The CC companies are confusing me. Give me credit then take it away?

[Anonymous]

Pizza- I still don't understand. What are you talking about that they give you credit and take it away? Please explain-  cuz I do like you do- make minimum on auto pay, then get back and pay some more- and third to PIF most of the time. Although after I read they like to see some balance no matter how minimal- I have been leaving single digit balances. Literally like 5 dollars. 7 dollars. etc.

[Anonymous]

It's like this. They give you a credit line of lets say for example $2,500. Then they increase your CL to $5,000 and send you an offer for 0% apr for 6 or 12 months to help you use your new higher credit line. Ok. So I use all of it. Max out the card. It's 0% so I can always apply it to other higher interest balances. Because it is 0% I don't want to pay back any more than I need to. So each month I make the minimum payment so I can apply money to other needs. Finally when the 0% apr is over it goes up to 24% apr I PIF the card since it is now my highest interest payment. As soon as I PIF my credit line gets dropped to $100. $2,400 lower than I began with before the CLI. I don't see what I had done to trigger this. All other cc accounts are also paid to $0 bal. Yet, they still took almost everything away. I called and got it back after a "extensive F/R".

[Anonymous]

---

ilovepizza wrote:
It's like this. They give you a credit line of lets say for example $2,500. Then they increase your CL to $5,000 and send you an offer for 0% apr for 6 or 12 months to help you use your new higher credit line. Ok. So I use all of it. Max out the card. It's 0% so I can always apply it to other higher interest balances. Because it is 0% I don't want to pay back any more than I need to. So each month I make the minimum payment so I can apply money to other needs. Finally when the 0% apr is over it goes up to 24% apr I PIF the card since it is now my highest interest payment. As soon as I PIF my credit line gets dropped to $100. $2,400 lower than I began with before the CLI. I don't see what I had done to trigger this. All other cc accounts are also paid to $0 bal. Yet, they still took almost everything away. I called and got it back after a "extensive F/R".

---

Whoa! Wow oh wow, I have NEVER heard of this. Do you think it was cuz you maxed out the card? I am wondering...however, we all know the CC cos. love it if you max out the card...this is too wierd- has this happened to anybody else?

I haven't maxed out a card yet, I am keeping all balances from 1 to 9 percent after I read what maxing out cards could do to your score, but still I have NEVER heard of this- can anyone help explain why they did this to Pizza?

What other cards have done this? Information please...TIA.

[Anonymous]

Even though a credit card company GIVES you a certain limit,they never expect you to USE it.  Sounds stupid I know. Minimum paymnets are a signal to a card company that you cannot handle the limit.  I always say NEVER pay the minimum and never use ANY card above about 50 max 70% of the limit. If you DO use that much, make absolutely sure you're making probably double the min payment. I also have 0% til march used it to just below the 50% mark and will pay about 100.00/mo as opposed to the min 23.00 they bill me for.

Trust that I understand pizza. I got ratejcked for the same reason on a card. Never happen again.  I was asking the same questions you are. NEVER over the limit NEVER made min payments. Now I understand the credit game a little more, I realze its like chess.

[andyaycw]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:
They are losing $ on your business.

Plain and simple. Do you think for 1 minute they do not know how much $ they make off of you????

---

Not sure I understand this post. But I'd think I am less profitable because I am responsible. It's probably just a number of back to back minimum payments followed by a large payment after being maxed out that triggers the decrease. I will just always pay more then minimum on going and hope that removes me from the triggers.

I got to tell you a story which seems to fit. I once got pulled over by a police officer because I was driving the speed limit. I said, officer is there a problem? Officer's response, whats going on. I said, driving home from work. Officer's response, why are you driving so slowly? I said, I thought the speed limit was 30 mph. Officer's response, yes..... (Jumping to the end of the conversation), I wanted an explanation for this traffic stop. Officer's response, you looked suspicious because you were the only person on this road driving the posted speed limit.

My point in this story is maybe my credit actions are making me stand out and it looks like trouble because I am following the rules. I actually call my lenders now from time to now just let them know everything is ok, do they have any questions for me, ect. I am annoyed with these triggers. I should not have to do this to keep my credit. The lenders must be really getting burned by people these days. It was never a problem before the housing bubble broke.

What's next? Are my lenders going to call me because I have only made 30 payments on a 60 month installment loan? I can see it. We understand that we agreed you could make 60 installment payments but we expected you to pay off early. We have to deny you from further installments with our bank because there are too many installment payments. I'm being silly. But I am following the rules. If they give me 12 months at 0% apr, I'm only going to make minimum payments only until the 0% apr offer expires. I don't see why I stand out?

