Venture X preapproved but denial when applied

[andreia]

Good afternoon!  I had been checking the Capital One Venture X preapproval page regularly and until last week had been getting denials on the preapproval.  Last week I finally received a confirmation of preapproval and I decided to continue with the application because I want to get rid of the Platinum and Quicksilver cards I have ($550 and $600 credit limits, respectively).  My application was denied for the Venture X.  My scores are Eq: 777, Trans: 754, Ex: 769.  My utilization is between 9% and 10% across all credit reports and my income is $68,000.  I haven't received the denial letter in the mail yet but I do have 2 inquires on Ex, 3 on Trans and 1 on Eq.  6 cards out of 12 are showing balances.  Has anyone every gotten a preapproval just to be denied after the actual application?  By the way my reports were frozen but I thawed each of them just to apply for this card.  Capital One checked all three reports.

Thanks in advance!

[OscarsMom]

@andreia Sorry that happened to you. I have not had that happen, although I'm also frustrated (euphemism) with Capital One lately. Like you, I regularly check the preapproval site to see if I can get a second card. I have the Platinum with a measly $500 limit, which they won't increase, saying I need to have had the current card for more than 2-3 months (I've had it for 9). Probably bucketed.

Yesterday when I tried again to get preapproved because my scores went up, they no longer recognize my address, so I can't complete the form. I mean, I'm a current cardholder, the address is tied to my account, and I have used that address on previous preapproval attempts. I tried my mailing address, but it came back as invalid because it's a PO box at the UPS Store (no postal delivery where I live). As I understand it, on my Cap One dashboard page, I can only apply for a CLI or use a HP to apply for another card -- there's no preapproval or SP option for current cardholders.

I'm struggling to find preapprovals that aren't bank/CU accounts, geofenced, retail cards, secured cards, or cards that have already turned me down (Citi, AmEx, and Discover always turn me down, and my scores aren't good enough to even apply for Chase). I got preapproved for an Apple card for $2,000, but I don't have an iPhone, so it's useless (can't activate it without an iPhone). I did manage to get a couple of subprime cards with fees, so I've gone from $500 in total credit to $2,500 over the last few weeks. I took the Aspire card with a high fee because it guaranteed a $1,000 limit with preapproval (every card should do that before you agree to a HP), which was nice for my particular situation (short, thin credit history after living outside the USA, but no baddies on my reports). I'm hoping I can leverage them to eventually get something better. 

I hope you're able to get the card you want or something better. I think I'm done with trying for more with Capital One. A three-bureau pull isn't worth it for them. 

[Zoostation1]

The 6 of 12 cards reporting a balance could potentitally be an issue.  Also, Capital One likes to get in relatively early in your credit profile.  If you have a lot of cards (especially a lot of high limit cards) I can see them denying even a strong profile.  I have a considerably weaker profile due to a BK7 that hasn't fallen off yet, but since Capital One has gotten a majority of my spend over the last 2 yrs and had relatively fewer cards (4) when I applied I think that helped me get approved for VX (albeit at the highest rate and lowest CL).

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Pre-approvals vary from lender to lender and unless we know how deep they look on a pre-approval, we can assume they're just looking at the bare minimum for possible approval. While we know of things like Chase's 5/24, we typically don't know what rules a lender may have in place for approvals. That being said, cap1 has a 2 card limit now. Get rid of 1 of your cards and you'll probably be approved if cap1 shows pre-approval. 

[andreia]

@OscarsMom I'm so sorry you're having trouble with Capital One as well.  From what I understand they won't increase Platinum's credit limit because its considered a "builder" card, and I've tried a few times over the years.  I have much better cards now and was hoping to keep Platinum but after the last credit limit increase denial and only a $100 increase on the Quicksilver I decided I should try my luck with something completely new.  Maybe that could be the route for you even if it costs a HP.

[andreia]

@Zoostation1 You brought up something I had not considered which is how much I spend on my current Capital One cards.  Because of their low limits I don't use them at all but I thought it was good to have an established relationship via the credit cards and the fact that I have two checking accounts (one of which is over 15 years old) and a savings account with Capital One.  I am working on zeroing out at least 3 of those 6 cards with balances though because I agree that might be an issue.  

[andreia]

@Brian_Earl_Spilner  Honestly I wish I had known that Capital One had a 2 card limit because I would have closed both cards first; it was my intention to close them anyway if I had gotten the approval for the X.  That being said, I realized those two cards were doing me no favors and just adding to the number of open accounts and their limits are so low it's not a huge loss so I closed them both after getting denied.  Do you think it's worth another HP on all three credit reports to try again?  If I were to try again I want to do it this month because I'm not applying for any new credit in 2024 in preparation for buying a house.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

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@andreia wrote:

@Brian_Earl_Spilner  Honestly I wish I had known that Capital One had a 2 card limit because I would have closed both cards first; it was my intention to close them anyway if I had gotten the approval for the X. 

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They used to have a 5 card limit but that was changed years ago. If you already had 5 cards you were grandfathered in. Whether or not the 2 card limit has changed recently, I don't know, but that's what it was and if still in effect, is your issue. 

[Zoostation1]

@Brian_Earl_Spilner @andreia  The 2 card rule is either not in effect or is not a hard rule. I've got 3 capital one cards and none are even two years old yet. They were opened in 2/2022, 9/2022, and 7/2023.  The first was a QS1 that after a couple of product changes became a regular QS WEMC in 4/2023, second is a S1, and third was VX.  At some point well before applying for the VX I asked a rep at capital one about the 2 card rule over the phone and was told the maximum number of cards is profile dependent.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

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@Zoostation1 wrote:

@Brian_Earl_Spilner @andreia  The 2 card rule is either not in effect or is not a hard rule. I've got 3 capital one cards and none are even two years old yet. They were opened in 2/2022, 9/2022, and 7/2023.  The first was a QS1 that after a couple of product changes became a regular QS WEMC in 4/2023, second is a S1, and third was VX.  At some point well before applying for the VX I asked a rep at capital one about the 2 card rule over the phone and was told the maximum number of cards is profile dependent.

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That's a new one. Never seen that mentioned anywhere before. Possibly good news for many.