Capitol One is not great... IMO

[Anonymous]

Leaving the rebuilding argument aside, I want to hear why you think Capital One is so great. I have seen many posts on this forum that hold them in high regard, from what I can tell the rewards are inferior to other products, and they charge annual fees for cards that have the same benefits that other lenders do not charge for. So beyond the rebuilding argument, why is Cap One one of your cards? Is there something I am missing?

[Anonymous]

they gave me my biggest limit last year before I learned about and cleaned up my credit... also, 1.5% CB card with no foreign transaction fee is still not a terrible thing to have on a trip.

Other than that.... idk I would not apply for any of their other cards besides a Quicksilver unless you really love the signup bonus on a Venture and plan on dumping it after the first year.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Leaving the rebuilding argument aside, I want to hear why you think Capital One is so great. I have seen many posts on this forum that hold them in high regard, from what I can tell the rewards are inferior to other products, and they charge annual fees for cards that have the same benefits that other lenders do not charge for. So beyond the rebuilding argument, why is Cap One one of your cards? Is there something I am missing?

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hey tydawg, since you helped me with the loans I'll chime in on this

this is for me and i'm sure others on this forum:

1) rewards structure is straightforward and simple. you earn rewards right when your purchase posts. 

2) easy combination of accounts meaning you can turn all your cap one cards into a nice CL in one card

3) sign up bonuses are nice too. esp. on venture. got $400

4) I personally got really decent limits with cap one.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Leaving the rebuilding argument aside, I want to hear why you think Capital One is so great. I have seen many posts on this forum that hold them in high regard, from what I can tell the rewards are inferior to other products, and they charge annual fees for cards that have the same benefits that other lenders do not charge for. So beyond the rebuilding argument, why is Cap One one of your cards? Is there something I am missing?

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hey tydawg, since you helped me with the loans I'll chime in on this

this is for me and i'm sure others on this forum:

1) rewards structure is straightforward and simple. you earn rewards right when your purchase posts. 

2) easy combination of accounts meaning you can turn all your cap one cards into a nice CL in one card

3) sign up bonuses are nice too. esp. on venture. got $400

4) I personally got really decent limits with cap one.

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Fair enough, but they still charge a $59 AF for essentially 2% cash back, that is nice about the rewards posting right away, but beyond that I am still at a loss, especially when there is the Citi DC with no AF, Blispay, and coming soon the USAA limitless with 2.5%. I guess I am viewing credit differently than some, I am consolidating my portfolio to cards that are actually useful rather than just having a ton of high limit cards. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Leaving the rebuilding argument aside, I want to hear why you think Capital One is so great. I have seen many posts on this forum that hold them in high regard, from what I can tell the rewards are inferior to other products, and they charge annual fees for cards that have the same benefits that other lenders do not charge for. So beyond the rebuilding argument, why is Cap One one of your cards? Is there something I am missing?

---

hey tydawg, since you helped me with the loans I'll chime in on this

this is for me and i'm sure others on this forum:

1) rewards structure is straightforward and simple. you earn rewards right when your purchase posts. 

2) easy combination of accounts meaning you can turn all your cap one cards into a nice CL in one card

3) sign up bonuses are nice too. esp. on venture. got $400

4) I personally got really decent limits with cap one.

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Fair enough, but they still charge a $59 AF for essentially 2% cash back, that is nice about the rewards posting right away, but beyond that I am still at a loss, especially when there is the Citi DC with no AF, Blispay, and coming soon the USAA limitless with 2.5%. I guess I am viewing credit differently than some, I am consolidating my portfolio to cards that are actually useful rather than just having a ton of high limit cards. 

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No foreign transaction fee too. That's a big one I missed that an above poster mentioned. 

But yeah, you're right. Only good for people new to the card game/just starting. Would have rather just started out with a Citi DC as well, but am happy i started with cap one then gradually got to the point where I could actually obtain a citi dc by being credit worthy. 

