Use deposit to pay off secured card?

[smithj370]

I have a secured Capital One card with a $1000 limit. I have a high balance on it so it gives me a high credit utilization percentage. I've had this card for about four years and since have gotten two unsecured cards. I was thinking of closing the capital one card and using the deposit to pay it off, so that I have a low total credit card balance. Is this a good idea? I don't want to eliminate a 4 year old credit line but I've also read that capital one won't turn your secured into an unsecured. And there's a $1000 deposit tied up in it.
Thanks for any feedback!

[bigblue7722]

your not gonna lose the card history it will stay on your report for up to ten years. Have you contacted capital one about closing it? Will they let you close it with a balance and just take your deposit? If they will i would say do it. If your other cards have little to no balance your score will go up. 

[Anonymous]

Have you actually asked them to unsecure it? I would start with that and go from there. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Have you actually asked them to unsecure it? I would start with that and go from there. 

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+1 

Ask them first. Let them know you have other unsecured cards and you've had this account for four years and it's time to unsecure it.

[Anonymous]

I had a secured Applied bank card that was close to the $1000 limit when I closed it.  They told me they'd use the deposit to zero it out, report it closed then return what's left of the deposit...

Oz

[SunriseEarth]

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@smithj370 wrote:
I have a secured Capital One card with a $1000 limit. I have a high balance on it so it gives me a high credit utilization percentage. I've had this card for about four years and since have gotten two unsecured cards. I was thinking of closing the capital one card and using the deposit to pay it off, so that I have a low total credit card balance. Is this a good idea? I don't want to eliminate a 4 year old credit line but I've also read that capital one won't turn your secured into an unsecured. And there's a $1000 deposit tied up in it.
Thanks for any feedback!

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AFAIK, Cap One secured cards don't graduate.   The closed CC will report for ~10 years, so you won't see a drop in AAoA immediately.   If the loss of the CL won't negatively affect your UTIL, then you might want to see if they can apply your deposit toward the balance and close the CC.  

[smithj370]

I just spoke with Capital One about switching to an unsecured card and the response was "Currently there is no graduation plan in place to change a Secured Card to an Unsecured Card.  You do have the option to apply for an Unsecured Card separately, though."  So I'm going to close it and use the security deposit to pay it off.  Thanks everyone for your help!