The Suckrony haircuts continue...

[centex]

I guess my search skills are lacking, because I know we had a thread about the PayPal and other Suckrony product line slicing...but I cannot find it now.

 

Anyhow, to add a datapoint, I got a notice this AM that my line got chopped by 85%.  This comes after having been stuck at $10K for some time now (since pre-rona).  Logged in to the account and tried for a CLI and got an insta-denial. 

 

As of this AM, their Vantage 4.0 sKore is still showing me well North of 800, dinging me for a lack of real estate information (I have no mortgage) and the 'too high proportion of balances,' never mind that two accounts are reporting and make use of less than 1% of the total available lines.  One of the accounts has a balance of about $3K which represented less than 15% of that card.  I'm more inclined to believe Suckrony wants to cull the prime customers who don't have an absolute need to pay inflated interest rates and who only used the card for the occasional 0% offers.  

[hdporter]

4 hours ago, centex said:

I guess my search skills are lacking, because I know we had a thread about the PayPal and other Suckrony product line slicing...but I cannot find it now.

 

Anyhow, to add a datapoint, I got a notice this AM that my line got chopped by 85%.  This comes after having been stuck at $10K for some time now (since pre-rona).  Logged in to the account and tried for a CLI and got an insta-denial. 

 

As of this AM, their Vantage 4.0 sKore is still showing me well North of 800, dinging me for a lack of real estate information (I have no mortgage) and the 'too high proportion of balances,' never mind that two accounts are reporting and make use of less than 1% of the total available lines.  One of the accounts has a balance of about $3K which represented less than 15% of that card.  I'm more inclined to believe Suckrony wants to cull the prime customers who don't have an absolute need to pay inflated interest rates and who only used the card for the occasional 0% offers.  

 

Yeah, I think there's a thread.  But this is a good "picking up" point.

 

I think I've shared that Bev's Amazon Prime card hasn't been touched (capped at the $10k that they effectively maxed her out at something like 4 years ago ... never would approve a CLI from that, so I quit trying.  $10k "works" for us.)

 

I'm not sure that I shared that my Carecredit was butchered from $20k to $6k a couple of months ago.  But, in fairness, I haven't had reason to use the line in over 2 years.  I figured if we (or a cat) had a procedure coming up for which I needed a strong line, I could recon on the phone with strong likelihood of success.

 

Are they looking to cull "freeloaders"?  Can't say for sure, but I'm disinclined to believe that's the reason.  People who use their line actively and PIF are still a key revenue source from merchant fees.  (Plus, on 0% financing offers, the merchant is often kicking in revenue).  Until I have evidence to the contrary, while an online request may meet with a refusal, if you call and convey that you have solid intentions to use 20%-30% of the line you request, I expect a favorable outcome.

 

Definitely just MY take.

 

(btw, with any 800+ score, no matter how spurious the model, no need to stress the cited "negative" factors.  Come in with an 848 someday and I wouldn't be surprised if one of the adverse factors was "we heard you have a hangnail" ...

[hegemony]

I'm glad I decapitated synch when it gave me a haircut.

[TheVig]

No haircuts here yet.

 

Lowe's, Amazon, and Car Care One, all sitting at $10k each.

[mrBlixx]

My recent Synchrony experience was a bit different, but very strange and not what I expected. I’ve had various Synchrony cards for years pre-bk and they were fine.

Anyway maybe around 6 months ago, so roughly 1 year post-bk I was making a PayPal purchase and was presented with a pre-approval offer for the Mastercard, so I took it, was given a $1000 instant credit line which the purchase went onto. The strange thing is that two days later Synchrony closed the account on the basis of a “review,” but would not cite anything specific. Very frustrating to have an account closed by credit grantor on my post-bk report when I did nothing to them.

Found it so odd that they approved and then reconsidered rather than just declining. I can’t see any reason for dealing with them again tbh if unpredictability is their new game.

[hegemony]

1 hour ago, mrBlixx said:

My recent Synchrony experience was a bit different, but very strange and not what I expected. I’ve had various Synchrony cards for years pre-bk and they were fine.

