May 15, 2014, 8:16 am

FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides

This thread is now archived. Please follow the topic here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chase-ultimate-rewards/1986148-chase-closed-my-credit-card-account-s-tales-speculation-2019-thread.html

If you feel your account has been unfairly closed, consider filing a complaint with the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau:
CFPB's complaint form: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/

When someone reports an account closure here, a lot of the same questions get asked. It might be useful to answer some questions in advance. This could help figure out what happened or how to proceed:

Did you transfer UR points to someone with a different address? Different last name?
Did you sell UR points to someone?
Approximately what percentage of your charges earned less than 5x points in the past 12 months?
Did a Chase or non-Chase bank recently close one of your credit cards?
Are you using up a large percentage of your credit line on all Chase and non-Chase credit cards?
Is your total credit line with Chase much higher than with other banks?
Did you apply for many credit cards or other forms of credit in the past 2 months? ("Many" may be hard to define.)
If you have a Chase checking account how much did you typically deposit in money orders per month, if any?
Did you recently start spending a lot more with Chase than in typical months?
Is your monthly balance frequently close to your credit limit?
Approximately what percentage of spending was on gift cards this year?
How much of your bill do you typically pay using WM or KMart bill payment if any?
Do you have a Chase mortgage or other account that might be profitable to Chase?
Has your credit score or credit profile changed recently? As in: significantly more debt, more open credit lines, or a large drop in your credit score?

Related threads: 2013.1 2013.4
2013.9
2013.12 2014.6
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chase...ta-points.html

On 1/4/15, LivelyFL noted that 34 posts have referenced account closures (updated 1/25/15):
1, 55, 80, 108, 117, 129, 146, 165, 182, 212, 221, 222, 232, 235, 262, 272, 281, 326, 364, 410, 411, 428, 475, 477, 482, 513, 552, 586, 620, 648, 656, 662, 714, 718, 784 and 815.

Mortgasm provided more detail as follows:

001 - moarmiles little explaination - 'inconsistent spending'
055 - brettskyg chase gift cards tiny ms
080 - Artemk checking chase gift card, tiny MS, international wires, wall-mart BP
108 - TTnc4me (105 actually) no info
117 - rodsren
129 - Kybosh chase gift card checking
146 - mintcilantro - checking 6k/month MS, BB payments from another ss#, some MO/AP, 7new cards in 90days, short cycling
165 - newcomr - checking
182 - thehawk75 - heavy MSw/other banks,
212 - LRD - 2x spend of 20k /month (on two cards), checking
221 - iceman 77_7, no info
222 - jk2 no info
232 - hitman1420 checking , heavy MS activity (no number)
235 - clearlyanewb checking, MS activity (10k AGC and more), light credit history, 10 recent inquiries
262 - brc01 - shortcycling, some MS (18k/month over a few cards), 1
272 - rambo - 70% MS on 5 cards, WM BP of 16k/month on 5 cards
281 - prestonv - heavy MS - 20k/month on multiple chase cards, heavy WMBP (ink stayed open)
326 - pacupgo - false alarm, no shutdown
364 - edh101985 - tiny MS (bonus only) , 4 chase cards in 6 months,
410 - msetr - lots of freedom/ink ms
411 - standaman360 - international wires (business), million dollar balances,
428 - queensgambit - gambling transactions, UR point transfer from SO, 5 chase apps 3 new chase cc in 45 days, Blogger points coach
475 - dogloverjb - checking, international wires,
477 - ftomasz - 14 inquiries in 8 months, 5 chase, minimal MS, rapid upswing in credit, paying from multiple accounts
482 - liw5215 - Heavy MS, re-entered after 13 months
513 - thegasguru - checking, $3k/month MO to checking, NO MS, AP,
552 - LAXtoWorld - 3 cards in 30 days
586 - adavydov7 checking, $1k APs,
648 - CMHFlyerOH - checking, MO, 3k gift cards
656 - I can see for miles - Maxed UR 5x rewards on Freedom and Ink cards. Chased closed all accounts. Was approved for Ritz Carlton card 14 months later and did nothing unusual with it, other than lower CL from 30K to 10K to free up CL for possible approvals. Two subsequent Chase apps (Chase Ink and Marriott Rewards), on separate dates 3+ months later, were declined for a "previous unsatisfactory relationship ..."
662 - frogdog51 - Chase VGCs (Reapproved in 12 months)
677 - Subdawg - closed for piggybacking
714 - Mamibear - 'abuse' redcard MS
718 - maxswanson - MS, 11 chase cards, traded UR, (reapproved after 12 months)
752 - peaser - "reputational risk" associated with the business (decision reversed later)
757 - uncommonsensical checking, 3 Cashier's Check deposits with quick w/d (the w/d were to pay CHASE credit cards! ridiculous 'loss prevention' dept. gods). All CC's closed 2 days later. Tried EX Office- they seem to have zero power once the Mullah in loss prevention has issued a fatwa (my guess: some 27 year old with a god complex).
762 - knopfler - checking closed (all credit cards closed in both mine and Mrs. Knopflers accounts about three weeks after checking closure)
771 - milemonkey - 'reputational Risk" connected to Attorney General lawsuit
784 - unstable one: 2 cash deposits over 10k to chase checking
815 - dukerau - one time UR point sale, 77% spending is 5x,