Why would lenders let us carry balances if they don't want us to carry them? I'm always going to pay them back. I can see if my int was at 25% and I looked desperate, but not on 0% apr offer.

---

I don't understand. Are you saying that you PIF and make double payments like I do and they LOWER your limit? Please explain...

PS- DH is a cop- and yes, that cop sounds like a jerk- but question- was it late at night when you were driving exactly the speed limit? Reason I ask is that drunk drivers will drive EXACTLY the speed limit and for some reason that is a clue- they set cruise control for example exactly at 35...another thing they will do is brace their arm through the steering wheel and for some reason there is no normal slight veering... just wondering if it was at night that this happened...again, not saying that this one wasn't a jerk... cuz it is very rare that they do this- they do it only when they suspect drunk driving or drug smuggling on an open highway- 2nd question was it on a highway even though it had a low limit area? Not meaning to threadjack- just wondering.

---

So even though, technically, it is illegal to drive even 1mph over the posted speed limit, and a cop can give you a ticket for going over the speed limit, they still expect people to drive over the speed limit?

This confuses me - I know that 15mph over the speed limit is obviously grounds for a ticket, and that 5mph is fine, and even driving with the flow of traffic is fine...but what if you're the only car on the road!?

I always get paranoid about getting a ticket so I never go more than 7mph over the posted limit

[Anonymous]

---

andyaycw wrote:

So even though, technically, it is illegal to drive even 1mph over the posted speed limit, and a cop can give you a ticket for going over the speed limit, they still expect people to drive over the speed limit?

This confuses me - I know that 15mph over the speed limit is obviously grounds for a ticket, and that 5mph is fine, and even driving with the flow of traffic is fine...but what if you're the only car on the road!?

I always get paranoid about getting a ticket so I never go more than 7mph over the posted limit

---

depends on a lot of things. what area you're in, what time is it, have there been issues (break ins, vanadlism, thefts, drug activity, etc.). in another life (not to feed spec's jason bourne theory) once i was certified in radar i NEVER even stopped a car unless they were doing 15 over, except in school zones (most others cops had a lower action level, so don't think 15 over is always ok). that usually got you a ticket though (double the speed limit and i made it a mandatory court appearnce). my logic was at 15 over you were either meaning to spped or had your head so far up your but you were a hazard.

[Anonymous]

---

@andyaycw wrote:
So even though, technically, it is illegal to drive even 1mph over the posted speed limit, and a cop can give you a ticket for going over the speed limit, they still expect people to drive over the speed limit?

This confuses me - I know that 15mph over the speed limit is obviously grounds for a ticket, and that 5mph is fine, and even driving with the flow of traffic is fine...but what if you're the only car on the road!?

I always get paranoid about getting a ticket so I never go more than 7mph over the posted limit

---

Nope, didn't get a ticket. The police officer said I just looked suspicious because I was not going with normal traffic. It was very late at night too for the person that asked earlier.

[Anonymous]

 

Nope, didn't get a ticket. The police officer said I just looked suspicious because I was not going with normal traffic. It was very late at night too for the person that asked earlier.

---

I almost knew that you were going to say it was very late at night. Like I said, DH is a police officer, and at nighttime they step up the traffic stops kind of due to this motto- the only people out late at night are the ones getting into trouble! LOL- I know you didn't find it funny but actually what the copper was screening for was DUI's and drug trafficking. It also depends on your area-- like if you are downtown Chicago- of course they don't do it cuz traffic runs down Michigan ave all night long- although it does slow quite a bit in the wee hours  of the morning. However, where I live which is considered rural- 35 mins away from a metro area- late at night truly are the party people and people coming and leaving bars, and generally those looking for trouble. There is a HUGE

[Anonymous]

Whoops- cut off the reply. There is a huge difference in the traffic flow during the day vs. the night- and like I mentioned earlier for some reason drunk drivers will set their cruise control EXACTLY on the speed limit and brace their arm- and it is hard for a normal person to drive exactly the speed limit for quite a while- there is always a couple miles up and a couple miles down in normal driving.

That said- I hope it makes you feel better that he was screening for either DUI or drugs. He just didn't tell you that because you obviously weren't drunk and he didn't suspect you of drugs.

LOL!!!!! Pizza is a troublemaker!!! LOL!!!

[Anonymous]

Actually, my in-laws had 2 credit cards closed by the CCCs because they always paid in full every month.  They told them they were losing money on them. 

Is this even legal... seriously?