Master 2021 Account and Relationship Closure/Termination Thread

[hegemony]

I can't wait to learn DCU's process. I wonder if I'll have to fly to MA and ring my cow bell in the lobby of a branch?

[hdporter]

Cross posting our decision to cancel my Chase Sapphire Reserve, due to a 60% reduction in travel/dining charges in 2020 vs 2019.

 

Quote

Updating w/ Result of call:  Closed the account.  Approx $400 refund of annual fees due (75% based on Oct renewal). 

 

CSR said there was no retention offer on file; none avail were I to escalate the call.  (I wonder if the fact that I solely use the card for travel/dining and have consistently redeemed at a 4%+ cashback rate was a factor.)

 

There's no question in my mind that we'll ultimately return to Chase Sapphire Reserve.  We'll probably switch it over to Bev to earn another SUB.

 

I initially asked for a downgrade to the $95 fee Sapphire Preferred, but in the 60 sec that I waited for the CSR to put the request in, it suddenly occurred to me that we had no use for a 2%/2.5% rebate card on travel/dining.  We can fall back on our old 3% combo of Chase AARP (travel) & Citi Prof (dining), which I wouldn't mind "airing out at all!

[nemo]

3 hours ago, hegemony said:

I can't wait to learn DCU's process. I wonder if I'll have to fly to MA and ring my cow bell in the lobby of a branch?

When I quit DCU, I did it by snail mail and it was quick and painless.  I wrote a one-paragraph letter asking them to close my account, enclosed the first page of my most recent statement to verify that it was my account, and mailed it.  I didn't pay attention to how many days it took (part of which was for my letter to get to them), but there was no hassle.

[hegemony]

3 hours ago, nemo said:

When I quit DCU, I did it by snail mail and it was quick and painless.  I wrote a one-paragraph letter asking them to close my account, enclosed the first page of my most recent statement to verify that it was my account, and mailed it.  I didn't pay attention to how many days it took (part of which was for my letter to get to them), but there was no hassle.

so they mailed you a check for your remaining balance? I think this is a great idea (writing a letter) to avoid the frustrations of dealing with CSRs that are paid read me a script about the wonderful 1% cashback Visa card.

[nemo]

2 hours ago, hegemony said:

so they mailed you a check for your remaining balance? I think this is a great idea (writing a letter) to avoid the frustrations of dealing with CSRs that are paid read me a script about the wonderful 1% cashback Visa card.

Yes, I transferred most of the money out ahead of time by ACH, leaving close to the $5 minimum.  IIRC, I changed my 1099 tax form communication from e-mail back to snail mail, then sent the letter, and they mailed me a check for my $5.

[swimmingwithsharks]

5 hours ago, hdporter said:

Cross posting our decision to cancel my Chase Sapphire Reserve, due to a 60% reduction in travel/dining charges in 2020 vs 2019.

 

 

I initially asked for a downgrade to the $95 fee Sapphire Preferred, but in the 60 sec that I waited for the CSR to put the request in, it suddenly occurred to me that we had no use for a 2%/2.5% rebate card on travel/dining.  We can fall back on our old 3% combo of Chase AARP (travel) & Citi Prof (dining), which I wouldn't mind "airing out at all!

A good plan, while we await the AARP transition to Barclay. 

[hdporter]

3 hours ago, swimmingwithsharks said:

A good plan, while we await the AARP transition to Barclay. 

 

Looks like I was premature in targeting my Chase AARP Travel Rewards for reuse in lieu of the cancelled CSR ... they nerfed he 3% cash back benefits from all Travel charges to just Dining / Gas in March 2019.

 

This escaped my notice because I'd been almost exclusively using CSR since late 2016, with just an occasional AARP charge to keep the account active.

