Introduction
I’m getting pretty good at this by now. This is what happens when you get out of MS and jump back in just a little bit too fast.
How do you know when you’re shut down
I logged on earlier in the week and saw this:
Notice the credit limit available was $0 although my balance was $6000. I had asked my buddy about this and he had the same issue – saying that too many payments will sometimes delay freeing up your credit line. He said it could take up to 21 days to clear. So I gave it a couple more days and still same problem. I decided to call them up and the nice rep told me my account had been closed by the bank on 4/25/16, and they’ve sent me letter in the mail already.
What caused this shutdown
Hahaha I mean, what can I say? Guilty as charged. I’d shut me down if I was me too going from less than $1K of spend to suddenly $17000 in one month. I’d assume I’d ditch everything and move to a secluded beach too. I thought it was due to anonymous payments, but my buddy also does anonymous payments to them and he wasn’t shut down. So I think this shutdown was due to increased risk exposure.
I have a free sub to protectmyid.com from one of those retailer hacks. It looks like Comenity decided to do a HP on me after my April spend before deciding to axe me. They initially pulled EQ when I applied in November and EX in April. I wonder if they saw the Barclays and Chase shutdowns and decided I was a flight risk. Either way, I wasn’t happy with that EX pull. I don’t freeze my credit reports, but now I’m seriously thinking of going down that path.
Why did I go nuts?
Well to defend myself, I’d say that I honestly didn’t think Comenity would shut me down. I also had no idea I had spent that much nor did I realize I was ramping up that much. This is what happens when you don’t log onto Mint in the last 6 months. So why did I put so much spend on this one particular card? Well, because I live in a VX market that also partners with HA. Their points are worth 2 cents on their own flights. Plus, I was hoping that after the AS transition, the points would have a higher than 1:1 transfer rate. Worst case, I was MS’ing 1 AS mile per $.
If I could do it again though, I would have maybe only spent $5K in April, then maybe $10K in May, and then 20K in June.
What next
Luckily they were nice enough to credit my VX balance the 17K miles on the spend before shutting me down. I do plan on CFPB’ing them for my $149 annual fee and whatever remaining points that haven’t been credited and to remove that EX HP since I didn’t initiate that. Oddly, they kept my Victoria’s Secret angel card in tact. Not sure if they’ll get to that later or not. If not, then I may not be banned from the bank; just a specific card shutdown like the OBC. I’ll update you if my VS card gets the axe.
Conclusion
Once again, slow and steady folks. And more importantly, keep track of your usage!
Did your 5K status points post at the same time as the 17k? I cannot find any data points on how long it actually takes for status points @ $10k to post. Can you help out?
My 5K status points did post, but I’m not sure when. It’s probably close to when I hit $10K in spend since I hit the spend in calendar money April and now I see it in my VX account.
Thanks for the info! I need my 5k status this statement and another next statment to post by July but the terms say 6-8 weeks. Wanted to hit it hard this statement b
Comenity shut down my Total Rewards a few months ago due to too many credit inquiries. They’re a joke.
Wow. How long did you have the card? Did they also do a HP on you before shutting you down? And what was their reason in the letter they mailed you? Thanks.
I opened it in January of this year. They closed it sometime in late March/early April (luckily, right after I’d met min. spend but now the points will likely expire before I make it back to Vegas). I don’t know if they did an HP since I’m not sure how to check that short of viewing my credit report (?). Their letter cited too many recent inquiries, which I found fishy. Yes, I have a lot of inquiries but probably the same avg as I did when I applied for the card. From what I’ve since read on forums, they do regular evaluations on people with their cards and will shut you down for various reasons.
I think TR has a shopping portal or you can buy something on their facebook game for a few bucks to keep the points going. They have casinos all over too not just Vegas where you could earn some points.
Probably going to call and close mine tomorrow since I don’t use it and don’t want them to do a pull on me.
Thanks for the tip, Mark. I’ll look into the portal / fb. And yeah, Comenity seems pretty sketchy, probably not worth the pull / surprise shutdown.
http://blog.caesars.com/las-vegas/caesars-entertainment/new-total-rewards-marketplace-online-shopping-perks/
I’d definitely also be fighting that HP, that’s ridiculous.
I am surprised they are allowed to do a HP without your approval….why not just do a SP?
Probably to spy on my other accounts. I was NOT happy with that move and will fight hard.