Anyway maybe around 6 months ago, so roughly 1 year post-bk I was making a PayPal purchase and was presented with a pre-approval offer for the Mastercard, so I took it, was given a $1000 instant credit line which the purchase went onto. The strange thing is that two days later Synchrony closed the account on the basis of a “review,” but would not cite anything specific. Very frustrating to have an account closed by credit grantor on my post-bk report when I did nothing to them.

Found it so odd that they approved and then reconsidered rather than just declining. I can’t see any reason for dealing with them again tbh if unpredictability is their new game.

that stinks, or should I say SUCKronies...

[shifter]

3 hours ago, mrBlixx said:

Very frustrating to have an account closed by credit grantor on my post-bk report when I did nothing to them.

Closed accounts are meaningless and who closed the account is less meaningless. 

[RehabbingANDBlabbing]

I keep seeing Facebook ads for the Synchrony Premier Mastercard. Just for fun, I took a peek at the comments section under their ad the other day. It was filled with countless stories of people getting CLDs and their account closed with all kinds of different people. Many of them stated they had good credit and paying on time, etc.... I think the general public also hates Synchrony, TBH.

[StantheMan]

6 hours ago, shifter said:

Closed accounts are meaningless and who closed the account is less meaningless. 

From a credit perspective you are correct  however the disappointment factor is the poster’s point.

[Bad Doctor Frost]

Google uses Synchrony, right? They just bumped up my limit. I have zero desire to use it since I only got it for the 0% on new phones, but it was strange to see given the current cuts they appear to be making.

[direct]

Every year, I get a notice from credit monitoring alert that my Paypal Mastercard credit limit was reduced from $10k to $1024.  (was always amused by the odd figure).  I call underwriting up immediately and request they put it back and 10 minutes later, I'm back at $10k.  The reason they said they do this is "for my protection" because they showed no use of the card and in the event the card was misplaced or lost, they were "protecting" me.  I thanked them for protecting me and kindly went on my way.

 

I'm thinking they could do as other card issuers do and send a letter advising of a credit line reduction or closing the account if the card is not used within the next 60 days, but what do I know. lol

[hdporter]

On 11/2/2022 at 8:50 AM, mrBlixx said:

Anyway maybe around 6 months ago, so roughly 1 year post-bk I was making a PayPal purchase and was presented with a pre-approval offer for the Mastercard, so I took it, was given a $1000 instant credit line which the purchase went onto. The strange thing is that two days later Synchrony closed the account on the basis of a “review,” but would not cite anything specific. Very frustrating to have an account closed by credit grantor on my post-bk report when I did nothing to them.

 

[centex]

On 11/12/2022 at 4:32 PM, direct said:

Every year, I get a notice from credit monitoring alert that my Paypal Mastercard credit limit was reduced from $10k to $1024.  (was always amused by the odd figure).  I call underwriting up immediately and request they put it back and 10 minutes later, I'm back at $10k.  The reason they said they do this is "for my protection" because they showed no use of the card and in the event the card was misplaced or lost, they were "protecting" me.  I thanked them for protecting me and kindly went on my way.

 

I'm thinking they could do as other card issuers do and send a letter advising of a credit line reduction or closing the account if the card is not used within the next 60 days, but what do I know. lol

Yeah, the x24 reductions for non-use never made a lot of sense, but was very much a GEMB thing that carried over to Suckrony.

[aroberson]

Similar happened to me years ago with suckrony, canceled all my cards in a few week period even one with a 0% balance on it.  Haven't even considered using one of their cards again

[Five30]

Everyone is hating on Sync but I like them. They helped me rebuild my credit when I was fresh out of BR about 10 years ago and I have kept using them ever since.

• PP line of credit 10k
• AMZ store card 10K
• Lowes store card 10k
• New Egg cut from 10k to 4.5k (lack of use)
• Care credit 10K (they closed this account about 3 years ago for lack of use)
• PP MC 2% cash back 14.6k limit

I use their products though too, I consistently use the MC (2% Cash back) , AMZ (5% cash back or 0%) and the PP credit (for 0%) and I haven't paid interest on anything with them in over 2 years. Synchrony pays me to use their products, which is how it should be. Its a game you have to play, if you don't play it right they cut you off or cut you back. If you aren't using your credit lines to generate money for them in some way shape or form you are a liability.

