Variations in Synchrony Bank Credit Accounts

Anonymous · ‎01-28-2018

Hi All,

I need an education on banks that offer a variety of store accounts. I have 3 Synchrony store accounts (Amazon, Old Navy and Walmart). The Amazon and Old Navy accounts were approved on the same day. (I got an HP for Amazon and two hours later on Old Navy, a pre-approved SP pop-up. The Amazon HP probably opened the Synchrony door for me?)

I am working on my spread sheets and budget today and noticed that these three accounts have 3 completely end-of-statement dates and due dates, even though two accounts were opened on the same day. I'm new to Synchrony. Even though Synchrony Bank provides the credit for all 3 accounts, are they serviced by different entities? How closely are they connected? I will probably use the both Amazon and Walmart monthly and PIF. I might use Old Navy 1x year. I've read in the forums that Synchrony is notorious for closing all accounts unexpectedly.

I guess I could ask the same for Comenity Bank. I have 6 accounts. Three I use regularly and have had for a couple of years. The other three I took as a SP only because I was trying to boost my overall available credit as part of a rebuilding strategy. I will rarely, if ever, use these three accounts. They all have different end of statement and due dates, like Synchrony, and seem to have seperate servicing entities. I don't want these unused accounts to effect the accounts that I really want and use a lot.

How closely do the bank and retailer work together? Any ideas on what triggers these closures? Would I be better off trimming the 'dead wood?' They all have good CL's that serve to keep my util% very low, but I don't want to endanger the great credit accounts that I have with

these two banks with these unused accounts.

pizza1 · ‎01-28-2018

wrote:
Hi All,

I need an education on banks that offer a variety of store accounts. I have 3 Synchrony store accounts (Amazon, Old Navy and Walmart). The Amazon and Old Navy accounts were approved on the same day. (I got an HP for Amazon and two hours later on Old Navy, a pre-approved SP pop-up. The Amazon HP probably opened the Synchrony door for me?)

I am working on my spread sheets and budget today and noticed that these three accounts have 3 completely end-of-statement dates and due dates, even though two accounts were opened on the same day. I'm new to Synchrony. Even though Synchrony Bank provides the credit for all 3 accounts, are they serviced by different entities? How closely are they connected? I will probably use the both Amazon and Walmart monthly and PIF. I might use Old Navy 1x year. I've read in the forums that Synchrony is notorious for closing all accounts unexpectedly.

I guess I could ask the same for Comenity Bank. I have 6 accounts. Three I use regularly and have had for a couple of years. The other three I took as a SP only because I was trying to boost my overall available credit as part of a rebuilding strategy. I will rarely, if ever, use these three accounts. They all have different end of statement and due dates, like Synchrony, and seem to have seperate servicing entities. I don't want these unused accounts to effect the accounts that I really want and use a lot.

How closely do the bank and retailer work together? Any ideas on what triggers these closures? Would I be better off trimming the 'dead wood?' They all have good CL's that serve to keep my util% very low, but I don't want to endanger the great credit accounts that I have with
these two banks with these unused accounts.

Synch and Comenity/Comenity Captial provide the financing for your store cards, and you can call in and ask that your "due"date" be changed if it helps you out, it states that on the bottom of your statements. If youre worried about some of cards getting closed for "non-use, usually one year is the golden mark that they will close if the card hasnt been used.

If you dont use the cards now, I doubt youll use them in the future, and keeping them open to only use once is year sounds like a hassel .....even for me who is the store card queen, lol. I had a bunch of store cards like 4 yrs ago coming out of a BK and rebuilding, and it was craziness to remember to use them so they wouldnt get closed. Now, I only keep store cards that I actually frequent the stores too and they are my favorite places to shop. I never have to worry if they will be closed due to non-use since I shop at those stores frequently.

Personally, Id close a few a the ones you dont ever use, and keep a few that you do of both Synch/Comenity backed cards. Your Old Navy card is interchangable and can be used at Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta....so that card is actually a decent one to keep plus the sales they have are good, and points rack up like crazy. But if you never shop at those stores, then that card is a waste to keep open.

Hopes this kinda helped you some??

Anonymous · ‎01-28-2018

.

Synch and Comenity/Comenity Captial provide the financing for your store cards, and you can call in and ask that your "due"date" be changed if it helps you out, it states that on the bottom of your statements. If youre worried about some of cards getting closed for "non-use, usually one year is the golden mark that they will close if the card hasnt been used.
If you dont use the cards now, I doubt youll use them in the future, and keeping them open to only use once is year sounds like a hassel .....even for me who is the store card queen, lol. I had a bunch of store cards like 4 yrs ago coming out of a BK and rebuilding, and it was craziness to remember to use them so they wouldnt get closed. Now, I only keep store cards that I actually frequent the stores too and they are my favorite places to shop. I never have to worry if they will be closed due to non-use since I shop at those stores frequently.
Personally, Id close a few a the ones you dont ever use, and keep a few that you do of both Synch/Comenity backed cards. Your Old Navy card is interchangable and can be used at Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta....so that card is actually a decent one to keep plus the sales they have are good, and points rack up like crazy. But if you never shop at those stores, then that card is a waste to keep open.
Hopes this kinda helped you some??