[Anonymous]

Capital One is not as good as some other companies like Chase, Citi, and American Express, but they gave me a chance even though I burned them in bankruptcy. I'm only 2 years post discharge, so I probably can't get a good credit card for a while. If you don't feel like going through the work of getting into Navy Federal Credit Union, then Capital One is probably one of the best bankrupcy friendly credit card companies you can get with. I had First Premier and Credit One immediately out of my bankruptcy, but I dumped them as soon as I got approved for a few Capital One cards. If you're not rebuilding or new out of bankruptcy, there are definitely better card companies, but I'm fine with them for now. I have 8 more years before my bankruptcy is off my record. For now, I'll enjoy my Capital One Quicksilver and Venture One cards (which both have no annual fees). I've moved to a more Dave Ramsey-ish cash lifestyle, but might as well establish credit for when I'm ready to buy a house. Capital One lets me do this where other banks have rejected me.

[austinguy907]

Quite simply there's a place or need for Cap1 or any other lender.  I'll try to stick to Cap1 though for the sake of the thread.

UW requirements help people get a card when most other lenders won't; once your scores and profile are in shape enough to pre-qual fro the lowest APR they offer they come in with very high limits (30K) w/o taking so much as a second look at anything

They have a diverse portfolio of options from recovering, building, expanding.

They have points/miles/cash rewards options.

I think everyone knows about their credit steps that give you a CLI after X payments 

They're very uncomplicated when it comes to their products and redeeming rewards.

They have a reliable pre-qual page in comparison to other that are random or just don't work at all

They have a pretty solid track record when it comes to dealing with them in most situations.  There's always those 1 or 2 left field situations where someone feels like they're getting burned but when looking at the larger picture they're not so bad.

SP CLI's are popular around here at least... not sure the general public knows the ins and outs of chasing down bigger limits but Cap1 will explicitly tell you how to qualify for one in their denial FAQ's document post reqiest.

Now whether or not these reasons make them "great" or "crap 1" it's up to each person and how they use them at the time when they need them.

[Subexistence]

At my college only 2 banks are available which are CapitalOne and Secumd. Naturally I would need to get accounts at both since ease of access is important. CapitalOne is one of the few banks that let me create an account while I was still 17 because they wanted to provide all college freshman bank access which was really nice. Since CapitalOne was the first account I ever made, I direct deposit all my part time job income there. The day I turned 18, I applied for their student card but was rejected and I still resent them for giving me a hard inquiry but nothing in return. I guess the good part is that it won't be a card I have to maintain and of course I don't itnend on having capitalone as one of my lifelong cards so it saves me the process of disposing it in the future. In short the only benefit from capitalone for me is ease of access.

[Anonymous]

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@Subexistence wrote:

At my college only 2 banks are available which are CapitalOne and Secumd. Naturally I would need to get accounts at both since ease of access is important. CapitalOne is one of the few banks that let me create an account while I was still 17 because they wanted to provide all college freshman bank access which was really nice. Since CapitalOne was the first account I ever made, I direct deposit all my part time job income there. The day I turned 18, I applied for their student card but was rejected and I still resent them for giving me a hard inquiry but nothing in return. I guess the good part is that it won't be a card I have to maintain and of course I don't itnend on having capitalone as one of my lifelong cards so it saves me the process of disposing it in the future. In short the only benefit from capitalone for me is ease of access.

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Interesting you say they are the only ones available... I have accounts with banks that are over a thousand miles away and have never stepped foot into one of their branches. The nearest NFCU to me is 30 minutes away. Now days there is really no need for a bank branch imo.

[austinguy907]

CU accounts are nice that they physically can be anywhere but you can access banking services through any co-op branch no matter the name on the front door they can allow you to access your account.  I also have accounts in several states for this reason of being able to access them anywhere in country where there's a CU branch that can access my "home" CU directly.