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Cap1 chances of CLI after PC?

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Remi1
Contributor

Cap1 chances of CLI after PC?

Hello everyone, long time lurker first time poster, looking for some advice or experience with this situation regarding Cap1.

 

I opened my very first credit card ever with them back in Oct 2014 when I was 18. I had literally no credit history and was given their basic Platinum card with a $39 AF and $300 SL. It was part of their credit steps program so at the 6 month mark in April 2015 I was given an auto CLI to $500. From there, I've gotten: CLI to $2000 March 2016, to $2500 May 2017, and to $3000 Dec 2017. From there, it hasn't grown at all. I can't remember if/which of those CLIs were auto or requested, or if I had tried to request any others or not. After not getting any more CLIs for a while I poked around on here a while back, looking for info on Cap1 CLIs and growth, and learned/figured my card was "bucketed" and wasn't going to go any higher than the $3k limit due to me getting the card as literally my first type of credit ever at 18 and it being one of their lower level cards (and that the $3k limit seemed about the max for the Plat card?). A little disappointing but not a huge deal.

 

I had tried to request CLI back in Oct(?) 2020 and got denied for late payment. I had a 30 day late on this card, as well as a Citi card, March 2020. Thought 6/7 months since late payment might've been good enough with otherwise good history on the 6 year old card (at the time) but saw Cap1 "generally doesn't approve CLIs with a late payment to any lender within the last 12 months". I was planning on trying to CLI in April/May this year since it would be over the 6 month mark since last attempt at CLI, and over the 1 year mark since late payments, plus an extra month or so to allow time to cycle through on the credit reports to make sure it's past the 1 year mark on the reports they pull - heard Cap1 sometimes uses reports that are 4-6 weeks old to make decisions. 

 

NOW, last week (account 6yrs 4mos old) I received an email from them offering me to upgrade the card to either QS1 or Venture1. This is the first time I received anything like this. I took the Venture1 mainly because it allowed me to drop the AF (QS1 would've kept my $39 AF and I really wanted to get rid of it).   

 

So my main questions are:

1) Since I PC'd, will this allow any chance for growth/CLIs since it is a slightly higher level card? Or am I still bucketed just the same as if I still had Plat?

2) Does the fact that they felt good enough about me now to offer me a PC give any indication that they are viewing me more favorably again / that I am getting back into their good graces and may have a better chance at getting that CLI this time around? (- Or possibly even get an approval for a 2nd card altogether? I did try their pre-approval site and while it's only currently pre-approving for Plat, QS1, and secured, it offered me all three. Is it reliable? Just scared to take Cap1's triple HPs again and get denied.)

 

And kind of side note - 3) Does anyone have any data on Plat's max limit? From what I found when I poked around before it seemed like the $3k limit I had/still have was about the max limit people were getting, but not sure if that's accurate or still the case.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for any insight ya'll can provide! Please let me know if there is any other information needed to answer these, I'll try my best to provide any additional info that's asked. Again, first time posting so sorry if I missed anything.

Message 1 of 16
15 REPLIES 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Cap1 chances of CLI after PC?

No, a PC does not improve your CLI/growth chances.  A PC just gives an account a different paint job.  It's still the same bucketed account and will still have the same growth constraints.  If you desire a higher CL with Cap One, you'll need to apply for a new account.

 

I'm not sure if there's a max limit for Platinum, but if there is I don't think it would be just $3k.  If someone with a strong credit profile applied for an was approved for Platinum, I could see them getting a better/respectable SL even though the card would be more or less obsolete against their profile.

Message 2 of 16
Remi1
Contributor

Re: Cap1 chances of CLI after PC?

Thank you for your prompt response! Wow I'm surprised I got a reply that fast. 

I was cautiously hopeful that the PC might allow me more room for growth, but also being realistic that it may just remain bucketed. 

I certainly agree someone with a strong profile would probably get a better SL and higher overall limit moving forward. I guess I should've clarified that I meant it as topping out at about that as a highest limit for people who got it similarly to I did - either just starting out, getting it at a low point while rebuilding, etc. People who got it while at a "lower point" in their profile/scores vs. someone who got it with a strong history.

Again, thank you! It is much appreciated.

Message 3 of 16
Curious_George2
Valued Contributor

Re: Cap1 chances of CLI after PC?

Welcome to the forum. I concur with everything @Anonymous said. I would add a few things. 

 

I'm no expert on buckets, but it seems to me that the fact you already grew the limit on this card from $300 to $3000 is a pretty good sign that it's not bucketed. My impression is that bucketed cards stay much closer to their starting limits than 10x. I could be wrong about that.

 

When it comes to CLIs from Capital One: if in doubt, try it out! You can request a CLI from them as often as you want. It's a soft pull every time. Rejection doesn't have any adverse consequences. You can try again the next day. And the next. You'll even be able to see your denial reasons quickly, in a letter posted to your online account within about two days.

 

In your case, as you say, it makes sense to wait until your late ages to a year. No need to wait longer. They will know exactly how recent your late payment to them was, without needing to see it on a credit report.

 

I started a thread about Capital One CLIs. Some of what's there might be helpful to you. Good luck!

Message 4 of 16
Remi1
Contributor

Re: Cap1 chances of CLI after PC?

Thank you for the additional advice and information! I appreciate it! 

