Barclays (US) Cuts My Credit Card Limit By 60%

[Burgerwars]

Barclays Bank slashed my limit from $12,000 to $5,000. I have a second credit card with them that's still at the same limit.

 

I was reading the bank is doing this a lot. In the U.K. some customers now have £100 limits. That's nice.

 

This is rare for me. American Express a while ago cut my limit from $25,000 to $12,500. If you're not using much of the limit, you're on the chopping block.

 

No biggie. With Barclays, it's a sock-drawered card that I use every three months for a small purchase to keep it active. As long as the Big Mac Meal isn't over $5,000, I'll live.

 

Edited September 8, 2024 by Burgerwars

[MP80]

6 hours ago, Burgerwars said:

Barclays Bank slashed my limit from $12,000 to $5,000. I have a second credit card with them that's still at the same limit.

 

I was reading the bank is doing this a lot. In the U.K. some customers now have £100 limits. That's nice.

 

This is rare for me. American Express a while ago cut my limit from $25,000 to $12,500. If you're not using much of the limit, you're on the chopping block.

 

No biggie. With Barclays, it's a sock-drawered card that I use every three months for a small purchase to keep it active. As long as the Big Mac Meal isn't over $5,000, I'll live.

 

The poster child for credit limit reductions is three banks, Barclays, Synch, and Comenity. But to be fair, it seems like every financial institution has adopted this tactic policy of credit limit reductions, meaning that the high limit they initially approved you for is for you to use their credit card, so if you are not happy with using their credit card, they will either reduce your credit limit or close your account without warning.

 

I saw PenFed reduce credit limits for a few people last week citing inactivity. Imagine that this is a credit union doing this, so it is not surprising if someone encounters this situation and thinks it is the new normal and moves on.

 

---------------------------------------

 

A few days ago, I went to McDonald's and bought a double fish fillet burger and four McDonald's chicken nuggets, which cost about $9.8. Before going to McDonald's, I checked the price of each side dish online and found that the prices of each McDonald's chain's menu items were different. I think McDonald's in Los Angeles is more expensive than McDonald's in rural small cities.

[StarkRaven$]

I use all eight of my cc’s every month. My oldest is Comenity NFL. I never go over $150 and my CL is $8K. I’d hate for this card to close. Maybe I should put more spend on it.

[MP80]

7 hours ago, StarkRaven$ said:

I use all eight of my cc’s every month. My oldest is Comenity NFL. I never go over $150 and my CL is $8K. I’d hate for this card to close. Maybe I should put more spend on it.

Barclays is like a jealous wife, they don't want to see you using another bank's credit card instead of theirs, that's how crazy they are.

[Burgerwars]

I got a letter in the mail yesterday saying my limit was reduced because I wasn't using much of it. The letter did say I can get the limit reinstated by applying for an increase online within 60 days. I'm not going to bother. I can live with $5K.

 

[Sidewinder]

On 9/8/2024 at 9:25 PM, MP80 said:

A few days ago, I went to McDonald's

 

Gross.

[MP80]

9 hours ago, Burgerwars said:

The letter did say I can get the limit reinstated by applying for an increase online within 60 days.

Yeah, the deviousness is just pulling you into a hard inquiry and then rejecting your request, and that's the end of the gameplay shenanigans.

[swingline]

They got me too, slashing me from approximately $15k to $5k. My average age of open credit is a little over 7 years and I got that Juniper (Barclays) card 6 years ago -- so I'm tempted to cut them lose to see if I regain the point they cost me on my scores.

 

Thanks, Members, I might have fallen for that thinking it was a soft pull:  "Yeah, the deviousness is just pulling you into a hard inquiry and then rejecting your request, and that's the end of the gameplay shenanigans."

Edited September 11, 2024 by swingline

[Burgerwars]

19 hours ago, creditjason said:

I've heard banks do this quite frequently if you're not actively using the cards. I've had this happen to one of my dad's cards that he's been a loyal customer of for years.

 

One thing you could do is see if they would combine the limit of those cards into one card.

 

How old is your relationship with them?

 

This card is from the 90's. A long time. Buying a Big Mac on it every three months wasn't enough to keep the limit. 

[MP80]

9 hours ago, Burgerwars said:

 

This card is from the 90's. A long time. Buying a Big Mac on it every three months wasn't enough to keep the limit. 

I think if you continue to buy a Big Mac every three months, they might drop your limit to $500.

[swingline]

18 hours ago, Burgerwars said:

 

This card is from the 90's. A long time. Buying a Big Mac on it every three months wasn't enough to keep the limit. 

 

It's just ridiculous that the way these company reward us for years of loyalty is to attack our credit. Meanwhile they keep doing garbage high-risk loans to politically favored groups, some of which shouldn't even still be in our country. 

[hdporter]

It seems people forget that credit is a commodity, not a right. 

 

Manage your credit in a reasonable manner, avail yourself of a modestly diverse set of credit sources (all eggs not in one basket), and a stray credit line decrease is likely to be of nominal consequence.

[MP80]

Big news related to Barclays' acquisition of GS GM card portfolio.

 

Uh uh- I got the GM card. 🤔

 

"Goldman Sachs is close to finalizing a deal to transfer its General Motors credit card business to Barclays, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday."

