A Few Questions

[Calculon]

Hello All -

I just got a Capitol One Platinum Card.  My credit history is limited, though not bad.  I got it because I think it'll be safer than using my debit card and hopefully to get some cash back.  Are there any cashbacks associated with the Capitol One Platinum Card?

Right now my limit is $500.  $500 seems a bit low, but beggars can't be choosers, right?  How long does it typically take before Capitol One would raise my limit?

My long term plan is to get a better card with more cash back, but how long should I wait to apply for a better card?  When I looked at my credit score at the beggining of the year, it was 670ish.  The only other credit I have on my account is my car loan.  I own my house without a mortgage.  I'm planning on paying off my car loan in the next few months.  I figure I'll save a few thousand bucks in interest by paying it off.  When I got the car loan my credit score was zero, so I had to take the 9.5% interest the bank offered and I was probably lucky to get it.  Thanks for any help.

[Creditaddict]

If I were you I would go apply for Discover it.

2. check pre-qual for Citicards.com and apply for 1 that you like if you get an offer

3. do the same over at chase

You will get MUCH better cards and MUCH better growth from any of these 3 banks above... really I would get all 3 and leave Capital One behind as thank you for giving me my first credit card but good bye.

[09Lexie]

Before you apply for any cc's, can you give more detail on your profile? Any baddies ? Inq's? Assuming Cap1 is your only cc; is it reporting yet?

[SnackTrader]

Agree with Lexie, take this process slow and don't rush into anything.

When did you get the car loan? When did you get the credit card?

What kind of income do you have?

ETA: What types of things do you spend money on? Gas, groceries, travel?

[pt310]

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@Calculon wrote:

I just got a Capitol One Platinum Card.  My credit history is limited, though not bad.  I got it because I think it'll be safer than using my debit card and hopefully to get some cash back.  Are there any cashbacks associated with the Capitol One Platinum Card?

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To answer your original question, Cap1 does has cash back or miles rewards. Mine has 2% gas & groceries, 1% everything else cash rewards. If your account doesn't have either, contact the EO (search the forum for it. The correct one is Richard..(not rich), to see if they can add it. While you're at it, maybe you could get them to waive the AF for this year, and possibly recon your starting limit!

Granted, not the best card around, but if it's what you've got, and you're not wanting to app for others, at least make this one work for you.

Good luck!

[Calculon]

Thanks all for the replies.   I applied for the Capitol One because it was easy to get.  I didn't apply for better ones because I didn't want to get rejected.  I figured even if it's not the best card, it'll help build my score so I can apply for better cards in the future. 

One card is good enough for me.  I know some people are really good at managing things, but that's probably not for me.  I just got the card Monday and haven't bought anything yet.  I wouldn't think it's reporting yet. 

Mainly, I want to use the card for cash back, gas and groceries is good, and internet purchases because I think it'll be safer than my debit card, which is what I've been using until now.  The C1 card is good for now.  If I could just get them to raise my limit a bit, I could probably just keep it,.  I'm not inn a hurry or anything, but if I can plan for a better card down the road, that's worth looking into.

As for my credit profile, before I got my car loan last year, my score was literally zero.  The bank I go to is owned by the company where I'm employed.  I've been there a long time so I guess they took a chance on me.  When I looked earlier this year there were no baddies on my report, but not many goodies either as I've always been a cash payer.  I've had my car loan a year and made 12 payments on time.  Other than my car loan, the only other thing on my report waa when made in inquiry to Geico about insurance. 

[Anonymous]

I have to agree with everyone. As you can see from my signature, I have some decent limits... However, my capital one card just recently got to $2,000 from $1,250.. only after I called the executive office and ranted and raved. I've had the card for 6, maybe 7 years..??

Discover, Citi and Chase all have 'preapproved' searches. This means, it won't hurt your credit to check to see if you are prequalified because it doesn't use a hard pull. If it comes back and says you are prequalified, you have about a 99.9999999% chance of being approved for the card. These cards are better on points, interest and most importantly.. growth! You can see your Citi card at a $50,000 limit one day... Your Capital One card however, will stay at a $500 limit for 20 years... If you're lucky, you'll see one or two tiny increases to $1,000 in a year or so.. and then that's it...

