@Jeffster1 wrote:IMHO, CAP 1 really doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up.
Many years ago, they expanded into Prime territory...
Actually, it's the other way around, @Jeffster1.
Capital One was a pioneer in using data analytics in the early 1990's to specifically target PRIME customers, but eventually used that same system to expand into Subprime consumers.
"The genius of (Capital One Founders Nigel Morris and Richard Fairbank) was to burrow deep into the spending habits and lifestyles of these so-called prime customers to find the better bets, then offer them various rates based on their various risks," remarked Bernard Condon in an article for Forbes in April 2001. Other credit card issuers were quick to catch on--Citibank, MBNA Corporation, and First USA, Inc. among them. Consumers' mailboxes were flooded with offers. Fairbank and Morris countered by using their technological know-how to tap into the subprime market, seeking out the best possible risks among customers not typically offered cards, those with no or slightly flawed credit histories. (LINK: Company-Histories.com.)
The article goes onto describe Capital One's struggle to balance their subprime specialization alongside the prime and superprime segments of the market.
As I've often said on the forums, LENDERS are not prime or subprime; consumer profiles are prime or subprime. While lender underwriting may be skewed towards one or the other type of profile, most have some mixture of profiles including Capital One.
Capital One marches to the beat of its' own drummer compared to some of the older credit card-banking players. But they've also been an innovator. As the article above describes, they were a big reason balance transfer offers are available on credit cards today. The data analytics I mentioned earlier allowed consumers who normally couldn't get a credit card to be qualified for some offers. They pioneered unlimited 1.5% cash back (unheard of!) in 2013 with the Quicksilver card. And yes, if you were referring to "Premium" cards (not "Prime"), they have only in recent years added the Savor and Venture/Venture X so until now, they hadn't directly challenged the premium travel card market leaders such as AMEX or Chase. I wouldn't say they don't know what they want to be when they grow up as much as they have been innovative and flexible when looking for their market niche and taking advantage of opportunities. For a company that was founded less than 30 years ago (1994), I think they've made remarkable strides in establishing themselves in the banking-lending-financial services industry.
@Lou-natic wrote:
- Ironically in a year OP probably still won't get his VentureX because his scores will be too high by then...
- Capital One definitely has "a type" of customer they prefer and they have told me in no uncertain terms I'm not in that group any longer. Thankfully.
Between April 7th and 9th I closed both my Cap1 accounts totaling over 17k worth of good credit history because I'm not going to let some bank lie to my face and try to gaslight me about past delinquent accounts while gladly taking money from me now on 2 accounts in perfectly good standing all the while not having a single bad mark on any of my credit reports period. To heck with all that, Cap1 can take a hike.
Although they may have frustrated you, it sounds like your Capital One remarks have more to do with the recent disagreements with them you referenced in your last statement, @Lou-natic.
Sure, (ALL) lenders have a consumer type they prefer in their underwriting. But that underwriting varies between cards and takes into account many variables, and Capital One is no different in that regard. So the reference to "scores being too high" is unverifiable. On the contrary, I found many Capital One Venture X approvals in the mid-700's to close to 850. And in my case, they've continued to give me additional CLIs on my Quicksilver even without heavy spending in the past couple of years which have allowed it to continue its' growth from $1K in 2009 to >$30K today<. And that is also with 800+ FICO. Here are some of those Venture X higher-FICO approvals with data points, so perhaps anyone with high scores who was declined had something else going on in their profile beyond the FICO score. I don't know of any lender who looks for a reason to decline a credit application for "too good" of a profile. 
Just like AMEX and Navy Federal have credit customers with scores from the 600's to 850, so does Capital One.
@Edward_the_confessor wrote:My first card opened was a C1 Quicksilver with a limit of $4500. I took it out of dormant status and put spend on it for two statement cycles and requested a CLI. First time it was $400, two weeks later it was $500. I took the $500 offer to get to $5000 to PC to the Venture Card. Eventually I would like the VentureX , but I need a $10k CL to product change to VentureX.
As I understand C1 only does a manual CLI every 6 months. However, does anyone know if this applies to the automatic ones?