Chase closed my credit card account(s) [Archived 2013-mid 2019]

Closed Thread Subscribe

Thread Tools

Search this Thread

Nov 27, 2017, 12:22 pm

#1696

txpenny

Join Date: Sep 2014

Location: TPA/DFW/K15

Programs: AA EXP, Mar AMB, HH LT DIA

Posts: 1,653

Quote:

Originally Posted by NachoHoughton

Are you using up a large percentage of your credit line on all Chase and non-Chase credit cards? No? (30% Max.)
Approximately what percentage of spending was on gift cards this year? 15%. All was for legitimate personal use and via MileagePlus

Having balances at 30% of the limits and spending 15% of that on gift cards, could that be perceived as MS'ing (4.5% of total available credit being spent on gift cards)? Don't know, just wondering if that could be the cause.

Nov 28, 2017, 10:35 am

#1697

NachoHoughton

Join Date: Nov 2017

Programs: UA Plat, SPG/Marriott Gold, IHG Plat

Posts: 5

Case Update 11/28

Quote:

Originally Posted by mia

It sounds as if your USA credit history is short, and your file is thin. Did you recently move to the USA from another country, perhaps the country you intend to visit?

Quote:

Not enough credit info on file
The accounts on your credit report have not been open long enough

The letters were, in a sense, a slight relief to me, since Chase didn't accuse me of abusing the cc programs, which I didn't. However, it still seem absurd to me that Chase would approve both those cards in the first place and then shut them down, effectively furthering dinging my credit history with not one, but two closed accounts with a 3- and 1-month history. I hope that you all can see why I feel like I am being treated unfairly.

Moving forward, I would really like to do everything I can to have my accounts reinstated. Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Nov 28, 2017, 11:08 am

#1698

Happy

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jul 2003

Location: Florida

Posts: 29,763

Quote:

Originally Posted by NachoHoughton

I agree with your observation in that my credit history is short and file thin. But I think it's simply because I haven't lived long enough to have an extensive credit history, as I just turned 20. If this helps putting my case in context, I am a full-time college student and working part-time (with salary in the mid five figures).

Quick update:

Today I received letters for both of my accounts stating that the reasons for my cc closures were:

The letters were, in a sense, a slight relief to me, since Chase didn't accuse me of abusing the cc programs, which I didn't. However, it still seem absurd to me that Chase would approve both those cards in the first place and then shut them down, effectively furthering dinging my credit history with not one, but two closed accounts with a 3- and 1-month history. I hope that you all can see why I feel like I am being treated unfairly.