Just give it a shot, do the pre approvals... if it comes back you're preapproved, then apply for the one you like! Then just leave the CO card open, put it in a drawer if it doesn't have an annual fee.

Here are the links..

https://www.discovercard.com/cardmembersvcs/acqs/app/chooseMyOffer/findMyOffer?beyond=it&

https://www.accountonline.com/cards/acq/preQualUserInfo.do?screenID=3204&isInvitation=N

https://ccsic.fni-stl.com/redes/index.php/chase_app/psonmarketplace.pl?jp_ltg=masthead&OVERRIDE_CELL...

[Calculon]

Thanks MJ.  I tried all the pre-approvals, but they couldn't find anything for me.  I guess I'll just hang onto the C1 card for a while and hope they can raise my limit in the near future.  Is there a good strategy for doing it?  Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

That stinks that none of the preapprovals came back! I mean, a reason they didn't could be you just aren't approved for any of them.. but it could also be a bunch of other things, so don't necessarily gets discouraged that your credit is bad. It could be that you changed your address recently, that you have a 90 fraud alert on your credit report or that you somewhere along the line opted out of receiving 'advertising' from credit card companies.

Yeah, definitely hang onto the Capital One card. As far as a strategy for raising the limit - Capital One loves to put people in 'categories'. Obviously they put you in the subprime category with a rebuilder or builder status. Typically that means your card does have a threshold limit.. Meaning you could have the card for 50 years with a perfect history, and it will never go over a certain limit.. Most likely $1,300. I am also stuck in that category with them, even though every other card I have has prime rates and good limits. The only strategy that I know of for raising your limits, which I have done and get vouch for is to contact the executive office. They actually have the power to listen to your complaint and request, put your account into a manual review with an underwriter and raise your limit to what you want. If they can't give you the limit you want, they will counter offer a limit for you. Typically they'll give you a $250 limit increase regardless just to keep you happy.

If you're interested in contacting them even now, it's only a soft pull. Simply explain to them the positives you have, which is perfect payment history. Also tell them you really want to utilize the card but that the limit is too small to do so. You don't want to come close to the limit when using the card, and that keeps you from using it for decent size purchases.

[dddewdrop]

    I think it is great that you know yourself and that you know that if you only feel comfortable with one credit card right now then your only going to get one. Unfortunately the one you got doesn't have great rewards. If a time comes when you do feel comfortable with more than one card I would recommend getting 3 or 4. You don't have to use them for anything but they will help you develop a really solid credit report. To have that you need at least 3 or 4 healthy tradelines. I have 4 credit cards that I have gotten in the last 6 months. they are listed in my sig. I dont use them for anything except to make a token purchase with each every couple months. i got them as part of a strategy to have excellent credit in a couple of years. I for a long time felt like you.

      I was uncomfortable with the temptation of having credit.. I was also irresponsible and faced a lot of pressure from my girlfriend to spend money on credit cards if she knew I had them. I prefered to just pay cash or debit card. I still feel exactly the same way. The only thing that has changed is that I have developed the self discipline to be able to manage 4 cards and not use them and let them work for me to develop a solid credit profile which I can use to be accepted for a mortgage in a few years if I wish. You can do the same. It is all able developing good habits in regards to credit and spending. 

   Take it slow. It won't kill your credit to apply and be rejected for a card or two so when you are ready I would recommend trying for the discover it or chase freedom. these cards offer 5% cash back on gas for large parts of every year. That translates into saving around 20 cents a gallon which is a good deal for something that you are gonna probably have to buy anyway. 

    Capital one is known as a company which is great for approving people for credit cards who wouldnt be approved elsewhere. There are other companies who specialise in this too, but the other companies will kill you with fees whereas capital one does not. You made a good choice for a first card. Keep reading this forum to help you continue making good choices. Good luck.