For years, my bank of choice was Bank of America (BOA). I had my checking and savings account with them for nigh on eight years. Due to selling a house, and a couple of rather nice tax refunds, a few times I had enough money in my checking account (albeit temporarily) to qualify for a “Gold” account. Rather than asking me if I’d like to upgrade, they just did it. Subsequently, after I moved the money, usually within a matter of days, they turned around and fined me for not meeting the “Gold” account’s minimum. After the third time they did this, I got fed up and canceled everything I had with them.
If you track financial dealings at all, you’ll know that BOA is now one of the largest players in the banking industry. My last credit card (a Platinum rewards card) issuer was bought out by BOA last year and because I liked the card, I stuck it out with BOA. Until recently.
I made a payment on the 8th of last month, then I made another payment on the second of this month. Unfortunately, my billing cycle apparently runs wonky and rather than having made two payments in two months, I made two payments in one month. To make a long story short, BOA ticked me off with a late fee that they refused to remove, so I quit them…again.
I need a credit card for sundry monthly expenses and just because these days you need a credit card. So, I went online to a couple of these Credit Card compare Web sites and eventually settled on a “Diamond” rewards card from Capital One with a fairly low rate. I applied, and thanks to my 784 credit score, was approved immediately.
When I got the card in the mail, I reviewed the details. Everything looked hunky-dory until I got to the “Credit Limit” field and it said, “$1,000.00.”
A thousand dollars? I couldn’t even buy a refrigerator with that, much less book a vacation or finance my takeover of a third-world country. Thinking that maybe this was some kind of introductory, “Call us and let us try to upsell you a toaster, and while you’re on the phone we’ll up your limit” kind of thing, I called their no-customer service line only to be told that nope, $1,000 is my limit. When I asked what they based it on, they said my credit score and my credit history with Capital One.
Well, I DON’T HAVE a credit history with Capitol One, so I guess that outweighed my perfect credit. So, I told the fellow on the phone to cancel this card too. He was staggeringly unconcerned, “Thank you sir for calling Capital One, is there anything else I can do for you?”
I hung up.
Without going through the litany of debt I have held and/or paid off over the last 15 years, and my current situation, $1,000 is an insult. Though I’ll admit, I never thought I’d get upset over not being offered enough credit. I often scoff at the commercials that use the buzz phrase, “Get the credit you deserve” thinking it stuffy and pretentious, but I’m coming to realize that I fit that demographic. At this point in my life, there are a few things I think I deserve:
- 15 minutes of quiet bathroom time each day (What? I read…)
- A guilt-free day of golf once every month and a half
- A fine cigar if I’m out with the guys
- Good running shoes
AND some friggin CREDIT!
Otherwise, what the heck am I working so hard for?
Postulates & Pastimes 
We just paid off most of our credit cards.. And when you pay them off in large lump sums, they tend to “reward” you with additional credit.
I have a Wells Fargo account that we paid off by paying three large “lump sum” payments… Each resulted in higher credit… I got a letter in the mail two days ago (that looked like a “late-payment-o-gram”) – that instead thanked me – and informed me that due to our wonderful history with Wells Fargo, they were upping our credit to 15.9K… Yikes… the thought of fifteen thousand dollars worth of CREDIT CARD debt is enough to make my stomach chrun…. But, the more open creidt you have – the better your credit score gets… So – I think I’ll lock that card up in our lockbox, and just let that open credit just “sit” and work for me.
Unbelieveable – 1,000… That seems very odd to me… My 19 year old kid who works at McDonalds gets offers for 1,000.00 limit credit cards almost every day.
Good luck with your search.
We recently switched to the Chase Freedom card b/c it has a cash-back component. We now pay as many bills as possible and then pay off the c.c. every month in the interest of increasing cash back.
Anway, obtaining the new card meant cancelling the old card (I’m a 1-credit card person much to the dismay of every retail establishment out there). I miraculously was transferred to somebody I could understand when I called and they threw out all kinds of offers for cash back and a lower interest rate….hmmmm…funny the things that get offered when you’re leaving.
I think my dog got a credit card in the mail with a $1500 limit. Just kidding, actually. That’s crazy. It drives me nuts when companies screw up financial matters. I catch things all the time, and I wonder how many people get taken if they don’t pay careful attention.