Thanks. It helps a lot. I think I'll call and change some due dates. If that one year mark is pretty accurate, it's probably worthwhile for me to keep them open one more year for the util%. ( I'm approx 2 years into re-building and gradually getting larger SL cards.) My fear is to wake up one morning and find 6 accounts 'poofed' because I didn't use SOME of the accounts, while liking and using most of them. I've read posts where both Comenity and Synchrony apparently wiped out all accounts, which seems arbitrary if a person is using some of their accounts heavily.

AverageJoesCredit · ‎01-28-2018

Just so you know , there have been cases of Stnchrony closing cards not used in 6 months. Rare but if you have cards you dont use but want to keep open, id try to use them every couple of months instead of just once in a year.

Anonymous · ‎01-28-2018

wrote:
Just so you know , there have been cases of Stnchrony closing cards not used in 6 months. Rare but if you have cards you dont use but want to keep open, id try to use them every couple of months instead of just once in a year.

Thanks. Good to know. I can do 3x year. I guess I can surprise some relatives with unusually nice birthday presents? At this time in my life, I'm personally down-sizing and just don't want to acquire any more "stuff."

pizza1 · ‎01-28-2018

wrote:
Just so you know , there have been cases of Stnchrony closing cards not used in 6 months. Rare but if you have cards you dont use but want to keep open, id try to use them every couple of months instead of just once in a year.

For my store cards, I use them every 3 months on average, some every 2 months. This ensures that they stay open for sure But, for those that are just keeping for utilization purposes etc..I would suggest at minimum every 5-6 months. A few years back I had my Care Credit closed for inactivity, and I had used the card one time only in a year. That wasnt enough to keep it open.

Anonymous · ‎01-28-2018

I do not know that the Stores themselves have anything to do with the credit side when it comes to Synchrony

They seem to operate separately if an issue comes up Synchrony will blame the store while the store will blame Synchrony. It seems neither knows what the other is doing. With Synchrony accounts, it says account owned by "Synchrony Bank."

Whereas with Target or Kohls or Nordstrom where the company itself provides customer service in regards to the account it merely notes credit extended by Capital One or TD Bank.

I have no clue if this makes a difference but it seems that if one has an issue with an account the store itself cares more than with Synchrony accounts.

Anonymous · ‎01-28-2018

wrote:
I do not know that the Stores themselves have anything to do with the credit side when it comes to Synchrony

They seem to operate separately if an issue comes up Synchrony will blame the store while the store will blame Synchrony. It seems neither knows what the other is doing. With Synchrony accounts, it says account owned by "Synchrony Bank."
Whereas with Target or Kohls or Nordstrom where the company itself provides customer service in regards to the account it merely notes credit extended by Capital One or TD Bank.

I have no clue if this makes a difference but it seems that if one has an issue with an account the store itself cares more than with Synchrony accounts.

With Comenity, I know that the store/bank relationship varies from store to store, even though they are all financed by Comenity. I have a Coldwater Creek account financed by Comenity, and ordering, credits, returns, the way statements are generated and reported, is completely different from other Comenity accounts. When I called customer service with questions about an order, she told me that because CWC is both an online AND retail box store, they operate differently than a strictly online store, even though they are all under the financial umbrella of Comenity. And she offered to change my due date. It's the same with Williams Sonoma. Both of those stores bend over backwards to fix problems and seem to put a lot more effort into cultivating good customer relations. I just get a sense that all store accounts are not treated equally by the bank. That's why I was surprised to read about these across the board cancelling of store accounts.

I'm new to Synchrony, but I have a 13 year history with Amazon and their customer service is stellar. I'd be shocked if they cancelled my account. And both Walmart and Old Navy have really good customer service and will go 'above and beyond' to keep customers happy (in my experience). Maybe this info is something consumers aren't privy to, but I wonder if these two banks do periodic reviews and decide to axe customers who are not spending to their level of satisfaction, retailer/customer relationship be d***ned?

I went online today to try and make a purchase on two store accounts that I haven't used in maybe 9 months. I don't want to lose the $2000 each CL just yet, but I couldn't find a darned thing that I wanted to buy from either company. I don't want to take a hit on AAoA or util%. Another 12 months and my file will be thick enough and have higher CLs, so losing them shouldn't have much impact. Going through this rebuild totally changed my relationship to "stuff" and debt. I don't want either... I just want a good score.

Anonymous · ‎01-28-2018

wrote:
wrote:
Just so you know , there have been cases of Stnchrony closing cards not used in 6 months. Rare but if you have cards you dont use but want to keep open, id try to use them every couple of months instead of just once in a year.
Thanks. Good to know. I can do 3x year. I guess I can surprise some relatives with unusually nice birthday presents? At this time in my life, I'm personally down-sizing and just don't want to acquire any more "stuff."

What I do with some of my store cards that I don't want to risk being closed is I just buy some underwear every 6 months or something. Underwear is something you can probably not have too many of and will use eventually. Or socks lol

Anonymous · ‎01-28-2018

wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
Just so you know , there have been cases of Stnchrony closing cards not used in 6 months. Rare but if you have cards you dont use but want to keep open, id try to use them every couple of months instead of just once in a year.
Thanks. Good to know. I can do 3x year. I guess I can surprise some relatives with unusually nice birthday presents? At this time in my life, I'm personally down-sizing and just don't want to acquire any more "stuff."
What I do with some of my store cards that I don't want to risk being closed is I just buy some underwear every 6 months or something. Underwear is something you can probably not have too many of and will use eventually. Or socks lol

lol...yeah, I headed straight for the underwear and last gasp clearance department. I forgot about socks...I can always use more socks )