If so, did you do anything about it — and what did you do?
Spoiler alert: It happened to us recently. This is a rant about that experience.
Here's the scenario. It's all abut the $$. We applied for an increase on a credit card that we plan to use for a trip this year. The initial trip deposit was made on this card; final payment is due in a couple of months. That amount will exceed the current card limit.
Deciding to apply for a credit increase, we did so online at the card website. There's a few queries to answer/update: annual income, salary (if working), monthly rent/mortgage, monthly amount charged on the card. The last one was problematic. We don't track monthly expenses, just use it and pay off in full, ahead of the due date.
Surprise to us. The credit increase was denied and a reply posted on our account. Reason: Recent use of this account's existing credit line has been too low.
Directed to another bank website for more information about this denial reason we learned: In general, customers who are most often approved for credit line increases tend to use more of their credit line by spending and paying off the card each month or by keeping a balance on the account and paying it over a period of time.
A What You Can Do area suggested: If you plan to use your card more, make sure you use your card responsibly. Add AutoPay and customized alerts to help you make more than your minimum payment on time each month . . .
We have checking and savings accounts with this bank. Oddly, we have another card with nearly twice the credit limit than this one and don't have any accounts with the issuing bank. This is why we found the denial reason even more irksome (and annoying too).
What Did We Do?
The cookie cutter reply, so annoyed me that I wrote a letter to include the above information and added our long standing as customers and good credit score, etc.
My letter noted the reason for the increase and even suggested that a lesser credit line increase would be acceptable. Another alternative was if a temporary credit line increase would be possible when the final trip payment is due. (This would serve our needs.)
Of course, we know that customers, like us, who don't carry a monthly balance and pay off accounts on or ahead of time are not ideal customers. The bank has your monies in its accounts, but isn't collecting any extra $ through interest charges.
Our rebuttal was mailed this week with a request for a written response. We're not taking any bets on whether or not one will be received. (No GoFundMe needed here.)
To be continued . . .
19 comments:
So I would have closed the account and gone somewhere else. Banks are something I could rant on about as well. Hope you get an answer
I don't pay interest either, but I do pay off fully each month according to what I have spent. So, if for example, my balance owing is $200 but I know that have I spent $100 more since then, I will pay the $300. It's easier for my brain to pay off whatever is outstanding at the end of every month no matter the official balance and start afresh.
our credit rating is 3 points off from perfect, when I asked why, I was told because we owe nothing, and have no accoutns to check to see how we make payments, we can't get a perfect score. they don't count in credit ratings the fact we pay it off each month. in other words they want us to make payments so they can add interest..good luck with the letter thing
I don't use a credit card so it wouldn't be an issue. Good luck with getting a favorable answer. I'm sure it will be interesting.
Have a wonderful day.
We pay off our credit card balance in full every month. Haven't applied for more credit, so don't know how they would respond. Probably just the way yours did, I suspect.
I know your problem very well. I pay my bill in full each month too. If I need to pay more than my card allowance, I write out a check. I'll be curious to hear what your reply is. You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.
I hope you will receive a favorable response, Beatrice.
If not, check if you apply the final payment to a different account. Or use two different cards.
It's annoying for sure.
I don't use a credit card much nowadays and when I do I pay it off. I could rant on about banks too!
Our previous bank denied us a credit card because we've not had one before. That was not a problem easily solved. We changed bank to solve the problem. We rarely use the credit card, only really when traveling, and I always pay the due amount ahead of time. Finance is a tricky field to navigate. Nothing makes sense. Good luck with your credit limit change.
Count us along with those who pay off every balance every month. We use only one card for all Online purchases so we can track the purchases more easily.
It's a challenge to disagree with the system. I wish you luck.
Good luck with your credit card endeavor.
I got rid of my credit card five years ago, after moving to TN. It's an inconvenience not to have one, but also a relief.
When I lived in Texas I was a victim of credit card identity theft and it was a nightmare.
Because you pay it off each month they don't make any money out of you. Maybe that's why. Why don't you use the other card?
banks love to use your money to their advantage. will be interesting to see what they have to say. good luck.
Good luck with trying to get any sense out of a bank - I never can!
Well, good for you for trying to push back on this decision. I, too, pay off my card every month. Purposefully put all my purchases on it (which can be a shock at the end of the month) because I earn flying miles.
Why do the responsible people get dinged for their good business? I guess we don't make much money for the banks. Grrrr.
I can understand your frustration. Back in the day when we were first married, I can't believe we existed without one credit card for five years, using checks and cash to pay for everything. It was only when we wanted to purchase a major item and was refused because we had no 'credit' information, that we bought our first credit card. We couldn't do that in this day and age. Good luck!
I pay off within the month, but at the same time, I don't use my credit card for much.
I'm sorry this is happening to you. What an annoying and frustrating situation. I hope you get an answer back to your letter and that this is resolved the way you hope. We've had runaround situations like this with credit card companies/banks too.
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