Close Cap 1?

[Changingmantra]

Hello Everyone,

Just had another scripted conversation with 2 cap 1 reps. First I should say i generally like cap 1. I got a chance wih hem when I was rebuilding and my card does have a $3350 CL. The issue is that there is nowhere for it to grow. I am not even looking for a CLI right now, just a product change to something that CAN grow with me. I have had the card for 4 years. I also have Discover 8 months - $2000 CLI so far and Barclay $ 2500 CLI before even getting the card 5 months ago. I do not need the utilization on the cap 1; right now, I keep it only because of no foreign transaction fee. I do not want sound or be like the brat who does not get whet she wants and so takes her toys and runs home. For me, it is more about ridding my life of things/ people that do not serve a purpose in my life, and I am thinking that cap 1 is one of those things. I do not need or want a pocket full of credit cards, but I do want to get something out of the ones that I do have, which is not much from this card. What do u think?

[Anonymous]

I would not say that Cap1 cards do not grow with you, they just grow too slowly for you to notice it!  You do have a logic for keeping the Cap1 card, no foreign transaction fee.  I know there are other cards that offer similar benefits, but since I do not need it at this time I do not research it and cannot tell you what those cards are.  If you are willing to go for another card and can afford the HP on your fico, start a thread asking what cards can give you what you need.  Then when you have that card close Cap1. 

Personally I got two Cap1 cards and will be closing on at the end of the year unless they offer me a massive CLI, the other one I will keep for a few years as at this time it is my best basic rewards card (I still have not seen what the details of the Zync and Discover are, that I was just approved for).

[gettingstarted]

IMHO if the card is no longer going to grow with you and they are unwilling to do a PC then I would get rid of them. I just got rid of my HSBC which is now Capital One for the same reason no CLI and they were unwilling to do a PC. JMHO

[tacaza]

Cap 1 really don't grow, I can tell. I have 2 CCs with Cap 1, one is the Platinum no AF and the other is Venture One Visa. The CLs have stayed the same for almost 2 years now, but I don't really care about that. My work recently put lots of expenses on my Venture One, so I wanted to switch over to the Venture with AF, just so I could earn more miles. They didn't want t do it, and kept telling me to try again in the next couple months. I was like forget you, and applied for the Discover Escape, which had similar rewards. I was approved with a 4k CL, but I was still in the app spree mood, so I went for the Amex Blue and was also approved for 2k CL. I guess I will have to sockdrawer them Cap 1 cards.    

[LS2982]

IMO that's a pretty decent CL from Cap1. I would hold onto it and maybe SD it. Maybe that will convince them you mean business.

[Wolf3]

Time for Venture Card?

[Changingmantra]

psychoinhell wrote:

I would not say that Cap1 cards do not grow with you, they just grow too slowly for you to notice it!

Actually, this grew fairly well for a Cap1 card.  Between 3/08 and 12/10 the CL was increased from $500 to $3350.  The issue is that this particular card is not eligible for additional CLIs.  It was only supposed to go as high as $3000, but back in 12/10 Cap1 gave many people 2 CLIs  within a couple of weeks of each other.  They then had to go back and make the proper adjustments to everyone's credit line.  In my case, they allowed me to keep an extra $350 of the second $1500 increase.

For the longest, when I called Cap1 to request a CLI, reps gave me the - call back in a few months script.  Finally, a few months ago, reps started telling me that this account's credit line has hit its ceiling.  Seeing the extra $350 had other reps thinking I had a different type of card, which, in fact, is eligible for CLIs, but just not at the time.

gettingstarted wrote:

IMHO if the card is no longer going to grow with you and they are unwilling to do a PC then I would get rid of them. I just got rid of my HSBC which is now Capital One for the same reason no CLI and they were unwilling to do a PC. JMHO

This is exactly what I did last summer with my HSBC accounts.  It felt GREAT to close them.  Aside from no increases, I did not like dealing with their customer service. After I was stranded out of town and they put a fraud alert block on my account because I used it out of state, I was through.  For days I could not answer their security questions correctly, because they had nothing to do with me.  When I returned to NY, I went INTO a branch with all of the requisite ID, and even with the manager on the phone with them, they would not remove the block.  They said it was because it was a Discover card -Theirs, but not really,  so I had to fax the information in and wait up to 2 weeks to see what happened.  Closed immediately and NEVER going back!

tacaza wrote:

Cap 1 really don't grow, I can tell. I have 2 CCs with Cap 1, one is the Platinum no AF and the other is Venture One Visa. The CLs have stayed the same for almost 2 years now, but I don't really care about that.

