Why does synchrony suck so much??

[syesdnil11]

Has anyone else had issues with Synchrony Bank randomly slashing credit limits and then hitting you with over-limit fees? It honestly feels like they’re setting people up. Last year, they dropped my TJX card limit from $1,000 to $110, completely out of nowhere, which caused me to go over the limit and get charged a fee. I had never carried a balance over 30% throughout the month and always paid in full. Now today, they did it again with my Verizon Visa. Limit went from $5,000 down to $1,350 without warning. That pushed my utilization above 30% and caused a drop in my credit score. Again, no late payments, no balances carried...my credit has actually improved since I opened this card. I don’t get it. Why penalize people who are using their credit responsibly? It really does feel like they’re setting people up just to ding them with fees or hurt their credit. Anyone else going through this? 

[pizzadude]

If you do a search on Synchrony you'll see that you're in good company, they're known to shut people down seemingly without notice.

Situations similar to yours have been reported many times

[redpat]

Because they just do.

Live and forget, don't apply for any of their products in the future.

[JoeRockhead]

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@redpat wrote:

Because they just do.

Live and forget, don't apply for any of their products in the future.

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Some people don't learn this lesson and have had it happen more than once... and still go back to them. 

[FlaDude]

Many of the reported cuts seem to be from disuse, but that doesn't seem to be the case for based on what you posted. They cut my wife's JCP from 20k to $500 after not being used for a year, and then closed it a year later after still not being used.

[dfwxjer]

They're a borderline subprime bank that has to constantly evaluate their exposure to prevent losses. 

I used to use them for Sweetwater music for the 36-48 month 0% financing. I'd put the purchase amount in a HYSA and pay down the balance from that account while finessing the interest. However they implemented a 2% fee for the promo financing which takes away the point of using it. 

I advise everyone to avoid relying on Synchrony for a daily spending credit card because they're not reliable enough to depend on. It's bad enough that people find out their CFA account limits are lowered, but imagine trying to use a Synchrony credit card at a restaurant/grocery store/etc and having it decline out of the blue. No thank you. 

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[ocheosa]

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@syesdnil11 wrote:

Has anyone else had issues with Synchrony Bank randomly slashing credit limits and then hitting you with over-limit fees? It honestly feels like they’re setting people up. Last year, they dropped my TJX card limit from $1,000 to $110, completely out of nowhere, which caused me to go over the limit and get charged a fee. I had never carried a balance over 30% throughout the month and always paid in full. Now today, they did it again with my Verizon Visa. Limit went from $5,000 down to $1,350 without warning. That pushed my utilization above 30% and caused a drop in my credit score. Again, no late payments, no balances carried...my credit has actually improved since I opened this card. I don’t get it. Why penalize people who are using their credit responsibly? It really does feel like they’re setting people up just to ding them with fees or hurt their credit. Anyone else going through this? 

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@syesdnil11  Just Synchrony being Synchrony. Consider applying for US Bank Cash+ and/or Citi Custom Cash.

For the US Bank Cash+ Set the two 5% categories to

(1) clothing stores or department stores

(2) cell phone or tv/internet/streaming (depending on how verizon codes).

If TJ Maxx doesnt fall under either department store or clothing stores you can use the Citi Custom Cash as a 5% back up.

There are many threads on the forum about both options.

Good luck!

[youngandcreditwrthy]

synchrony is more uhm.. corporate.. computerized probably using AI.

you cant recon with them, BUT I will tell you from recent experience, if you keep that account open, use it or pay it down, give it a month or two you can probably get the CL back, but I dunno if its worth it for most.

Ill give you an example.... I opened their Car Care Credit card soon into my rebuild with about a 650-660 FICO and got 1400 instantly. Used it for about 200 worth of gas per month and pif in an OCD way like.. PIF before statement cuts to keep it reporting at Zero Balance.

after a year, they slashed my limit to 250. Which of course prompted me further not to use the card, although I did not close it.

fast forward about two more months later, and I asked for a CLI after my score had gone up a little bit more maybe 10 points, not much, and they bumped me up to 800, so I thought that's interesting.... at this point I was not using the card at all. 

so then I still didn't use it, and a month or two later I asked again for a CLI, bumped me to 2300 (higher than my initial line about 15 months in)..

still didn't use the card, and another month or two later I was able to get a CLI to where I am now at 4000 which is, in my current stage of 700 FICOs, a card worth keeping. 

