Who would you consider to be the top lenders? Top in what way? Most prestigious/hardest to get? Having the highest number of prime customers?
I consider a "top" lender to be a company that ... 1. Offers a fair "regular" rate of around prime + 4% 2. Has 24 hour customer service 3. Has an online system that I can see info and pay the bill 4. Accepts payments (from online site, Checkfree, or Paytrust) electronically ... and posts them promptly 5. Is able to grow with my needs (credit line, that is) 6. Values a long-term (multiple account) relationship Based on that, I have to say that (again, for me), top lenders are Amex, Discover, Chase, Fleet, B of A, and Citi.
This whole ratio business is CRAP. Let me explain ... if NextCard notes my account is closed and the balance is transferred to a new account that has a limit as high as the balance xferred ... I take a double hit (100% utilization on the new account, no avail. credit on the old account). That throws my score off on so many fronts - new account, length of account history, utilization. So, if lender "A" is pulling scores monthly and sees I've dropped 50 points due to a balance xfer ... do I get penalized? What if I decide to execute a 2nd mortgage to collect my debt into one big new loan? It takes several months for the card entries to update ... If a card company is reactionary and makes quick decisions based on one number (a score at a single point in time) .... deserves to get dumped. I prefer to "partner" with a card company over the long-haul. -mj
That is ideal. Unfortunately many of them are sooo nervous right now. Has anyone published the stats on bk's being filed? The rush is on, and I imagine they are getting some surprises. It's gonna get worse, IMO. After the bk law passes, their business is going to decline, with all the AR's and raising rates, lowering limits, they are going to lose some good customers, people who normally carry balances won't do it anymore, and consumers will cut way back on their spending... the domino effect is going to be tremendous. i know I saw Citi do 2 ar's on my reports (all three) in one month (15 days apart) I went right to their website and paid it off. I normally carry a little bit of a balance on that card. They've been good to me, they deserve my business. But that made me nervous.
AR's are done to check for any lates with other creditors,looking out for any collections that may be on a persons CR,and yes they do keep an eye on how a person is useing their credit,having very high balances would cause an alarm to any creditor,and therefore they will raise rates if they see the need to.Now about the new BK law when it becomes law i don't beleive that that credit card compainies will start cutting everyones credit limits,nor will they discontinue low promotional rates just along as a person is not having any signs of financial trouble showing up on their CR.However i do see that they will not offer very high lines of credit on new applications after the new BK law is in effect.All CCC will underwrite their creteria much more strict when it comes to unsecured credit,and known that people cannot run from their debts anymore they will be very careful who they will extend credit to,and also i think they will verify a persons income before they open up a new account to anyone after the new law goes into effect.I do favor this law because it needs to teach a person to be more responsible with their credit.Now the only reason i see for a person to really go BK is that they have got hit with high medical bills with no insurance coverage at all,that make real sense too me because healthcare costs are out of this world!It has inflation beat by a mile!It is good to read about other peoples toughts on this new impending BK law that will become law eventually,and voice their opinion what they think about it.
