Capital One Platinum Secured - Unsecured, Upgraded and CLI

[Anonymous]

I wanted to share a data point for all credit builders to gain hope from.

In July 2017 I got my first credit card, the Capital One Secured Platinum with a CL of $501, I deposited $301. After the fifth statement cut, I got the credit steps CLI of $300, up to a total CL of $801.

Between 12/2017 and 6/2017 I got a few different cards: 1) Chase FU with $900 CL auto-CLI'ed to $2800 after the second statement. 2) Amex PRG 3) Chase IHG Club Select with $2200 CL bumped up to $3200 after the third statement cut.

My Capital One Platinum Secured then unsecured 7/04/2018.
I immediately went to apply for a CLI. It was denied because of not enough use and being recently unsecured. So I upgraded to the Quicksilver immediately.
I’ve tried to CLI every month after statement cut with a $200-300 statement balance. No dice.

Last month my new Chase Sapphire Preferred with $8200 CL and Chase Freedom with $9300 CL cards were reported to the three credit bureaus. Thank you Chase double-dipping!

Finally, tonight I used the Cap 1 App to apply for a CLI again. My third statement since the card unsecured cut yesterday with a $514 balance (high because I funded a new bank account for $500). Happily, I was approved for a CL of $2301.00! That’s a CLI of $1500! Quite the CLI from $801 considering the bucket I figured I was stuck in.

So there is hope! If you must get the Capital One Platinum Secured card to start (If I could redo it I’d go for a better starter card), don’t go crazy on new accounts. Let them mature and grow. Use them and hope for nice CLIs. Then when your Platinum Secured unsecures, you can get a nice CLI a few months thereafter! I hope this cars can continue to grow.


Thanks for listening all. It’s been a fun ride. I thought the excitement ended after I got my Chase trifecta last month, I got a nice double upgraded room with the Chase IHG card and ordered my replacement Amex Gold card in Rose Gold tonight. But the joy keeps coming.

Data points:
Income: $40k

Ficos: Experian 729 (9/9), Trans Union 729 (9/24), Equifax ???

      Was as high as 750, but a high balance on the CSP lowered my score.

Util: 22% across the board. 55% on CSP due to bank account funding and vacation planning.

Enjoy folks!

[Shooting-For-800]

Awesome!  Congrats!

Cap One often gets a bad rap but people forget that they were given credit when no other major bank would talk to them.

[MartyWrite75]

Congratulations!  This is stuff I love to hear!  

[NaaryalHead]

Wonderful cards and cli within a short period. Congrats.

Can you share what kind of income they have on file for you?

[Anonymous]

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@NaaryalHead wrote:
... Can you share what kind of income they have on file for you?

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Some Fico scores would be useful as well.

And Congrats! nnj on an excellent CLI.

[Anonymous]

Data points added to the end of the first post

[Anonymous]

I noticed in your signature you used Self Lender. What kind of results did you see with it? I'm only asking because I'm in a similar position that you were in and I was wondering if an installment loan would help since my credit profile is super thin. My current accounts are a Capital One Platinum Secured (7-months - $500) and Discover it Cash Back (1-month - $2,500). Credit score dropped to 720 (FICO 8 EX - was 770, then 750). I'm assuming from the new account, lower AAoA and another inquiry (EX-1 EQ-1 TU-1). I'm hopeful it'll rebound after a few months. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!! Also, sorry for the formatting, I'm on mobile.

[Anonymous]

I think Self Lender really did boost my scores, but actually, it only had the most effect for the last two months or so of the twelve month term because the loan amount was finally paid down to below 10%.

I'd recommending finding a different load that gives you the chance to pay the loan down quickly to below 8-9% and keep it there for 4-5 years. Then you'll see a nice credit score increase for a long time. And it'll be fee free.

You'll learn a lot here:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Adding-an-installment-loan-the-Share-Sec...

and find good loans here:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Personal-Finance/The-Quest-for-an-SSL-alternative-to-Alliant/td-p/5...

[Medic981]

Cap1 was the first CC on my credit rebuild. I recently canceled this card after 23 months because it was bucketed, had an AF, and we had no future together at that time. Perhaps when I get out of the garden and get my 5/24 Chase card I will look into Cap1 again.