Edited November 27, 2022 by Five30

[hegemony]

On 11/27/2022 at 4:06 PM, Five30 said:

Everyone is hating on Sync but I like them. They helped me rebuild my credit when I was fresh out of BR about 10 years ago and I have kept using them ever since.

• PP line of credit 10k
• AMZ store card 10K
• Lowes store card 10k
• New Egg cut from 10k to 4.5k (lack of use)
• Care credit 10K (they closed this account about 3 years ago for lack of use)
• PP MC 2% cash back 14.6k limit

I use their products though too, I consistently use the MC (2% Cash back) , AMZ (5% cash back or 0%) and the PP credit (for 0%) and I haven't paid interest on anything with them in over 2 years. Synchrony pays me to use their products, which is how it should be. Its a game you have to play, if you don't play it right they cut you off or cut you back. If you aren't using your credit lines to generate money for them in some way shape or form you are a liability.

Not to sound means but those synch cards are nothing special and the limits are modest at best. It sounds like you can do a lot better. Sentimentality is no reason to slum so much with a bad lender.

[Five30]

On 11/28/2022 at 7:34 PM, hegemony said:

Not to sound means but those synch cards are nothing special and the limits are modest at best. It sounds like you can do a lot better. Sentimentality is no reason to slum so much with a bad lender.

I'm not bragging by any means, and those aren't my only cards or lines of credit. If Sync is going to float $5-10K or more for me for me at 0% I'm going to take advantage of it instead of using my cash that could be making money for me elsewhere. No one else is doing that right now unless you apply for a new CC with a intro rate. They mainly provide credit for people that have middle of the road credit and are mid to high risk, therefore they need to hedge against that with high APR and giving inactive accounts haircuts. As I have said before its a game and I take advantage wherever I can. Not to mention their savings account is paying 3.25% right now as well.

 

I'm just having trouble understanding why they are a bad lender? Or why you categorize them as such?  BOA and WF are bad lenders. I agree there are better cards and interest rates etc. but I think Sync offers some decent products if used correctly and I wouldn't necessarily call them a bad lender. Maybe more of a middle of the road lender.

[hdporter]

12 hours ago, Five30 said:

'm just having trouble understanding why they are a bad lender? Or why you categorize them as such?

 

You may be too concerned with what other people think; it's your own experience that matters most (in some cases, it's the only experience that matters).

 

We have the Synch Amazon and Verizon cards.  Their card services are reliable and these products provide superior cashback and we're satisfied in nearly all respects.

[hegemony]

15 hours ago, Five30 said:

I'm not bragging by any means, and those aren't my only cards or lines of credit. If Sync is going to float $5-10K or more for me for me at 0% I'm going to take advantage of it instead of using my cash that could be making money for me elsewhere. No one else is doing that right now unless you apply for a new CC with a intro rate. They mainly provide credit for people that have middle of the road credit and are mid to high risk, therefore they need to hedge against that with high APR and giving inactive accounts haircuts. As I have said before its a game and I take advantage wherever I can. Not to mention their savings account is paying 3.25% right now as well.

 

I'm just having trouble understanding why they are a bad lender? Or why you categorize them as such?  BOA and WF are bad lenders. I agree there are better cards and interest rates etc. but I think Sync offers some decent products if used correctly and I wouldn't necessarily call them a bad lender. Maybe more of a middle of the road lender.

 

it synch's cards and low limits work for you no problem. You should try to work those limits up. IIRC synch is easy to get to 35k on a single card. When I was rebuilding synch served a purpose but it doesn't have a single card that is attractive to my spending pattern. If you find value then good for you but my comment above was more about not settling. The Chase Amazon co-brand is better than the synch amzn card, for example. With the chase card you get higher limits and chase offers and you don't have to play the "haircut" game.