![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-428567-100x100.png\")
Discover's finally \"threatening\" to close my account for inactivity.
I can't wait.
Discover's finally \"threatening\" to close my account for inactivity.
I can't wait.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-100465-100x100.png\")
Same here. Providian....err....WaMu....errrrr...Chase, closed my account because I haven't used it in a year. That's true, because it has the worst APR and lowest credit line of the 3 I have.
That being said, it too, was my older card by a few years and I got a free FICO score every month, which is why I kept it around.
Oh well, I went from a 420 FICO to a 760 FICO in under 5 years.
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@FromThisSoil: The same thing happened to me, but I don't really blame them too much. It costs them money to give me my FICO once a month and I didn't put a damn thing on it.
I would have used the card if they had given me warning to keep the FICO service, but I pay my bills on time, so they probably just wanted to ditch me.
Oh well. I really liked that card perk.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-77175-100x100.png\")
@FromThisSoil: That happened to me too, I have a card that was the first credit care I EVER got, it was from WaMu now its turned into a Citi card.
How does that happen? I'll probably quit using it now though, they just jacked up the interest rate to something ridiculous due to the \"economy\" I'm sure.
The card and your history with it will remain on your report for several years in a closed status. I believe it doesn't hurt you at all. Granted after a few years it will fall off of your report but your good history with that card is still on your report for now.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-525207-100x100.png\")
@tange1:
It will hurt to some extent if he's carrying a balance on other cards because losing however much credit he had on the never-used WAMU card would affect his utilization (ie mean that whatever balances he's carrying now represent a higher percentage of his available credit). Also, FICO likes balances to be carried on less than half of all open accounts, so having a card constantly reporting a zero balance might have been helping his score, and losing that account may have caused the score to drop. All that can be fixed by paying down balances, though, or getting credit lines increased elsewhere.
All of the above is another reason not to carry balances - so your FICOs won't be affected if CCCs close your accounts or decrease your credit lines.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-332258-100x100.png\")
I have a Chase card I haven't used in 5 years. For all I know/care it's been closed out. I don't care; what is it, a 20 point hit to my Fico score? If some time in the future I need to secure a loan and I find that the terms hinge on some credit card that was automatically closed out, I'll take my business elsewhere.
If it's indeed closed, Chase just saved me the hassle of dealing with the schmoes in the retention department.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-435267-100x100.png\")
You're better off without them, FICO score damage or not.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-22998-100x100.png\")
I just had the reverse happen. Got a letter from Well Fargo Financial about a year ago stating that they would be closing my CC due to inactivity. However yesterday I just got a letter stating I owe fee's for this year. Haven't had time to call cust service yet. But it sure looks like a \"money grab\" to me for fees from WFF.
@Corporate_guy: I think you missed where WFF said they canceled the card? Now they have magically re-opened the acct to suit their need for FEES. Total suck.
@axiomatic: Sounds like they never closed it. Hopefully you have their letter. Because they are not going to believe you if you claim they said they closed it. And yes, it does sound like they scammed you good. I did misread it the first time.
somebody call the WAAAMBULANCE!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-36686-100x100.png\")
@whitefang2001: People like you make me sick. You try to help someone out and all they do is make fun of you instead. Oh well, let Darwinism take its course.
All this does is make it harder to get something you shouldn't want in the first place (credit). Hopefully someday soon people will wake up and realize how terrible an effect credit has had on our lives in the last 50 or so years.
That's if you assume credit equals debt. It doesn't.
I have plenty of (available) credit. But the only debt I have is my mortgage. Perhaps I should have saved up to buy my house with cash, paying rent all the while. Or perhaps not.
@bagumpity: What a clueless comment. By all means, let's not have credit cards. Let's not have car loans, mortgages, or student loans either because those are credit too. I'm sure we would have a thriving housing market if everyone just paid cash up front for their homes.
