Capital One 6-month app rule?

Anonymous · ‎05-18-2019

I thought I read here somewhere that Capital One only lets you apply once every six months. It doesn't matter if you're approved or not, if you apply, then you can't apply again until 6 months are up.

I checked my emails and I applied for a secured card on November 18, 2018. (I was rejected, alas!) So the 6 months should be up today. (Though I did apply later in the day on November 18! LOL.) My FICO score has gone up about 100 points since then (650-something), a lot of debt has been taken care of, and I've been approved for a few more cards (including an unsecured Discover It).

Just now I tried to get a pre-approval on Cap One and nothing. It hasn't been exactly 6 months (shy a few hours?) but I thought today that I'd have a shot at it. But not even an offer for a secured card? Really?

I don't actually intend to follow through and apply yet, but I wanted to see what I'd be pre-approved for...did I try too soon?

BTW I also applied (and was turned down for) a Kohl's card on the 23rd of November, but I assume this wouldn't "count"?

Anonymous · ‎05-18-2019

Not even the QS1 or Plat are showing up? Are your reports locked/frozen or are you opted out of prescreened offers? With your scores I would think you would definitely have offers by now.

Anonymous · ‎05-18-2019

@Anonymous wrote:
Not even the QS1 or Plat are showing up? Are your reports locked/frozen or are you opted out of prescreened offers? With your scores I would think you would definitely have offers by now.

That's what I thought too! At least a Platinum!

As far as I know, my reports aren't locked or anything. I'm getting offers from Credit One and FingerHut and so forth.

I still carry some debt that I am paying off with low interest, but my Debt-to-income ratio is not bad.

I am probably going to try the prequalify page again later tonight or tomorrow. If it's not because the 6 months aren't up yet, I don't know what it could be.

BTW, Experian.com is telling me to apply for a Citi Double Cash. I'm like LOL no, I don't think Citi will go for that yet. (I don't get any prequalify offers from them.)

I'm still gardening, but just want to know what I'd prequalify for...

Anonymous · ‎05-18-2019

Well today is the 181st day so it’s not the 6 month rule at play and my understanding is that rule doesn’t even affect prequals, just actual apps. Maybe give it a few weeks. Stay in the garden until your planned exit date and check then — besides, sometimes it becomes way too tempting to jump on an application when you see that prequal. If you have a firm garden goal, I would just stick to that and not even check until then.

Anonymous · ‎05-18-2019

Pre-Qualifying isn't a real time SP in most cases.

It's better to focus on what you want and know you can use for a few years instead of looking for the quick fix. I never got results from Amex and a cold app yielded 10K. I never got one for Citi and that got me 11K for one and 6 months later 8K for a 2nd card. I never got a real pre-qual from BOA either and snagged a 10K from them. Chase never yielded anything either yet I managed to grab 10K Amazon and 25K CFU.

If you don't swing the bat you'll always strike out.

Anonymous · ‎05-18-2019

@Anonymous wrote:
Pre-Qualifying isn't a real time SP in most cases.

Capital One certainly is.

They SP EQ every time.

Anonymous · ‎05-18-2019

@Anonymous wrote:
Stay in the garden until your planned exit date and check then — besides, sometimes it becomes way too tempting to jump on an application when you see that prequal. If you have a firm garden goal, I would just stick to that and not even check until then.

I know! I don't think I'll be tempted to apply... But sometimes waiting is tedious and seeing what I prequalify for helps me see where I stand.

My timeline right now is to garden the heck out of my Discover IT because it's a great card, especially for someone like me. It's my first year so I get double all the rewards... I don't need another card right now, rewards-wise. But in November my Green Dot will require another annual fee, so I'm probably going to close it, and I'd like to have another Visa or MC to take its place. The Cap 1 Platinum would seem an obvious choice. But I don't know where my score will be by then! (Hopefully higher and maybe enough to get a PayPal 2% cash back? I'd prefer that over a Cap 1 Platinum.)

Another thought is to get a Cap 1 Platinum a little sooner, so by the time the Discover It is a year old, that I can (hopefully) product-change the Platinum up to Quicksilver and get 1.5% off instead of Discover's 1%. But by no means do I need a Platinum now.

I just assumed that as soon as the 6 months passed, I'd pre-qualify for at least the Platinum, and am surprised that I'm not.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Anonymous · ‎05-18-2019

I honestly hesitate to recommend Capital One at this point when you would likely be approved for PayPal Cashback, a card that has 2% cash back on all purchases and will actually grow quickly unlike the Capital One card which will either be heavily bucketed or not heavily bucketed, and with just a single HP instead of one on each bureau. I would garden your scores up to 670 or so and try for the PayPal. Or Amex for that matter.

Anonymous · ‎05-18-2019

@Anonymous wrote:
Pre-Qualifying isn't a real time SP in most cases.

It's better to focus on what you want and know you can use for a few years instead of looking for the quick fix. I never got results from Amex and a cold app yielded 10K. I never got one for Citi and that got me 11K for one and 6 months later 8K for a 2nd card. I never got a real pre-qual from BOA either and snagged a 10K from them. Chase never yielded anything either yet I managed to grab 10K Amazon and 25K CFU.

If you don't swing the bat you'll always strike out.

Thanks for this. That's encouraging to hear.

I'm trying really REALLY hard to garden for at least a few more months. I got my Green Dot, then Overstock and Walmart cards, and finally my Discover card, all within a few months. I need to garden for a while. It's been three months since my last inquiry, better for it to be at least 4-6 months! (Six months preferably!)

If it's feasible, I'd like the Cash Back card from Bank of the West (3% off both gas and groceries). I bank there, but I have a feeling it'll be a while before I'm deemed worthy of such a card. An AMEX Blue Cash would also be great. Either Citi Double Cash or PayPal's 2% off would work well too. These are all just going to have to wait—my report right now doesn't indicate that I'd be accepted.

Anonymous · ‎05-18-2019

@Anonymous wrote:
I honestly hesitate to recommend Capital One at this point when you would likely be approved for PayPal Cashback, a card that has 2% cash back on all purchases and will actually grow quickly unlike the Capital One card which will either be heavily bucketed or not heavily bucketed, and with just a single HP instead of one on each bureau. I would garden your scores up to 670 or so and try for the PayPal. Or Amex for that matter.

I just saw this!

Oh YEAH, I'd much prefer the PayPal 2% if I have a shot at it! Thanks for this suggestion!