I have been a Capital One customer for about nine months now and through my experiences as well as valuable information I have gathered from other posters here on MyFico, I thought I would post a thread with some data points I've gathered on Capital One. YMMV disclosure: These are just some observations I have gathered over the course of time. They aren't 100% and with anything, your mileage may vary on any one of these points. I just thought others may be interested in reading what I have found 
- MasterCard products get different customer service than "prime" products. When I called CS in the past with my QS MC, I always get routed to an overseas call center. While the reps are always friendly, I feel there is a language barrier that is sometimes hard to overcome. With the Visa products (Venture, VentureOne, and QS Visa), I am always routed to a CSR in Tampa, FL and the service is absolutley fantastic, even better than Discover. I have called CS with my Venture around five times and have never had a hold time. I literally was connected almost immediatley which I found to be nice.
- If you are approved for a card in the credit steps program, in my experience it is better to wait for the system to give you an increase at the end of the steps rather than requesting an increase early. YMMV, however I received $1000 increase on my QS1 card in credit steps and only the $500 promised increase at the end of the steps. My Platinum card received an auto increase of $3,000 at the end of the steps. (I didn't request an increase early on the Platinum card). I have read others receiving upwards of $4000+ CLI when the system generated the increase. As I stated, YMMV, but it was just my observation.
- You can product change a Platinum card rather easily compared to a QS1. CO is more than willing to product change a platinum card to a Qicksilver with no annual fee, but getting them to product change a QS1 to a regular QS is somewhat more difficult. My best guess is due to the slightly lower APR on the QS1 card. The Platinum has a 25.24% APR and the QS1 is 23.24%
- A former Orchard Bank card, other HSBC product, or older CO products may be harder to change the terms on. APR seems to be a factor in CO's decisions on what changes it is willing to make on accounts. For example I remember reading a post of someone who had a Visa card that was obtained many years prior with an APR of around 10%. CO would not increase his/her limit even with a thick profile and excellent credit, nor were they willing to add rewards to the card. The OP applied for a Venture and was approved for a $30,000 limit. Again, just a data point/observation I remember. I am sure someone can/will chime in stating they have been successful with similar attempts.
- CLI is six months from the date of last increase. A system generated increase due to credit steps is counted as an increase and in turn one must wait six months before eligible for another increase. CLI are always soft pulls (legacy cards. Does not apply to cobranded cards such as GM or store cards, i.e. Kohls), however the system usually does not pull a fresh report when you apply for an increase. Your CLI request is often based on information CO has obtained in periodic account reviews and sometimes that can be an outdated report. An example: I applied for a CLI on my Venture Card and was denied citing a score from March (three months old).
- World MasterCard/Visa Signature upgrades from Platinum MasterCard/Platinum Visa - Somebody posted a while back that when you apply for an account with CO, you receive a product classification (i.e. QuickSilver) and a segment (i.e. Visa Signature or Platinum) depending on the limit you receive. If you apply for and are approved for a QuickSilver Visa with a limit of $3,000, the product you are approved for is QuickSilver and the segment you are approved for is a Visa Platinum card. It is a platinum card because the limit must be at least $5,000 to be a Visa Signature card. OK, so with that layed out, here is what I have come to understand by reading other member's posts:
If you are originally approved for a QS Visa Platinum and over time, are granted CLI which brings your credit line at or above $5,000, your card will still be a Platinum Visa. This is becuase the segment you were orignally approved for (Platinum or Signature) stays with your account and only employees with deeper system access at the EO can change the segment of the card upon request which can be tidious.
To avoid having to contact the EO, you can do the following to "upgrade" your card to a Visa Signature from Visa Platinum or World MasterCard from Platinum MasterCard. Once your credit limit on your card is above $5,000 you can go on chat and ask to have your account converted to Venture/VentureOne or whatever the agent offers. Once the card is changed over, the account will automatically get the Signature/World benefits. After six months, you can product change back to your original card if you choose to do so. I know it seems tidious but that is how I have found it to be done.
Like I stated, these points are based on my experiences and posts I've read from other members. I thought it may be useful/fun to post what I've gathered in a thread. If there is something I missed or you have a data point, please feel free to share!
Very informal post. Thanks for the data points.
