topic Re: How long to keep CapOne secured? in Credit Card Applications

How long to keep CapOne secured?

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 22:58:28 GMT

Just got the CapOne secured not too long ago and still waiting on my first statement to cut.

But I wanted to ask how long do you think I should keep the card for because it no longer Unsecures and I'll only get 1 CLI on it ever (or so I've heard). I plan on app'ing for their unsecured card in 6 months.

Re: How long to keep CapOne secured?

baller4life — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 23:06:22 GMT

I kept mines like 10 months. I would cancel it by the time your next af rolls around. It's just a stepping stone as you build your portfolio with better cards. Nothing to keep around.

Re: How long to keep CapOne secured?

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 23:16:33 GMT

There's no AF on it so should I keep it longer or just burn it once better cards roll around?

Re: How long to keep CapOne secured?

baller4life — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 23:32:57 GMT

No af? Since when? I would still ditch after a year.

Re: How long to keep CapOne secured?

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 23:36:45 GMT

Since now I guess?

https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/secured-mastercard/

Is there a downside to keeping it?

Re: How long to keep CapOne secured?

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 23:43:24 GMT

Re: How long to keep CapOne secured?

baller4life — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 23:43:25 GMT

Well I'll be. They have switched it up. Well you can keep it as long as you want. But secured cards are really meant for rebuilders. And not to be kept long term. But, since there is no af, there really isn't a downside. You'll know when the time is right. Once you have a thick portfolio and really don't have use for it anymore. 😉

Re: How long to keep CapOne secured?

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 23:51:24 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Just got the CapOne secured not too long ago and still waiting on my first statement to cut.

But I wanted to ask how long do you think I should keep the card for because it no longer Unsecures and I'll only get 1 CLI on it ever (or so I've heard). I plan on app'ing for their unsecured card in 6 months.

OP, I got my CapOne Secured MC in September 2010, over a couple of years I added deposits to get it to $1000. I literally just closed the card on Wednesday. Everyone's situation is different. I had a lot (and I mean a lot) of negative on my CR's, took a lot of time for things to get to a point where I could dispute/pay for delete etc. IF you've got clean reports, for most people 1 year is enough. Once you've got about 12 months of good payment history on that card you should be able to get 1 or 2 unsecured cards. Like the QuickSilverOne Card from CapOne or a Discover IT Card. Maybe both. Try to get to 3 unsecured cards before closing it, so you have the 3 revolving lines needed to maximize your FICO 08 scores.

Re: How long to keep CapOne secured?

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 19:38:56 GMT

I was in the same position as cashcorp1. I opened my Cap1 secured in 2012... I just got rid of it earlier this year. At the time I was allowed to increase my CL by sending in more money towards my security deposit.

But I also had quite a few collections accounts I had to work on paying and getting off of my reports. Once I did this I just settled for using my two secured cc (the other was BoA which eventually became unsecured on its own after a year) This year I started reading MF forum and realized my profile was strong enough to qualify for better and insecured cards. Once I acquired better cards I got rid of the Cap1 secured and was more than happy to get my security deposit back.

Re: How long to keep CapOne secured?

Aduke1122 — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 05:50:12 GMT

We kept ours for 8 mths then was approved for Quicksilver One . It all depends on your profile and scores .

Re: How long to keep CapOne secured?

Aduke1122 — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 05:51:18 GMT

Well I say we kept it but I meant we had it 8 mths bf getting the unsecured , still have secured card gonna keep it awhile to not mess.up AAoA

Re: How long to keep CapOne secured?

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 18:32:05 GMT

@Aduke1122 wrote:
Well I say we kept it but I meant we had it 8 mths bf getting the unsecured , still have secured card gonna keep it awhile to not mess.up AAoA

AAoA wouldn't be affected by just closing the secured card. Positive trade lines will continue to report for 10yrs or more. What would lower you AAoA is opening several new accounts in a short time period. It's unavoidable when you're first starting out. Get to 3 accounts and then garden for 6 moths before applying for anything else. my AAoA is right at 22 months, and that's after a 10 card app spree in May, 2 more in August.

Re: How long to keep CapOne secured?

brother7 — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 03:35:44 GMT

My suggested timeline for rebuilders is this:

t = 0 : Apply for Capital One Secured card. Result = 1 secured card.

After 6th statement cuts : Apply for unsecured card. (Recommendation: Discover it). Result: = 1 secured card + 1 unsecured card.

After 6th statement of newest card cuts : Apply for unsecured card. (Recommendation: Citi Double Cash). Result = 1 secured card + 2 unsecured cards.

After 6th satement of newest card cuts : Apply for unsecured card, cancel Capital One Secured card. Result = 3 unsecured cards.

Garden or Repeat with new applications every 6th statement.

The short answer to the OP's question: Cancel secured card after you have 3 unsecured cards.

You only need 3 or 4 cards for an optimal credit card profile. After the 3rd unsecured card, apply for cards only if they fill a niche in your spending habits. For example, if you travel, get a good travel rewards card. If you buy from Amazon frequently, consider joining Amazon Prime and getting the card geared towards Prime members.

Just my 2 cents.

Re: How long to keep CapOne secured?

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 23:47:25 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Just got the CapOne secured not too long ago and still waiting on my first statement to cut.

But I wanted to ask how long do you think I should keep the card for because it no longer Unsecures and I'll only get 1 CLI on it ever (or so I've heard). I plan on app'ing for their unsecured card in 6 months.

I had my CapOne secured card for 10 months when I got my QS1. It'll be 2 years old in February but I'm going to cancel it before the anniversary (it's old enough to have an annual fee and I had that fee waived last year but this time I think I'll just get my money back).

In my experience, I got a Credit Steps increase of $300 in the 7th month after I had it and haven't had anything since. They swear up and down it's possible to get more than one CLI but you can't request it and you can't add more money onto your account after the fact anymore, so it could possibly just sit forever.

It's really up to you how long you keep it, but I will say this - if you want to stick with Capital One, in most cases you can only have 2 MasterCards (well, MasterCards and Journey which is a Visa, but it's an 'average credit' starter college card) and up to 5 cards total, so if you wanted two MasterCards for some reason (like a Plat and a QS1, like a lot of people like to get around here), you'll HAVE TO close the secured card before you can get that other MasterCard. I know there are exceptions to this but I've personally gotten the "you have the maximum number of accounts" denial reason because I have two MasterCards with Cap One.