Capital One: No More Account Combination

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hi Saeren,

Thanks so much for posting this link! When I logged in it popped up offering to upgrade my Platinum account which just finished the steps program increasing from a $300CL to a $500 credit limit (so 5 months old). Capital1 also approved me for a quick silver one account in late July with a $500CL also on the steps program.

I was very reluctant to try the upgrade but to my very pleasant surprise it upgraded my Platinum account to a standard Quicksilver account with no annual fee! Now I just wish I could combine the Quicksilver one that does have the annual fee, However it would be too new regardless and it would probably benefit me to first complete the steps program anyway. Hopefully by then it'll be re-introduced instead of just saying page/feature unavailable.

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Congratulations on your successful product change! I can't take credit for the link though, it was shared here years ago and I just give it to everyone who wants to get away from the Platinum. Glad that it worked though!

I wouldn't hold much hope that account combinations will come back to be honest. If it does it will be a nice surprise, it just doesn't seem likely at this point. 

[kdm31091]

The problem is that for awhile Capital One was dishing out massive limits on cards like Venture to basically anyone with a pulse, and then they started allowing combinations, so people were combining and getting ridiculously high limits. Most people I'm sure went nowhere near the limit, but I'm sure there were a few irresponsible users out in the wild that ran up huge debt on that combined limit. A huge limit is just a potential risk for Capital One.

If they do bring back the feature my guess is it will have some type of cap or limit to prevent people from achieving "excessive" type of limits whatever that threshold may be. Capital One has tightened the purse strings in general over the past 2 years or so and I really doubt they'll allow unrestricted account combinations again.

[Anonymous]

My main goal is getting a decent limit. My current strategy has been to pay 100% of the balance off before the closing date. Since my CL sits at $500 my concern is that even if I spend $1K in the course of a month, paying off the balance in a few micro payments my balance is always at zero when they cut the statement. I always see in the statement my total transactions/payments, so I'm thinking Cap1 does see my spending and responsible payments. But to get to the point, is it better to leave some balance on the card before they close the billing cycle and then immediately pay that balance in full? So is it better to keep having it fully paid reflecting a zero balance or would it benefit to have around 5-10% utilized and then pay it in full.

Sorry if my question was somewhat redundant.

Thanks for any tips!

[Remedios]

It doesn't matter. Cap one relies on internal record more than what's on the statement when it comes to granting CLIs.

[FinStar]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

The problem is that for awhile Capital One was dishing out massive limits on cards like Venture to basically anyone with a pulse, and then they started allowing combinations, so people were combining and getting ridiculously high limits. Most people I'm sure went nowhere near the limit, but I'm sure there were a few irresponsible users out in the wild that ran up huge debt on that combined limit. A huge limit is just a potential risk for Capital One.   Whether someone has a combined high CL or 3 aggregate CCs equal to the same higher CL, the exposure risk is the same. 

If they do bring back the feature my guess is it will have some type of cap or limit to prevent people from achieving "excessive" type of limits whatever that threshold may be.  They already had a cap in place of $50K max before the feature was removed. .  Capital One has tightened the purse strings in general over the past 2 years or so and I really doubt they'll allow unrestricted account combinations again.

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¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Anonymous]

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@FinStar wrote:

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@kdm31091 wrote:

The problem is that for awhile Capital One was dishing out massive limits on cards like Venture to basically anyone with a pulse, and then they started allowing combinations, so people were combining and getting ridiculously high limits. Most people I'm sure went nowhere near the limit, but I'm sure there were a few irresponsible users out in the wild that ran up huge debt on that combined limit. A huge limit is just a potential risk for Capital One.   Whether someone has a combined high CL or 3 aggregate CCs equal to the same higher CL, the exposure risk is the same. 

If they do bring back the feature my guess is it will have some type of cap or limit to prevent people from achieving "excessive" type of limits whatever that threshold may be.  They already had a cap in place of $50K max before the feature was removed. .  Capital One has tightened the purse strings in general over the past 2 years or so and I really doubt they'll allow unrestricted account combinations again.

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¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Exposure risk spread across three cards is less than a single large limit though. You could throw a $30K charge on a $30K card but you would have to split it across three $10K cards and I have no doubt Capital One would deny the second and/or third charges if some red flag went off in the system when the first one hit. 

But I actually think it was put into place to stop people from applying for new cards and combining them to get around the CLI system. 

[FinStar]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@FinStar wrote:

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@kdm31091 wrote:

The problem is that for awhile Capital One was dishing out massive limits on cards like Venture to basically anyone with a pulse, and then they started allowing combinations, so people were combining and getting ridiculously high limits. Most people I'm sure went nowhere near the limit, but I'm sure there were a few irresponsible users out in the wild that ran up huge debt on that combined limit. A huge limit is just a potential risk for Capital One.   Whether someone has a combined high CL or 3 aggregate CCs equal to the same higher CL, the exposure risk is the same. 

If they do bring back the feature my guess is it will have some type of cap or limit to prevent people from achieving "excessive" type of limits whatever that threshold may be.  They already had a cap in place of $50K max before the feature was removed. .  Capital One has tightened the purse strings in general over the past 2 years or so and I really doubt they'll allow unrestricted account combinations again.

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¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Exposure risk spread across three cards is less than a single large limit though. You could throw a $30K charge on a $30K card but you would have to split it across three $10K cards and I have no doubt Capital One would deny the second and/or third charges if some red flag went off in the system when the first one hit. 

But I actually think it was put into place to stop people from applying for new cards and combining them to get around the CLI system. 

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Though, that really depends.  Anyone with a decent profile (internally and externally) would still be able to accomplish the same thing.  What I'm saying is, the losses amount to the same risk.  In the example you illustrated, someone who has access to the three $10K without any prior issues is just as equal of a risk of default as someone who charges up $30K in a single card.  It just depends on the overall profile.  Personally, especially on these forums, I've seen folks with 2 or 3 Capital One (uncombined) high CLs CCs with anywhere from 50-80% utilization. 

[CreditJim]

Glad I got in with my 51k limit when they first started doing it, all on my very first and oldest credit card which started out at $300.

[Anonymous]

Wow

[Anonymous]

Called today 11/14/2019 to ask about account merging. They acknowledged that it had been discontinued, BUT she said it is coming back to their web site. She said she could not tell me when, but it definitely is coming back. Let's hope they kick off 2020 with the change.