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I opened a Capital One card when I was in college. It started out with a $500 limit. It was increased to a $1000 limit shortly after without me asking and then it stayed at that amount for years. I called to request a credit limit increase and they increased it by only $500 more dollars. Mind you my FICO scores are 779 and 799. I always pay on time and in full, but I feel like I've finally outgrown this card. It's not practical because I don't want to utilize more than 30% of my credit limit at any given time. I'm wary of closing it as well because it's the oldest line of credit on my report. I asked that the card be changed into a rewards card and they told me that the only way I could get a reward card is if I apply and open up a new account. Has anyone had any success in dealing with Capital One re increasing credit limits and getting reward added to their current cards? I should preface this with I plan on buying a house in the next year and a half and want to keep my score high.
In general with Capital One they don't give user requested CLI's and to get a better card you do have to apply. If initially your given a sub-prime card your stuck with it until you apply for a better card. Captial One is good for those starting out or rebuilding but once that's complete your better off going with other companies.
I think Cap one have some cards that they fancily call 'Platinum' but they never graduate past a certain limit.
i have had mine for close to 4 years stuck at $1100 and always declined for a CLI. Card ahd always been paid on time.
I think what cap one and orchard bank does is very similar, they rather give out 1 million accts with 300 dollar credit limits, then give out 300 accts with a million dollar limit! why??? risk ur very capable of retriving a default on a 300 limit rather than a 5k or 10k limit, without receiving little risk! cap one have grown alot from this, surpassing other banks who give higher limits, both banks charge annual fees on small limits! there very conservative and smart! I think!
You can try to charge everything with this card for 2 months, make multiple payments each month and hope they raised your limit, I did it by accident while I was traveling, they raised me from 1000 to 5750.
So it's been a while, but after calling, e-mailing, and thinly veiled threats of leaving the company after 9-10 years of being a loyal customer I finally got an increase from $1500 to $5000! I e-mailed social@capitalone.com (the e-mail address on their Facebook page) and mentioned that after less than a year with Amex, I went from a $2000 limit to a $6000 limit. If a company I've been associated with for less than a year could increase my limit, why couldn't Capital One?
Capital One seems to have multiple personalities:
Sub-prime, toy limits, relatively high fees.
Mid-range (not really Prime), better limits, better fees considering those limits.
Branch Banks - they have acquired various banks around the country, in Texas and the DC area, perhaps elsewhere. Prime level products may be available through branches or to branch customers.
The bad news, judging from many threads here, is that if you enter as sub-prime you can't get to mid-range. Folks living in an area covered by branches may do better going into a branch in person.
I was probably in the subprime category because I got the card while I was in college and had no established credit. I didn't realize the card wouldn't grow with me at the time.
@HonestDoubter wrote:I was probably in the subprime category because I got the card while I was in college and had no established credit. I didn't realize the card wouldn't grow with me at the time.
Ask that your card be upgraded to a World MC or Visa Siggy (depending on which you have) since you got a 5k limit (if they haven't automatically done it)
Congrats!!