A Credit Card Tale (but not of woe, ultimately)

No recipe with this post - unless you want to call this a recipe for reading your credit card statements.

I was recently stuck downtown in a parking garage and they only took cash. Since I never carry cash, the parking lot guy directed me to the only ATM machine around. I pulled out my credit card and got the 20 bucks and was on my way. Then I got my bill.

Really, BofA? TEN dollars for a twenty dollar withdrawall?

Plus, three bucks that Wells Fargo charged me for using their ATM (I bank elsewhere)? You. Gotta. Be. Kidding. Me. So, there I was, navigating my way through BofA's voicemail to dispute this (I lost btw) when I suddenly heard my 'available credit' right after my balance. The available credit was HALF of what it used to be. I went online and sure enough - way back in March, they dropped my available credit line to half of what it was. I guess you can pretty much tell I only look at what I owe when I get my bill.

So there it was. My credit card lowered my limit. It's happening all over, in the wake of the financial crisis. I thought I was immune, after all, I'm always throwing money at that thing. I really try to keep the balance as low as I can. Some months are more successful than others. But usually I do okay. I am not a big fan of kickbacks either, like rebates or tickets. I just have a basic card. I try not to fall prey to the tricks they pull. So, why did they lower my limit?

Google searching coughed up the usual propaganda: your limit's been lowered because you keep too high a balance. Your limit's been lowered because they are worried that you are risky. Your limit's been lowered because you were late. No. The reality is, my limit's been lowered because I'm a credit card company's worst nightmare - I'm the one who uses it a lot and pays off most of it, if possible. They are not making a dime on me.

Back in the old days, I used to carry huge balances. No surprise that I also had a huge credit line. But now that I'm trying to be more responsible with it, they are lowering my available credit. I called them up and asked for a 'raise.' Suddenly, I was being interviewed about my job (s), how much I made at each one, what I did, etc. They finally gave me 4 thousand of it back, but that was it. My knee jerk reaction of course was, how dare they? They TOOK something from me. As I explained to the girl, I like having the knowledge that IF god-forbid-something-happens, I HAVE that credit limit there as a backup. Her response was oh well, it sucks to be you (in corporate-speak of course).

But then the Boyf pointed out to me: they did you a favor. You should be writing them a thank-you note. And I realize - he's right. The problem is not that they think I'm irresponsible. It's that they know I'm responsible and therefore, they'll make no money on me at all.

He also said this: "if you ever had to charge your original credit limit on your card, you'd be screwed." Wise man, that Boyf of mine. I've had the same card for 20 years. It used to be a triple A card, tilll BofA swooped in. I don't want to get rid of it, but all of this makes me wonder - what will they do next? I guess we'll have to wait and see. The moral of the story is: read your fine print.