Length of Credit History: 20y 3m
AAoA: 5y 1m
Capital One CC question! Back history may be relevant. I went through a financial crisis for a few years, resulting in a TON of late payments littered across my credit reports. I still have some in the process of falling off and some still reporting from 2016 time frame. I had a $300 limit on my first credit card ever, a Cap1 card. No annual fee, no balance, and it is restricted so I cannot ever use it again. However, it is reporting and updating as "good" every month because the card account is still open. Its not my oldest account but is one of my older (opened 06/2014, last activity 09/2016).
Considering that cap1 will not allow more than 2 CCs. Is it smarter to leave open the restricted card and let it continue "good" reporting monthly, or close it and work towards getting a new 2nd Cap1 card that isn't restricted and can grow?
Yep, multiple times over the years, I have called to ask them to lift the restriction status. They keep telling me it is restricted permanently and will never change. Once its restricted, its restricted forever. I do have a second cap1 card that I've been consistenly growing since 10/2017. But with Cap1's rule on 2 CCs only, it means that with the restricted card still open, I'm not eligible for another card. I've left it alone because it isn't hurting anything other than my ability to get a 2nd cap1 card that I can actually grow.
Drop that card and try another bank or lender. Unless if you want other triple hard pull.
@radfam wrote:Considering that cap1 will not allow more than 2 CCs.
Is this true?
I thought it was only 2 subprime CCs you were limited to, not prime cards.
They changed the rule in 2011 before my time with only 2 subprime cards. I have 3 primes now. At one point it was 5 until the starters were closed. Might be that restricted card is holding you back from any other card you might be interested in with them. If you util % is in check. RIP. The age metric wont change for up to 10yrs. Hopefully by then your wallet will have much better cards than that starter card.
I assume its still a "two only" rule since thats what message I see when I try to prequal. Maybe its not true for everyone but its true for me. Here is what I see when I try the preapproved button.
Then from there, I googled and see:
I do have two AMEX cards, a CSP, a CFU, Disco, Citi, and a handful of other "good" cards. 
My UTL is sort of high right now across my portfolio, but this $300 limit is not really adding much padding value to it so its not a big loss to cut. LOL! You hit exactly why I was asking, the age metric. An 8-year positive reporting card is a tough call to close for me, even as a starter card. But you are right, I do wonder if its holding back better things.
Maybe I'm missing something; close the "Restricted" card, wait maybe 30 days, and then apply for a new card. Yes you'll get hit with the 3 HP thing, but unless you're going to be applying for say, a Chase card, a mortgage, or a car loan in the next year or so, the three hard pulls won't hurt you.
You can have more than 2 CapOne cards, but only two through their main site. If you do any shopping at Walmart at all, you can apply to add that one to your cards if you wanted. The Walmart branded CapOne card has it's own separate website to apply on and I was approved for the Walmart card after already having the Quicksilver and the Savor One.
Plus, if you do a lot of shopping at Walmart, if you pay in store using Walmart Pay thru the Walmart app using the Walmart CapOne card, you get 5% back for 12 months. It reverts to 2% back after the 12 month promotional period.
https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/walmart-rewards/
You can check for pre-approval at that link.
Plus, if you do a lot of shopping at Walmart, if you pay in store using Walmart Pay thru the Walmart app using the Walmart CapOne card, you get 5% back for 12 months. It reverts to 2% back after the 12 month promotional period.
https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/walmart-rewards/
You can check for pre-approval at that link.