I am certainly no expert on bucketing either, my (limited) knowledge of that came from research on here. Based on that knowledge, I assumed I was bucketed because of the fact that 1) it was my starter account and 2) it seemed to stop growing after I hit that $3k. 

As I said I am cautiously hopeful there's still room for growth on this account but being realistic. However as you said with the limit growing 10x (even if only $300 to $3k) perhaps being a sign its not bucketed, maybe there is still reason to keep the hope alive! I know I will have to wait until I try CLI to find out for sure, and yes I definitely plan on waiting the until the full year is up to give me the better chance, but it's only 1-2 months away at this point so I suppose I will find out relatively soon. Just getting antsy/nervous now, especially with them offering the PC, and looking for all valuable info/data. I appreciate the input and the link to the extra thread. Thank you!

Message 5 of 16
Ficoproblems247
Valued Contributor

Re: Cap1 chances of CLI after PC?

I agree with what was stated that a 3k Cap1 card is likely not bucketed and probably still has potential for growth. I'm curious as what were the reasons they gave you for the denials of your requested CLIs? These can do a really good job of pointing you in the right direction of what they're looking for as far as changes to your profile before they approve you. Another thing to keep in mind too, is now that you've PCd it to the V1 (good move on your part,) that after another 6 months you can PC it again. V1 has the lowest reward structure of any card they have so you could earn another 0.25% by PCing it to the QS (no AF.) Check out the reasons they gave you for denying your CLI requests, address their concerns, and keep in mind the credit pulls they use in their account review decisions can be months old. Good luck in your efforts and let us all know what happens. We love DPs! Welcome to the forums! Smiley Happy





FICO 8 Sep '23 EX 755 EQ 765 TU 739
TCL $199,800
Message 6 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Cap1 chances of CLI after PC?

I posted about this is another thread maybe a month ago regarding bucketed Cap One accounts.  I strongly believe (from personal experience) that SL is not always indicative of whether or not an account is bucketed; One can start with a $3000 SL and still have a bucketed account from Cap One.  As CG touched on in his reply up thread, the amount of growth potential is what indicates whether or not a Cap One account is bucketed.  That's not to say that a low limit account that does see some solid growth like the OP has experienced can't hit a ceiling though. 

 

A bucketed account is what someone with a weak profile gets when approved for a Cap One product.  A weak profile can come in many different forms, as the OP pointed out, meaning it could be a young clean file just starting out, an old dirty file that's rebuilding etc.  My question for the OP then really turns to what their profile looked like at the time of approval for that Cap One Platinum.  If someone is approved with (say) a 600-650 score, chances are that account is going to be bucketed.  If their score makes it to 850 a couple of years later, that doesn't change anything with respect to that bucketed account... as it will always operate under the terms on which it was opened... which with 600-650 scores would be less than favorable.

 

I think we often get the misconception that Cap One bucketed accounts must come with low SLs.  I agree that the majority of them are low SL accounts since many are due to people just starting out with credit or have dirty files very early on causing an early rebuild.  There are a handful of people though like I was that had clean/thick/aged files for years, made a mistake taking their file to dirty and applied for a Cap One card and got a decent SL but still a bucketed account.  While this isn't the same scenario as the OP, it is important to understand that it can happen. 

Message 7 of 16
Remi1
Contributor

Re: Cap1 chances of CLI after PC?

Thank you! I am glad to hear that someone else thinks I made the right call with the PC choice. I've seen some on here prefer the QS family over the Venture family but as I said going with that route with Venture1 allowed me to get rid of the AF which was a huge perk for me. And also start earning some rewards which is better than the huge "none" I was earning with the Plat! If I get an opportunity down the road to PC to the regular QS with no AF I very well may take it due to the slightly better rewards rate than Venture1. But this is a step in the right direction for now. 

I am also glad to hear another voice on the bucketing/room for growth aspect! I appreciate all of it. When I tried the CLI in Oct 2020 they gave me the denial reason of recent late payment (30 day late March 2020). I thought 6-7 months since late would've been perhaps good enough but Cap1 says they generally won't approve with any lates to any lenders within 12 months. Which is why I am waiting until April or possibly May to try CLI again, to get past the 1 year of the late mark and also a bit of extra time for the info to cycle through credit reports in case they are a bit outdated when Cap1 pulls, as I have seen as well that sometimes they use slightly older pulls for decisions.

Message 8 of 16
Ficoproblems247
Valued Contributor

Re: Cap1 chances of CLI after PC?

I think @Anonymous explained it very well. Another thread from awhile back I think is worth the read if you want to dive a bit deeper into the understanding of how some of these account work is here. It dives into ABS (asset backed securities) like Cap1 bucketed cards. A bit lengthy but super informitive! 





FICO 8 Sep '23 EX 755 EQ 765 TU 739
TCL $199,800
Message 9 of 16
Remi1
Contributor

Re: Cap1 chances of CLI after PC?

@Anonymous 

Thank you for your further information on bucketed accounts. I am trying to gain all the knowledge I can and this is helpful! As for your question of what my profile looked like at the time of approval for the Plat card, it was literally non existent. I had no prior credit history (no student loans, loans in general, other CCs, not an AU on anything, no inq's etc.), no credit score or anything on a report/history/etc. The Plat was the first credit related product I ever applied for and, thankfully, Cap1 took the chance on approving me and giving me my start with no record whatsoever. That is about half the reason why I believed I may be bucketed, because it was my starter card approved with no profile behind it at time of approval.

Message 10 of 16
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