# Dopers REALLY need to be checking their active (and inactive) credit cards monthly **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 23, 2009, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-really-need-to-be-checking-their-active-and-inactive-credit-cards-monthly/507374 "2009-08-23T06:25:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-really-need-to-be-checking-their-active-and-inactive-credit-cards-monthly/507374/1 "2009-08-23T06:25:44Z")
To springboard off [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=529061)you guys need to understand that very significant changes have been made over the past few months by almost all credit card companies to credit limits, APRs, late payment penalties etc. even for their existing customers with excellent credit. A lot of these changes in terms are hidden in the fine print of statements or may be slipstreamed in without your having noticed it. You should make a list of your current cards and call the 1-800 # on the back of the card to confirm credit limits, APR, penalties etc. Don’t rely on a little used “emergency card” as the CC company may have deactivated it. The bottom line is - check your cards! ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-really-need-to-be-checking-their-active-and-inactive-credit-cards-monthly/507374/2 "2009-08-23T06:39:41Z")
So _that’s_ what happened to my US card! Alright, I feel better now. I thought they had done it cause they didn’t like me anymore, or something, because it made little sense to cancel a card that I paid in full on the very few occasions I needed a US-issued card. I moved to another bank and a new card is in the making. At least I know now why it happened. ---
**Author:** ![purple\_haze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@purple\_haze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purple_haze)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-really-need-to-be-checking-their-active-and-inactive-credit-cards-monthly/507374/3 "2009-08-23T14:16:57Z")
Yep, Capital One raised my interest rate from 9.9% to 17.9% (paid that one off) and Chase decreased my limit from $7,500 to $6,700; I’m not sure where that number came from - it seems pretty random. My credit rating is very good, so it doesn’t seem like it has anything to do with anything I have or haven’t done. In all honesty, I know that there will be a lot more restrictions on the CC companies and their fees coming up next year, and they are getting their digs in while they still can. Bastards. I hope to pay Chase off soon and be done with CC debt once and for all. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-really-need-to-be-checking-their-active-and-inactive-credit-cards-monthly/507374/4 "2009-08-23T14:50:04Z")
Absolutely right, **astro**. Citibank doubled my interest rate on one card and lowered the credit limit on the other one. Unfortunately for me, business is at an all time low so I cannot afford to pay them off right now. I am paying more than the minimum and hopefully will get out from under this within a year. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-really-need-to-be-checking-their-active-and-inactive-credit-cards-monthly/507374/5 "2009-08-23T14:57:09Z")
I have five credit cards, and had been shuffling balances around to take advantage of 0% rates. In the past year or so, two of the card companies cut the limit right down as soon as I paid off the balance (or rather, transferred it elsewhere). ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-really-need-to-be-checking-their-active-and-inactive-credit-cards-monthly/507374/6 "2009-08-23T15:47:36Z")
I check mine daily. It is easy, I only have two and they both have online access. (I’m assuming that they all do now.) ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-really-need-to-be-checking-their-active-and-inactive-credit-cards-monthly/507374/7 "2009-08-23T19:28:07Z")
I had a Discover card that I basically never used and had actually called to try to cancel a couple of years ago. The call center rep was under such extreme pressure not to take cancellations that I agreed they could keep sending them to me, I just wouldn’t activate them. Out of the blue a couple of weeks ago, they sent me a letter cancelling the card. Something like “We’re sorry you haven’t used it in forever. It’s now cancelled.” So apparently their cheese has moved … ---
**Author:** ![Never\_Say\_Dice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee59a6/32.png) [@Never\_Say\_Dice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_Say_Dice)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-really-need-to-be-checking-their-active-and-inactive-credit-cards-monthly/507374/8 "2009-08-23T20:14:51Z")
My cards have changed the fine print. They no longer do things like double your product warranties, or pay for tows, or let you get free travelers checks. None of these have I cared about, but it’s still jarring to have them taken away and I have to find out by comparing my new terms to my old. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-really-need-to-be-checking-their-active-and-inactive-credit-cards-monthly/507374/9 "2009-08-23T20:20:10Z")
I don’t pay interest so I’m not particularly worried what the interest rate is. (I don’t even know what it is)