 

At first glance, it seems like Citi Premier, with attractive SUB, will at least fill the premium cb hole I now face in the Hotel purchase category.  That still leaves a glaring gap in all other travel categories (occasional, but significant, air/cruise/rail/taxi/uber).  Car Rental is tentatively slated for my Citi Pro Cash (3%), but I'm unsure whether Citi nerfed  the rental CDW benefit, as was the case with their personal cards.

 

< Not exactly a well-planned strategy execution, but this is temporary since I anticipate returning to CSR once my annual travel expenditures get back to approx $30k. >

[cv91915]

11 hours ago, hdporter said:

 

Looks like I was premature in targeting my Chase AARP Travel Rewards for reuse in lieu of the cancelled CSR ... they nerfed he 3% cash back benefits from all Travel charges to just Dining / Gas in March 2019.

 

This escaped my notice because I'd been almost exclusively using CSR since late 2016, with just an occasional AARP charge to keep the account active.

 

At first glance, it seems like Citi Premier, with attractive SUB, will at least fill the premium cb hole I now face in the Hotel purchase category.  That still leaves a glaring gap in all other travel categories (occasional, but significant, air/cruise/rail/taxi/uber).  Car Rental is tentatively slated for my Citi Pro Cash (3%), but I'm unsure whether Citi nerfed  the rental CDW benefit, as was the case with their personal cards.

 

< Not exactly a well-planned strategy execution, but this is temporary since I anticipate returning to CSR once my annual travel expenditures get back to approx $30k. >

Altitude Reserve has a $750 SUB and pays 4.5% back on travel (both car rental and hotels, plus a lot more).  Net AF is $75, not $95 like the Premier.

 

Also, 4.5% back on Apple Pay, regardless of purchase category (but mainly useful at groceries stores, for our lifestyle), on the Reserve.

 

Or, Bank of America Cash Rewards Visa has no AF will pay 3% (3.75%-5.25% with relationship) when you select Travel as the 3% category (capped at $2,500/quarter).  You can have more than one of these (we have three in our HH).

[hdporter]

6 hours ago, cv91915 said:

Altitude Reserve has a $750 SUB and pays 4.5% back on travel (both car rental and hotels, plus a lot more).  Net AF is $75, not $95 like the Premier.

 

Also, 4.5% back on Apple Pay, regardless of purchase category (but mainly useful at groceries stores, for our lifestyle), on the Reserve.

 

Or, Bank of America Cash Rewards Visa has no AF will pay 3% (3.75%-5.25% with relationship) when you select Travel as the 3% category (capped at $2,500/quarter).  You can have more than one of these (we have three in our HH).

 

You're right ... this is a no-brainer.  It should be clear I was shooting from the hip yesterday.  I'll likely follow through with an app.

[cv91915]

2 hours ago, hdporter said:

 

You're right ... this is a no-brainer.  It should be clear I was shooting from the hip yesterday.  I'll likely follow through with an app.

Took me a while to warm up to this card, mainly because US Bank seems so....  Minnesota.  😛 

[swimmingwithsharks]

11 hours ago, cv91915 said:

Altitude Reserve has a $750 SUB and pays 4.5% back on travel (both car rental and hotels, plus a lot more).  Net AF is $75, not $95 like the Premier.

 

Also, 4.5% back on Apple Pay, regardless of purchase category (but mainly useful at groceries stores, for our lifestyle), on the Reserve.

 

Or, Bank of America Cash Rewards Visa has no AF will pay 3% (3.75%-5.25% with relationship) when you select Travel as the 3% category (capped at $2,500/quarter).  You can have more than one of these (we have three in our HH).

Another Bank of America option, if you are a AAA (Auto Club) member and considering a new card application, is the AAA rewards Visa, no annual fee, no FTF, and 3% cashback on travel, no cap. There are also 2% categories on the AAA card, but of course that's irrelevant when you have one or more of the 2% back on everything cards. The downside to the AAA card is the rewards expire 5 years after you earn them and they can only be redeemed after you've earned $50, but you can redeem the full amount once it's over $50. So after about every $1670 spend in travel, you can redeem the cash.

