Question about Credit Cards

[Anonymous]

I have a few credit cards with about $150K in spending limit. Recently I came across several posts on Reddit where they claim that credit card companies do audits of some members and end up cancelling their cards. Some of these cards are several years old.. Appears to me an Amex thing and I suspect it's because the members lost a job and therefore income dropped.

Questions: What happens to my credit cards in retirement when my income won't be as much as what it is now? Will my cards be cancelled?
What about the time period between retirement and my taking SS where I'll have zero earned income?

Love some feedback from retirees and folks in the cc industry..

[Anonymous]

A lot of companies will close your account if you don't use the card. Is that what you are talking about? Just use it once a month.

[Anonymous]

Why would you tell your CC companies that your income has gone down?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of companies will close your account if you don't use the card. Is that what you are talking about? Just use it once a month.

Nope. I am talking about the CC company randomly reaching out to people asking to do a financial audit (or some such) and cancelling their card once they found out they don't have the declared income. This has happened to people who have been members for years. In one case, the member suspects that it was because he used his Amex CC at a sandwich shop near the house leading Amex to think that he may have been laid off and wanted to verify his income.

Ofc, I don't plan on volunteering information to these companies. heck, i don't even respond to their annual nag to update income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would you tell your CC companies that your income has gone down?

American Express just sent me an email to confirm my income. Not the first time.

[Anonymous]

Amex does do financial audits. They aren't credit cards so they are a bit stricter. So if you miss a payment or take advantage of the "pay over time" feature, you may raise some red flags.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of companies will close your account if you don't use the card. Is that what you are talking about? Just use it once a month.

Nope. I am talking about the CC company randomly reaching out to people asking to do a financial audit (or some such) and cancelling their card once they found out they don't have the declared income. This has happened to people who have been members for years. In one case, the member suspects that it was because he used his Amex CC at a sandwich shop near the house leading Amex to think that he may have been laid off and wanted to verify his income.

Ofc, I don't plan on volunteering information to these companies. heck, i don't even respond to their annual nag to update income.

I guess this sort of thing is theoretically possible, but its pretty rare, and it's usually related to activity that the bank thinks resembles money laundering- they are very concerned about the compliance risk.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/30/your-money/banks-closed-accounts-fixes.html?unlocked_article_code=1.6U8.DCvr.DuPwH7BrXLAG&smid=url-share

If you use a card consistently and don't drastically change your patterns, you have nothing to reasonably worry about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of companies will close your account if you don't use the card. Is that what you are talking about? Just use it once a month.

Nope. I am talking about the CC company randomly reaching out to people asking to do a financial audit (or some such) and cancelling their card once they found out they don't have the declared income. This has happened to people who have been members for years. In one case, the member suspects that it was because he used his Amex CC at a sandwich shop near the house leading Amex to think that he may have been laid off and wanted to verify his income.

Ofc, I don't plan on volunteering information to these companies. heck, i don't even respond to their annual nag to update income.

You don’t seem to like these companies very much. Why use their services?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of companies will close your account if you don't use the card. Is that what you are talking about? Just use it once a month.

Nope. I am talking about the CC company randomly reaching out to people asking to do a financial audit (or some such) and cancelling their card once they found out they don't have the declared income. This has happened to people who have been members for years. In one case, the member suspects that it was because he used his Amex CC at a sandwich shop near the house leading Amex to think that he may have been laid off and wanted to verify his income.

Ofc, I don't plan on volunteering information to these companies. heck, i don't even respond to their annual nag to update income.

You don’t seem to like these companies very much. Why use their services?

Hey everyone! We have a wannabe mind reader!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a few credit cards with about $150K in spending limit. Recently I came across several posts on Reddit where they claim that credit card companies do audits of some members and end up cancelling their cards. Some of these cards are several years old.. Appears to me an Amex thing and I suspect it's because the members lost a job and therefore income dropped.

How many credit cards did it take you to get to a total of $150K credit limit? Please tell me this is a typo of some sort.

We have 4 cards and excellent credit and are nowhere near 150.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a few credit cards with about $150K in spending limit. Recently I came across several posts on Reddit where they claim that credit card companies do audits of some members and end up cancelling their cards. Some of these cards are several years old.. Appears to me an Amex thing and I suspect it's because the members lost a job and therefore income dropped.

How many credit cards did it take you to get to a total of $150K credit limit? Please tell me this is a typo of some sort.

We have 4 cards and excellent credit and are nowhere near 150.

Not OP, but I could see it- some companies will increase your credit limit over time, Capital One for instance loves giving out $25 or $30k limits. I could see getting to $150k total with 6 or 7 cards- pretty easy to get there if both spouses have a few cards they have gotten over the years.

[Anonymous]

Credit card companies are always asking for income info when I log in. I never give it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Credit card companies are always asking for income info when I log in. I never give it.

It's unlikely to be an audit thing- more marketing so they know what card they want to pitch to you next.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of companies will close your account if you don't use the card. Is that what you are talking about? Just use it once a month.

This happened to me with a card I’d had since college. I’d stopped using it and Citi cancelled it even though I’d had it 20+ years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of companies will close your account if you don't use the card. Is that what you are talking about? Just use it once a month.

This happened to me with a card I’d had since college. I’d stopped using it and Citi cancelled it even though I’d had it 20+ years.

Of course they do.

Contrary to popular belief, banks don't have a limitless pool of credit they can extend. They have a well defined pool of credit they can extend. If you aren't using it, they don't make any money and they can't extend the limit they've extended to you to anyone else.