The centerpiece of the Laquedem Christmas celebration is only nominally the dinner (two dinners today, actually). Most years the stage is stolen by Venerable Mom Laquedem's recital of her recent correspondence. Today VM was in rare form as she griped, in good humor, about being turned down for a credit card.
When VM approached the register at Macy's this month, the clerk told her that if she applied for a Macy's credit card, she could save 30% on that day's purchases. VM revels in thrift and signed up at once. Last week she received the bad news that Macy's had turned her down, giving the reasons as her high level of installment debt and her history of delinquent credit accounts. This puzzled her, as her installment debts total $576 -- not per month, but her total balance, which she pays off every month -- and her most recent late payment was in the Eisenhower or possibly the Truman era.
"Could it be her credit score?" I wondered. Venerable Mom showed me her score, which was well above 780. So it's not that either. Perhaps, Mrs. Laquedem suggested, Macy's simply doesn't like issuing cards to customers with perfect credit and no debts . . . if they're octogenarians.
Far from feeling discriminated against because of her age, however, Venerable Mom was oddly pleased. It means that next year she can again shop at Macy's, apply for a card, and get a 30% discount, and repeat that money-saving effort year after year -- as long as Macy's continues to turn her down for credit.