Heads Up_ Macy_s and Citibank Closures and Credit Limit Reductions On My Radar Screen

My subscription to Site Meter has been a real boon to CreditMattersBlog.com. Not only can I monitor my traffic statistics, I can also monitor search queries. I’m already using these search queries for my 10-Credit-Questions-and-Answers column (link here). I’m now going to use them to alert my readers to things that my search-query data is pulling up. Over the past 48 hours, I have noticed a substantial spike in Macy’s credit card closures and credit limit reductions. Some 24 hours ago, I was seeing credit-limit reduction searches. I was not seeing anything regarding closures. Today, however, I saw quite a few Macy’s closure queries. According to a person over at Creditboards, who seems to have inside knowledge of what’s going on over at Macy’s Visa card division, Macy’s is scouring customer lists, looking for people who have recent late payments on their Macy’s Visa accounts, Experian FICO scores that don’t meet a certain level, and accounts that have been inactive. Macy’s is targeting these people for credit-limit reductions. This person didn’t say anything about account closures. Still, if my traffic is any indication, Macy’s is closing accounts as well. Anyhow, just a heads up for you Macy’s Visa customers.In addition to Macy’s, I have also noticed an uptick in people using search queries that pertain to Citibank credit limit reductions. It’s difficult to know if people are worried about this problem or if people are actually suffering from these Citibank moves. Regardless, my search queries are up — and there are enough of them to make me take notice.To a lesser extent, my Chase credit limit reduction queries are up as well. Ditto Walmart credit-limit reductions. Because I am mostly getting “Walmart reduced credit limit,” and searches like that, I can’t tell which Walmart cards are involved. Not surprisingly, American Express is still chopping limits as well. This has been — and continues to be — my number one search query when it comes to credit limit reductions. People are also searching 4506-T as well, which tells me that American Express is still doing financial reviews. That’s what I am currently seeing. In the future, if I see something that warrants another story like this, I will be sure to write something up.I normally wouldn’t write something like this up on a Saturday, but I’m hoping this story will help some of you stay ahead of the curve.Have a great weekend.Related Articles:Citibank’s Rate-Hike Strategy — Where To From Here?Citibank To Raise Interest Rates On CreditMattersBlog.comCitibank To Raise Interest Rates On Its PlasticU.S. Government Agrees to Citigroup BailoutHow Closed Credit Cards Impact Your FICO ScoreAmerican Express Appears to be Stepping Up Its Slash and Burn CampaignCitibank to Students: Use Your Card or We Will Shut You DownFrom the “Use it or Lose it” Department: Citibank on a Rampage with Citi Flex