 

Not ideal, but no annual fee and no cap. 

[hdporter]

7 hours ago, swimmingwithsharks said:

Another Bank of America option, if you are a AAA (Auto Club) member and considering a new card application, is the AAA rewards Visa, no annual fee, no FTF, and 3% cashback on travel, no cap. There are also 2% categories on the AAA card, but of course that's irrelevant when you have one or more of the 2% back on everything cards. The downside to the AAA card is the rewards expire 5 years after you earn them and they can only be redeemed after you've earned $50, but you can redeem the full amount once it's over $50. So after about every $1670 spend in travel, you can redeem the cash.

 

Not ideal, but no annual fee and no cap. 

 

So, as I've admitted, I'm not engaged in the most strategic card search I've ever engaged in ...

 

While my travel is running on the low side, I find that I don't mind buying a hiatus before I commit to Altitude Rewards.  Truth is, if I decide to return to Chase SR at a future date, I prefer not being on the string to rationale continued Alt Rew fees (i.e. charging just enough to use up the annual credit).  Just my "thing" right now.

 

So, yeah, your suggestion of the AAA VISA (issued by BA) hit a temporary sweet spot, so I pushed the app:  $15k appr (not shabby, nothing to write home about).

 

Kudos to @cv91915 and @swimmingwithsharks for indulging me!!

[cv91915]

On 1/12/2021 at 2:37 AM, cv91915 said:

SDFCU:   Requested 01/07

It's been two weeks since I uploaded the letter asking for my account to be closed and my membership terminated.  

 

And yet when I log into their site, my savings account balance is still staring back at me, defiantly.

On 1/11/2021 at 4:21 AM, cv91915 said:

First to go is State Department Federal Credit Union.

 

This is one of the only credit unions I joined that didn't give me a reason (or reasons) to loathe them. 

Until now.

[cv91915]

On 1/21/2021 at 3:23 AM, cv91915 said:

It's been two weeks since I uploaded the letter asking for my account to be closed and my membership terminated.  

 

And yet when I log into their site, my savings account balance is still staring back at me, defiantly.

 

 

Yesterday I sent an email to SDFCU and asked them to locate the letter I had uploaded to their web site and then terminate my membership per my 1/7 request. 

 

I included the email confirmation that I'd received from them, which shows the date/time I uploaded the document, the file name, and other unique identifiers.

 

The SDFCU agent who responded to my email a few minutes ago said that they couldn't find the letter I emailed to them.

 

Um.

 

I didn't email it.  I uploaded it.  And I sent you the Q$%^$%^@$ email confirmation from your own @$%^@$&% system when I made my original email inquiry.

 

So I responded and asked them to re-read my original request, locate the letter I uploaded, and terminate my membership.

 

I waited way too long to pull the plug on this sucky kredit younyun.  

 

[cv91915]

On 1/11/2021 at 9:15 AM, cv91915 said:

I just canceled my $1 direct deposit to United States Senate FCU, and uploaded to their banking portal my signed request to close my account and termination my membership.

 

I've never received a response to the one and only other secure message I submitted to them.  This was a request to expedite the membership application of a friend I referred to them so he could get one of their car loans.

 

I also once responded honestly to a member satisfaction survey and was contacted sometime later by a branch manager.  I agreed to a phone meeting with him to discuss my concerns, which he ended up canceling because he got "too busy."  He promised to send a follow-up email with other times to meet -- but that email has never arrived.

 

This is a good summary of my membership experience with USSFCU. 

 

 

  

 

On 1/12/2021 at 5:37 AM, cv91915 said:

So far, no response from either of these CUs to my requests to close accounts/terminate memberships.

 

SDFCU:   Requested 01/07

USSFCU: Requested 01/11

 

  

 

 

On 1/13/2021 at 4:34 AM, cv91915 said:

 

The cats at USSFCU responded to my secure message late yesterday. 

