheet on your accounts.

Know when they need proper use to avoid closure.

my spreadsheet is not that complex, however it is relevant columns on a few things.

This is only 2 of the 10 or so columns...

penfed 8/18 total spend 28

td 8/18 total spend 450

boa 8/18 total spend 505

nfcu 7/18 $970 need $30

td 7/18 ??445+brc$61??

chase 4/18

boa 6/17 NEED TO USE 1

synch 6/18

chase 8/18

amex 2/18 NEED TO USE 3

wf 7/18

pnc 6/18

synch 5/18

citi 5/18

synch 7/18

comenity 12/17 NEED TO USE 2

cap1 6/18

synch 6/18

citi 7/18

chase 8/18

disc 7/18

formatting did not post properly,

however first is bank issued, then month/year of last use,

then top 1-3 that I need to use and also

if a new card that has a sub that needs to be met.

as you can see the BoA needs use, however I opened it with a BT and just paid it off a few days ago.

So it may not be considered for non-use but still "need to use 1" on my list next is my commenity at last dec.

that is my toyota visa which will get hit up soon for both of our yearly car insp and oil changes.

Hope this helps someone.

[Anonymous]

Great idea - in fact I just made up a simple spreadsheet of my own.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Reason #2432 to keep a spreadsheet on your accounts.

Know when they need proper use to avoid closure.

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Or, simply keep only cards that you use, and if they close, well, you didn't need them!

Also, as the Cap One CLD showed recently, trivial "keep alive" purchases don't always do the trick.   For at least some significant CLs, cap one wanted real use, i.e. a significant portion of the CL being used.   And that makes so much sense, other issuers might do the same at some point.