Holy crap, my credit card company RAISED my limit..

[4dsc]

I was a bit amazing to say the least when I received a letter from my credit card company raising my limit by a couple of thousand dollars.. Of course they want me to transfer account balances from other accounts but I just don't do that.. I'm actually in the process of paying them off and then saying adios..

[Coyote_Bandit]

1. Happened

to me twice in the last year......

[Pirate Smile]

2. Pay them off but don't close them because that would hurt your credit rating.

Them increasing your credit limit actually helps your credit rating because it shows up as more available credit.

[YOY]

3. Pay them off but keep it open. Make your spending habits as reasonable as possible.

But groceries or something else like it once a month with the card. Screw their limit. Use their stupid little system to build your credit score.

[SoCalDem]

5. Not groceries... they might think you were so broke you needed a card to eat

put a restaurant charge on it monthly or something from a sporting goods store..or a charitable donation..

[pipi_k]

4. Mine just extended my grace period even though

I always pay within two or three days of receiving the bill.

So now I have an extra five days I've never needed so far.

[PhiBetaCretin1]

6. Be careful though. On the other hand . . .

There are complexities and paradoxes involved in the rating of credit : If you seldom use the credit available to you, there’s no need to increase your limits because having too much available credit can also be derrogatory.     :thumbsdown:

However, as a real hair-puller, if you don't use your available credit at all, that will also be considered derrogatory. Why? Because the bureaus score you based partly on your pay history. If you have no payments to make - and no activity on your accounts - they will have nothing to score you by.     :thumbsdown:

[Shagbark Hickory]

7. If you think that's bad, around this time last year I got a shiny new CC in the mail that ...

I didn't even apply for.
All I had to do was call the number and activate it.

It came with a letter that said if you don't want the account, call anytime to cancel!

The banks are up to the same old shit and won't change their ways. It's time to get serious about regulation.

[NNN0LHI]

9. Did that shiny new CC you got in the mail have the name John or Jane Doe on it?

And was the credit card number on it something like 0000 0000 0000 0000?

Because I have never seen an actual situation where someone received a valid CC in the mail that they or their spouse didn't apply for.

Don

[Shagbark Hickory]

10. No! It wasn't a fake card. It was a real live card w/ my name. All I had to do was activate.

Like I said, it came with a letter that said if you want to CANCEL, call the number. As in the reverse of how you normally go about getting a CC.

[PassingFair]

8. Their lastet scam is raising limits or offering "O%" interest for transferred balances...

The fine print says that they will charge
5% or whatever percent they want on the
initial balance transfer.

This is something that they didn't do
before. The terms USED to be 5% or
$50.00, whichever is the least.

Now it's whichever is GREATER.

We have an old balance that my
husband has managed to bounce around
for 6 years or so, a business account,
that we never paid interest on.

Good thing its down to a small amount now,
because the painless transfer days are over.

[texastoast]

11. I transfer

if the rate and the transfer fee will be less than I would pay on the original card's interest. I don't mind going into a little debt if I can get the bank's money at 0% and can get the debt paid off before the rate expires. This is the way I hedge against inflation (somehwhat). But when you like down with snakes, you have to keep a watchful eye, and nowadays, the banks and card companies tell you that they can change their mind about any little thing any time they want. The slightest little misstep . . .