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Got a message this morning from Capital One telling me that the limit on my QS was decreased from $30k to $10k. The reasons they gave "Current account(s) not used enough for assigned credit limit(s)" and "Balance(s) on non-Capital One revolving trade(s) are too low". Both totally true as I rarely use this card and never used it anywhere near the $30k limit (I think biggest charge I ever had on the card was around $5k which I paid off right away).
The card originally started as a Venture and when I first got it, the $30k limit was shockingly high. My next highest limit was $3k at the time if I recall correctly. Since that time, I've been approved for lots of other cards, and while $30k was still my single highest limit, it was much higher than necessary. I had around $400k in total credit limits and I never carry a balance. My highest remaining CC limits are $25k from US Bank and $22k from NFCU. I also have a $36.5k limit on a Barney's card that I've charged a total of about $50 over it's lifetime that I've been thinking about closing.
If you can't tell, I'm not mad or surprised by this CLD. I'm very grateful Capital One got me started back on the credit rebuilding track. They kept an ancient CC open for me through my financial troubles. They were first to approve me for an unsecured card during my rebuild ($3k for a QS1). And, they approved my for two Venture cards where I got $400 in sign-on cash each, including my highest approved limit of $30k. Their products don't fit with my needs these days, but I'm very happy to with my relationship with them over the years.
For those interested in some data, this limit was not part of any account combination (I've never been eligible for any actually). It started as a Venture and I used it quite regularly for $2-3k per month for about a year, and it has been pretty much unused for over a year.
"Balance(s) on non-Capital One revolving trade(s) are too low"
So this is another potential negative to paying before statement cut (another being loss of float). I guess Cap One is looking to see if there is any potential for spend that could be moved to their card, and deciding that the combination of low Cap One spend and low other reported spend, means no need for the large CL.
Thanks for another data point. when it happened to me I understood as well although I did end up cancelling the card as it made the choice whether to keep a higher apr card with a meh cl being 10k after CLD around. They certainly did another round end of last week or this wekeend. No sense in really getting mad as it is just business and if we aren''t customers they want to do business with being ones that either charge alot or carry balances then I understand that from a business prospective as they got to answer to their investors/shareholders.
@longtimelurker wrote:"Balance(s) on non-Capital One revolving trade(s) are too low"
So this is another potential negative to paying before statement cut (another being loss of float). I guess Cap One is looking to see if there is any potential for spend that could be moved to their card, and deciding that the combination of low Cap One spend and low other reported spend, means no need for the large CL.
I think the business decision for them is that they're not likely to make any money off someone who carries no balances. The available credit is just risk with no reward for them and I imagine that if someone's financial situation falls apart, they might max out available credit before they stop paying their bills.
@happypill wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:"Balance(s) on non-Capital One revolving trade(s) are too low"
So this is another potential negative to paying before statement cut (another being loss of float). I guess Cap One is looking to see if there is any potential for spend that could be moved to their card, and deciding that the combination of low Cap One spend and low other reported spend, means no need for the large CL.
I think the business decision for them is that they're not likely to make any money off someone who carries no balances. The available credit is just risk with no reward for them and I imagine that if someone's financial situation falls apart, they might max out available credit before they stop paying their bills.
What do you think about rarely charging on a Cap One card but carrying BT balances? My QS card has a $20k CL from combining 2 QS's and I rarely charge to it but do take advantage of the 18 month 0% BT offers w/2% fee. I'm currently carrying a $5477 balance, 27% util. I always pay them off before the 0% ends.
I don't think they'd ever require anyone to carry a balance, i.e. paying part of one's statement balance and paying interest. Many card issuers have FAQs advising their customers about the benefits of paying in full.
Actually, if you spend and promptly pay, I don't think CapOne cares how you do it. I've gotten six CLIs from them this year, two apiece on each of three cards. Two of the cards always report zero. The other usually reports between $200 and $400, but it occasionally reports zero. Spending is always fairly substantial, though… often more than I'd like it to be.
But these threads have taught me not to shoot for the moon with Capital One's limits. With my spending, I have room to grow, but I have a point in mind where'll I'll stop. On the other hand, with AMEX, you don't need a lot of spending to support a substantial limit.
@DaveInAZ wrote:
What do you think about rarely charging on a Cap One card but carrying BT balances? My QS card has a $20k CL from combining 2 QS's and I rarely charge to it but do take advantage of the 18 month 0% BT offers w/2% fee. I'm currently carrying a $5477 balance, 27% util. I always pay them off before the 0% ends.
Based on information in a thread recently started by BrutalBodyShots, it seems that it takes a year of very low activity before Capital One will CLD. By definition, a balance transfer would be fairly substantial simply because if it wasn't, you wouldn't bother to do it.
My CO QS was decreased from 16K to 10K last week. 800-820 scores. only put 100-200 through it per month.
Mainly use Amex BCP.
@Anonymous wrote:My CO QS was decreased from 16K to 10K last week. 800-820 scores. only put 100-200 through it per month.
Mainly use Amex BCP.
It wouldn't surprise me over time if we start to see more of this happening, not just with CO, but many if not all lenders. If someone is only using a very small portion of their limit, there's really no incentive or benefit for a creditor to leave a significantly larger limit available to that person.