Credit card rant

[JDgreen227]

Bird...given my impeccable credit rating and record, it baffles me as to why Chase is so reluctant to let me charge 10% of my credit limit without jumping through hoops and obtaining prior authorization. I have told them multiple times the reasons I find their inane policies restrictive and asked for their ideas on how to reach a compromise. Given their unwillingness to make any changes, I am simply choosing to quit using their card for anything but a token number of transactions. It should not be THAT difficult for them to compromise but they refuse to. For what it is worth I have never come within 25% of any credit limit on any card I have had over a near 40 year period. My wife, however....don't get me started on her....:laughing:

 

[LazySusanFarms]

My wife manages a large credit card portfolio for a regional bank and most of the good points have been made. What I would point out is that a credit card spending limit is a signature only loan from a bank which you can access anytime you desire. Pre-2008, everyone loved banks because of all the great stuff they did for us. Wake up, they were charging such high fees on the marginal customers that we all got free stuff. Now, everyone knows the score and we have to pay for our own stuff when using the banks. Its gonna get a lot worse. Banks spend a lot of time doing data mining to watch your behavior in REAL time now. They want to see how your buying habits change. For example, right now, debit card use is way down and credit card use is way up. Wonder why? This credit card that allows you a $25k - $50k signature loan is going to get a lot more complicated.

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

Just curious...are you telling us you made a $6100 cash withdrawal or credit card purchase on your card using a machine? Even my local credit union limits withdrawal transactions to $500 per day.

Kitchen reno. Deposit on new cabinets. CC purchase using merchant POP machine. I never put a cash withdrawal on the CC unless dire emergency, interest charges are too high.

A Debit Card is for cash advances or cash back at selected stores. Yes the Debit Card has limits for daily / weekly cash advance, but based on my input and needs.

 

[dave1949]

I think it is odd the OP cannot get past this limit too. My wife just put a $13,000 charge on her credit card and nobody blinked. It is a Chase card and I assure you, that is far, far outside our normal charges. We passed a large purchase through the card so she can build up some hotel and airline credits rather than just send a check. I know that is all funny money, but I didn't make up the rules.

 

[Jstpssng]

Why not get a card with a local bank that knows you and your habits? (preferablly one which didn't get bailout money. ) Banks don't make money from charging interest anymore... they get it by charging service and late fees which can start at 20% per month of what they lent you.

 

[Aging TOO Fast]

Tell you guys what my real issue is about having to call to get authorization over $500 for a charge: I cannot hear nor use a phone of any type, meaning the cell phone call probably 99% of you take for granted isn't possible for me. To contact my credit card company I need to be at home and use a TDD, and 2/3rds of the time the TDD # at Chase isn't working so I end up using the Relay Center which means I have to provide all my CC information to a third party (Relay operator) and I absolutely HATE doing that. Wouldn't you?

That would stink (relay op)! what about having the wife ( on those rare purchase occassions and you can't reach TDD) be the relay (your ears) cumbersome but she's family.... or just stick the purchase on her card?

regardless, it's a pain in the TAIL.... but just had a thought.. Maybe just need to EXERCISE YOUR CARD,
for her purchases, then they might raise yours (Call in amount) because you are always calling frequently... for a while..... play their game with her purchases, on your card, to get the (your) safety raised. Still a pain , BUT???? Might work.

Or like you mentioned in a post use it for trivial purchases.
I am assuming that your card (account) and her card are separate?, instead of joint? or has the bank actually on a joint pair of cards created
two different purchase (safety amounts) based on user?

You might consider getting another card that might not mess with you as much, and might even have better rates, if you were to carry a balance for a short bit.
BUT as I understand scorings ( if you thought about it) DON"T CANCEL THIS CARD, Until or unless you have aquired One or two cards to replace it. Cancelling a card ( losing credit power/ or total credit limit) will cause your credit score to drop at least for a while. Even applying and getting a new card can lower you score for a bit too.. I Believe, then moves up gradually again...

 

[JDgreen227]

That would stink (relay op)! what about having the wife ( on those rare purchase occassions and you can't reach TDD) be the relay (your ears) cumbersome but she's family.... or just stick the purchase on her card?

regardless, it's a pain in the TAIL.... but just had a thought.. Maybe just need to EXERCISE YOUR CARD,
for her purchases, then they might raise yours (Call in amount) because you are always calling frequently... for a while..... play their game with her purchases, on your card, to get the (your) safety raised. Still a pain , BUT???? Might work.

Or like you mentioned in a post use it for trivial purchases.
I am assuming that your card (account) and her card are separate?, instead of joint? or has the bank actually on a joint pair of cards created
two different purchase (safety amounts) based on user?

You might consider getting another card that might not mess with you as much, and might even have better rates, if you were to carry a balance for a short bit.
BUT as I understand scorings ( if you thought about it) DON"T CANCEL THIS CARD, Until or unless you have aquired One or two cards to replace it. Cancelling a card ( losing credit power/ or total credit limit) will cause your credit score to drop at least for a while. Even applying and getting a new card can lower you score for a bit too.. I Believe, then moves up gradually again...