@JiminyChristmas: Thanks for making my point for me. And yes, we would- it would just take a lot of adjustment. Sadly, it will never happen.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-68654-100x100.png\")
@bagumpity: & by \"a lot of adjustment\", you clearly mean that only rich people would own homes & the rest of us would rent them. only rich people could afford schooling, leaving the rest of us uneducated. only rich people would be able to start up their own businesses.
the advent of credit is actually one of the best things that has happened to this country - it is a driving factor in people's ability to rise above their station. it creates opportunity for those that otherwise would have none.
& it's not even a new concept. colombus sailed to america on credit. our founders started this country on credit. the lousiana territory was not only purchased on credit, but included a provision that cancelled debt & interest payments france owed the united states at the time.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-483565-100x100.png\")
@mac-phisto: And then add the terrific effect of microcredit in impoverished regions. Hard for me to consider Muhammed Yunus a villain.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-224192-100x100.png\")
@bagumpity: Face it - credit built the modern world. We wouldn't be able to build things nearly as quickly and efficiently if we had to save up the money in advance. That applies to government entities too...it would be MUCH harder to build the infrastructure and stuff that runs the world if it weren't for credit financing. Same for business investment. Credit makes business and industry run far more efficiently. It's only bad when people take on risks they can't absorb.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-117360-100x100.png\")
@bagumpity: You're assuming that credit has a negative impact for everyone, if not the majority.
I can safely tell you that there were and still are people (that doesn't work in the financial industry) still thriving because of credit.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-537475-100x100.png\")
@bagumpity: Credit's been awesome for me, actually. With credit cards I can keep track of my spending, figure out a lot faster where my money is going versus when I use cash. I mean, I walk around with $20 and when it's gone, I can't remember where it went. But with that $20 charge on my credit card I know where I went and what I purchased. and I don't have to deal with spare change everywhere, and I get cashback, which is amazing because I take the money and put it into savings, so it's like $200 that I got as a bonus for doing the things I regularly do with my money.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-255154-100x100.png\")
@ChildrenAreSticky: You actually believe that borrowing $200 from a credit card company (with interest that most likely starts accruing immediately) is a BONUS?!?!
You do realize that you actually have to pay this back, right? You realize that the interest rate for borrowing the money most assuredly exceeds the interest you get from your savings account... Right?
You need to take a course in basic finance.
(I assume you're not being sarcastic to make a point. It's hard to tell these things...)
On the other hand, I agree that someone who can't track cash expenditures would definitely need to find a way to track their expenses. Maybe a debit card?
@UsefulThings: It's not cash advance, it's cash rewards. I shred all the cash advance checks the company sends me. The cash rewards is 1% or 3% on every purchase made within a year. No interest. You need to fully understand my meaning before before you start making exclamations about how I handle my money.
@UsefulThings: s/he's referring to cash rewards that some cards offer. these rewards are tied to spending - not to carrying a balance.
@UsefulThings: Interest most likely does NOT start accruing immediately. If you pay it off every month, it's beneficial to use a credit card.
@johnva: I thought he was talking about a cash advance. Whew! Sorry. I keyed on the word/phrase \"cash back,\" Like, \"would you like cash back?\"
By the way, who gets $200 cash back on a card? That's like $10-20K in spending, depending on the rewards program!
@UsefulThings: I (a she, btw) spends about $9,000 a year which is $750 a month. This number fluctuates, but I always use my card for purchases. I do carry cash, but that's more of an in-case situation. I use my card for everything not only so I can keep track of my purchases, but also so I can get the rewards.
@UsefulThings: With my Chase Freedom card, I get 3% on many categories of my purchases. This means that if I make $6,667 of those purchases, I have $200 worth of cash back. Even better, if you are patient enough to save up your cashback to that $200 point, you can actually request a $250 check.
I am almost to the $200 mark after about a year of using it for about half my everyday purchases. Next year will be even better because I'm switching over to this card all my spending that I used to put on my Citi card (who raised my rate for no reason).
