Some people asked us how US Bank could be shutting down Altitude cards and other cards without giving 30-day notice. According to California state law, the card issuer must give a 30-day notice before cancelling a credit card. (There might be other states that have this law as well.)
Unless requested by the cardholder, no card issuer shall cancel a credit card without having first given the cardholder 30 days’ written notice of its intention to do so unless the cardholder is or has been within the last 90 days in default of payment or otherwise in violation of any provision of the agreement between the card issuer and the cardholder governing the cardholder’s use of the credit card or unless the card issuer has evidence or reasonable belief that the cardholder is unable or unwilling to repay obligations incurred under the agreement or that an unauthorized use of the card may be made.
A reader asked that we get a reply on this from US Bank. They got back to us that they can close an account immediately if it violates the user agreement. Here’s the full statement issued by US Bank:
We value our cardmembers and are diligent when it comes to protecting their card benefits. Our cardmember agreement, which cardmembers agree to when they sign up for and use the card, outlines fraud and abuse triggers that result in automatic and immediate shut down of a cardmember’s account. Violation of the agreement and fraud are exceptions to the California statute’s 30 day notice requirement.
We reserve the right to adjust or reverse the number of Points that were awarded for unauthorized transactions. Further, this Account is intended to be used for the purchase of various products and services for personal, family, and household purposes, and we have the right to adjust or reverse the number of Points that were awarded or terminate the Account if we determine that purchases or transactions were outside of such use, including, without limitation, excessive or patterned purchases of cash equivalent instruments, such as gift cards, rewards cards, and other prepaid cards.