 

Rather than take the requested action, the agent asked me why I wanted to leave, and then wanted me to join her in a campfire song about their participation in the CU shared branch network. 

 

As if that makes everything okay.

 

I responded more politely than this, asking again to have my account/membership terminated, and provided these four reasons:

• I had egg on my face after getting a friend to submit a membership application, after which neither of us could convince anyone to expedite the application review so he could apply for a car loan;
   
• I responded to a member satisfaction survey, and the branch manager who requested an appointment to discuss my feedback was suddenly too busy to talk at our scheduled time, promised to reschedule, and then ghosted me;
   
• Their rewards credit card is among the least rewarding I've ever seen (1X on every purchase!!!!!!!!!!!!!), and the lowish APR is of no value to a household that uses a credit card properly;
   
• Their savings rates are absolutely pathetic.  I am currently getting more on liquid savings (0.60%) than their 60-month CD pays (0.55%).  Their regular savings account currently pays 0.05%.  Even that open sewer Citibank is currently paying ten times that.

 

 

[cv91915]

On 1/21/2021 at 6:23 AM, cv91915 said:

It's been two weeks since I uploaded the letter asking for my account to be closed and my membership terminated.  

 

And yet when I log into their site, my savings account balance is still staring back at me, defiantly.

 

On 1/22/2021 at 9:24 AM, cv91915 said:

 

Yesterday I sent an email to SDFCU and asked them to locate the letter I had uploaded to their web site and then terminate my membership per my 1/7 request. 

 

I included the email confirmation that I'd received from them, which shows the date/time I uploaded the document, the file name, and other unique identifiers.

 

The SDFCU agent who responded to my email a few minutes ago said that they couldn't find the letter I emailed to them.

 

Um.

 

I didn't email it.  I uploaded it.  And I sent you the Q$%^$%^@$ email confirmation from your own @$%^@$&% system when I made my original email inquiry.

 

So I responded and asked them to re-read my original request, locate the letter I uploaded, and terminate my membership.

 

I waited way too long to pull the plug on this sucky kredit younyun.  

 

 

The SDFCU agent answered my email reply, but he is still claiming that they cannot find my letter, and now he wants me to resubmit it via email.

 

Now I'm trying to decide if I should let this ride and see if they EVER find the letter, or if I should just resubmit the letter via email and put this ridiculous SeeYou relationship out of its misery.

 

I just grabbed this screenshot now.  They have my $%Y^$^YU& letter.  Somewhere. 

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2021 by cv91915

[cv91915]

3 hours ago, cv91915 said:

 

 

The SDFCU agent answered my email reply, but he is still claiming that they cannot find my letter, and now he wants me to resubmit it via email.

 

Now I'm trying to decide if I should let this ride and see if they EVER find the letter, or if I should just resubmit the letter via email and put this ridiculous SeeYou relationship out of its misery.

 

I just grabbed this screenshot now.  They have my $%Y^$^YU& letter.  Somewhere. 

 

 

 

In order to talk to someone I had to meander through a lengthy phone tree, which consisted of 3 minutes of automated greetings that were prompted by sequential keypad entries of 1/2/3, etc. , and then I had to set up a phone-access PIN.   

 

By 3:45 into the call, a bot started to recite my balance and account activity, neither of which I requested, and even though I pressed the selection to speak to a human.

 

Now I'm at 8:30 and I'm still on hold.

 

[cv91915]

2 hours ago, cv91915 said:

In order to talk to someone I had to meander through a lengthy phone tree, which consisted of 3 minutes of automated greetings that were prompted by sequential keypad entries of 1/2/3, etc. , and then I had to set up a phone-access PIN.   

 

By 3:45 into the call, a bot started to recite my balance and account activity, neither of which I requested, and even though I pressed the selection to speak to a human.

 

Now I'm at 8:30 and I'm still on hold.

 

I hung up after 10 minutes of trying to get help by phone.  I had to join a meeting at the top of the hour, so I couldn't spend any more time listening to hold music.