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-474558-100x100.png\")
that sucks. You take the hit on your FICO score on lower available credit, and a possible hit on getting closed, and then if you want the card back your score takes another hit for the inquiry. And that's a green card with no history, so that can't help much.
I have a card that I rarely use, so I put my internet bill on it and it gets charged on a monthly basis. It's an easy way to avoid these incidents.
@TheBursar: I do the same thing -- run up charges on it to about $100 then make minimum payments each month. I give them a little interest I guess but it's worth it for the credit score monitoring I think.
Just be sure to pay on-time.
Why make minimum payments and end up paying interest. I've never not paid off the balance of any of my cards I've ever had and none of the banks have had issues with cards getting canceled.
The easiest thing to do it just put a monthly automatic charge on it like the TC is doing.
I work in customer service for a national chain that uses GE Money Bank to fund the \"in store\" credit card. Any accts that have not been used in the last year are being closed. In addition, accts are being closed and/or the credit limit severely reduced if a fresh credit review reveals any recent delinquencies in the profile, even if the customer has a perfect payment history with our store card. They call it the new \"risk mitigation strategy\". This is happening across the entire GE Money Bank portfolio, Sam's, Walmart, Old Navy, etc. I recommend checking the status of your acct before you attempt to do any major shopping because the letter notifying customers of these changes is mailed after the changes have been made.
They did the exact same thing to me. I called and asked if I could roll it into my other Chase Credit Card, but no dice....once it's closed that's it. Would have been nice to get a letter saying they were going to close it to give you a chance to do it on your own.
@keith4298: Chase sent me a letter telling me that if I wanted to keep my card account open to make a charge by Sept 30. Late September I did make a charge, but on the statement it didn't post until Oct 6, so they closed the account. They won't reopen in it, saying I would have to reapply. No thanks. It was a shame to lose since it had a 6.4% fixed rate.
FUCK Credit scores, fuck their history and fuck credit cards. They are unnecessary black hole traps, layers of abstraction on transactions that makes money without labor for some assholes.
It's all fantasy man! If someone doesn't want to sell me something because of my credit history, I don't want to do business/transaction with that person. Personal trust and humanity is key to business. Save your money!
@elloGov: If someone doesn't want to sell me something because of my credit history, I don't want to do business/transaction with that person. Personal trust and humanity is key to business.
That's a fine sentiment, but most of the business entities you will ever find yourself dealing with are both impersonal and inhuman. Ergo, your credit score and history is how they decide how much to trust you.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-352008-100x100.png\")
@elloGov: Credit histories are very important. Credit scores are tumorous abominations of a bloated, contaminated system that are way too overly abused.
@elloGov: I'd agree with you, except it's really hard to rent an apartment these days without undergoing a credit check. They'll rarely outright refuse you due to bad credit, but they'll charge you a huge security deposit. In my current apartment I had to pay first and last months rent, *plus* several hundred in security deposits, because my SO has a short credit history.
@Orv: And if you are someone like me, a freelancer with little or no verifiable employment, a stellar credit score will get you an apartment no problem.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-550329-100x100.png\")
@Orv: Additionally you have to have a somewhat decent credit score for some federal jobs. Say you are hired for a job in purchasing which requires you to be a government purchase card holder and the issuer rejects you (it can and does happen) then guess what? You just lost your new job, the credit card was a requirement of the position.
Granted that does not affect everyone but it just shows you how far reaching those scores can go. Some GS grades have a mandatory background as well as credit check, the reasoning is that you'll be in charge of lofty budgets. (Insert wasted funds speeches here... that's another story.)
