topic Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are? in Credit Cards

What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

Bandit5160 — Wed, 08 Aug 2018 21:41:28 GMT

I will start out by admitting I had a Ch. 7 bankruptcy roughly 15 years ago that included almost 100K in charge-offs. I was an idiot when I was younger. And as recent as a couple of years ago I had high balances on subprime credit card accounts and credit scores in the 500s. But I have gained good employment and my luck and maturity level have changed. I paid off and closed all those subprime accounts and I now pay off most if not all of my balances monthly. I was approved for a lot of good credit cards last spring and summer. Now over a year later, I have been looking to get CLIs. Citi gave me 4.5K to 6K on Double Cash. Discover from 11.5K to 16K. Barclay’s from 4.5K to 7.5K (I had to have a TU pull for this one, but since I’ve rarely had TU pulled before that was OK). AMEX from 2K to 5K on BCE. Chase said I was not eligible for CLIs but they lowered my APR down to 16 from 24 and let me allocate 1K from my Freedom to raise my Amazon Prime Card from 500 to 1.5K. I tried to go from 2K to 5K with Wells Fargo Cashwise Visa but when they mentioned it would be a hard pull I told them never mind. But WF recently approved me for a new Propel Card with a 6K limit anyway and they have been really good to me with checking and savings accounts so I am OK with them.

But what has Capital One done for me lately? Zip. Zero. Nada. I have a Quicksilver with a 3750 limit and a Savor with a 10K limit. They said no to a CLI for both cards, both for dumb reasons. For Savor they said “you have not been using enough of your current CL.” For QS they said “you have recently had a CL adjustment”. Yes, a measly $1K increase to 3750 about 8 months ago. When I tried to transfer 3K of credit from Savor to QS that said no to that too, and I really don’t get that one. Chase let me do it. Also, my APRs for Capital One are both 24%. And, you guess it, they won’t lower those for me either. For most every other card it is under 20%. I think maybe CO still holds some kind of grudge against me. Look, the time for me to be punished for my past is OVER! Everyone else gets it, why not CO? Or alternatively, are the folks at CO just simply buttholes to everyone like this?

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Aug 2018 21:50:08 GMT

Actually, unless you are in business, taking clients out to lunch and dinner several times a month, $10,000 on Savor is a nice limit. Quicksilver is somewhat low, but Cap One will not raise your limit if they see that you are not using what you do have.

What is your average and high monthly spend on Savor? If it is not at least $5000 (I assume mainly on meals) you will not get an increase, in all likelihood. Card issuers are not really giving out limits that seem to be nowhere what the cardholder is using (those were the "good old days") anymore. They can use the extra limit increases for customers who are showing them love (i.e., heavy, frequent, high usage).

I would not be too upset with a $10000 limit on a category (dining) card.

Good luck.

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

Bandit5160 — Wed, 08 Aug 2018 22:19:41 GMT

You make a good point Johnny. It could be a lot worse than 10K and though I only used that Savor Card to eat out, and though I dine out a lot I never come anywhere near 10K since I pay it off monthly. The Quicksilver is a more general use card its balance can approach 1K at times...but never more than that really. I just like to see those high limits and low utilization percentages!

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Aug 2018 22:44:38 GMT

@Bandit5160

because you’re not using the limit they gave you.... that’s why.......

I don’t understand the obsession with its having extremely high limits, that you will not even come close too...... 10k is a good limit, specially for a dining card.

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Aug 2018 22:51:22 GMT

In 2017 CO started tightening the strings on limits and hitting cardholders with CLDs if they weren't using a significant portion of the limit they had. Since that's what they are doing, it makes sense that they are going to be more conservative with CLIs.

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

Shooting-For-800 — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 00:33:37 GMT

OP - how many cards do you have above $10k CL ?

If you are that worried about high limits AND your credit is 50 points higher than when you got your Savor card, check Cap One prequal for another card. Chances are you would get a higher limit on a new card or worst case, you could combine with your QS.