Moving forward, I would really like to do everything I can to have my accounts reinstated. Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

This is not the first time Chase has done that. In fact Chase has done similar things in relatively frequency over the years. On the other hand, it does not cause any damage to your credit history. especially with accounts with such a short lives. In case you are not aware, even closed accounts would still come in the calculation of the Average Age of accounts until they fall off the reports after 10 years (some even 20 years). Your 2 closed accounts have nothing to add to your credit history other than that it is a good starting point to build a history from your age.

Unfortunately this is a hard lesson for you to learn - for a person with such SHORT credit history, and not any meaningful evidence on the payment history, you really have to go it VERY SLOW to build up the "trust" from the banks, not just Chase. Young folks often see other posters can do this and that, thinking they may too, but in the world of Unsecured Credit, a long history with the bank, a thick profile built up over the years with different banks, often go a long way on how the banks view the cardholder as a potential risk or a reliable customer.

With Chase, one of the big no no for people who have short credit history (regardless of age) is to get new cards from them in short order and then charge up a storm This is not a new scenario that Chase shuts down card members within a few months after accounts opened, often after the 2nd card or 3rd card that was applied in quick succession from previous card(s).

As in your case, the 3rd card is applied LESS than 3 months from the first card in Sept. This certainly would trip wire in the system, even with someone has a much longer credit history than yours. A manual review would be a sure thing to follow.

With the manual reviews - once that happens, it is a matter of luck how the reviewer would react. Most of the time, the reviewer would not care to go over many factors but X it the moment s/he saw something. Utilization of up to 30% on brand new accounts with a very thin credit file and no payment history with the bank, is often a flag - not just with Chase.

jjmiller69 and NachoHoughton like this.

Last edited by Happy; Nov 28, 2017 at 11:15 am

Nov 28, 2017, 4:23 pm

#1699

txpenny

Join Date: Sep 2014

Location: TPA/DFW/K15

Programs: AA EXP, Mar AMB, HH LT DIA

Posts: 1,653

Quoting from another thread:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Z1H2

Recently got the return of 450 for the annual fees using the CL trick. Can I still get the $300 travel credit if I haven’t used it?

Are there any data points in this shut down thread of accounts being closed for this type of activity?

Dec 1, 2017, 3:49 pm

#1700

NachoHoughton

Join Date: Nov 2017

Programs: UA Plat, SPG/Marriott Gold, IHG Plat

Posts: 5

Happy ending

Quote:

Originally Posted by NachoHoughton

Happy almost December!

Recently I've had an experience with Chase shutting down both of my existing CC accounts, very similar to that of @Majo79.

I am happy to report that an agent called me this morning to inform that both of my accounts have been reopened! They also mentioned that they did not change the credit limits on either of my cards. I would like to thank @mia, @txpenny, @Happy et al. for offering insights!

My hunch is that the quick succession of applications combined with my relatively short credit history triggered this "periodic review" and the subsequent closures of accounts. I hope that no one else will make the same mistake that I did

smitty06 and txpenny like this.

Dec 1, 2017, 3:56 pm

#1701

Happy

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jul 2003

Location: Florida

Posts: 29,763

Quote:

Originally Posted by NachoHoughton

Congrats on a Happy Ending.

Thanks for reporting back. Hope readers of this thread would learn something from your experiences.

NachoHoughton likes this.

Dec 11, 2017, 5:11 pm

#1702

DealAddict

Join Date: Nov 2012

Posts: 1,083

Account closed literally 2 days after using it for "insufficient credit references". Yet they decided to open an account despite that? OK, Chase. Seriously horrendous customer service

Last edited by DealAddict; Dec 11, 2017 at 8:20 pm

Dec 14, 2017, 12:42 pm

#1703

alpineghost

Join Date: Dec 2017

Posts: 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by NachoHoughton

@NachoHoughton - Can you provide some info on what number you called and what you told Chase to get them to reopen your accounts? Chase closed all of my accounts because of the number of credit card accounts and a payment that was returned. I did open 5 Chase cards within the last 10 months.

Thanks!