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-25844-100x100.png\")
@CFinWV: For some strange reason I can't put my finger on, I don't think the original commenter (elloGov) is looking for a government job. ;-)
@CFinWV: Not just that but a lot of those government jobs that require clearance do credit checks to make sure you aren't living beyond your means. They feel that if you live beyond your means, you are more likely to sell secrets if you're in a financial bind. And if you have SCI, you have to list all your loans, credit accounts, etc. for a yearly financial disclosure for that same purpose.
So if you have credit, but a bad score, you can lose your clearance (and subsequently your job) for being a security risk.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-356857-100x100.png\")
@SabreDC: And if you have SCI, you have to list all your loans, credit accounts, etc. for a yearly financial disclosure for that same purpose.
This is not true, but the general concept is correct - large amounts of debt make one more susceptible to espionage.
All CC companies are doing it. If you aren't using the card, it screws up their credit sheets.
WaMu did it to me last week as well. Luckily, it was an old card with only an 8800 limit. I never used it because the limit was so low. I have several other cards with 20k-30k limits, so I use those to keep debt ratio down. Of course, I don't normally carry a balance. I do carry a small balance once a year to help my FICO score. If you never carry a balance, it looks like like your card is unused to the credit agencies. When WaMu close my card, my FICO dropped only 7 points. it should bounce back next month.
@AileenHalonian: Actually, that's incorrect. You do not have to carry a balance to show that your card is used to the credit agencies. They will generally report your monthly balance, even if you pay it off in full every month.
The exact same thing happened to me. It was Citi though. Super bummer but on the bright side, at least we're not using credit to pay for things we can't afford.
My credit card (from Chase) has a $2,900 limit, that I had maxed out unit about September, at which time I paid it off in full, in one lump sum. Yesterday, I received a letter from Chase saying that they wanted to keep my business and were offering me a 0% interest rate until January 31, 2009, after which I would receive a 4.99% rate until 2010. The letter said that they wanted to keep my business, and are hoping that I use my credit line. This is my only card, and I carried a rather large balance on it up until recently. Has this happened to anyone else?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-5365-100x100.png\")
BOA has sent me the second letter in 2 years asking for me to accept and increase from my 7.99% Fixed interest rate to (this year) 16.99% Floating. I have once again sent them the letter rejecting it, and I'm on the hook if I use the card.
I did call to ask if the old rate increase was still in effect so I could use it once or twice to keep this from happening, but the Rep told me she see nothing stating that. I'm Hoping they don't cancel it.
Funny thing is, they commissioned a Poll thru MLB asking about if I'd have a card with my Baseball team on it. Knowing who it was for, I tanked my answers.
In Canada (where I live) I think it is little different, when you apply for a loan or a mortgage they look at your income, your debt and the amount of debt you can possibly get into. So having a credit card canceled is a good thing, it means your ratio of debt to income goes down. The banks will not allow you to borrow more than you can pay back with all your credit maxed.
@insideedge: We do that here in the states too. Banks call it a debt-to-income ratio. I'm not sure if it's tied into lending laws, but when I got my mortgage for a house this summer, debt-to-income was one of the qualifiers.
@SabreDC: So help me to understand, why would someone be mad about having a credit card they don't use cancelled. In Canada that would help your credit not hurt it. I make sure if I am not using a credit card I cancel it and erase it off my record.
@insideedge: It also affects the ratio of debt to credit. If you had $50,000 in credit, but only $5000 in debt charged to that credit, you would have a ration of 10:1. If you the had one of your cards cancelled that had a $25,000 limit on just that one card, it lowers your credit to $25,000, of which $5000 is debt, which makes your new ratio 5:1, much worse that the previous ratio.
@insideedge: It affects your history. The longer you have a credit card and have been in good standing with it (little/no debt, pay if off in full, not racked up a ton of charges you couldn't handle, etc.) the better off you are in terms of how you look to potential lenders. When lenders see that you have maintained good credit for a long time, they are more likely to give you money. If the card is canceled, that negatively impacts your history as it is no longer relevant to your history and you can't use that to point out how awesome you've been with your money.