Yeah, the CL is not even the issue for me at this point.  But  a year or 2 from now when my other cards are at $5000 plus (hopefully), I am not going to sit on a card with a $3000 limit.  I do believe that banks are influenced by the CLs you already have.  This is one of the reasons why I have closed all of my accounts – major cards and store cards – that have low limits.  Now, all of my CLs are $2700 or above, except for Target, which recently CLD me from $1000 to $250 because I do not use it.  I called them last month to close it, but the rep got me with the 5% discount on purchases and with a promise that the CL will be re-established once I start using the card.  I will give it a try, but if it is not back within 3 or 4 months, I will close that one too.  Discount or not, if I am not using it, I do not need it.  I certainly do not need it standing out this way from all of the other CLs.

LS2982 wrote:

IMO that's a pretty decent CL from Cap1. I would hold onto it and maybe SD it. Maybe that will convince them you mean business.

Yeah, it is in my wallet now, but I hardly use it.  I thought about just cutting it up.  I am not hard up for the credit line.  Discover recently gave me a $2000 CLI so that I could do a couple of balance transfers.  The balance on my Discover is just over $1000.  Barclays has $20.00 on it.  I have started paying cash and using my debit card more. 

Wolf3 wrote:

Time for Venture Card?

Well, this is the issue.  I told them that I was not requestiong a  CLI, rather I wanted a product change to a card that COULD grow with me.  I have read of other people doing this very thing, but every time I call, I get the script – we periodically review accounts…., you have been an excellent customer, but …, Capital 1 is a conservative bank…,  and if it is someone who realizes that the card  has reached its ceiling, I get You are welcomed to apply for another card…

[Chris123nTx]

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@Changingmantra wrote:
Hello Everyone,

Just had another scripted conversation with 2 cap 1 reps. First I should say i generally like cap 1. I got a chance wih hem when I was rebuilding and my card does have a $3350 CL. The issue is that there is nowhere for it to grow. I am not even looking for a CLI right now, just a product change to something that CAN grow with me. I have had the card for 4 years. I also have Discover 8 months - $2000 CLI so far and Barclay $ 2500 CLI before even getting the card 5 months ago. I do not need the utilization on the cap 1; right now, I keep it only because of no foreign transaction fee. I do not want sound or be like the brat who does not get whet she wants and so takes her toys and runs home. For me, it is more about ridding my life of things/ people that do not serve a purpose in my life, and I am thinking that cap 1 is one of those things. I do not need or want a pocket full of credit cards, but I do want to get something out of the ones that I do have, which is not much from this card. What do u think?

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I was in the exact same place with cap one. Two accounts, about 3500 cl on each, and wanted a product change to a venture or similar. Told them i would be happy to close the other and convert the one or however they wanted to handle it. They rep said no. Talked to a supervisor, he said no. I said ok, and closed both accounts. I had had those cards for over a decade, and only kept them because they had been there for me way back when, but it was just kind of silly to keep them, heck they would not even waive the annual fee. Since i closed them, they send me emails every three or four weeks with preapprovals for the venture sig cards and asking me to come back. I have moved on, and suggest you do the same. Just my opinion of course.

[Changingmantra]

CLOSED! 

And I did not want to do it, but ...  I finally bit the "Apply for another one of our cards bullet...." and of course, I was declined.  I have spent the last half our on the the phone with 3 different people at Cap 1 - then talked to Barclay and Discover to have them tell me why they are better cards... and what all they offer me... And of course, Discover is a class A operation.   In the middel of all of this I got to thinking.... 1.  Cap 1 has made it clear that this card is never going anywhere.... 2. The only way to  get anything from them is to continue to risk HP - CS dings and denials.. AND there is no recon option available... 3. Do I really want to keep asking for something that I just am not going to get?  I have a couple of years before some baddies fall off my CR - and ultimately, the only card I want at that time is a Cit Visa.... so.... I needed to cut the strigs.... esp since Discover has no transactions fees too! 

[Crashem]

Especially hate that cap one pulls all the credit bureaus.  3 hard inquiries ouch. 

I would recommend though that you keep 3 revolving cards open at a minimum to max your fico score.  Could be store card or something like that if you don't want another credit card.