Capital One Success Story

[Anonymous]

Y'all.  After a year-long stint of unemployment (2015-2016) which resulted in four charge-offs and several 30-60-90-day late payments, I finally started to re-stabilize around August 2016.  Credit scores at that point:  515 to 540, depending on who you asked.  Capital One was one of those charge-offs.  (The reason I was carrying balances at that time was because I had just come back from 8 years overseas and was trying to set up shop again -- which costs money, but I was paying it off RAPIDLY.  I just happened to get laid off after one year.)

Fast forward to last month:  I checked and saw that my credit had improved to about 650-660.  I thought ... why not.  So I applied for a Capital One Platinum and was approved with a $1,000 limit!  My credit score is ALREADY at 695!

I know Capital One has a bit of an image problem amongst the credit-savvy, but honestly?  If it weren't for them, I'd be using an Indigo MasterCard with a $500 limit and $200 in fees.  And when you consider that CO got burned by me less than three years ago?  Yeah.  If you're trying to rebuild, I really don't think you can go wrong with CO.

I spoke to customer service (always a pleasure with them, by the way) to see if it would be possible to get the QuicksilverOne for the cashback.  While that's not yet possible (figured as much), she said "Well, you have a Platinum with $1,000 limit, which is GREAT!  That's really a GREAT limit!  Use the card as much as possible, pay it off monthly, and you will be very surprised and pleased at what you'll be eligible for in about six months."  I'm in Credit Steps, but I have a feeling I'll be able to get a fair bit more than that $500...Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I agree that CO is great when it comes to rebuilding. 

About 2.5 years ago they were my only card with a $3000 SL and a 619 score.  Fast forward to today, I've got 8 cards and $175k in total limits and 850 FICO 8 scores.  If it weren't for CO giving me the start, I wouldn't be where I'm at right now.

[Cred4All]

Absolutely no problem with having Capital One.  Glad to see you improving and moving up the ladder with them, good job.  The best card and lender is the one that works best for you.

[Anonymous]

Thanks!  And I notice you have an Armco CU card ... Good for you.  Armco more or less raised my entire family and kept my grandparents comfortable all the way to their graves.

[HeavenOhio]

Welcome @Anonymous. Congratulations on your new card.

When your card is about three or four months old, request a CLI (credit limit increase). Actually, you can request one anytime before your Steps increase. When you get your Steps increase, you won't be eligible to ask again for six months, which is the normal minimum waiting period between Capital One CLIs

Starting at month four or so, call in every month and see if there are offers to PC (product change) your card to a Quicksilver. An offer might not appear right away, but it'll come around soon enough.

DON'T consider the QuicksilverOne and its fee. It's a very difficult to upgrade to a no-fee card. On the other hand, no-fee Quicksilver upgrades are readily available on Platinum cards.

Moving forward, don't go overboard. When you get a new card, your score is dinged for an inquiry, it's dinged because your AoYA (age of youngest account) is set to zero, and it might be dinged for lowering your AAoA (average age of accounts).

Your first two cards will likely add to the credit mix portion of your score and offset the aforementioned dings. Starting with card #3 — and definitely with card #4, your score will drop in the short term. What happens is that people see score increases on their first couple of cards, then they spree for three or four cards and wonder why their score tumbled. You want to avoid that by building slowly and methodically.

[Anonymous]

Really?  Any time?  I thought it was an absolute no-go to request a CLI before the three-month mark.  Not that I really need it at this point ...

Thanks for your thoughtful advice, though!!!

[Anonymous]

---

Welcome to MyFico OP.

I like capital 1 too. I appreciate the second chance they have given me.

Like you, I have burned them. I burned them for 5 figures on BK7 in 2014. In 2016, they gave me my first card after bankruptcy for 3,000 on a QS1 card. Asked for a pc to a no fee QS at month 3 or so and was surprisingly approved.

Asked for CLI at month 4, received $300. After credit steps, another $500 for a total of $3800.

Applied for venture at month six, got $10,000. Combined the cards into one immediately and have received a couple increases to now $18,800.

So, they have treated me very well. Customer service has been good to me. I enjoy their instant notifications and the fact they have been proactive in catching a fraudulent purchase on my account. Sooo, yeah I’m pretty happy with my experience this time around 

---

[HeavenOhio]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Really?  Any time?  I thought it was an absolute no-go to request a CLI before the three-month mark.  Not that I really need it at this point ...

Thanks for your thoughtful advice, though!!!

---

I should have said somewhere between month three and your scheduled steps increase. If you request too early, there's no harm, though. All they do is say you're "ineligible."

[AverageJoesCredit]

Nice job on your current success. Cap One must be doing something right if they keep asking " Whats in your wallet?" and they still keep getting replies .

[Creditdreamer]

I would actually recommend requesting a PC to the Quicksilver at the 1 month mark (after the statement). I was able to get that to happen. Also request a CLI every two weeks. At the 4 month mark I got an increase from $500 to $5000. I put all my monthly spend on the card though and paid it off about once a week for those 4 months. As others have said, don't get the Quicksilver One. Not worth the AF and it'll put that card in a bucket kind of.