@DaveInAZ wrote:Everytime I see one of these Baraclays CLD posts I head off to Barclays and check - nope, everything still fine there.
I know Barclays is well known for their CLD actions - credit limit decrease, credit limit decrease balance chasing (lowering CL as you pay down the balance), and other nefarious actions. And we know the more common reasons - opening too many new accounts after approval, and inactivity.
But I have to say Barclays has been stellar for me. I accepted a mailer pre-approval for Rewards MC in April 2012, my 2nd CC after the Jan. 2011 discharge of my BK7, CL was $3k. My 2nd Barclays card was an NFL card in March 2015, CL of $5k, so $8k combined. Today my CL between Rewards MC & Uber is double that, $16,200, all auto CLIs except for a $2500 SL for Cash Forward. And I've done 3 PCs, "PC" the Barclays way - app & get approved for the new card you want and then call and move the CL from the old card you no longer want to the new one and close the old one.
I got he NFL card solely for the SUB and 15 month 0% BT, I used the BT to payoff a Prosper loan, saving hundreds in interest. Once the BT was paid off I app'd & was approved for Cash Forward and called & moved the CL from NFL to it & closed NFL. Cash Forward really is a lousy CC, only 1.5% rewards and a ridiculous $50 minimum to redeem rewards. So this spring I app'd for Uber. I got the "we need more time" message so I quickly called in to their excellent Credit Analyst team. The rep approved Uber, but only if I closed Cash Forward and moved the CL to Uber. Fine, that's exactly what I wanted, and I got the SUB for Uber, as I did for Cash Forward.
My Rewards MC, 6 1/2 years old, is almost a daily driver as it's a 2% rewards card for me. It gives 2% for gas, groceries & utilities so I use it to pay my electric bill and since Barclays is very "loose" on grocery coding it gives me 2% at my local Family Dollar & Walmart. Uber just gets the 4% dining. I tried it for 2% on PayPal but that's hit or miss and I have the PayPal 2% Cashback MC (and PP Credit for $99+ purchases), so why risk a miss?
Sorry for those who get hit with Barclays CLD, but they've been great for me. Maybe it's the luck of (my 50%) Irish?
I'll echo Dave's satisfaction with Barclay. As I was working through a rebuild / refi in 2017, Barclay's denied me a Ring that September (720 TU). Three months later, as the refi helped balance the ship, Barclay issued a Ring after a recon call (786 TU), with a $14K line, 5K of which I used for a 0/0 BT. I diligently and consistently paid down the transfer throughout 2018, and with about 1K owed in October, I applied for the UV, which Barclay issued with a 12K line. All good. For my overall spend, the UV is possibly the best cashback card available.
I've since paid off the Ring and requested a transfer of most of its credit line to the UV. That was effortless -- made the call riding home on the bus after work -- and took perhaps 3 minutes.
Net net: I'm delighted with Barclay. And tho' the UV lacks decent real-time transaction alerts, I can use Visa Purchase Alerts.