Thanks for your input...we have two separate cards but both are issued by Chase. The issue about using my card more frequently for a large purchase is: At my age (61) I DON'T need to buy much of anything major and few purchases I make are over $200-300. The last time I made an over-$500 purchase with it was well over a year ago. Your idea of using my card for her purchases...good in principle but dangerous because she is a spendaholic who can't keep to a budget while I am the exact opposite....:laughing:

 

[rtimgray]

The only time we ever had any issue with a CC was indeed a Chase Card and it was denied because we made what was (likely) and apparent suspicious purchase. We were on vacation (1,000 miles away from home) and made a large electronics purchase - I can see why this was suspicious. A quick call to Chase and we were good to go. That has been the one and only time. Since then, no matter where we travel or what purchases we make, we have yet to have to call again.

I'm glad that you're getting another card and it's too bad that you can't resolve this with Chase, but such is life. I would also agree with the earlier poster that indicated that they (Chase, or any other card issuer for that matter) don't really consider you a deadbeat, because they do indeed make money everytime you use their card. Of course they would like you to make more large purchases and pay interest, but they do have a vested interest in having many, many cards in circulation so that they make a sizeable sum from merchant fees, regardless if the cardholder pays off the balance each month or not.

Good luck and take care.

 

[charlz]

I did not read all the posts in the thread so maybe this has already been covered. I work for a credit card company but in the IT side not the business side (and not the one in question here).

There are fraud prevention algorithms built into the authorization system. These look for behavior out of 'the norm' for a particular card user. For instance if you only make small purchases in one city and suddenly there is a few thousand dollar purchase in another state it will 'flag' that purchase and prevent the charge from going through until it is confirmed that you made the purchase. This protects the credit card company and you, as you found out it can also be a bit of a hassle.

This is not something that can be turned off, calling the credit card company won't help. Changing credit card companies won't help in the long run as the same thing will eventually happen as you build transaction history. What you need to do is game the system by using your card more and building up a broader transaction history. This way these types of purchases will be less likely to get flagged requiring your confirmation that you made the purchase. This is why your wife can buy whatever with out issue; because she uses her card more.

Or, if you really don't want to use your card more, living with it might be a little easier now that you know why it happens and that there really isn't anything that can be done about it except to use your card more.

 

[JDgreen227]

I did not read all the posts in the thread so maybe this has already been covered. I work for a credit card company but in the IT side not the business side (and not the one in question here).

There are fraud prevention algorithms built into the authorization system. These look for behavior out of 'the norm' for a particular card user. For instance if you only make small purchases in one city and suddenly there is a few thousand dollar purchase in another state it will 'flag' that purchase and prevent the charge from going through until it is confirmed that you made the purchase. This protects the credit card company and you, as you found out it can also be a bit of a hassle.

This is not something that can be turned off, calling the credit card company won't help. Changing credit card companies won't help in the long run as the same thing will eventually happen as you build transaction history. What you need to do is game the system by using your card more and building up a broader transaction history. This way these types of purchases will be less likely to get flagged requiring your confirmation that you made the purchase. This is why your wife can buy whatever with out issue; because she uses her card more.

Or, if you really don't want to use your card more, living with it might be a little easier now that you know why it happens and that there really isn't anything that can be done about it except to use your card more.

Thanks for the input, I know WHY it happens but there is really no need for me to charge a whole lot of stuff with high dollar value and I certainly am not going to begin buying costly stuff I don't need just so they will feel more comfortable with my charging large amounts....what angers me is the "Take it or leave it" attitude Chase has...there is NO REASON WHATSOEVER they cannot let me make a $2000 charge LOCALLY without jumping thru hoops. NONE AT ALL.

 

[Mousefield]

Why not keep the Chase card and just get another one from another issuer? If the card you have costs you nothing to use, it will likely cost you nothing to keep and not use? I've got a couple of cards from Chase and a couple from other banks - I've not had any problems yet.

Good luck and take care.

I used to have cards from a couple of banks, I didn't use them for over 2 years and they cancelled them. Would have to reapply to get new ones, well I didn't bother. I only have one card and use it a lot and pay it off every month. Wife has one card that she uses occasionally; this is to keep her credit score in good standing.

 

[Bird]

I used to have cards from a couple of banks, I didn't use them for over 2 years and they cancelled them. Would have to reapply to get new ones, well I didn't bother. I only have one card and use it a lot and pay it off every month. Wife has one card that she uses occasionally; this is to keep her credit score in good standing.

