Capital one secured close or no?

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone so I kinda have a dilemma going on on whether or not to close my capital one secured card I mean feel like it's probably not gonna graduate and even if it does it's still gonna be a low limit card forever but my two concerns are 1. My aaoa is really young and cap1 is my oldest account by six months or so and 2. Idk know if this true or not but I keep reading that when banks see a secured card or other starter cards on your report they're more hesitant on giving bigger limits and better products. Not sure what to do honestly what do you guys think?

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hey everyone so I kinda have a dilemma going on on whether or not to close my capital one secured card I mean feel like it's probably not gonna graduate and even if it does it's still gonna be a low limit card forever but my two concerns are 1. My aaoa is really young and cap1 is my oldest account by six months or so and 2. Idk know if this true or not but I keep reading that when banks see a secured card or other starter cards on your report they're more hesitant on giving bigger limits and better products. Not sure what to do honestly what do you guys think?

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Dont close it yet, regardless of graduation. The limit on it is not lower than your other TLs. Of course, if you decide to close, there will not be any immediate effect on your AAoA. Keep in mind that 'stays on report for 10 years' is not guaranteed. Some fall off way earlier and some linger even past 10 years. 

Card that's been opened for a short time may be included in CRA housekeeping sooner rather than later. 

Close it when you are in position to replace it with something better. 

If anything should be on a chopping block, I suggest looking at Fingerhut. You may be past that one. 

You'd still have three cards needed for max scoring benefit, and you already have installment loan

The best thing you can do is to stop applying for a while and let your cards age. That will lead to better future outcomes by far more than closing one card. It's the payment history on it that counts more than it's SL. 

Good luck 

[Anonymous]

Yeah Fingerhut is definitely on the chopping block eventually the only reason I keep that is UTI but the reason Im looking at my capital one is because it's secured and I keep hearing that secured products make lenders Leary of giving better products like I said idk it that true or not but if it is at least Fingerhut is an unsecured tradeline you know so I would think it would look better than my secured card but you are right about not apping for more stuff I'm definitely in the garden right now. Thank you for your advice

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Yeah Fingerhut is definitely on the chopping block eventually the only reason I keep that is UTI but the reason Im looking at my capital one is because it's secured and I keep hearing that secured products make lenders Leary of giving better products like I said idk it that true or not but if it is at least Fingerhut is an unsecured tradeline you know so I would think it would look better than my secured card but you are right about not apping for more stuff I'm definitely in the garden right now. Thank you for your advice

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Everybody has to start somewhere. Your payment history will be by far more important for future apps than limits on your cards. 

Letting accounts age looks the best for those with new files. Limits will come. Let  it all rest and simmer. Focus on paying on time. 

Close useless cards as better opportunities present themselves in the future.

As far as lower limits  holding you back, that was not my personal experience.  Time is magic ingredient, but it's also the one no one wants to hear about because patience lol 

[Anonymous]

No I hear you I know higher limits will come in time I have no issue with that all I have to do is make a couple extra payments a month not a big deal right now I definitely was never expecting to see a 10k limit right out the gate it's more the card itself I'm talking about like when lenders pull my report and see I still have a secured card it makes me look not as good as someone who doesn't you know I keep seeing people say that on other threads.

[Anonymous]

Keep it open a litle while longer.

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:
No I hear you I know higher limits will come in time I have no issue with that all I have to do is make a couple extra payments a month not a big deal right now I definitely was never expecting to see a 10k limit right out the gate it's more the card itself I'm talking about like when lenders pull my report and see I still have a secured card it makes me look not as good as someone who doesn't you know I keep seeing people say that on other threads.

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People say a lot of things.

It's true that some lenders may be reluctant to issue first high limit, while others are more than willing to issue your first decent SL in hopes of enticing you to use their cards. 

Also, keep in mind you're on credit card forum. There is always SL frenzy going on, mostly for utilization padding. 

If you do not have the income to support high  limits, it's a  moot point anyway.  

I would not expect a jump from $500 to $10k, but  $2k - $4K  SLs after a year should be perfectly reasonable. 

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Definitely keep it or better yet see if they will upgrade to now of their unsecured cards.

[Anonymous]

I have never seen on this forum or any forum someone rejected for a credit product for having a secured card. It’s like folklore. Banks are required by law to send you are reason for rejection letter so if this was real there would be actual evidence.  

Moot point anyway. Cap1 doesn’t even report their cards as secured. Discover, Citi, and BofA does. Some others too. Most major banks and CU have a secured product. 

Most credit card decisions are computer based. Even products that are manually reviewed by an UW are looking at dozens of creteria none of which is wether or not a card is secured. Secured cars tend to max out at lower limits and lower limits IS a factor in wether a bank will give you a certain limit or approve you at all. So from that people extrapolate reasons that are just not there.

It’s like saying everyone who has ever died of cancer drank water at some point in their life. Therefore water causes cancer.

[Anonymous]

I get what you're saying thanks for your reply idk maybe I'm just paranoid or whatever I just feel like even though my credit report is spotless now with derogatory marks all gone when a bank sees the secured card it's probably a good indicator that I had trouble in the past or something and would hinder the kind prime cards and credit limits I'd be able to obtain i mean I'm not in the market for a new card anytime soon so you're right I'll hold on to I until I am maybe it'll graduate by then who knows Fingerhut definitely needs to go though sometime in the near future I know that.