topic Re: got Secured card for 2 months, now pre-qualified for standard, what to do?? in Credit Cards

got Secured card for 2 months, now pre-qualified for standard, what to do??

Anonymous — Fri, 27 May 2011 10:14:51 GMT

So i applied for the Capital One Secured Card with 3k security deposit 3 months ago, approved and used it for 2 months now.

I was still working on a lot of collections and repo at the time and my score is around high 500.

2 months later to today, i have fixed a lot of items and my credit has jumped to around 650.

so due to curiousity i tried the CapitalOne pre-qulifyer and put in my info and 4 digit SS,

It tells me that im pre-qulified for both

Capital one stardard platinum

No hassle cash reward card

Of coz i did not apply to either of them, but im certainly happy that my credit has improved so much to get pre-qualified

since i had tried it before and failed 3 months ago, that's why i got the Secured card instead.

Now my question is,

Am i in a bargaining position to ask Capital One to unsecure my card because Capital One have pre-qualify me for better cards now?

If i tell them i might cancel with Cap1 if i don't get my card upgraded to unsecure, will they do it?

I don't think it's wise for me to cancel this fairly new card and apply for a new Capital one, what should i do?

Re: got Secured card for 2 months, now pre-qualified for standard, what to do??

Anonymous — Fri, 27 May 2011 12:05:40 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

Now my question is,
Am i in a bargaining position to ask Capital One to unsecure my card because Capital One have pre-qualify me for better cards now?
If i tell them i might cancel with Cap1 if i don't get my card upgraded to unsecure, will they do it?
I don't think it's wise for me to cancel this fairly new card and apply for a new Capital one, what should i do?

My suggestion would be to keep doing what you're doing right now. Keep working on any baddies that you have left (send goodwill letters), and let time, and solid payment history build on your momentum. Cap1 is a tough nut to crack, and I don't think that you're likely to be able to persuade them to unsecure your account any time soon. Let the secured card do its job for 12 to 24 months, and then branch out! Look outside of Cap1. When your baddies are gone, and you have a solid history of on time payments behind you, you'll be golden.

Apping for a new Cap1 card now is likely to net you one of their unsecured rebuilders that you'll likely grow frustrated with as your credit further improves. So, just hold on. You're moving in the right direction, and even better products are just over the horizon!

Re: got Secured card for 2 months, now pre-qualified for standard, what to do??

Anonymous — Fri, 27 May 2011 12:16:34 GMT

Thanks for the support! I will do what you said as I am not really crazy about Cap1 either. Is it just me or are all their cards look the same?? though they do have the app to make your own card, it still doesn't compare to my dream AMEX in the future

Re: got Secured card for 2 months, now pre-qualified for standard, what to do??

Anonymous — Fri, 27 May 2011 14:59:12 GMT

Cap1 has some prime products (The Cap1 Venture Card comes to mind) that might make your short-list of desirable products in the future. So, you don't have to write them off. It's just that while you're in the building or rebuilding phase, you'll get one of their products that you'll likely be looking to upgrade from within a relatively short amount of time. And, you don't need a ton of builder cards to get you where you want to go.

Re: got Secured card for 2 months, now pre-qualified for standard, what to do??

JonStur — Fri, 27 May 2011 15:46:07 GMT

A rebuilding card is just that..to assist in rebuilding credit..when your credit improves there's a product for that..if or when you deserve it, Cap 1 has a prime product..getting frustrated with them will not help improve your credit profile. Do the right things and they and others will approve you for the credit you DESERVE...

Re: got Secured card for 2 months, now pre-qualified for standard, what to do??

Anonymous — Fri, 27 May 2011 18:39:27 GMT

IMO, it is too soon to apply for another Cap1 card.. I don't think the preapproval is that meaning ful.

If they add unsecured CL to your secured, then I would take that as a good sign. They review for this every 6 months.

However, the card says the maximum CL is $3k. Since you put the full $3K deposit, I don't know how they will handle that

- Increase it beyond the $3k

- Do nothing since you are at the limit

- Reduce the deposit and give unsecured CLI.

Let us know what happens.

My Capital One Secured card CL is 2500 (2200 + 300 unsecured). I left some room for another CLI if $3K is the true ceiling.

Re: got Secured card for 2 months, now pre-qualified for standard, what to do??

Anonymous — Fri, 27 May 2011 21:48:35 GMT

So I called and talked to an account specialist, who basically told me that somewhere down the road, your account will be reviewed and could be upgraded with good payment history. So I'll just wait on that for now.