Thank you everyone for the feedback.
Spending wise, once I get the BCP, I'll be putting all groceries/gas/department purchases on that. I use Discover for the 5% quarterly promotions (when I remember). Restaurants and travel go on CSP. Everything else goes on the CSP in general - though I may start using the BCP more frequently for those as well. I don't fly as frequently as I used to, though this might change this year. I really do like the IHG card, namely for the perks. The Platinum status and free night are well worth the AF in my opinion, and I use that card for IHG related purchases for the 5x points. The Citibank/BOA/USAA are almost never used but also don't have an AF. We also have an Amex Zinc card, but only keep that for nostalgia - plus the Amex promotions cover the AF. Store cards are used occasionally in store if there is a promotion.
Most of the time, I cash out points for cash, so the UR points are really only worth $0.01/point to me. In that regard, the Cap1 QS might be a better option for the extra 50% back. However, I would only really notice a difference on larger purchases, and for those, the added benefits that cards like Amex give me outweigh the extra points (IMHO).
Since the general concensus was to attempt a PC, I guess I'll go that route. As long as they don't require a HP, no loss to me.
I saw differing comments on going through EO versus a "credit analysis". Is that the same group of people? I saw a TF number to reach EO Mon-Fri - is that the best avenue for a PC?
Ok, so I have taken your advice and decided to attempt a PC to the QuickSilver Rewards card. I sent this email to the 'CEO' address I found via Google. Not sure what will come of it, but I'll let you know what they say.
Here is the email:
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Hello,
I am writing this email in hopes of someone being able to provide assistance with my Capital One credit card.
For reference, my account number is: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX and I have been a customer for about five years now.
Long story short, I signed up for a Capital One card a long time ago when I really didn't have an established credit history. I didn't have anything negative, I simply didn't have much of anything at all. While I appreciate the fact that Capital One was willing to extend me credit at that time, you have failed to entice me to stay as a customer. As someone who now has a very established, and blemish free, credit history with a secure job and high income, I simply see no reason to keep this card.
I currently have what I assume is your most basic no-frills cards. It has a $500 credit limit and a $39/year annual fee.
Without going into too many details, if you look at my most recent credit report, you will see that this level of account is useless to me and bordering on insulting. I currently have accounts with most other major banks (American Express, Citibank, Chase, Discover, Bank of America, USAA, etc.). On all my other major credit cards, I have credit lines ranging from a $6,000 to $16,000, not including the two 'no pre-set spending limit' American Express charge cards. Overall, I have over $100,000 in available lines of credit. As I mentioned before, I don't have a single blemish on my report. I routinely charge between $4,000-$10,000 a month across my cards and they are all paid in full every month. My FICO scores are in the high-700s. In addition to revolving credit, I also have installment lines that all have a perfect payment history.
I mention all this simply to put things into perspective.
As I am sure you can understand, having a no-rewards credit card with a ridiculous $500 limit, not to mention an annual fee, is absolutely worthless to me. As a result, I simply don't carry or use this card. The only reason I have kept it this long is because I have been able to get the annual fee waived for the past few years. But even that isn't worth my time anymore.
I have spoken to your customer service staff and requested a product change to one of your better cards, in addition to a higher credit limit. Those requests have been denied without any reason or justification. I was told that my account is ineligible for an upgrade and would need to apply for another card - which is not acceptable to me. It boggles my mind that Capital One refuses to grow with their customers.
So, at this point, I am writing this email as a last ditch attempt at receiving assistance from the 'executive office' to see if you are able to make this change and keep me as a customer. If you are willing to change my card over to the new Quicksilver Rewards card with a more appropriate credit limit, I am more than happy to stay as a happy customer - and will certainly use the card for some of my purchases as it does look like a good card. If this is not something that you can do, than I would appreciate it if you would close my account effective immediately. Please note that I do not want and am not authorizing a 'hard pull' on my report, since you should be able to verify what I said above and my creditworthiness with a 'soft pull' as an existing card member.
I appreciate the time you spent in reading this and reviewing my account, and look forward to receiving your response.
Thank you,
--James
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Regardless of their decision, it's a win-win for me 
.
That was a very to the point, take no prisoners, nothing to lose letter. Keep us posted on the outcome. Good Luck!
Thanks. I'm more interested to see how they respond than actually getting a PC. I figured that worst case scenario they will do what I planned on doing anyway (canceling the card). I assume, based on others' feedback, that the people at the end of that email have the power to make overrides. So I would be surprised if they didn't make the change - and if that happened, I would want to close the account even more. As I said, it's a win-win for me. One way or the other, I'm getting rid of that card.
I'm just glad I found out that closed cards, while still on your report, still count to AAoA. If I didn't learn that from this forum, I would have kept my crappy card indefinitely.
Just wanted to provide an update. I received a call today from someone at the EO.
They offered me a PC to the QuickSilver One card, which I accepted. I get the 1.5% cash back, which should be a nice perk. They said they will also send my account in for manual review to get a CLI and took down some information (income, assets, etc.).
Unfortunately, this version of the QuickSilver card does have an annual fee. He told me to call him back when it hits and he can take care of it for me then. I think the reason why is that the other QS card is a Visa Signature with a $5k minimum. Since my CLI is still pending, my CL of $500 wouldn't qualify for that card. So once the CLI is hopefully approved, I should be eligible to a PC to the better version. He also said they could keep it at that version but permanently waive the AF. I guess I'll have to use this card over the next few months to make it worth their while. I requested a $10k limit which I think is certainly appropriate. I did pre-authorize a 'less than requested' amount, but told the guy it would need to be something appropriate and not just $750. I guess we shall see...
Assuming I get a good CLI and they do PC or waive the AF afterwards, I think this worked out fairly well. A boost to my total credit available, a nice 1.5% cash back card and still keeping a tenured account alive.
@phonic wrote:Just wanted to provide an update. I received a call today from someone at the EO.
They offered me a PC to the QuickSilver One card, which I accepted. I get the 1.5% cash back, which should be a nice perk. They said they will also send my account in for manual review to get a CLI and took down some information (income, assets, etc.).
Unfortunately, this version of the QuickSilver card does have an annual fee. He told me to call him back when it hits and he can take care of it for me then. I think the reason why is that the other QS card is a Visa Signature with a $5k minimum. Since my CLI is still pending, my CL of $500 wouldn't qualify for that card. So once the CLI is hopefully approved, I should be eligible to a PC to the better version. He also said they could keep it at that version but permanently waive the AF. I guess I'll have to use this card over the next few months to make it worth their while. I requested a $10k limit which I think is certainly appropriate. I did pre-authorize a 'less than requested' amount, but told the guy it would need to be something appropriate and not just $750. I guess we shall see...
Assuming I get a good CLI and they do PC or waive the AF afterwards, I think this worked out fairly well. A boost to my total credit available, a nice 1.5% cash back card and still keeping a tenured account alive.
Congrats!! Hopefully they'll give you a nice CL and PC to the Quicksilver no AF version. But if they don't PC defeinitely take them up on permanently waiving the AF.
I am pretty sure you will get the 10K and the QS Visa Signature card. I got the Cash Rewards Visa Signature in November 12 with a 5K limit and just got an increase to 10K. The card has been converted to the QuickSilver in November 13 I think. Since I have my own design I do not really know other than the 1,5% cash back.
Looking forward to the outcome