Ask HN: Credit cards being revoked, lowering limits | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Credit cards being revoked, lowering limits

2 pointsperl4ever4 comments

I just got a letter from Chase about an Amazon branded credit card that said they are reducing my credit limit because I haven't been using it enough in the past year. BofA also sent me a letter a few months ago saying they were going to close a card due to insufficient use. Although I have been unemployed, nothing like this happened when I was.

I'm wondering if this is a trend, if it's happening to other people, if it's related to COVID and what impact it might have on others. It seems like a new thing from my perspective.

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I've got a Chase card I use very infrequently. If it goes about a year with no usage I receive a letter saying they are going to close it unless I make a charge. So I charge something to it, that refreshes the usage timer, and I move along. It has been cycled like this for about three or so years now.

> I just got a letter from Chase about an Amazon branded credit card that said they are reducing my credit limit because I haven't been using it enough in the past year.

So? Proper usage of a credit card says you never carry a balance over a statement cycle therefore whatever the magical setting of the "credit limit" happens to be is immaterial unless the new limit is so low you can not purchase anything without going over that limit.

Looking back at the last 20 years or so, it's never or almost never happened to me, and when it happens twice within a year or two, I wonder if it's more than coincidence...it makes me wonder if there are economic forces tightening credit.

Chances are that Chase and BofA both know that you are unemployed. They both siphon up lots of consumer data.

Well, I am employed for well over a year. And my credit record still has my job from several years ago, even though I provided my employment to get a loan recently. So there isn't an obvious connection. It seemed to me more like some kind of risk-reduction initiative.

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