Use the card every 3 months then pay it off. It keeps your credit line open and active. They \"security risk\" he stated is just total bs.
I have more sympathy for the people who are getting their credit limit cut while being on time with payments.
Perhaps the \"security risk\" was referring to the risk the card holder had by having a card that was being unused for that long. If the card hadn't been used in over a year, the chances it would be lost or fall into the wrong hands increases.
I had a card canceled recently after two years of inactivity and wondered what took them so long.
Wamu reduced my $0 balance (never had one) HELOC last week. If Congress gave them stiumlii to keep lending, Congress should check to see what happened with that money, 'cause Wamu ain't lending.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-121398-100x100.png\")
My parents love to tell the story about their first credit card, which they obtained to ease car rental on our first big vacation. It was canceled, and when they called to ask why, they found it was due to inactivity. The issuer suggested buying a pack of gum each month with it, then paying it off immediately in order to keep it active.
Credit card companies make money of the interest you pay. If you do not carry a balance and pay interest then you're an expense with no reward and they *should* drop you. If you want a card that rewards sound financial behaviour then get an American Express. There's a fee but they have benefits like extending warranties and such.
@AccaliaRizza: My only problem with American Express is that their \"cash rewards\" program isn't a check like Citi's cash rewards program. They apply a credit to your credit card account at the end of the year. With Citi, you can allow the money to accrue and then they will send you a check.
I know it's not really a big deal, I mean, I either get $200 off a credit card bill at the end of the year or I get a check, but I kind of wanted to have the ability to decide for myself what to do with the cash rewards.
@AccaliaRizza: Not completely true.
1) Credit card issuers make money off the interchange fee the receive from the merchants, along with whatever interest and fees they can scrap from you.
While it may not be as profitable as the interest they can charge you, they can still make a killing from interchange alone.
2) American Express currently still offers fee-free cards (notably credit cards, such as Blue, its variations and the Clear card)
@AccaliaRizza: I agree wholeheartedly. A line of credit should be extended to a customer when they need it and revoked when it is not needed. They should drop customers that do not use credit. However, they should also give a warning that they may be dropped. That way, a customer has the chance to use it before getting dropped and thus will restart the clock.
Funny story: A friend, who had only 1 credit card but had not used the card in 2 years, took a 100 mile trip to the beach. He figured he would use his credit card to pay for the hotel room. He brought only $80.00 in cash. He gets to the hotel, gives the front desk clerk his card, she comes back and says the card was canceled 8 months ago. Now, he doesn't have enough cash on him to pay for the hotel room, eat and pay for gas to get home. So, he turns around gets in his car and drives right home.
@Yashar: Can't you do it online? I use a Citi card and they have an option online to request a limit increase and it's real time, as does PNC. If the increase is approved, it is applied immediately in that online session. I'd be surprised if WaMu didn't have something similar.
Are you waiting for them to do it on their own or did you request it and you're waiting for them to respond to your request?
@SabreDC: Wamu is actually somewhat unique among the major players, in that they *don't* let you request a CLI, online or in any other fashion. They claim to do periodic reviews and increase it automatically, but (anecdotally) many people never get any increases at all (even if they are perfectly qualified).
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-473526-100x100.png\")
You are a security risk because since you do not use the card, you get no statement. Someone claiming to be you, changes the billing address, orders a bunch of stuff, and you never know. This happened to my aunt with a store card, I think JC Penney. She had no clue until the bill collectors called her and asked when she was paying.
@oneliketadow: plus, banking regulators are handing down a whole new mess of ID theft guidelines (known as \"red flag rules\"), which (in addition to a bunch of other things) makes the maintenance of inactive/dormant accounts incredibly tedious. don't get me wrong - this legislation is a good idea, but some of the guidelines i've seen thus far make the cost of compliance not worth the prospective income from a customer that begins to use an inactive card again.
Yep, poor credit risk due to lack of predictability.