 

So far my futile attempts to leave SDFCU have included:

 

1) A signed letter, which I uploaded to their web site on January 7;
 

2) A follow-up email which elicited a response that made it clear that the agent hadn't read/absorbed the short narrative I provided with my inquiry (response: "We can't find the letter you emailed to us.");
 

3) Another follow-up email (which also yielded no results) to correct erroneous information from the agent who responded to my first email (response: "Nope, we still have no idea where that letter went.");
 

4) A phone call which was aborted after 10 minutes of phone trees, followed by hold music.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2021 by cv91915

[brainchasm]

So what you're saying is, they are behaving completely in line with their namesake?   Kekekeke...

 

[hdporter]

9 hours ago, cv91915 said:

I hung up after 10 minutes of trying to get help by phone.  I had to join a meeting at the top of the hour, so I couldn't spend any more time listening to hold music.

 

So far my futile attempts to leave SDFCU have included:

 

1) A signed letter, which I uploaded to their web site on January 7;
 

2) A follow-up email which elicited a response that made it clear that the agent hadn't read/absorbed the short narrative I provided with my inquiry (response: "We can't find the letter you emailed to us.");
 

3) Another follow-up email (which also yielded no results) to correct erroneous information from the agent who responded to my first email (response: "Nope, we still have no idea where that letter went.");
 

4) A phone call which was aborted after 10 minutes of phone trees, followed by hold music.

 

 

Maybe a little inspiration for you?

 

 

[centex]

On 1/25/2021 at 7:42 AM, cv91915 said:

In order to talk to someone I had to meander through a lengthy phone tree, which consisted of 3 minutes of automated greetings that were prompted by sequential keypad entries of 1/2/3, etc. , and then I had to set up a phone-access PIN.   

 

By 3:45 into the call, a bot started to recite my balance and account activity, neither of which I requested, and even though I pressed the selection to speak to a human.

 

Now I'm at 8:30 and I'm still on hold.

 

Presuming you have seen the contact info for Theresa Campbell on this page https://www.ncuf.coop/about-impact/team/

 

But, if not...a new ball of yarn for you to play with.

[cv91915]

2 hours ago, centex said:

Presuming you have seen the contact info for Theresa Campbell on this page https://www.ncuf.coop/about-impact/team/

 

But, if not...a new ball of yarn for you to play with.

Dear lord.

 

This conjured up some relevant images:

 

credit union movement 

[cv91915]

On 1/25/2021 at 8:58 AM, cv91915 said:

I hung up after 10 minutes of trying to get help by phone.  I had to join a meeting at the top of the hour, so I couldn't spend any more time listening to hold music.

 

So far my futile attempts to leave SDFCU have included:

 

1) A signed letter, which I uploaded to their web site on January 7;
 

2) A follow-up email which elicited a response that made it clear that the agent hadn't read/absorbed the short narrative I provided with my inquiry (response: "We can't find the letter you emailed to us.");
 

3) Another follow-up email (which also yielded no results) to correct erroneous information from the agent who responded to my first email (response: "Nope, we still have no idea where that letter went.");
 

4) A phone call which was aborted after 10 minutes of phone trees, followed by hold music.

 

 

5) A second phone call (currently on hold at 9:10 and counting).  I can allocate ~24 more minutes to this before I need to join a meeting so I can continue to earn a living.

 

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by cv91915

[nemo]

2 hours ago, cv91915 said:

 

5) A second phone call (currently on hold at 9:10 and counting).  I can allocate ~24 more minutes to this before I need to join a meeting so I can continue to earn a living.

 

 

You should charge them your consulting rate. 🙂

[centex]

3 hours ago, cv91915 said:

 

5) A second phone call (currently on hold at 9:10 and counting).  I can allocate ~24 more minutes to this before I need to join a meeting so I can continue to earn a living.

 

 

Are you using the Campbell number or the generic line?