Cap One treats me like a king, but I use my Cap One cards for over $6k per month on average.

GL!

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

K-in-Boston — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 00:58:05 GMT

I called it quits with them earlier this year with my last remaining card. I was a customer for over 20 years and never saw a single credit line increase and my APRs were always in the mid-20s with them. I have decades of flawless payment history with all creditors.

Seeing how they were handing out $20-30k credit lines like candy on Venture to even those with blemished credit, I decided I’d try to just app for a new card with a real limit and a lower APR in February 2017. That became my first and only denial for a credit card in over a decade.

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

pipeguy — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 01:33:11 GMT

@K-in-Boston wrote:
I called it quits with them earlier this year with my last remaining card. I was a customer for over 20 years and never saw a single credit line increase and my APRs were always in the mid-20s with them. I have decades of flawless payment history with all creditors.

Seeing how they were handing out $20-30k credit lines like candy on Venture to even those with blemished credit, I decided I’d try to just app for a new card with a real limit and a lower APR in February 2017. That became my first and only denial for a credit card in over a decade.

There is a multiple of recent threads concerning Capital One and their somewhat illogical credit limit management. It seems when you have a strong profile Cap-1 gives up interest in keeping you as a customer - it's a common thread subject. Many of us have told Cap-1 thanks but no thanks, there are better credit partners available.

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

HeavenOhio — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 01:33:32 GMT

I wonder if you could PC the Savor to a QS and the QS to a Savor. That would put the cards' limits more in line with how you use them.

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

Bandit5160 — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 01:34:06 GMT

I checked Capital One for prequals just for spits and giggles. They invite me to apply for a Quicksilver One or a plain Platinum Card, two of their subprime products. No thanksaroonie!

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

Bandit5160 — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 01:41:19 GMT

HeavenOhio, I like your idea but I don’t think they’d let me do that either. I already pitched the perfectly reasonable idea of giving up 3K of credit from my Savor and putting it on the QS. They said no, and I still wonder why. They didn’t give an explanation; they just said I can’t.

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

HeavenOhio — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 01:48:51 GMT

I don't believe that Capital One reallocates limits. But PC offers are frequently available on no-fee cards. It can't hurt to call in and ask. Don't PC anything unless you have offers on both cards.

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 02:55:03 GMT

They need to save credit for all the $200 Wal-Mart cards they're gonna be handing out in a year or two

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 02:56:13 GMT

There are tons of other threads like this. Why? Why? Why? Simply put you have to remember that Capital One is not Chase. Just like Bank of America is not Citibank. Each bank is different. Each bank has their own end goal.

If you follow cars you have seen that Chrysler and heard that Ford will soon have very few sedans left. Why? Because idiot Americans are obsessed with all-wheel drive hatchbacks on stilts (SUVs/CUVs). Point being, Chrysler and Ford are putting their efforts where the money is-SUVs.

Ergo:

Capital One started out as a sub prime lender. They have excelled at it. Many here have gotten their start or fresh start to credit thanks to Capital One. They charge fair fees and APRs to give us a start. Having said that, they have tried their hands at prime cards (Venture, Venture One and Savor) but their real bread and butter remains the starter and rebuilder cards. Anyway thats been my observation as of late. They want to focus on their main product. And as someone else said, they have recently been lowering credit lines on existing prime cards down to, usually, $10K. Credit losses, no longer having mortgage backed assets or something like that..... They had to tighten the purse strings.

Besides, it looks like Capital One gave you a higher limit on your Savor than those other banks you mentioned. In the end, Capital One is a great place to start. But as your credit improves it is a good idea to re-evaluate your relationship with them. If they are not meeting your needs, it is time to let them go.

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

hawkins — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 07:05:43 GMT

Yea I have to agree with another post. 10k is pretty darn good for C1. Also I with Cap 1 they have been known to CLD people who have a high CL but use only a fraction of it for example. Yes the QS could use a boost but with the Savor I would leave well enough alone.

