First National Bank Omaha cancels credit card

I did my AOR about a month ago and one of the cards was the FNB Omaha Link with 6,000 reward points good for a $50 GC.

I was deferred then approved for the card with a $3,900 limit. I get the card in the mail, make my first purchase for $1.99 then drop it off with the rest of my CCS that I don't use often.

Later I get a letter from them saying they are closing my account because of excessive inquires. They send this via regular mail, make no other attempts to contact me. This leaves me rather peeved as I could have been traveling with only this card and have been completely stressed and embarrassed because it would have been declined!

I contact them about being able to redeem my 6,000 point offer and they say nope, the bank closed it, so any points are also gone too. The rep also say no way to reactivate once it's been closed.

Now, I'm just wondering what I can do from this point, I do plan on writing a letter of complaint, not that there is much they can do for me I guess, but I certainly feel screwed out of a $50 GC. I had about 16 other cards that I was approved for during the AOR and none of them have revoked their cards on me and the whole experience has been rather disappointing (the call hold times, the canceling the card with little notice).

small banks are notorious for taking action like this. reward points are just that , "points" that have no value until redeemed, ans cannot be redeemed on closed accounts not open in good standing.

There is no right to be able to keep a cc, the issuer has every right to stop doing business with you. they sent you notice of closure.

all in all, i see nothing the bank did wrong here. it sucks, but looks proper.

I had the same experience with them in the last month. I was carrying a FNBO visa and an AMEX. It was rather annoying to get declined from a couple of merchants, particularly when one was an important bill that I could have been SOL on real quick.
Curious, my adverse action came from ICS and not one of the typical credit agencies. Where did yours come from if you don't mind saying?

FNBO allowed me to pull an $11k BT and then closed my account. The account shows up as closed by issuer on my CR, but I don't think I've lost too many points over that if any at all. They suck!

kiasuchick said: FNBO allowed me to pull an $11k BT and then closed my account.
Are they still keeping the balance at 0%?

I agree with NorCal, but when you agree to have an application submitted you also agree to having a hard pull on your record. This being the case, them closing the account is pretty much the same effect as them denying you the card. After they have denied you through the application process it is not like the inquiry on your record magically vanishes.

I agree to some extent, but the problem is in the "future inquiries." When you open an account are you agreeing to not apply for any more credit, ever? Or if a certain amount is "allowed" exactly how much is allowed?

If one of the terms of an FNBO VISA card is that you essentially cannot apply for a BofA, Citibank, or FirstUSA VISA card in the future, or you cannot apply for an American Express card, why wouldn't those other institutions object to the practice and why would anybody get the card in the first place?

When the issuer grants you credit they pull your report and base decision on it. The whole trick of doing an AoR is to fool them about how much credit you have available. So then all of sudden your profile changes because of the AoR and a bunch more available credit and higher balances suddenly show up when they do a soft review of you. Would they have given you the card if they knew all this? I think myFICO says the average person applies for credit once a year, so suddenly having a bunch of inquires show is very out of the norm. I got 10 cards in my AoR and no adverse actions, Maybe the number was low enough or maybe my income supported the lines. All I know is it's tough to blame the issuers when it's us who are playing a game with them
EDIT: While I was typing this I see Dolmar posted basically same thing

The only thing I use these guys for is a 1.99% for life offer.

a cc issuer can close your account for ANY reason...they could close it because it wasnt profitable. They could close because you made only a BT and didnt use it for purchases. They could close bc you just wanted the signup bonus. They typically wont be so candid to actually tell you those thing, but they can certainly cancel your card for any reason (except very limited prohiited reasons, like your race etc).

so complaining they closed it for too many inquiries is going to fall on deaf ears.

whoDean said: The only thing I use these guys for is a 1.99% for life offer.
Care to share that reservation code?

Tytie

I recently did an aor also.

they sent me the FNBO card with a 12k limit, and when i called to activate, they said they closed it due to inquiries. I only had 5 Equifax inquiries, and that was where they pulled from, so wtf?

I demanded to speak with someone who could reverse the action.

Called that number, was put on hold for 20minutes, then they gave me a PO BOX i could complain at.

I asked for an email address or fax number that i could send them documents by.

they refused.

so right now, I sent a bank statement to them anyway but I doubt they'll do anything. I suppose I'll just keep calling until they give me a positive response.

I am wondering if this can be dealt with in the following way:

1. Apply for FNBO Card (and maybe 1 or 2 other cards from other finicky issuers) about 15-20 days before an AOR,
2. If the card is approved, do a balance transfer,
3. Once the transfer is complete, then apply for the rest of the AOR cards.

Sounds like if they cancel at that point, they have to let the 0% BT promotion run its course.

ChumChurum said: I am wondering if this can be dealt with in the following way:

1. Apply for FNBO Card (and maybe 1 or 2 other cards from other finicky issuers) about 15-20 days before an AOR
Yes, though they declined my wife with only 1 other same-day EXP inquiry (plus 1 greater than 6 mo)! (At least that's the stated reason.)

There's also a slight chance they could see 2 new + 1 old TU inquiry via the funky ARS report they refer to in the rejection. (My wife got a copy; it doesn't say much.)

So, I would apply to FNBO and wait at least a full day before any other early cards (such as Advanta).

From FNBO:

EXCESSIVE CREDIT REPORTING INQUIRIES

To acquire a free copy of your report, please contact the following agency:

ICS - Consumer Inquiries
Advanced Resolution Services
6111 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 400
Independence, Ohio 44131
1-(800)-392-8911
Fax: (216)-615-7642

I phoned ARS: they wanted a FAX (or mail) including a copy of driver's license for address verification. Got the report; it's pretty minimal. From the cover sheet:

- Any bankrupty proceeding reported for your SSN
- Visa or MC bankcard issuers who have provided information regarding your SSN to ARS or have received information from ARS
- total # of instances where your SSN has been used on a V or MC CC app in the prev 12 mo (24 mo for Colorado)
- reports of unauthorized or fraudulent use of any V or MC assoc with your SSN

Strangely, the actual report only contained the FNBO inquiry (i.e. not very good evidence of TOO MANY!). I suppose I could try to argue my (well, my wife's) case with FNBO, though I generally take the low hanging fruit and move on.

they closed my card with 11500 balance. they also made a new inquiry in my report without my authorization. can they do it?