$100k Amex / Capital One $500

[Anonymous]

I have 2 Capital One Cards that were opened in 2003.  One with $500 limit, the other with $1000.  Expensive yearly fees.  Have never been able to get them to increase the limits.  Use them every month to the limits with recurring subscriptons/groceries and pay off full statement balance.  

I am so pissed at these cards but don't want to cancel them due to the history.  For context, mid 700's credit score and have an Amex with $100k limit.

This forum has been very helpful to me over the years and would love some advice on how to combine this down to a single Capital One card with a 10k or more limit.

[coldfusion]

There isn't a magic switch you can flip to suddenly get Capital One to combine 2 cards with an aggregate CL of $1500 and create a $10K card especially since your past history shows they will not increase the limits on those existing cards.    You're going to have to apply outright for a new card - which means that you can look for a card that more closely meets your needs even if from a different issuer.  This is doubly true as recent history shows that in general it has become very difficult to get a meaningful CLI out of Capital One.

Even if you cancel the 2 cards they will remain on your reports for up to 10 years and will still contribute to your history as long as they remain.

[jcooks]

It sounds like both your Cap One cards are bucketed.  I have a QS and QSone which are both bucketed.  The highest CLI I got on one was $100 and the other was $1200 across a few years.  Now it's even harder to get any CLI's from them since they're both SD'd.  The only way I see getting substantially higher credit from them would be to close one or both and apply for a new one.

[NRB525]

While I suggest people give it some time before believing Capital One has bucketed a card limit, 18 years seems about right to declare "yes these cards are bucketed". You're welcome

If you like using Capital One cards, apply for a new CapOne card and enjoy the higher limit. The existing cards are not going to combine, not going to grow, not going to stop the annual fee until you close them. 

[Anonymous]

I would certainly close them. While I'm guessing that the fees are more in the nuisance category (~$100 per year combined?) rather than something really expensive, these add up over time and for what? Clearly not useful limits and, as always, we should ask if any putative score increase/maintenance is worth the cost. IMO, usually not

[Anonymous]

I did not realize that they had bucketed cards... Until I googled just now and found this... "If the card starts with 5178, it’s bucketed" 

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have 2 Capital One Cards that were opened in 2003.  One with $500 limit, the other with $1000.  Expensive yearly fees.  Have never been able to get them to increase the limits.  Use them every month to the limits with recurring subscriptons/groceries and pay off full statement balance.  

I am so pissed at these cards but don't want to cancel them due to the history.  For context, mid 700's credit score and have an Amex with $100k limit.

This forum has been very helpful to me over the years and would love some advice on how to combine this down to a single Capital One card with a 10k or more limit.

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I would call and ask if I'm eligible for an upgrade.

[bigseegar]

Just curious on the AmEx card. Which card do yiou have? Because I have 6 AmEx card, 3 Chargers (Platinum, Gold and Green) and 3 Credit (BCP, HH, EDC) and I've been a Member since 1984 and Chargers don't have a hard limit (although there is a formula AX uses that sets an unknown one internally) I don't think I've ever seen a $100K on a Credit card with them.

[4sallypat]

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@NRB525 wrote:

While I suggest people give it some time before believing Capital One has bucketed a card limit, 18 years seems about right to declare "yes these cards are bucketed". You're welcome

If you like using Capital One cards, apply for a new CapOne card and enjoy the higher limit. The existing cards are not going to combine, not going to grow, not going to stop the annual fee until you close them. 

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Agreed - learned that from a YT that had the same experience with his sub $1K bucketed cards.

He applied online, for the new Venture X and got to see an actual approval & unboxing his $30,000 SL Venture X !

[Reviewers]

@Anonymous My Capital One QS and Venture One both start with a 5178 but only one of them is bucketed because it was a secured platinum card they changed into a unsecured QS card. My Venture One starts with a 5178 and started with a $500 limit went to $1k then $2k now $4k. I wouldn't say just because the card starts with that it means it's bucketed imo.