Hi Everyone,

I did call AMEX just to confirm what I actually thought. They actually gave me 2 reasons for the decrease.

1. "Inactivity" was the first. They stated the card had not been used in 6 months. I actually over-quoted the csr and stated yeah actually it's been over a year, since February 28th 2008 that I used the card. The rep states" Ms.Cole" its actually not a bad thing, but we are just not seeing theres much usage on this card.

I asked about my other cards, she says "Maybe it hasn't reached those cards" yet but I'm showing that you are actively using those cards!!! -I must have laughed out loud, while thinking to myself during this time, wouldn't they prefer that I pay them off & dont use'em as opposed to running a muck-chuck!!
2. 2ndly They said, on 1 of my student loan accounts(Sallie Mae Private/MBA Loan) & 2 of my credit card balances the debt/ratio was a little high, they are currently over the ratio (over 50% utilization).

She said my FICO score is good, pymt history is great, and told me to try back in about 6 months to see if they would increase the limit back to what it was previously. I told her thanks, but probably wouldn't need it anyways.

I hope this helps someone else......

Rockin35!

That's a good idea but other lenders who I haven't worked with will NOT know that. That's what bothers me.

that depends young man. Lets say that the lender is BOA and you have a 2 or 3 year history with the bank of never being late and all of a sudden you lose your job and are late on a credit card payment. I will assume you will go in and talk to the bank about your current circumstances and try to pay as much as you can on the appropiate due date.

Now obviously it will count against you (being late) but the bank will also see that you took a proactive approach to dealing with your outstanding account and might look favorably upon you when you become employed again and get back on track.

I would think that if you were more "reactive" the consequences would be more severe................

I know that is not a good habit but every other day, I keep thinkin' about how devastating it would be for me to file BK and/or have late 30+ day late payments on my reports due to the economic crisis. I have worked really hard on my credit and still do and would like to be known as a responsible young borrower to lenders in the future. If I was to file BK or not able to make minimum payments, I would look like another youngster who didn't know how to handle credit.

Thanks for sharing the info Rockin35, every time I see posts like yours, I just shake my head and start to think about the joy we used to hear from those who were approved or received cli's. Its a shame how all that joy has decreased, and now we are posting heartbreaking stories about our credit cards. I am just glad that we have all stuck together and working hard to maintain the credit that we currently have, I know it is hard and I would not be surprised if I heard someone post that they have:
1. Filed BK
2. Paid Late
3. Can barely make the min balance
4. Over the limit
5. Can't make a payment at all

I just want to give some luv out to all of those who are struggling and those who may not have to encounter this struggle at all. I have just came to the conclusion, that if they start cutting my cards, they might just be doing me a favor for the long run.

They are limiting their exposures as much as possible. For example if you have a $3k limit use less than 20 percent of it, they will reduce your limit while they can.

I SOOO agree with this!!! I just got a credit limit decrease on my American Express/Student Card that I've had for 10 years, even though the limit was already small $1000, they cut it to $500 just last week. I really never used the card, maybe once during the fiscal year of 2008 only. But who would have thought not using the card would be 'worst news'? I guess AMEX are cutting cost, no need to offer credit to someone thats not using it anyways.

Rockin35!

Hello,

I have 3 AMEX accounts, one is the Student American Express,Blue From American Express, and the Costco. I had this card since I graduated college 10 years ago, only had $700 limit then later moved to $1000 from 2 years ago. Here in the last year of 2008 I didn't use it but once back in February 2008.

I used it 2 weeks ago and spent $19.10. I logged in today to pay the account, and noticed the Credit Available was no longer $1000 but $480.90???? I paid the balance, waited 5 minutes, logged back in and sure enough the "available" limit was $500.

My TrueBlue ($1100) limit remains the same, and my Costco AMEX remains at $2000.

So I guess it is true they are slashing credit lines regardless of payment history, they are surely cutting limits where-ever they can cut the cost of monthly maintenance and for those that are not really using the product.

Rockin35!

So fa they havent doen it too me and I have 3 accounts with them.

They are limiting their exposures as much as possible. For example if you have a $3k limit use less than 20 percent of it, they will reduce your limit while they can.

FYI

Lots of creditors are doing it. Did they give you a reason? What are your scores and utilization like?

FYI:
Does everyone know that HSBC cut everybodys credit limit within the last couple of days. I logged in and saw the CLD as well. Its not an inactive account. This appears to be on the hsbc side not orchard.

They want to choke us with their interest rates.

That's very true and the sad part of it is, they seem to be choking every good paying customer as much as possible....

They want to choke us with their interest rates.

thanks Meya, you know how you have one card that you save for a rainy day that was it, im glad i did not have a balance on it that just encourages me to pay my other cards down and save those for a rainy day

I feel you tanyia, that is why I am paying all my debt down as we speak. They are seriously not playing with us now.

Tanyia, sorry to hear about your bad experience with HSBC but all creditors are closing inactive accounts within 3-6 months. If they are cards that you don't use, make sure you buy a pack of gum or a bottle of water once a month to keep it active. As soon as you get home, make a payment for the amount you charged and you won't have to worry about it for some time.

I use my store cards every 2-3 months to make sure that they stay open because I know I will need them sooner or later when I buy a big ticket item.