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Capital One...how to tell?

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ReVeLaTeD
Regular Contributor

Capital One...how to tell?

Capital One confuses me.

 

So I know they have the...what is it, Venture?...card and that's for people with so-called "excellent" credit.  I assume scorewise they're looking in the mid 700's or thereabout.

 

I have  No Hassle Cash Rewards card, no annual fee, if I recall.  Can't tell what the rate is.  But I see on card comparisons there are two such cards; one for "average" credit and one for "excellent" credit.  As a result I'm confused on whether I have a card eligible for increases over time or not.


I never got a letter about Credit Steps.  Started with 500 limit.  Got bumped to 750 last month.  Opened in late 2010, if I recall.

 

So...what is the one way to tell whether you have a card that's stuck in credit lim...bo?

Credit Cards:
| Cabrillo Credit Union MasterCard @ $3,000 | Chevron Visa @ $2,000 | Amazon Store Card @ $1,800 | HSBC 2% Rewards MasterCard @ $950 (redeemed themselves)
Message 1 of 6
5 REPLIES 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Capital One...how to tell?

The best way to find out which card you have is to contact the Sr. Account Specialists from the Backdoor numbers on the stickies when you select this "Credit Cards" forum.  Ask what is the maximum limit of your card.  If it's $3000, then it's for "average" credit, otherwise, anything above 3k (example 20k) is for "excellent" credit.

 

Also, scores are just one of the key factors in their approval process.  You may very well be approved for a Venture card, but have a low limit and perhaps enrolled in their Credit Steps program.

Message 2 of 6
wollepopolle
Established Contributor

Re: Capital One...how to tell?

From the lack of AF it sounds as if you had the one for excellent credit.

However, judging from your limit, it seems you have the one for average credit.

I have the same card (without AF) and they gave me a $7500 limit when I was approved.I was concerned as I didn't want a low limit card and take three hits on my reports.

I have a feeling that yours might be stuck at the lower level but I can't really say that for sure. We've seen at least one post recently where a low limit card grew well into the four figures. However, that seems to be more of an exception than the norm.

Message 3 of 6
ReVeLaTeD
Regular Contributor

Re: Capital One...how to tell?

So I called, and the rep confirmed I was on the card with the $3k maximum credit limit.  Unfortunately, even at the max, it just wasn't worth it to keep the card.

 

To their credit the gal in their lending area did at least attempt to retain the business, but I told her flat out that the only acceptable option for that would be to have the card converted over to the "good" one or to be offered a better card; she could do neither, probably because the card is too new.  And her arguments about using it for daily purchases just doesn't do it; the Discover card offers way better rewards.

 

For the record, I apparently had 0% APR for some period of time, 2% rewards, no annual fee.  So it's like the card itself was the premier card but the credit limit was the ghetto limit.  Scre...scrap that.  So I told her to close it out, and I'll pay the $7 balance and be done with it.  At this point I'm looking for MINIMUM $1k credit limits starting.  Chevron and HSBC are next on my target scope.  Waiting until I can get the HSBC rewards checks before I close them out, but Chevron is in my ironsights.

Credit Cards:
| Cabrillo Credit Union MasterCard @ $3,000 | Chevron Visa @ $2,000 | Amazon Store Card @ $1,800 | HSBC 2% Rewards MasterCard @ $950 (redeemed themselves)
Message 4 of 6
wollepopolle
Established Contributor

Re: Capital One...how to tell?


@ReVeLaTeD wrote:
And her arguments about using it for daily purchases just doesn't do it; the Discover card offers way better rewards.

 

For the record, I apparently had 0% APR for some period of time, 2% rewards, no annual fee. 


 

Discover's 5% categories suck as the limits are ridiculously low. After that, you are dealing with .025% general cashback until you reach the $3000+ spending bracket where you start earning 1%. People think Discover is great because they advertise the big "5%" everywhere. When you look at the smallprint, however, these rewards are supplemental at best (for the hardcore cashback hunters, that is).

 

In light of that, the Cap One No Hassle Cash Rew. is pretty good as it pays 2% on gas and groceries.Plus, they also have an online shopping mall.Plus, redeeming the cash rewards is the easiest of all cards I know. No minimum redemption.

 

Personally, I would have kept the card since no AF applies to you. But if you're confident that this isn't the right card, then that's good for you.

 

Message 5 of 6
ReVeLaTeD
Regular Contributor

Re: Capital One...how to tell?


@wollepopolle wrote:

@ReVeLaTeD wrote:
And her arguments about using it for daily purchases just doesn't do it; the Discover card offers way better rewards.

 

For the record, I apparently had 0% APR for some period of time, 2% rewards, no annual fee. 


 

Discover's 5% categories suck as the limits are ridiculously low. After that, you are dealing with .025% general cashback until you reach the $3000+ spending bracket where you start earning 1%. People think Discover is great because they advertise the big "5%" everywhere. When you look at the smallprint, however, these rewards are supplemental at best (for the hardcore cashback hunters, that is).

 

In light of that, the Cap One No Hassle Cash Rew. is pretty good as it pays 2% on gas and groceries.Plus, they also have an online shopping mall.Plus, redeeming the cash rewards is the easiest of all cards I know. No minimum redemption.

 

Personally, I would have kept the card since no AF applies to you. But if you're confident that this isn't the right card, then that's good for you.

 


Here's the deal.  I don't spend much.  If/when I do it's either small amounts (i.e. fast food) or large purchases (i.e. a new computer).  Maybe once a year I'll go clothes shopping, and when I do I don't spend a lot because quite frankly, fashion is going in the toilet from when I was younger.  There's going to come a point where I just won't have anything to buy.

 

Anyway, I know about the rewards limits.  Like this month it's $400 worth of clothes/department store.  That's fine - I'll take my little $20.  But then I can also, I believe, double up when I use ShopDiscover against a clothing store.  The reason I prefer Discover is that I have and will continue to have more buying power.  It'll take years for Capital One to get to that limit, and by that time Discover will have doubled.

 

The reality is down to one question: Are all of my cards used for something?  The answer for me was no.  Capital One hardly got used, and that's when I knew it was time to start closing some down.  It was a waste just having it sit there and buy McDonalds every week.  If they'd been amenable to offering me the higher limit product, I'da kept the card and closed others, like even the venerable Amazon Store Card.

Credit Cards:
| Cabrillo Credit Union MasterCard @ $3,000 | Chevron Visa @ $2,000 | Amazon Store Card @ $1,800 | HSBC 2% Rewards MasterCard @ $950 (redeemed themselves)
Message 6 of 6
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