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chase encouaging me to lower my balance,------ why?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

chase encouaging me to lower my balance,------ why?

chase has ofered me $200 if i pay $600 month for next sixmonths wothout using card in this time period.

 

why?

they would be giving up 20% interest

 

or

 

do they benefit if my fico score goes up?//

[it would if i go forward with thid deal]

 

or  why else??

 

must besome motivation on their part!

Message 1 of 13
12 REPLIES 12
DI
Super Contributor

Re: chase encouaging me to lower my balance,------ why?


@Anonymous wrote:

chase has ofered me $200 if i pay $600 month for next sixmonths wothout using card in this time period.

 

why?

they would be giving up 20% interest

 

or

 

do they benefit if my fico score goes up?//

[it would if i go forward with thid deal]

 

or  why else??

 

must besome motivation on their part!


They may have taken a look at your credit reports and determined you're a high risk.  Rather than take a chance not getting their money at all when things may become much tighter for you, they figure they can try to collect the full balance and close your account.  

Message 2 of 13
Jazzzy
Valued Contributor

Re: chase encouaging me to lower my balance,------ why?

Hi ficorun...welcome to the forums.

 

This is tough to answer without more details about the card and what's on the rest of your reports. Is this card close to being maxed out? Have your FICO scores dropped recently? Are you maxed out on other cards?

 

I can't say for sure, but their motivation may be that they don't want you to default on this card. They are offering to let you pay it off but do not want you to run up more debt with them. They would give up interest if they are worried that they might eventually lose the principle.

 

What's your debt situation?

Message 3 of 13
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: chase encouaging me to lower my balance,------ why?

fico  =  717  no lates

 

 

total credit cards at about 75% of max,  $15000 of  $20000 available

 

this card $9400   of  $9900 available

 

[total line for this card was dropped last year fromm 15000  to current 9900]

 

I am concerned that once my balance goes down they will lower  my credit line again

 

and then my fico will not improve,so why should i strain to paydown this one and not another?

Message 4 of 13
DI
Super Contributor

Re: chase encouaging me to lower my balance,------ why?


@Anonymous wrote:

fico  =  717  no lates

 

 

total credit cards at about 75% of max,  $15000 of  $20000 available

 

this card $9400   of  $9900 available

 

[total line for this card was dropped last year fromm 15000  to current 9900]

 

I am concerned that once my balance goes down they will lower  my credit line again

 

and then my fico will not improve,so why should i strain to paydown this one and not another?


Chase is chasing your credit line down so you won't charge more to the card.  They may eventually close the account.  

Message 5 of 13
Jazzzy
Valued Contributor

Re: chase encouaging me to lower my balance,------ why?


@Anonymous wrote:

fico  =  717  no lates

 

 

total credit cards at about 75% of max,  $15000 of  $20000 available This is very high utilization.

 

this card $9400   of  $9900 available This may not be maxed, but it is close to 95% utilization.

 

[total line for this card was dropped last year fromm 15000  to current 9900] This has happened to many customers who have never missed a payment.

 

I am concerned that once my balance goes down they will lower  my credit line again Very likely

 

and then my fico will not improve,so why should i strain to paydown this one and not another? Apparently you don't have to pay this one down. It's your choice. If, however, you can save a lot of $ by doing so, why not? The handwriting already appears to be on the wall.


I'm sorry this is happening to you, but if you read here in the forums, you will see that you are not alone. We are in a very tough credit climate. Anyone with high utilization is going to be looked at twice...and then looked at again. They may very well balance chase you down. They are giving you an opportunity to save some $$ so that they don't eventually lose $$ on you. They deem you to be a risk because of your cc debt load. Me? If I had the opportunity to pay it down with lower interest, I would take them up on that. It will be better for you in the long run. Our credit climate will loosen up again, it's just a matter of when.

Message 6 of 13
credithappy
Regular Contributor

Re: chase encouaging me to lower my balance,------ why?

Hi

 

I am reading this and I am a bit confused. They are asking you to pay more or they can reduced your interest rate.  I would like to know did you get any of this in writing from Chase.  I know the CARD act is force into these banks so they have to give you something in writing regarding interest and payments. 

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Message 7 of 13
st3v3n
Established Member

Re: chase encouaging me to lower my balance,------ why?

No, Chase doesn't benefit from your FICO. They just want you to lower you balance.... But, if I was you I would continue on paying the amount you would usually pay. Don't get temped by the $200 offer, they just trying to butter you up.    

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Message 8 of 13
Wolf3
Senior Contributor

Re: chase encouaging me to lower my balance,------ why?

Are they offering a 1 time credit of $200?

 

Is the interest rate staying at 20%     

 

If so, you are paying over $150 a month in interest.    

 

If you can afford, I would do it, it will pay about 1/3 of your balance.   It gets you on a better financial footing, which I believe is there motivation as well.

 

If you don't agree, they can close the card, and let you continue to pay it off.

 

 

Message 9 of 13
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: chase encouaging me to lower my balance,------ why?

Citi has done a similar type of thing, offering a partial credit if targeted customers paid down balances more aggressively. Citi's offer also included a CLD.

 

Both banks have no doubt run a risk algorithm, which generated the list of customers to get their pay-down offers. It's a simple case of not wanting to be the last bank extending credit (or the bank with the most credit extended) if a customer gets too far into debt and defaults on most or all of the CC accounts. In Chase's case, it's about a 5% sweetener to get OP to pay more than the usual for the next six months.

 

If getting the balance reduced by $200 is worth it, go for it. If it's too much of a hardship (or not possible) to pay $600 a month, then ignore the offer. Everyone's situation is different ...

Message 10 of 13
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