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

UpperNwGuy — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 12:09:43 GMT

@Bandit5160 wrote:
You make a good point Johnny. It could be a lot worse than 10K and though I only used that Savor Card to eat out, and though I dine out a lot I never come anywhere near 10K since I pay it off monthly. The Quicksilver is a more general use card its balance can approach 1K at times...but never more than that really. I just like to see those high limits and low utilization percentages!

Focus your mental energy on maximizing rewards, not on high credit limits. People with low utilization don't need high credit limits (and the banks know that).

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 13:40:43 GMT

@UpperNwGuy wrote:
@Bandit5160 wrote:
You make a good point Johnny. It could be a lot worse than 10K and though I only used that Savor Card to eat out, and though I dine out a lot I never come anywhere near 10K since I pay it off monthly. The Quicksilver is a more general use card its balance can approach 1K at times...but never more than that really. I just like to see those high limits and low utilization percentages!
Focus your mental energy on maximizing rewards, not on high credit limits. People with low utilization don't need high credit limits (and the banks know that).

Funny thing that. I was at 15-17% utilization through most of last year, and I had an easier time, for the most part, getting CLI's then than this year, when I'm currently at 7% or so and am aiming to keep it under 8.9% into next year if possible. It seems counterintuitive at first if you're looking to boost your limits, but issuers are more likely to be generous to people who more actively use their cards, even if that use puts the utilization over the "magic" 8.9%. Seems like the point issuers are more concerned with is 28.9%, above which overall utilization tends to become concerning.

Further to that: My only current Cap 1 card is a QS Signature Visa. I got that at New Year's with a $10K SL, and combined my QS MC into it in late June to boost the CL to $16K. That's pretty durn good, and I recognize that it's probably going to stay at that point for a while unless I boost my usage of that card dramatically. In fact, I probably don't want to get the card too much over $20K because that attracts Cap 1's attention with an increased possibility of CLD's if they think your CL is too high for your income or some other reason.

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

Shadowfactor — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 13:37:36 GMT

I’m surprised no one has said this yet.

But Capital One likes to bucket their cards. If you obtained the QS with lower scores and a weaker profile. You will probably never see much growth on it.

I could be wrong about this aspect, but that’s probably why they won’t let you reallocate the CL. The cards are in different ABS buckets

As Upper NW said. Focus on rewards vs high limit cards. We all like to have comfortable CL’s but 3750 is more then enough on any cap 1 card and 10K is overkill.
Personally I wouldn’t spend more then a 750 a month on any cap 1 card because the rewards just aren’t worth it. There are better NO AF cards out there, and there’s even NoAF/NOFTF cards. Capital one used to be semi worth it because of the NO FTF for free cards but with other offerings now a days. I have a hard time seeing any value in them which is why I don’t have one.
To each his own though

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

Bandit5160 — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 18:12:39 GMT

For what it’s worth, the QS started out as a Platinum Card back when I had a credit score around 600. It then became a QS1, and finally, about eight months ago, a regular QS. So maybe it’s beginnings doom it to a higher APR and a more limited CL. But my Savor Card has always been a prime card. I got it on July 4, 2017 (though it was called Premiere Dining Rewards then). For some reason they stuck my with the same high APR of almost 25% that is on my QS even though I had a much higher credit score when I got the dining card. One day when my number of inquiries is a bit lower (maybe next summer) I am going to dump Savor and get an Uber Card...it had 4% back on dining. And since Citi just raised my CL on my DC, I’ll probably dump QS too at that time.

Re: What’s up with Capital One? Why are they the way they are?

HeavenOhio — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 18:25:07 GMT

If you can put 2K–3K spending per month over the next three or four months, there's a good chance that you could get a 3K CLI on the Savor card. It's possible that that tack might also work on your QS. But if the card is bucketed, it'd be less likely.