just after my CH13 was discharged (1/2/2017), I used Cap 1 prequalified page and two cards popped up, one of which was the secured card the other the platinum card. My scores were in the upper 500-lower 600s. I applied for and was instantly approved for the secured card. I've used and paid on time each month since then and my FICO scores have gone up dramatically. Cap 1 sent me an invitation to apply for their unsecured platinum card. I threw the invitation away thinking I should stick with the one card. After learning about needing more than one card, I decided to apply for the unsecured card they had pre-approved me for via the mail offer and did so online. I was send a denial 7-10 day letter. Of course, by this time I had several inquiries with 5 being the highest at one of the credit bureaus. When I use their online prequal tool, it says I have no offers. They did offer me a car loan early in the year, which I turned down because it was at 18%. (I was able to get 11.2% from Wells Fargo.) I am suspicious that the reason they did not approve my app for the unsecured card is because I have too many inquiries. Since they do a triple pull, they can add them up across all credit bureaus. My total is around 10. I'm not inclined to apply for Cap1 again any time soon, now that I know they do a triple pull and suspect they are sensitive to the number of inquiries. Kind of ironic if you think about it. Still I'm glad to have my little secured card and am thankful that Cap1 approved me for it.