It don't make sense, but it does.
What the others said. They're saying it's a security risk if the account is left open and unused for a year. It's *not* that you didn't charge up more than you could afford to pay back (c'mon, we all know better than doing that, right? and yet we keep our cards).
We have a similar situation. If an account has been idle for a while, and suddenly starts getting used, we flag is as potentially fraudulent. It may be that someone guessed or copied the password from the original owner, and is now attempting to run up charges on his account.
You should be glad they care about this sort of thing. However, that said, they should have attempted to notify you in advance. Moral for the rest of us: use your cards periodically, and maybe stop being slaves to the FICO.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-491106-100x100.png\")
If you do not use a card for over a year what do you think is going to happen? If it had been three months I could see being upset but a whole freaking year? This person has no right to complain, at all. I have one card that has a very low intrest rate on it and I have not used it in a few months. I'm going to use it next week for some gas just to make them happy and I don't lose a card with a great intrest rate.
I've worked to hard to rebuild my credit to lose a great intrest rate because I was not using their card.
Oh, I'm sorry. I thought I was supposed to stop using my credit card; that I was irresponsibly damaging my credit if I didn't freeze my CC in a bowl of water so that I could never use it for anything but emergencies, ever.
It's funny that it's always the consumer's fault for having done the wrong thing, no matter what they actually do.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-453882-100x100.png\")
?! It took me almost 8 years to successfully close my Mastercard. They REFUSED to let me cancel it.
I'm kind of jealous.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-601840-100x100.png\")
Does anyone know how long it takes for WaMu to raise your credit limit? I had a secured credit card and after over a year they upgraded it, but kept it at the pathetic limit of $300. It is stupid that a purchase or 2 could put me at almost 90% of my limit.
I subscribe to a couple different magazines on the cards I don't use. This way they at least get $15 a year taken out which so far has kept them active.
american express/optima close my little $500.00 account I kept with them for 'emergencies' on my part. The also said I hadn't used the card or 'other reasons' perhaps....the thing is, when you sign up for a credit card and when you 'use' it, you are collateral for the company. They then can use you as 'collateral' to secure for themselves and they earn 'interest' on other financial things, which you don't know about and they surely aren't going to share with you. If you don't use the card, then you are of no use for them anymore. They are not really in the business to 'help 'us...they are in the business to 'help' themselves.
People are finally getting a chance to wake up to the scam....
So if you have say 4 credit cards and you use only 2 of them does that negativly affect your credit score? Or is it only when you close cards out that its seen as a bad move?
Chase closed one on us for not using it in over a year. I don't really care but was pissed that it was a unilateral decision without warning. Their loss, we've got other options and great credit
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-75747-100x100.png\")
Same thing happened to me. Luckily it was not the oldest card on my credit report. I have zero balances on my 3 cards but now I make sure to buy a little something each month and charge it to one of the cards, just to show a little activity.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-266812-100x100.png\")
My WaMu account was closed but my Citi account had a credit increase to $25K. Chase raised my rates on an older Prime for life card that used to be Wachovia, then Bank 1, then Chase. I had a stack of those stupid blank checks from CC companies lying around so I tried something. I transferred my entire balance from Chase to Citi, then I took a Chase blank check that was good for 3.99% for life and wrote the check to Citi to pay off what I had just transferred to them. End result was that in a matter of 7 days my balance on the two cards remained the same but my rate is now locked at 3.99% at Chase. They charged me $199 to use that check but my rate is now locked so low that it was worth it.
So if they close your account and your FICO score goes down causing personal damage... can't we sue? Seriously, is there anyway to sue to stop this kind of damage? Class action?
@SubhujaDawgy: It is pretty crazy. It's punishing a person who's showing that he is able to function without using credit. He may not be demonstrating his bill paying abilities or how he can make tons of minimum payments, but he's not showing something bad. He's shown he can have credit and not abuse it. This should be neutral, if anything.
