Never in my life have I had credit card problems. Perhaps I’ve been lucky, but it’s my frugal nature having the ability save and only use credit in emergencies or when short of cash. But with the economy in the toilet, Credit Card Companies are cutting back credit lines – even if you have great credit.

Some cards I just keep on hand for that occasional purchase, but my Chase Gold MasterCard was tucked away in a safe place and forgotten about over the years. Chase of course decided to cancel the account regardless of my outstanding history with them.

I was fond of that MasterCard. It was my first Gold Card which 25 years ago actually meant you were special. It had an annual fee of $25 that was quite reasonable for the time since most Gold Cards required a fee upwards in the $100 range. The interest rate never changed over the years and held steady at under 10% despite the interest fluctuations.

Eventually I tried to cancel the card due to the annual fee, but the Bank of NY – before they were bought out by Chase – convinced me to hold onto the card without any annual fees. Of course I decided to stay with them as a customer.

Time goes by and with one of the hundreds of credit card offers I’ve received over the years I picked up an airmiles card from FirstUSA and regularly use it to rack up miles on United for some nice domestic travel deals.

Between Discover and my FirstUSA card, my Gold MasterCard gets shelved without being used for years. Needless to say this, you need to make a purchase once and awhile to keep your account active even if you charge a Latte at StarBucks. Do this once or twice a year and the issuer will keep happy.

Eventually, Bank of NY and FirstUSA became Chase as a result of mergers and acquisitions and Chase forgot that I was a long time customer. My credit card problems could be worse, but for me my FICO went down and the price of credit went up if I never need it again.
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