Skip to main content

Banks Track your Account

 The banks have excellent records on your account with them.  They track everything to build models to predict customer behavior and to predict your behavior.  

Why Banks Track your Account

Banks have a lot of data on your account.  They have the information from your credit report when you applied for credit, your application for credit, They also have the internal history of your account or accounts with them.  They know how long after the statement you make your payment.  They see the cycles in your spending.    Banks have statisticians to measure everything and to predict how good of a customer you are.  

Should the bank offer you a new mortgage, credit card, zero percent loan, new checking account is all generated from the statistics derived from your credit file with them.

Banks Cannot Access your Current Credit History

Interesting but Banks do not have access to your current Credit History.  When you apply for credit they can access your credit history at the time of application.  Usually they cannot access your history again without you requesting a credit increase or another source of credit.

Banks Track your Customer Service Usage

If you are grumpy and mean to the customer service agent they make a note of it on your customer service account.  Next time you call Customer Service, your history will come up.  The agent will know you are a pain in the rear or really nice.  Who do you think they will be more helpful with?

This is why I strongly recommend always being overly nice to Customer service.

Do not Pay on the last Day

I strongly recommend paying your bill well before the last day of your grace period.  Technically you have 21 days after the statement date to make the payment.  I normally set my auto-pay to pay between ten and fifteen days after the statement date.

Your Future Offers from the Bank

I believe the banks closely monitor all of your interactions with the bank.  They base future zero percent and new credit card offers and new mortgage offers from your current bank file.  I believe how you treat customer service plays into this internal data also.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My Introduction to Airline Miles

 I was first introduced to airline miles by a friend who had just gotten a United Airline Chase Credit Card .   I signed up and started getting airline miles for all of my business purchases.  Just for signing up I received 50,000 miles.  I believe I had to spend $3,000 in the first three months to get the 50,000 points.  This was a great bonus, two free flights anywhere in the US for spending $3,000 which I would have spent anyway.   The annual fee for this card is $95 which is waived for the first year. It took 25,000 airline miles to get one round trip ticket anywhere in the US.  Short flights would only cost 20,000 airline miles. I used just this Chase United card for a couple of years and earned a couple hundred thousand Airline Miles on the purchases my business made.   More Chase Points Cards I applied for and got more Chase credit cards for points.  I got the first Chase Freedom card with no annual fee.  This ca...

Why I don't Use My Debit Card

I avoid using my debit card because I'm frugal. Instead, I rely on multiple credit cards that offer a 1% to 5% rebate on purchases. In contrast, using a debit card doesn't provide any rebate or financial benefit. Free Float Another reason I prefer credit cards is the free float they offer. When I use a credit card, the money for my purchase doesn't leave my checking account until 10 to 40 days later. With a debit card, the cash is deducted from my checking account within a day or two. Merchants typically pay a fee of 1% to 4% for credit card transactions, and most have already factored this cost into their prices. Some merchants, however, offer different pricing for cash versus credit card payments. Gas stations are a common example of this practice. Being frugal, I always opt to pay with cash if it saves me money compared to using a card. Cash Back (Credit Card Points) During a recent road trip through the western United States, I encountered several gas stations offering ...

How Home Loans Impact Your Credit Report

Home loans have a different impact on your credit score than credit cards. Since most home loans last for 30 years after a few years they are an excellent credit reference. That is if you make your payments on time. The monthly grind of making the Home Mortgage Payment isn't much different after a few years than paying rent.  The rent increases over the years while your Mortgage payment will stay the same except for tax and insurance increases.  For many households the increase in house prices creates the largest family asset. The Home Loan is often the longest loan to show up on your credit report.  It also shows lenders you can make payments over an extended period of time.   The size of your Home Mortgage payment when compared to your claimed income when you Apply for a loan may also have a significant impact.