Again, why do people care about Capital One?

[Anonymous]

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To those who tout the "rebuilding" argument, would it make sense for Capital One to advertise four of their card for those with "excellent credit." 

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They do .Not sure what youre getting at here . its a couple more than 4. Don't forget about the Savor and Spark cards .

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I'm saying if the cards are for "rebuilders" then Capital One should not advertise a minimum credit category of "excellent" for many of their cards. 

[yfan]

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I guess what Baffles me is that nobody in their executive offices has the knowledge to realize what's out there. 

Why not look around and see what's grabbing customers?  

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This question answers itself when one actually looks at the market of credit card issuers. Capital one is the fifth largest credit card issuer in terms of active accounts, and the third largest holder of credit card debt in the United States. What's more, Citi holds the top spot in both counts, not Chase, the darling of credit card forums. Even though Capital One has fewer accounts than Chase, it is very close to Amex on that front and far outstrips Amex in terms of total outstanding credit.

The truth is that from the perspective of banks and issuers, there is more than one way to "grab customers." Just because many here live for large bonuses and high reward rates (as a matter of fact, I suspect much of the disdain for Capital One in this thread is precisely its lack of megabonus, points-transfer, high-reward cards) doesn't mean that's how the overall market works. Most people don't spent a lot of time worrying about bonuses - well, not credit card bonuses, at any rate.

Don't discount the appeal of simplicity. There's something to be said for getting 1.5% on everything, not having to worry about FTF, and being able to cash in any amount of rewards at any time, all without having to have a deck of cards.

[wasCB14]

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I guess what Baffles me is that nobody in their executive offices has the knowledge to realize what's out there. 

Why not look around and see what's grabbing customers?  

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This question answers itself when one actually looks at the market of credit card issuers. Capital one is the fifth largest credit card issuer in terms of active accounts, and the third largest holder of credit card debt in the United States. What's more, Citi holds the top spot in both counts, not Chase, the darling of credit card forums. Even though Capital One has fewer accounts than Chase, it is very close to Amex on that front and far outstrips Amex in terms of total outstanding credit.

The truth is that from the perspective of banks and issuers, there is more than one way to "grab customers." Just because many here live for large bonuses and high reward rates (as a matter of fact, I suspect much of the disdain for Capital One in this thread is precisely its lack of megabonus, points-transfer, high-reward cards) doesn't mean that's how the overall market works. Most people don't spent a lot of time worrying about bonuses - well, not credit card bonuses, at any rate.

Don't discount the appeal of simplicity. There's something to be said for getting 1.5% on everything, not having to worry about FTF, and being able to cash in any amount of rewards at any time, all without having to have a deck of cards.

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Keep in mind that in Amex's books, revolver balances are loans and charge card balances are receivables. Receivables may not be counted in some measures of outstanding credit.

[Anonymous]

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I do it for the triple pull, like keeping all my 3 scores nice and even.

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Oldman87 I am feeling your pain ... thinking of sending you and oil can so you can oil your joints Note, I am a Dinosaur and we roamed the earth a long time ago (had eight various Capital One personal and business cards which all had a purpose in the early days - deep sixed them all in 2009). After reading through a lot of good explanations on the topic of this thread ... I'll add Capital One gave me my restart and opened the door for me to business credit (closed them down when I went on a "culling of the herd" where I dropped cards from many lenders).

[nrm]

What is Capital One?

[Anonymous]

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What is Capital One?

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Capital One Bank is a diversified bank that offers a broad array of financial products and services to consumers, small business and commercial clients. Capital One has one of the most widely recognized brands in America. The Bank offers checking, savings, CDs and loan products, investment, trust and other financial services.

[Anonymous]

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I guess what Baffles me is that nobody in their executive offices has the knowledge to realize what's out there. 

Why not look around and see what's grabbing customers?  

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This question answers itself when one actually looks at the market of credit card issuers. Capital one is the fifth largest credit card issuer in terms of active accounts, and the third largest holder of credit card debt in the United States. What's more, Citi holds the top spot in both counts, not Chase, the darling of credit card forums. Even though Capital One has fewer accounts than Chase, it is very close to Amex on that front and far outstrips Amex in terms of total outstanding credit.

The truth is that from the perspective of banks and issuers, there is more than one way to "grab customers." Just because many here live for large bonuses and high reward rates (as a matter of fact, I suspect much of the disdain for Capital One in this thread is precisely its lack of megabonus, points-transfer, high-reward cards) doesn't mean that's how the overall market works. Most people don't spent a lot of time worrying about bonuses - well, not credit card bonuses, at any rate.

Don't discount the appeal of simplicity. There's something to be said for getting 1.5% on everything, not having to worry about FTF, and being able to cash in any amount of rewards at any time, all without having to have a deck of cards.

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Yeah, while I agree with the OP and most here (CapOne just isn't for me), but the rest of the CC using public doesn't spend this much time worrying about maximizing rewards. CapOne has some decent cards, they do a lot of marketing, so a lot of people get and use their cards just happy to get some cash back. Same with the Sam's Mastercard. I don't see the point in it unless you spend a boatload of money on gas, but I'm in Sam's all the time and it seems like everybody uses that card. 

For me, there are only a small handful of cards that I have any interest in. I work in a restaurant and rarely ever see people using any of the cards that I'd have any interest in. In the last 3 years, I've only seen one person use the Citi DC.

[AverageJoesCredit]

I must say that MDV's comment on the rebuilding cards being touted as needing Excellent credit is a good one. You know when you go on credit card sites many of the cards that are achievable at a lesser score are touted as for excellent credit. Probably marketing at its finest but it is noticable

[expatCanuck]

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Back in the 1980s and 1990s, Chevy Chase Bank of Bethesda, Maryland was considered to be a very consumer-friendly bank.  In the 1980s it was one of the first banks to lower the APR on its credit cards from the decades-long standard of 18% to a radically low 12%.  In the mid-Atlantic states, Chevy Chase Bank competed successfully against both credit unions and regional banks like First Union, Wachovia, NationsBank, BB&T, and Sun Trust -- primarily on the strength of its credit card program.  All that changed in 2009 when Capital One acquired Chevy Chase Bank.  Capital One wanted Chevy Chase's mortgage lending business and their credit card business.  Both have deteriorated dramatically since Capital One took over.  In Washington DC and suburban Maryland there are many of us who have fond memories of Chevy Chase Bank.  Perhaps some (not me!) have allowed nostalgia to shape our opinions of Capital One.

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I feel the same way about BoA, which swallowed Fleet (which was good), which had swallowed Bank Boston (which was better).

[expatCanuck]

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Benmarkley3

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This is the type of snobbery that does no one any good on here. ...

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Perhaps.  But it surely has made for a thread full of insights and interesting reading.