My experience has been just the opposite. I had a Citibank card for 20 years; used it a great deal for several years, but then not at all for 5 years or so, used it once just to see if it still worked, and it did. Then a year or so later, I called them to cancel it simply because I had no use for it. They didn't want to cancel it. In fact, I had to get a bit mad and adamant with them before they'd agree to cancel it. But canceling that old card actually caused my credit rating (FICO score) to go down.:laughing: However, I ran a credit check with one of the 3 companies yesterday, and without a single late payment on anything ever, and in spite of canceling that card, they showed my lowered FICO score to be 895 (on a scale of 501-990).:laughing:

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Everything I own is paid for and has been for several years, the last thing I bought was a Chevrolet Tahoe for my wife, paid cash for it just because I didn't want any monthly payments, long story short I wanted a new zero turn mower and the Gravely dealer was running a 0% interest special so my wife said why not let your money earn interest and use their money, so I said that sounds smart, long story short I go to the dealer and fill out the credit application and in a few minutes he tells me they won't let me have the 0% because I basically have no credit. I was suprised and rather embarassed as a guy I work with just bought one and got the 0% and he owes everybody and their brother, vehicle, home mortgage, multiple credit cards etc, etc. I feel like I have been penalized for being responsible and handling my business, this has been an eye opener for me. I did leave with the mower though.

 

[CBW1999]

That's how they trap you. The world of credit is entirely its own game and under their control. In the fine print now you will likely find provisions to to bump up your interest if you make a late telephone or electricity payment.

Even worse, The insurance industry uses your credit score as part of determining what you pay. Somehow they think this is reasonable. Those who are the most responsible in using their money tend to get the shaft. Believe it or not, your credit score improves if you maintain a 30 percent balance used of your total limit. All geared toward maintaining interest charges.

All a big game- and when it all goes down the tubes- who gets the bailout?

 

[JDgreen227]

Everything I own is paid for and has been for several years, the last thing I bought was a Chevrolet Tahoe for my wife, paid cash for it just because I didn't want any monthly payments, long story short I wanted a new zero turn mower and the Gravely dealer was running a 0% interest special so my wife said why not let your money earn interest and use their money, so I said that sounds smart, long story short I go to the dealer and fill out the credit application and in a few minutes he tells me they won't let me have the 0% because I basically have no credit. I was suprised and rather embarassed as a guy I work with just bought one and got the 0% and he owes everybody and their brother, vehicle, home mortgage, multiple credit cards etc, etc. I feel like I have been penalized for being responsible and handling my business, this has been an eye opener for me. I did leave with the mower though.

Your situation with that dealer is not unusual, it seems weird that those like you who have smart money skills and avoid paying interest as much as possible are given the shaft when it comes to situations as you describe. Look at me, no mortgage, no car payments, steady income, use only one or two credit cards and never carry a balance and have an impeccable credit record going back 35 plus years, yet Chase feels I may be a liability and wants me to call them whenever I have an over $500 charge to put on my card. You should NOT feel embarassed because you are a smart money manager with common sense. It has always seemed bass-ackwards to me that people who pay on a dozen credit cards at one time are considered more responsible than those who have one or two cards or none at all.

 

[not2old]

Everything I own is paid for and has been for several years, the last thing I bought was a Chevrolet Tahoe for my wife, paid cash for it just because I didn't want any monthly payments, long story short I wanted a new zero turn mower and the Gravely dealer was running a 0% interest special so my wife said why not let your money earn interest and use their money, so I said that sounds smart, long story short I go to the dealer and fill out the credit application and in a few minutes he tells me they won't let me have the 0% because I basically have no credit. I was suprised and rather embarassed as a guy I work with just bought one and got the 0% and he owes everybody and their brother, vehicle, home mortgage, multiple credit cards etc, etc. I feel like I have been penalized for being responsible and handling my business, this has been an eye opener for me. I did leave with the mower though.

This is when you bargain with them for a lower price for cash. Always works for me.

 

[Pixguy]

This is when you bargain with them for a lower price for cash. Always works for me.

Not so fast...

When I bought the wife a new Honda with cash in '10 they were actually diappointed that I didn't use any finance as they get a cut of that too.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Well the rest of the story is that I asked him to find out how long I had to pay on it to establish some credit he got with me and said that the company said 1 year so I gave him half of the money in cash and financed the remainder for 1 year, hope it establishes me some credit, the funny thing is I have never bounced a check and when I used to have monthly bills I always paid on time and my light bill and phone bill come right out of my checking account, I guess I have just been flying under the radar to long. No matter what happens if this doesn't work I'll just be a cash payer once again and if I don't have the cash for it I'll just have to assume that I don't need it.

 

[Bird]

This is when you bargain with them for a lower price for cash. Always works for me.

That used to work, and may still work in some cases, but as Pixguy said, the dealer gets a part of the financing, if he is the one who arranges the financing. I know of one instance in which an RV salesman had a buyer intending to pay cash, but he gave the buyer a little better price if the buyer would let the dealership finance the RV and just give his word that he wouldn't pay off the loan for at least 6 months.

 

[Bird]

Believe it or not, your credit score improves if you maintain a 30 percent balance used of your total limit.

I sure don't want to get anywhere even close to that 30%:laughing: but I pay credit cards in full each month, and don't owe anything except a mortgage. So last year when I bought a new Toro ZTR with a 3 year warranty, and they were offering 3 year financing at 1.99% interest . . ., well, I'm making payments of $80 a month.:laughing: But I would not have done that if I hadn't had enough money in the bank to pay it off at any time. How much does it help my credit rating? I don't know, but I know it sure can't hurt it.