Comments on: Credit Cards Requiring Minimum Annual Purchases

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 09:05:16 +0000

Citibank is digging their own grave!

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:28:28 +0000

When you close a card, your total credit utilization (total balance/total credit line) increases because the denominator decreases. Thus your credit score decreases, though generally not much.

By: Connie Kim

Connie Kim — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:08:43 +0000

I had the same exact situation as Cheryl. I was charged $60 this month because I don’t use this card enough and they said they “lose” money for keeping this card. I have had this card for past 6 years without the annual fee and I find it totally ridiculous.

I don’t understand why my credit score will go down if I cancel one of my credit cards (I had two, one being Citi the other which I am keeping is AMEX) while I owed nothing (zero balance). Can someone explain?

By: cheryl

cheryl — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:27:45 +0000

I called Citi and they told me they were charging me the $60 annual fee because I don’t use the card enough and they want me to use it more. The card I have originally was a no annual fee card. I asked if they could issue me another card with the same account number and they said “no”. I have to close the existing account and open a new one. And get this. I was told that the card would not have annual fee for one year and then I would get charged a fee. So, what is the point of staying with Citi? I am going to get a new card and then cancel my account with Citi. I, too, like many others pay my bill monthly. Perhaps American Express is the way to go.

By: mildred hasser

mildred hasser — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:46:24 +0000

Could I get a list of all credit cards that charge a fee for not charging enough or often enough?

By: BrianC

BrianC — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:24:46 +0000

I currently have 3 Citi cards–no letter received yet, but I’ll likely cancel as well if one arrives.

By: CC

CC — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:46:08 +0000

I cancelled by Citibank card the day I got the letter, no balance on it, so bye bye. It may hurt my credit score, but why pay for something I rarely use.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:13:14 +0000

I don’t think it’s bass-ackwards, it’s just that the various factors aren’t taken in tandem.

For example, if you knew nothing else and only saw that credit utilization went up, you’d naturally assume the person was riskier because they’re using up more of their available debt than before. However, if you also saw a card cancellation, then you should be able to put two and two together to realize they just canceled a card and are not actually riskier. They have all the information they just choose to do it this way because it’s safer.

There is no penalty for credit bureaus labeling a safe person riskier than they are, but there is a penalty for the reverse.

By: Wizard Prang

Wizard Prang — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:55:10 +0000

I have canceled two of my three credit cards in the past year. Since I am debt-free except the Mortgage, there were no other changes of which I am aware. My score has dropped from 778 to 760.

Yes, it can affect your score, but unless you are borderline, it is not enough of a drop to make a difference.

Funny, using commonsense one would have thought that reducing your dependence on debt would make you more creditworthy, but in the bass-ackwards upside-down world of financial services, that is no the case…

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:16:30 +0000

I’m with you Andrew. It’s possible that canceling a card won’t affect your score but that’s not true 100% of the time.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:00:44 +0000

I don’t believe this is entirely accurate. One factor in your credit score is percentage of total credit utilized, and closing a card without paying down the equivalent of its entire credit line on other cards will increase your percentage utilized. If the credit line of the closed card is small and you carry low/no balances on your remaining cards, you probably won’t see much of a decrease in your score, but who canceled the card is largely or entirely irrelevant.

By: Ron

Ron — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:26:01 +0000

I’ve cancelled cards in the past and it never harmed my credit score. You just need to make sure that the record shows “Canceled by customer”. If they think that the bank closed the card on you, then it would lower your score.

By: RHA

RHA — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:36:08 +0000

Credit cards and credit card companies will do anything to make a buck. Anyone today who thinks credit cards are the way to go need a reality check.

By: SavingEverything

SavingEverything — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:56:51 +0000

I dont like the strategy of buying something, even coins, just to avoid a $35 annual fee. Heck, 2% merchant’s processing credit card transactions for $2400 is $48. So, if you only spend 1200, they get $24 and a $35 annual fee from you, with the first year free? Ridiculous. If it’s your only Citi credit card with the oldest history, then you have to save it. But, do not feed or pay any fee to Citibank for that! I’d call Citi and complain. Write/email to their customer service, and directors or VP or Pres of marketing and customer relations. They need to be heard if they want to keep us as customer. Also, if that fails, you can call Citi and ask for a different Citi credit card that has no annual fee, as mentioned by sara. The only thing that changes is your citi credit card # and type of card; your credit history, lines, credit reportings do not change on your credit report. If that doesn’t work, or all Citi cards charge annual fee, then you need to figure out what’s worth it? Keep it and pay, or call to cancel, see if they retain you, and cancel if they dont. Be sure to tell them the reason and tell them you’re doing business with xxxxx issuer (or, go with a credit union credit card).

Now, there is a way to fulfill the requirement; but I’wont advise it here since it does not send any message to Citi that we dont like this annual fee product.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:55:42 +0000

Self-employment is not exactly a new or rare condition. I would assume that if you can produce solid tax returns for three or more consecutive years documenting profit (not revenue) of 3-5 times the loan amount, approval should be a piece of cake. Was this person’s income too small or too spotty?