Credit card companies are beginning to clean up the profile of their average customer, and they're not doing so by offering lower interest rates that make it easier to pay off debt. Instead, they're just canceling the cards of those customers who are simply bad for business. There are few things more humiliating than discovering that your card is no longer active when you're attempting to make a purchase, but there are certain situations when your credit card issuer can legally cancel your account without warning. Find out what they are when you read more.
According to The Wall Street Journal, an issuer can cancel your credit card without notice if you've defaulted or are delinquent on the account, or if you haven't used the card in more than a year. If you have any cards that have been idle in your wallet for a while but they're important to your credit history, then use them now to make necessary purchases but pay the bills off immediately.
Credit card issuers are allowed to close your account — and send notice within 30 days of cancellation — if they've reassessed your financial situation and concluded that you're too risky to keep as a customer. Even if you've stayed on top of your bills recently, a late bill from your past could give the company reason to close your account.
Have any of your credit cards been suddenly canceled by your credit card company?
Christian Dior
My-Wardrobe.com
Andrea Conti
Does having a credit card canceled like that adversely affect your credit score? I have a few store credit cards I haven't used in years, and I was thinking of closing them, but I didn't want to take a hit to my credit score. . . . I was just going to leave them alone, but if the store might do the dirty work for me, then awesome! I haven't been using the credit cards because I don't want them, so I really don't mind.
1I only have one card and I use it fairly regularly for buying gas and to pay bills, so I doubt they'd cancel it. We're only bad for business to the CC company because they never get any interest from us...we pay the balance on the card in full every month.
2I have the same question as wmoonw... I have many credit cards inactive (literally frozen in the fridge).
I wonder what's better/worse for the credit score:
31. leaving them inactive?
2. having the company close them?
3. me closing/cancelling them?
Interesting topic.
4I have several credit cards/store cards. I have 1 store card that I haven't used in 3 years. I went to that particular store for the first time in 3 years and they told me that my card has been inactive for so long that it was already closed. However, they never sent me a notice or anything about closing my account. So....stores can close your cards without you even knowing!
Interesting. Good to know.
Personally, I have had no company cancel my card. We only actively use one card, so I doubt that company would cancel on us. If the other companies cancel, I wouldn't care less. We pay off our credit card balances, too. If worse comes to worse, and all our companies cancel our cards, we'll pay cash (or use our debit card). We can afford that. We've always lived within our means.
5I've had a card canceled. The reason, the amount of available credit grew too fast. I didn't even use the thing within 20% of it's limit and it was paid off every month.
I'm still receiving applications from other banks. I can't wait until my car payments end in May 2010.
6I had a bank cancel my credit card while I was on vacation in June - they sent notice June 5 that they would close it the 20th unless I called them and told them to switch it over to a different kind of card (they were discontinuing the kind I had). I was hiking in China, oblivious, and came back to the US to discover my card didn't work. I could not believe they were legally allowed to do that on such short notice.
7I just received a letter in the mail saying that my credit cards was cancelled (no warning). I just made $2100+ payment on it so that we could use it for when we move. I'm calling Monday to complain. How can they cancel on a customer who is consistent with payments and who makes such a big payment on it. I now have a $400 dollar balance on what used to be a $2500 limit. I called to see my balance and it says the $400 and something and that I have no credit left. I'm ticked!
8Chase sent a cancellation letter last month saying due to credit. I pulled my credit report to see if there was something I didn't know about...Nothing new....My score is over 700 on all 3 reports, no late payments...I pay the card off monthly or make at least double the monthly minimum.
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