Should I keep CapOne Secured or Close it?

[Anonymous]

I've had this card since August and my 5th statement just cut last week. My credit is now at about 670 (after doing PFD's and building credit). I use this card maybe once every 2 months for something small online then PIF. There's no rewards to it and no real benefits that I can see and 95% of people can't get it graduated.

But I've seen a few posts lately where people did graduate. So I wanted to see what you think should I keep it or get rid of it?

The CL for it is $550

But my highest CL is $13,500 I don't want other creditors looking at that and wondering why that limit is so low and not extending a lot of credit based on that, plus no real benefits to having the card that I can see.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I've had this card since August and my 5th statement just cut last week. My credit is now at about 670 (after doing PFD's and building credit). I use this card maybe once every 2 months for something small online then PIF. There's no rewards to it and no real benefits that I can see and 95% of people can't get it graduated.

But I've seen a few posts lately where people did graduate. So I wanted to see what you think should I keep it or get rid of it?

The CL for it is $550

But my highest CL is $13,500 I don't want other creditors looking at that and wondering why that limit is so low and not extending a lot of credit based on that, plus no real benefits to having the card that I can see.

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It sounds like you've moved on as it served its original purpose to help you start your credit.  As  far as other creditors seeing the low limit; it would be unusual for a creditor to really look that closely at one limit. For credit card approvals, most banks use computers; the computer will look for FICO score, debt to credit ratio, age of accounts, inquiries and a variety of other things. It has been hypothesized that some lenders, like Chase, will look for at least one higher limit card before they issue a higher limit to you but as all things, YMMV. I'd say if it is no longer providing you with any benefit and you have other unsecured cards with higher limits, cut it loose. 

ETA: my spelling is atrocious 

[Anonymous]

Do you think there's a possibility of it graduating to an unsecured card? If not then it is just a dead end.

I mean if I was an UW doing a MR I would wonder why this person has so many low limits (I have 4 cards with limits $550 and under 3 are store cards and one is the CapOne).

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Do you think there's a possibility of it graduating to an unsecured card? If not then it is just a dead end.

I mean if I was an UW doing a MR I would wonder why this person has so many low limits (I have 4 cards with limits $550 and under 3 are store cards and one is the CapOne).

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I think there is a possibility, I am just not sure of Capital One's timeline for that. My only experience was with my moms card. It was kind of like BofA's 99/500 card; she sent in a check for $99 and they have ger a $1,000 credit limit. This was in 1998 by the way, so very outdated. But that card was partially secured until 2006. One day my mom received a check for $110 or something like that; it was her original deposit with interest. Again, very outdated example. I like that Citi tells you up front it is going to be 18 months; BofA tells you at least 12 months but usually unsecures long before that. So, Capital One and Wells Fargo are the two odd ones that really do not tell you what to expect. 

Your other option is to contact Capital One through social media (Facebook, Twitter) to see what they say, and if they cannot help you the executive office (EO) may be able to shed some light. I mean, if you really want to keep that card these are the options. 

Check out this thread, the OP was able to have her Platinum MC unsecured (without asking) after 1 year:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/NEWSFLASH-Capital-One-Secured-MC-graduation-possible/td...

So you may want to give your card another 6-7 months to see what happens. Try to use it a bit each month (CapOne loves to see usage) and see what happens. It would be nice to keep the card and PC it to a QS or V1. 

[Anonymous]

I'd wait until just before the AF is due then close it. They might unsecure it when you call to close it but that's unlikely from what I've read. That's what I'm going to do with mine. It served its purpose but it's time to move on.

[Anonymous]

There's no AF but still it's just sitting in my drawer I don't use it because there's no rewards. I at least use my Discover Secured because it has rewards.

I just emailed their EO to see what can be done if nothing then I'll close it and probably never go back to CapOne they don't usually have any generous sign up bonuses like other banks do.

[Anonymous]

I'd close it immediately then. Get any other cards you might want before you close it bc their will probably be a slight hit on your report for a short time. 

[Anonymous]

Wait why would there be a hit for closing it? It's not my oldest account

[Anonymous]

Closing an account is rarely a positive in the short term. I don't mean to sound like it's going to kill your score, and I didn't think I came off that way, bc it won't kill your score. In the short term though don't be surprised if your score drops a couple of points for a couple of months. 

[Anonymous]

Yeah that's kind of why I'd rather PC it. My score is about to go from 670 to 630 sadly I don't want anymore hits