Maybe.. pay off the balance in full if you can, give it a month or two and ask for CLIs. Most of us on this forum are adding new inquiries and accounts more often than the average joshanna so keep that in mind, and Synchrony had a boatload of losses in 2015/2016 when they switched from GE Capital to Synch and went public as that spinoff.

their business model is odd, admittedly, but Ive built up credit twice in my life now... never made it to the 800 club... 790 was the closest I got with 150k in cc debt (even at that high level, my util was average or lower 30% range because of how much credit I had available)

My point is Synchrony is not a daily use card, correct... but for building credit, and even maintaining.. you should keep a couple of their cards, but don't let your exposure to them reach more than 20-30% of your overall credit lines. Because once they do come after you, there's not much going back.

I was just shocked, that they reversed course after I stopped using the card completely and allowed me within 6 months we're talking to get three credit line increases, restoring me back to almost triple my initial line. 

1400-250-750-2250-4000...

Id PIF all those cards. then like I said keep them around a month or two with no balance or very small use and make sure it reports zero on your credit... then see if you can go back to getting increases. At one point I had 100k avail with synchrony. They did suspend my acccounts temporarily, but as soon as I verified myself through their fraud department, my accounts were all restored, and I think we have to udnerstand the banks' perspective even though I still dont understand how I got slashed then upped..  all through the auto sys. 

and mind you, I did all these requests to get my cli back and even higher through the automated system. 

I don't know about closing the cards. If they have a good age and a decent credit line that you can get restored quickly..because when they dropped me to 250 on a gnarly gas card basically, I thought well I dont need that... but I kinda waited like I said I think it was a month maybe 45 days.

it was the strangest thing, but I remember I PIF and let it ride. The other day I was able to use the 6 months no interest on a $500 tire that got gashed by a pothole and while I could have just bought the tire.. now they have further incentive to increase my CL when I pay that off and have zero interest paid on the card lol.. I think they  make substantial $ from having their own network of cards and dealerships.

I still cant believe that doggone Car Care Credit Card worked at the Mercedes DEALERSHIP. even my service manager didnt know it would, and they 6 mos zero% automatically applied.

anyway, give it time perhaps.

[Patient957]

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@syesdnil11 wrote:

Has anyone else had issues with Synchrony Bank randomly slashing credit limits and then hitting you with over-limit fees? 

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Does a bear sh1t in the woods?

Seriously, though, sorry about experience with Synchrony.  Yes, countless others have had similar experiences.  Best advice is to not rely too heavily on them and treat them with kid gloves when it comes to CLIs, especially with multiple accounts 

[CreditCrusader]

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@JoeRockhead wrote:

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@redpat wrote:

Because they just do.

Live and forget, don't apply for any of their products in the future.

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Some people don't learn this lesson and have had it happen more than once... and still go back to them. 

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Here's the problem: For all their faults, they put out some cards that are unmatched with CLs that support heavy spend.

Example: The Amazon Card

It's incredibly easy to get, grows limits like weeds in a garden, and pays 5% rewards on Amazon purchases. While the occasional Amazon shopper will likely have little use for such a card, the heavy Amazon shopper will find playing the Synch game worth the annoyance. 

All that having been written, you can't put on the pads, step on the field, and expect to never get hit. The word is out and has been for a while. Synch has a long history of yanking out the rug any time they feel like it, so folks really can't complain if they get bitten.

From what I have read, the people best able to avoid the CLD/closure pit typically grow their cards to good but not sky-high limits and use the cards routinely. I could probably get twice the limit, but my Amazon card has been at 10k for quite some time and I use it about once a week. I never report a balance. The rewards basically cover the taxes for future purchases and my Prime membership monthly fee. But if they close it, I'll move on.