I've been buying stuff from Amazon for years. A few months ago I finally gave in and signed up for the Amazon credit card. Big mistake!
The card had a $500 limit, which I didn't realize or would never have signed up. I maxed it out the first month. When I called Chase to get the limit extended, it was a big runaround with non-native-English support reps I couldn't understand, plus to get it autopaid from my checking account, I had to sign up for online crap with Chase. So I canceled it. 2nd big mistake.
My insurance agent calls the other day and said my insurance went up more than 8% because my insurance score went from 950-something, a high score he said he rarely sees, to 851, which is high but not unusual. Trying to figure out what caused the drop, he asked about my credit - had anything changed. After talking about it, he guessed it was the new credit card that was canceled. It makes sense because one of the credit risks used in scoring is the balance to credit limit ratio. With that $500 card I hit the limit. LexisNexis goes into more detail:
https://consumer-solutions.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2523
My insurance is now costing me $400 more a year, and according to that page, it could stay on my credit report for 7 years. That's messed up.
Don't get an Amazon credit card!
As I recall the limit Chase offered was very clearly stated and it was >$500 but not incredibly high compared to other credit card products we had obtained in the last 1-2 years. They will raise it after 6 months of responsible usage but certainly not immediately.
Anything over 30% credit utilization seems to have the potential to impact your credit scoring negatively.
Length of financial relationships is also a factor in credit scoring.
Little or none of this is unique to Amazon’s card via Chase. It is unfortunate you got tripped up and I’m sorry to hear about your experience and the repercussions, however it seems somewhat unfair to blame Amazon to me.
It seems to me:
1. You failed to notice the credit limit was $500
2. You maxed out the credit limit
3. You didn’t have AutoPay configured
4. You didn’t want to sign up for online banking but equally want to complain about phone support
5. You canceled the card
6. You didn’t do any research or apparently have any understanding of how U.S. credit scoring works
Many of your statements imply a certain naivety on credit products, and I think you should examine how much fault here is really Amazon or Chase, and how much is personal. Sorry again.