My plan is to throw everything at this Venture card and report a high utilization in an attempt to trigger the automatic CLI. Am I crazy?
Capital One CLIs are typically six month intervals, but interestingly enough, I've gotten some smaller ones in recent years at only about 3-4 months. It seems YMMV and the ability to bypass the six month interval may be tied to overall profile and/or relationship. However, putting higher spend on the card will often help it to grow if it's not limited by a bucket. I would estimate that yours is not based on the higher limit.
No, you aren't crazy. I've often said that rewards aren't everything and sometimes it's worth bypassing rewards if your goal is to grow credit limits or strengthen a lender relationship. Since this is your oldest card, I can understand wanting to nurture it.
Capital One does love to see heavier spend, but there may be limits to how fast it will grow. So putting 100% of your spend on it for six months or more may not be needed to reach the same level of growth that you can attain with moderate spending.
There's no harm in asking for the CLI so you can do it as often as you please with no negative effect. You can probably get it by-request quicker than waiting for the auto-CLI to trigger. I've rarely-if-ever gotten auto CLIs but my requested ones have regularly been approved if the spend/time requirements have been met.
On the other hand, I wouldn't personally grow it to PC into a Venture X. The SUB on Venture X is great and you'd miss that opportunity. Also, if you grow the Quicksilver and establish more of a usage and payment history with Capital One, they might be very generous on a new Venture X approval, perhaps more than you'd grow the QS.
@Edward_the_confessor wrote:
@GZG wrote:
@Edward_the_confessor wrote:
We weren't able to complete your request at this time. Rest assured—your credit score wasn't impacted.
While we get our pre-approval tool back up and running, feel free to explore our whole suite of cards.
it's up for me, clear cookies/unfreeze your reports?
Went through this time but only showing the Platinum Secured and Quicksilver Secured. Probably not the best look when I put looking for "Travel rewards and welcome offer".
Experian as of 4/1/2023 - 771
Equifax as of 4/1/2023 - 796
TansUnion as of 4/1/2023- 781
Experian FICO8 as of 4/1/2023 - 769
Didn't they add 5% cb/5points when using to c1 travel portal making the entire line up "technically" travel cards?
@Edward_the_confessor wrote:Thank you for your input! It seems like I would need to wait the 6 months and then request one. Not sure if its even possible to go from $5k to $10k in one go with C1. Guess we will find out.
I may still look to get the SUB but it will depend on how I want to approach my next Chase cycle.
You're welcome, and hope it works out for you. Keep us updated on your progress.
>My personal experience< was only $1.5K increases when my limit was somewhere under $10K and then increasing to $3K increases. So doubling a limit to $10K in six months might be optimistic, but heavy spend may increase your chances. The link above details some data points and spend patterns. I would also recommend >this thread< from @Curious_George2 with some great Capital One CLI data points.
@delaney1 wrote:
@Edward_the_confessor wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:Capital One CLIs are typically six month intervals, but interestingly enough, I've gotten some smaller ones in recent years at only about 3-4 months. It seems YMMV and the ability to bypass the six month interval may be tied to overall profile and/or relationship. However, putting higher spend on the card will often help it to grow if it's not limited by a bucket. I would estimate that yours is not based on the higher limit.
Thank you for your input! It seems like I would need to wait the 6 months and then request one. Not sure if its even possible to go from $5k to $10k in one go with C1. Guess we will find out.
Not sure if that's the case now, but back when I got my QS in 2015, I started at 5k. Used it heavily and after the third statement cut I asked for a CLI and got a 5k increase. Six months later I got another 5k increase. That card is now a Savor. My other Cap 1 card was a Venture card which I switched to a QS a few years ago, and I haven't asked for a CLI in a long time. Asked for one today just because they keep bugging me about CLIs lol. Approved 26k--->30k.
Thanks for those data points, @delaney1. You had some excellent success with Capital One compared to many examples I've seen and from personal experience. I think the heavy usage was pivotal. They are a lender that normally likes to see moderate or better usage to give an increase. Congrats on your recent $4K CLI!