@astritaho1979 wrote:
I dont disagree with most of the things ur saying but my point is that cap1 is a re-builder card if your limit is less then 2500$.Cap1 promises cli and u get those years after you pay your account on time.Others do it in 6 months and when they do it they do give you a lot more than Cap1 does.I dont think they are the right lender for fico of 680 and up, thats all iam sayng.
If used right, Capital One can be very helpful to a re-builder. They were the first card to open the door for me to 4 figure limits, and even though it was a re-builder card, they gave me a 3,500 cl. That, at a time when my only card was an Orchard Bank with a 570 limit. Once I had the Cap 1, I suddenly qualified for Amex, Chase, USAA, and other prime products. Now, they have converted me to the green cash card with a 10k line. I can't see how that could possibly be hurting my file. Mind you, start to finish this took less than 18 months.
I'm not sure how much weight (if any) underwriters put toward sub-prime's in the mix. My report is still sporting an open Orchard Bank card, and a closed secured Wells Fargo card. On any automated app I pass with flying colors; I've qualified for the best mortgage rate available, a 1.5% car loan, and have literally 50 times the credit line that I did when I apped for the original Cap 1. I've spoken to recon credit analysts who reviewed my file line-by-line and had no comments whatsoever on that line.
On a manual review, nothing in my report identifies the Cap 1 as a sub-prime card. It is one of my two highest limits, offers rewards with no AF, and has no foreign transaction fees. Add that to what they did for me when I was sub-prime, and suddenly marginal CSR's don't seem like that big a disadvantage. Especially when I can just cut right to the execs if I need more help.
If a B of A rep told me to close it in order to improve my credit picture, I would question their expertise. I have yet to hear or see any reasonable argument for dumping my second oldest and largest limit revolver.
