I did not actually misplace the card..it was closed due to inactivity. I received a letter in the mail telling me that one of the credit cards that I own was closed because I had not used it in a long time. It was not one of my older cards, nor was it a card with a high limit so I am not too upset at losing it. I had been thinking about reducing the number of cards that I have and just keeping the three oldest ones which also have the highest limits and best rewards.
That way I would have a Discover, a Visa and a Master card to my name. I am not concerned right now about the hit to my credit score because of the reduction in my available credit, but I do think about the fact that the reason listed for the closing is NOT “closed at consumer’s request.”
I think I need to just bite the bullet on the cards that I do not use and go ahead and close them now and have that statement added than to wait and have the cards closed by the company.
At least they let you know. I had one card that came up to it’s expiration date and they just didn’t send me a new one. When I called to inquire, they were like “Oh yeah, you haven’t used it in a while, so we didn’t send you a new one and just closed the account.” Ohhhhh…kay.
Wow that was rough. I logged in to the account and in big red letters it said…this account has been closed and the credit limit was reduced to $5.
I don’t know why they did not just take it down to zero…what would I do with the $5?
I will not take this as a loss, but as an indicator that it is time to rid yourself of your dormant cards, lest you be led into temptation in the future 😉
Credit Card companies are not your friends, that much is clear. They want you to use the card so they can profit of it, and don’t want you to keep the card for a rainy day. That doesn’t suit them!
That’s horrible but honestly, at least they notified you… And now you can get started on closing your other less used credit cards. For me, I have no reason to carry around so many so I stick to about 2-3 credit cards.
When I read the title of post, I thought you missed it. However if you were already planning to reduce the number of cards, I think your bank helped you in this. 🙂
This happened to me when I went to Europe. We wanted to use our Capital One card as they don’t charge conversion fees as all other do. Our card got canceled about a month before. We tried to apply for a new one (750+credit) and we were denied. Oh well their loss!
Sorry to hear about that. Hope you’re able to get it sorted and find future solutions to prevent any problems. I too have about a pair or two of credit cards as it’s probably unsafe to carry any more.
Till then,
Jean
I only physically carry two credit cards and the rest stay at home.
If you close your credit cards you lower your credit to debt ratio – which can lower your credit score. If you don’t use the card, why not store it somewhere safe and just leave it open? If the company decides to close it, then just let them. If you don’t use it (and it is stored away safely), you don’t have the account number available so there isn’t much risk of someone getting ahold of it.
that’s a 100% true better to have the accounts closed by you, than the company doing it ’cause you haven’t used the card in awhile
I lost my credit card at school and i don’t have the credit card number all i remember is the last 3 #’s on the back. What if somebody started spending it and i got a a big amount to payback? Can u spend like that when it is a temporary visa card you got from a store?
Were the notes about why the account was closed the same across the three major credit reporting agencies?
Also sounds like you were fortunate in that the account that was closed “shouldn’t” have a terribly detrimental effect on your score.