Cap 1 Account Combination - Any Downsides?

[Lyythine]

As the subject states, are there any downsides to combining accounts besides the obvious credit score/report related items?

I have two Venture cards, both opened within months of each other and I would much rather have one line at >50k than two. Any suggestions? I kind of want Finstar to combine his two and get a 100k limit before I test the waters

[FinStar]

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@Lyythine wrote:

As the subject states, are there any downsides to combining accounts besides the obvious credit score/report related items?

I have two Venture cards, both opened within months of each other and I would much rather have one line at >50k than two. Any suggestions? I kind of want Finstar to combine his two and get a 100k limit before I test the waters

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Lyythine - you crack me up!  I did ponder on this recommendation at one point but my cards aren't 6 months old... yet, unfortunately.  Now, I have learned from the Capital One peeps that as long as you have the current active exposure, it should not be an issue combining.

The only downside I can see is the rewards piece.  Since they're not currently allowing any rewards combinations or reallocations at the moment, this might be a setback for some.  I would definitely chose the card that has the lower APR if that matters.  The other downside is that once it's done and combined there no U-turn or "back" button.  There's been a few folks who have combined their accounts with a total exposure >$50K so I know it's possible.

[Lyythine]

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@FinStar wrote:

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@Lyythine wrote:

As the subject states, are there any downsides to combining accounts besides the obvious credit score/report related items?

I have two Venture cards, both opened within months of each other and I would much rather have one line at >50k than two. Any suggestions? I kind of want Finstar to combine his two and get a 100k limit before I test the waters

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Lyythine - you crack me up!  I did ponder on this recommendation at one point but my cards aren't 6 months old... yet, unfortunately.  Now, I have learned from the Capital One peeps that as long as you have the current active exposure, it should not be an issue combining.

The only downside I can see is the rewards piece.  Since they're not currently allowing any rewards combinations or reallocations at the moment, this might be a setback for some.  I would definitely chose the card that has the lower APR if that matters.  The other downside is that once it's done and combined there no U-turn or "back" button.  There's been a few folks who have combined their accounts with a total exposure >$50K so I know it's possible.

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Thanks, Fin!

I figured the exposure was the same so its shouldnt be an issue. The only reason I am hesitant, is I have had previous terrible experiences with Capital One and their take over of my beloved Chevy Chase bank accounts and credit card... Therefore, I was worried Cap 1 might revert to their old ways and AA to hell and back if I have one card at a large limit rather than 2 cards at medium limits (in my profile at least - I realize 20k is nothing to sneeze at).

[FinStar]

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@Lyythine wrote:

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@FinStar wrote:

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@Lyythine wrote:

As the subject states, are there any downsides to combining accounts besides the obvious credit score/report related items?

I have two Venture cards, both opened within months of each other and I would much rather have one line at >50k than two. Any suggestions? I kind of want Finstar to combine his two and get a 100k limit before I test the waters

---

Lyythine - you crack me up!  I did ponder on this recommendation at one point but my cards aren't 6 months old... yet, unfortunately.  Now, I have learned from the Capital One peeps that as long as you have the current active exposure, it should not be an issue combining.

The only downside I can see is the rewards piece.  Since they're not currently allowing any rewards combinations or reallocations at the moment, this might be a setback for some.  I would definitely chose the card that has the lower APR if that matters.  The other downside is that once it's done and combined there no U-turn or "back" button.  There's been a few folks who have combined their accounts with a total exposure >$50K so I know it's possible.

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Thanks, Fin!

I figured the exposure was the same so its shouldnt be an issue. The only reason I am hesitant, is I have had previous terrible experiences with Capital One and their take over of my beloved Chevy Chase bank accounts and credit card... Therefore, I was worried Cap 1 might revert to their old ways and AA to hell and back if I have one card at a large limit rather than 2 cards at medium limits (in my profile at least - I realize 20k is nothing to sneeze at).

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I can definitely see and understand your concern.  Capital One isn't so AA-minded as other lenders IMO and IME - perhaps their predecessors were to a point but not the current Capital One I know.  

Prior to the $50K twins, I had 3 other tradelines with them dating back to the early 2000 period.  Now, 2 of these were predecessors from Household Bank (local small bank with a presence in Ohio) that HSBC took over during the Jurassic period.  The other one was from Signet Bank which eventually upgraded on its own to Venture WMC.

Eventually all these accounts were aquired by Capital One.  Of course, I never imagined they would approve the twins given my current exposure and once the opportunity came along to combine accounts, I folded the 1st (HSBC-Cap1) MC onto the Venture WMC on 7/8 without a hitch.  Of course, nothing ever goes smooth the first week of Frankenstein experiments since they had technical issues from the get-go.  So, I waited until the combo link became available a couple weeks later and folded the 2nd (HSBC-Cap1) Visa onto Venture WMC on 7/19, no issues.  Then, at the encouragement and insight from baller4life, I applied for a new Venture and QS on 7/19 and the rest is history.

I suppose if any AA would have been taken, at least IME, it would have happened by now or early on.  In short, I think you would be in a great position to combine them without any AA issues whatsoever

[Anonymous]

It worked well for me a few days ago. I combined my platinum mc and old HSBC mc, which evolved to a Quicksilver 1 MC into my Journey card. This gave me a combined CL of $11250. I called and got a PC to a Quicksilver Visa Signature after that and in doing so eliminated almost $60 in AF. My Venture One is soon to be paid off, then I'm going to combine that into my QS, as well, unless someone can give me a good reason not to.. So I will then have two prime C-1 cards with about $20k limits on each. 2 cards, instead of 5...same buying power. Better interest rates too, 17.9 vs 24.9

[Kenny]

I know of no down side at the present moment.

[Jerry45]

Good Question

[Marcos8]

This is more of a question than anything... but isn't there a credit line threshold where cards are then excluded from debt/credit utilization ratio for scoring purposes? For some it would be awesome to combine and get a massive line of credit on one card, but if now that card with its new high credit limit can't contribute to keeping your utilization in check  and is excluded from UTL calculations then I can see that maybe being an issue for some. 

[elim]

it's all so new,   we'll only know when we still have our big limit cards in a couple years...   uncharted territory.

i have my fingers crossed and will treat the cards well.    they gave me 12.9% on my last one so that's my keeper.   :]

[masscredit]

I've been weighing which card I want to combine to. My Venture card is at 14.9% and Quickdilver is 19.9%. I think the QS rewards are worth more than the miles so that's more important to me. Plus I usually don't carry a balance so I don't as to worry about the APR as much. If I do want/need to carry a balance, I can use my Barclay card that was recently reduced to 14.9. 

I hope the link is working when I'm ready to do this next month.