Sadly not. The terms of the credit card agreements that you sign up to when opening the card state that the credit card companies can pretty much do whatever they like, whenever they like. The card (and account) remains their property, not yours, and it's theirs to do with as they please. They can change the terms (and if you don't like it, you can close the account), or they can close it if they see fit. Nothing you can do about it, really, so long as they're not breaking any laws.
I'm sorry, that's ridiculous. I have a half dozen credit cards I don't use, and they stay safely stashed at home. Barring a home invasion by a thief who looks in every nook and cranny where credit cards are not likely to be, those cards are FAR more secure than the two or three that stay in my purse and get used.
The one credit card I use online and for recurring charges such as TiVo and my ISP is the oldest one I have - over 20 years. I've never missed a payment on it in all that time. I have one other for non-online use and a debit card that I use more than the other two. Everything is paid off every month. The beauty of using only three is that it's easier to make sure you're not getting hit with fraudulent charges.
I think it was either Chase or Citi that canceled a card I never used last week. No loss.
I charge my web hosting fees (a total of $6/mo) on my card. I let it build for a few months, then pay all $18 or whatever it is. Card stays active, pennies in interest. Simple.
Who cares about credit score now? There's no more credit available and it's only going to get worse. The Great Credit Experiment was great while it lasted but it's over.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-411505-100x100.png\")
Crazy, I got my letter from WAMU today! They canceled me for the same reason with no warning.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-17604-100x100.png\")
Another stupid story of somebody getting pissed about nothing. It happens, and they have the right to close it due to inactivity. Simple, read your terms stupid. boo hoo.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-368488-100x100.png\")
That's EXACTLY what I do. Works like a charm. I sign up for cards for the bonuses ($100 sign up bonus, 0% intro rates, 25,000 free air miles, etc), so I have like 12. I have no use for any but two of them. However, all that credit makes my FICO look good.
The easiest way to put a little on a bunch of cards at once? When you're filling your tank, just use each card for a couple bucks. Takes a little longer, but it's only 10min of your life every 3 months - well worth it for me.
Tyler Style
[www.nirdvana.com]
Same thing just happened to me. They just upgraded my CC to platinium and 6 months later they closed my account 1 month before they sent the letter stating it was closed! I was just about to use it to book some reservations. Sure glad I wasn't 500 miles from home when I needed it. Called customer service they said I needed to reapply at the bank, did so the next day only to have it refused! Cancelled my checking account with them and told them I will never do any business with wamu or chase again. You think they would have let me keep the card just because I kept thousands of dollars in my checking account every month.
Capitol One did the same to me. I had this card for years with a high line of credit. The reason I got the card in the first place was because of the great offer of a 4.99% fixed rate. I never really had too much of a balance on the card, but always paid on time. After they decided to double my rate to 9.99% a couple of years ago, I decided to just pay it off and use another card with a better rate. Well, when I got a letter the other day stating that my account was suspended due to inactivity, I was obviously a little upset. After calling them and speaking to a CS rep, I was told that yes, my account was indeed suspended and would be closed in 30 days. It didn't matter who I spoke to, they wouldn't reverse the suspension. I thought the whole idea of being granted credit, was for it to be there when I wanted or needed to use it. That is why you work hard to EARN the credit in the first place!
So, then I asked the rep very calmly, \"You're telling me that, under these circumstances, with the financial crisis that this country is in at the moment, you'd rather give credit to people that you aren't sure if they could even pay their bills, than to a customer who's been with you for 10 years, with excellent credit, never had a late payment, and preferred to use your card exclusively?\" The only answer I got was \"I'm sorry sir.\" And people wonder why this country is in the financial crisis it is in. I will NEVER do business with Capitol One again!
Me too.
No warning, they just closed my account.
@Hamslicer: How long did you go without using it?
And if you were going a year without using the card, shouldn't you have closed it yourself?