Dec 14, 2017, 1:24 pm

#1704

HawkeyeFlyer

Join Date: Mar 2009

Location: PHX

Programs: HHonors Lifetime Diamond, UA Million Miler Gold, Marriott Platinum

Posts: 1,142

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpineghost

Please share some details. On the surface it would shock me if Chase did NOT close your accounts. Someone needing/wanting 5 cards in 10 months sends up flags....toss in a returned payment and I am not sure what else I would expect

Happy and RNE like this.

Dec 14, 2017, 1:28 pm

#1705

NachoHoughton

Join Date: Nov 2017

Programs: UA Plat, SPG/Marriott Gold, IHG Plat

Posts: 5

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpineghost

@NachoHoughton - Can you provide some info on what number you called and what you told Chase to get them to reopen your accounts?

I immediately called (800) 290-1316‬, which I believe is their risk department. Upon reviewing my profile and credit report, the agent helping me outright told me that he thought the decision to close my accounts was quite strange (given my age) and promised to submit a case for reconsideration on my behalf, so I didn't really have to say anything. They called me 4 days later to inform that they decided to reopen my accounts.

It might be worth noting that when I received letters informing me of my CC reinstatement, they actually apologized for mistakenly closing my accounts.

Hope this helps, and best of luck to you!

jjmiller69 likes this.

Last edited by NachoHoughton; Dec 14, 2017 at 1:29 pm Reason: typo

Dec 14, 2017, 2:30 pm

#1706

alpineghost

Join Date: Dec 2017

Posts: 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by HawkeyeFlyer

I didn't realize there was a risk with opening multiple cards as long as I stayed under 5/24 so I opened 3 personal cards and 2 business cards in the last 10 months. I then screwed up and had a payment returned because of insufficient funds but I still paid off the balance before the due date. I've read a ton of warnings about 5/24 but no mention about Chase closing accounts.

Dec 15, 2017, 8:24 am

#1707

RNE

Join Date: Sep 2005

Location: JZRO

Posts: 9,169

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpineghost

While 5/24 is known, Chase also uses other algorithms to spot trouble. Since 2008, banks are trigger happy. While there's been less shooting from the hip lately, you still need to make yourself a small target. Five Chase cards in 10 months isn't doing that.

Dec 15, 2017, 8:56 am

#1708

Mamibear

Join Date: Jul 2014

Posts: 3,688

This Bust Out Fraud from Experien is very informative. Check it out:

https://www.experian.com/assets/deci...hite-paper.pdf

nsx likes this.

Dec 15, 2017, 11:44 am

#1709

Happy

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jul 2003

Location: Florida

Posts: 29,763

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpineghost

Do you realize a credit card is an UNSECURED credit line that the bank extends to you? Banks need to make sure they are not taking undue risk that the cardholder would just clean out the credit line and then flee. (bust out). Opening a slew of new cards AND miss a payment is a guarantee to get you shut down by probably any bank.
Surprisingly you said you have never read about shut downs.
Actually even bloggers have mentioned about Chase shut down on accounts because too many cards opened in short period of time, and NOT just with Chase but including with other banks as well.
It is nothing new, going on at least for 2 to 3 years, just become more active in the past 9 months.

Here is the basic for you to read:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase...ts-deem-risky/
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/froze...ancial-review/

Read this very recent Reddit thread which gives more explanation on the Experian Bust Out Risk Factors also mentioned by Mamibear.

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/co..._risk_factors/

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/co...ts_megathread/

Last edited by Happy; Dec 15, 2017 at 11:51 am

Dec 15, 2017, 6:22 pm

#1710

StartinSanDiego

Moderator: Travel Buzz

Join Date: Aug 2012

Location: Sunny San Diego

Posts: 3,099

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mamibear

This Bust Out Fraud from Experien is very informative. Check it out:

https://www.experian.com/assets/deci...hite-paper.pdf

Great article, Mamibear. Thanks for sharing it.
It gives a clear view into the lending algorithms and adds credence to the concept of keeping one's aggregate lines of credit pared down.

sexykitten7 likes this.