Out of sheer curiosity, a question please, for those people on the forum who have reported receiving low Cap1 BuyPower WEMC CLs, such as $300, $500, etc.: since the Cap1 BuyPower card is technically a flexible spending credit card, does Cap1 actually allow you to exceed your CL, up a certain amount without penalty, using the flexible spending/NPSL feature of the card? Or will Cap1 charge an overlimit penalty fee, take AA, or similar action if a BuyPower WEMC with a low CL is exceeded?
Don't go over your limit. Pay it off if you get close and wait till the payment posts before you use it again. When I was starting out I would pay my card off weekly. I had two cap one cards. I'd use one, pay it off and use the other. Back and forth. I always paid off the cards prior to the close of my statement so it would report a low or 0 balance. They can charge you or delay a CLI if you are going over your limit. You have to show responsible spending and payments. If you are making multiple payments a month they in my case raised my limit 1k after 2 months. Hope that helps.
I noticed that, while all of the replies provided very useful advice that you should absolutely understand, nobody actually answered the question on how the No Preset Spending Limit (NPSL) feature works. As someone who is currently rebuilding AND recently started working in outside sales I had the same question and started doing some research as a card with NPSL would be very useful for me. I have generally low credit limits but a high demand for usage and can very easily PIF monthly as my company reimburses all expenses regularly.
I am by no means an expert, but my understanding is that as an FSCC cap1 may decide to approve purchases above the credit limit. Any "flex" that they approve is treated similar to a charge card and must be PIF every statement.
As an example: assume your CL is $300, your normal minimum payment is $25, and they approve charges up to $500 -- you would owe $25 (normal minimum) + $200 (flex) as a minimum payment for that statement period.
All this being said, I haven't really tested it yet. I do somthing similar to what has been mentioned previously and that is as I get close to 100% I PIF, and I alternate between a few different cards. I did accidentally buy dinner once on a transaction that was approved for $5.25 over the CL, so for sure they DO approve as FSCC. How much and under what criteria, however, I cannot say. Unlike AmEx, there is no way to "check my spending power" with this card.
$6,500 | 
$3,400 | 
$2,000
@Anonymous wrote:
This seems to be exactly what the Cap 1 EO is designed for. If it was me, I'd call (well, email with Cap 1) either Cap 1 and/or the other cards you have, explain that you're on an expense acct, and see if you can convince them to give you a CLI. Worth a shot.
Also, if your profile supports it, expense reports are almost exactly what AMEX charge cards (NPSL, PIF) were designed for.
I had pretty much the same thought and tried the EO a few months ago 
I now have three cap1 cards -- QS Visa (NOT siggy), Secured MasterCard, BuyPower WEMC -- but at the time of the EO I did not have the WEMC. I was actually adding deposits to the secured card until they stopped allowing them back in January, so that is stuck at $2k CL and my QS Visa has been stuck at $600 for about two years. I then went to the website and hit the love button on both cards and got an instant deny on both. The secured card stated that, although they hope to offer unsecured CLI in the future, they do not currently offer it on the secured product. The QS Visa stated that my FICO score was too low. Surprisingly, my wife was approved for $1k CLI on her QS MasterCard with a FICO score 30 points lower than mine, so this was what prompted me to contact the EO back in Feb 2016.
When I emailed the EO, they called me and asked if I would like to have an underwriter manually review and that this would result in SP and would take about 10 days. I agreed, and the response that came back was that they were sticking by the denial but would allow me to participate in credit steps -- six months, on-time, minimum $50, and they will raise my limit to $900 from $600. I asked if they would retro that because I have always paid on-time and always at least $50 (and nothing less than $400 since Oct 2015, when I started my new job), but alas it was not meant to be. At this point, I've got over 6 months of high use + PIF on my cards and I'm three payments in to the credit steps program so I'm hoping that when that CLI goes through they may be willing to consider something a bit bigger.
Because I needed something with a higher limit right away, I got a Discover secured card and put up the max deposit ($2500) a couple months ago. I just got the WEMC about 45 days ago with a $300 CL, and I intend to continue with the same high usage + PIF pattern with those cards as well. My wife drives a Cadillac and wants to get a new one in the next year, and my ultimate goal is to have only 2-3 cards (one for household expenses, one for T+E for my job, and maybe a third as a reserve/emergency) so this one would fit well in to that scheme as long as I can get some good CLI along the way. At this point, I don't really need any new accounts just some good CLI so that's what I'm working towards.
@Austrausky wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:This seems to be exactly what the Cap 1 EO is designed for. If it was me, I'd call (well, email with Cap 1) either Cap 1 and/or the other cards you have, explain that you're on an expense acct, and see if you can convince them to give you a CLI. Worth a shot.Also, if your profile supports it, expense reports are almost exactly what AMEX charge cards (NPSL, PIF) were designed for.
I had pretty much the same thought and tried the EO a few months ago
I now have three cap1 cards -- QS Visa (NOT siggy), Secured MasterCard, BuyPower WEMC -- but at the time of the EO I did not have the WEMC. I was actually adding deposits to the secured card until they stopped allowing them back in January, so that is stuck at $2k CL and my QS Visa has been stuck at $600 for about two years. I then went to the website and hit the love button on both cards and got an instant deny on both. The secured card stated that, although they hope to offer unsecured CLI in the future, they do not currently offer it on the secured product. The QS Visa stated that my FICO score was too low. Surprisingly, my wife was approved for $1k CLI on her QS MasterCard with a FICO score 30 points lower than mine, so this was what prompted me to contact the EO back in Feb 2016.
When I emailed the EO, they called me and asked if I would like to have an underwriter manually review and that this would result in SP and would take about 10 days. I agreed, and the response that came back was that they were sticking by the denial but would allow me to participate in credit steps -- six months, on-time, minimum $50, and they will raise my limit to $900 from $600. I asked if they would retro that because I have always paid on-time and always at least $50 (and nothing less than $400 since Oct 2015, when I started my new job), but alas it was not meant to be. At this point, I've got over 6 months of high use + PIF on my cards and I'm three payments in to the credit steps program so I'm hoping that when that CLI goes through they may be willing to consider something a bit bigger.
Because I needed something with a higher limit right away, I got a Discover secured card and put up the max deposit ($2500) a couple months ago. I just got the WEMC about 45 days ago with a $300 CL, and I intend to continue with the same high usage + PIF pattern with those cards as well. My wife drives a Cadillac and wants to get a new one in the next year, and my ultimate goal is to have only 2-3 cards (one for household expenses, one for T+E for my job, and maybe a third as a reserve/emergency) so this one would fit well in to that scheme as long as I can get some good CLI along the way. At this point, I don't really need any new accounts just some good CLI so that's what I'm working towards.
I had Credit Steps when I got my Cap 1, which was my first card. They trippled my CL at the end of CS. (I wish I had known I could ask for a CLI before CS) So, high charges/high PIF definitely has some hope.
I have a tonne of questions (none of which you really should answer 
, so let me give you my thought process). You travel a lot for work, correct? Sams Club MC gives you 5% back on fuel, plus Synchrony has somewhat easier underwriting. If you fly and/or stay in a hotel a lot, airline and hotel cards will maximise your rewards. Plus underwriting on co-branded cards TENDS to be easier.
Sadly, your scores are probably on the borderline-to-low range, but once you get above 640, doors should start opening.