 

https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/goldman-sachs-nearing-deal-transfer-gm-credit-card-business-barclays-source-says-2024-09-10/

Edited September 13, 2024 by MP80

[swingline]

17 hours ago, hdporter said:

It seems people forget that credit is a commodity, not a right. 

 

Manage your credit in a reasonable manner, avail yourself of a modestly diverse set of credit sources (all eggs not in one basket), and a stray credit line decrease is likely to be of nominal consequence.

 

It seems to me like you don't realize that the credit bureaus are pseudo governmental agencies who determine all aspects of our lives including insurance rates, job prospects, etc. and that we DO have basic rights not to be unjustly attacked by these crap companies.

 

Don't lecture to me for complaining about being hit out of nowhere for nothing I did. 

[Burgerwars]

Barclays notified me my second card also got the axe. $10,000 down to $3,000. It's for the same reason (I've not been utilizing much of my credit line). No biggie. I'm certainly not going to request an increase and end up with a hard inquiry. I'll live.

 

Edited September 24, 2024 by Burgerwars

[MP80]

I remember one of our CB members saying he had 4 credit cards and a charge card, um, I believe he had a credit limit of well over $100,000 and by that standard which is more than enough to take advantage of.

 

If I reduce my credit limit by cutting over 25 credit cards and just using 4 cards plus my AmEx charge card, then my credit limit will be dropped to about $250,000, which is basically plenty more than enough, and I don't have to worry about these nefarious creditors lowering my credit limit.

[Glacier]

They cut mine from $21,500 to $5,019.  I primarily was just using it to pay my cable/internet bill, since it gave 2% back.  I've got other 2% cards I can switch that too.  One of my older cards, so thinking on what to do.  Still waiting for their communication about the change.  

 

[centex]

People often forget that banks have to account for funds equal to outstanding credit lines. As such, as much as it sucks for a CW, some usage is needed or the line is at serious risk of being slashed, especially in the current poor economic climates. When we get back to cheap money, it won't be as much of an issue but STILL remains a risk. 

[centex]

1 hour ago, Glacier said:

They cut mine from $21,500 to $5,019.  I primarily was just using it to pay my cable/internet bill, since it gave 2% back.  I've got other 2% cards I can switch that too.  One of my older cards, so thinking on what to do.  Still waiting for their communication about the change.  

 

Makes me wonder if the $x19 is like one of the other lenders noted for taking long-dormant lines to something like $x05 and where that odd amount let customer service staff know the cut was due to lack of use...

[Flyingifr]

Barclays has long been aggressive in pre-emptively cutting credit lines and closing accounts, even if the card holder hasn't had a single late pay and has excellent credit. In many cases this is to cull out accounts they think MIGHT default because of the economy before the economy tanks and the card has a chance to default.  Many years ago Barclays partnered with a cruise line. I happened to take a cruise with that line and got solicited for a Barclays card on ship while at sea. In the space of a week, Barclays approved the card with a $5K limit, cut the limit to $500 and then closed the account - all before I got home to even see their card. I might shed some light on this by stating that it was just at the time the 2008 recession was starting.

[Glacier]

Yeah, I'm assuming the $019 has some significance of an internal code of an internal code.  I'm going to use the rewards I've earned to pay the cable/internet bill the next month and a bit, then maybe transfer the billing to another card.  We will see.  

[Burgerwars]

On 9/26/2024 at 7:51 AM, Glacier said:

Yeah, I'm assuming the $019 has some significance of an internal code of an internal code.  I'm going to use the rewards I've earned to pay the cable/internet bill the next month and a bit, then maybe transfer the billing to another card.  We will see.  

 

Both my credit lines were cut to a thousand dollar amount plus about $19 like you too.

 

Barclays sent me an email this week asking on a scale of 0 to 10 how likely am I to recommend Barclays to a friend. I answered zero. The survey then asked why a zero. I just said it's for chopping credit lines by 71% with no warning.

 

[MP80]

My take on the big banks like Bank of America, Chase, Citi, and Wells is that they don't cut your credit line because you don't use it enough, they cut your line because there are risks in your credit report that they combed through and pickup by algorithms to make mitigation adjustments to minimize the risk.

 

Barclays seems to be more personal. If they acquire a bank where you default on payments, you will be rejected for a credit card even if you have never applied to Barclays.

 

Most people who visit these credit forums have a gut feeling about Barclays' bad reputation for cutting credit lines; it's the main reason fewer people are applying for their cards. Barclays is ranked at the bottom of the list of card issuers. Also, if you screw up the first time, they don't give you a second chance, they will forever ban you from ever being a cardholder again.

 

I suggest if you carry less than a dozen credit cards, stick with the big bank like the aforementioned banks above. 

[Kat58]

My Barclaycard Ring Mastercard was CLD a few weeks ago. (Also 60%) $7500 to $3019.

First time this has ever happened with any CC.

 

BUT... I just discovered that Barclay "credit limit increase requests" are now a SP.

A few minutes ago (on their website), I requested an additional $6,981 to bring my CL to $10k even

and was instantly approved, lol.

 

[Kat58]

Approval screenshot

 

https://imgur.com/a/fcvvWef

 

Edited October 3, 2024 by Kat58