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What's the deal with Balance Chasing?

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Pucelle
Established Member

What's the deal with Balance Chasing?

I just noticed that both of my Chase cards are pretty much worthless now.  One went from $7k to $600 and the other from $10k to $500.  The 0% balance transfer on the $7k was due to end this month and paid it off mostly last month ($300 left to pay).  Whereas the other card went from $10k --> $2.6k --> $500.

 

Since the cards went down so much will they just close them out when I pay them off or will they just stay low like that?


Starting Score: EQ FICO 673 (/20/13) * 656 CK/TU (9/2013) * 711 Vantage (9/2013) * 632 CS (9/2013)
Current Score:
Goal Score: 760+


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Citi Dividend MC (1997) $9.33k / Citi ThankYou Preferred World MC (2003) $7.96k / DiscoverIT (4/2013) $13.5k / AMEX Blue Cash Everyday (9/2013) $1k / New York and Company (unknown) / Citibank LoC (2006) $4.9k
Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
FinStar
Moderator Emeritus

Re: What's the deal with Balance Chasing?

Typically, a lender limits their lending exposure by reducing limits as part of an adverse action outcome.  This is typically due to a variety of factors (internal or external) whether it's escalating debt, prolonged debt, introduction of derogatory items, deteriorating scores, excessive new accounts/inquiries, inactivity, and so on.

 

It's possible that Chase will leave your accounts as is once paid off, unless for any reason, they feel like they need to exit the relationship altogether.

 

Are your scores in your signature up-to-date?

Message 2 of 8
NRB525
Super Contributor

Re: What's the deal with Balance Chasing?

Sorry to hear about the CLD on your Chase cards. 

What was your payment habit over the term of the 0% BT offer, comparing say minimum payment vs paying off the entire balance at once at the end of the term?

Do you have other significant balances on other cards at the same time?

 

I had several cards go through CLD / Balance Chasing from Chase. Some they closed, one I closed eventually when they raised the rate, but others they didn't close. It's a mixed bag of possibilities. Since your limits are now low, I tend to think they aren't going to close them out completely. They actually closed one of my cards that had a balance I was paying down, which is a quick way to ensure the card isn't used for new charges. 

 

The last of the Chase AA was in about 2013, and by the end of 2014, January 2015 I got two new cards, so CLD is not a permanent Siberia with Chase.

High Bal Jan 2009 $116k on $146k limits 80% Util.
Oct 2014 $46k on $127k 36% util EQ 722 TU 727 EX 727
April 2018 $18k on $344k 5% util EQ 806 TU 810 EX 812
Jan 2019 $7.6k on $360k EQ 832 TU 839 EX 831
March 2021 $33k on $312k EQ 796 TU 798 EX 801
May 2021 Paid all Installments and Mortgages, one new Mortgage EQ 761 TY 774 EX 777
April 2022 EQ=811 TU=807 EX=805 - TU VS 3.0 765
Message 3 of 8
M_Smart007
Legendary Contributor

Re: What's the deal with Balance Chasing?

Sorry for your AA OPSmiley Sad

Lenders are very being very risk averse in these times.

 

While I have had no Chase AA, they have SP'd my EX every two weeks for the last several months.

They have finally relented.

Message 4 of 8
K-in-Boston
Credit Mentor

Re: What's the deal with Balance Chasing?

My only experience with Chase AA is a bit dated, and on an AU account.  It was rate-jacked (pre-CARD Act; it was always paid on time and no lates, collections, etc. on any accounts in either of our lives) and balance chased due to aggregate utilization across all revolving cards during The Great Recession.

 

It received a CLD down to $6500, and once utilization was under control again a number of years later it received an auto CLI of $2200 followed shortly by a requested CLI that resulted in a doubling to $19,400, and then the next app for a Chase card a few months later was approved with a $27,000 starting line.  The point of writing all of that is that as long as your credit profile later improves, Chase is happy to restore and more.

 

That covers whether they can rebound if left open.  As for whether the accounts will be closed, that really depends on what is going on with your accounts not just from Chase but others.  Have you had recent late payments, collections that have appeared or reappeared, rapidly escalating revolving utilization?

Message 5 of 8
AverageJoesCredit
Legendary Contributor

Re: What's the deal with Balance Chasing?


@Pucelle wrote:

I just noticed that both of my Chase cards are pretty much worthless now.  One went from $7k to $600 and the other from $10k to $500.  The 0% balance transfer on the $7k was due to end this month and paid it off mostly last month ($300 left to pay).  Whereas the other card went from $10k --> $2.6k --> $500.

 

Since the cards went down so much will they just close them out when I pay them off or will they just stay low like that?


Would help to know the context of why Chase is balance chasing, like any events happened to your credit/accounts leading up to such events. No one can tell you the deal unless they see what may have caused it. 

Message 6 of 8
KeithW
Frequent Contributor

Re: What's the deal with Balance Chasing?

Synchrony has been giving me CL increases. They had chased me down a couple years ago, now they have bumped all 7 of my cards from $1,000-$2,000 limits up to $5,000 to $7,500 limits. My scores have only gone up 15-20 points in that period.

EQ671 TU673 EX662
Message 7 of 8
MrT_521
Regular Contributor

Re: What's the deal with Balance Chasing?


@AverageJoesCredit wrote:


Would help to know the context of why Chase is balance chasing, like any events happened to your credit/accounts leading up to such events. No one can tell you the deal unless they see what may have caused it. 


From what I understand, CLD's aren't always because of the client. A bank must have enough resources to cover a certain percentage of the available credit they extend. For example, they might give me a credit limit of $20K even though they have only $6K available to pay the vendors. They know that I'm probably not going to use more than 30% of my available credit.

 

Then you want to get a credit card. They have already extended the max credit they can to me, so the available credit for yours needs to come from somewhere. They lower my credit limit to give room for yours.

 

Magnify this number to $$$ billions, and you've got the bank's problem.

 

Banks will sometimes lower CL's for this reason.

Personal Cards

Business Cards

Debit Cards

FICO 8 Scores (as of Dec 14, 2022)


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