Thinking of breaking up with Capital One and starting a new relationship w/ Paypal or NFCU

[Creditsen]

Capital one reduced my CL from $30,000 to $10,000 for low usage at the end of July. They gave a warning letter but I didn't feel a strong urge to contact them as I did in the past to continue with the CL. I am not all that satisfied with capital one but besides the CL decrease I haven't experienced difficulty other than just not feeling like they are all that interested in building a relationship with me. I've never closed a card before and my average credit history is not particularly long (3 years). I don't see people gushing about their love for capital one here very often. Definitely past the honeymoon phase for how I feel about Capital One but...I just don't know.

In terms of new relationships....I usually look for rewards cards as I am fairly low usage but I just like to maximize cash back. I use PayPal quite often and I think the PayPal 3% cash back and then 2% cash back everywhere else. Are there limits to that 2%? because I don't have a card that is default at 2% and that just sounds too good to be true. I am also a member of NFCU and have thought about a card through them for a while but I'm not sure if any of the cards would be better than what I have in my rotation. Any thoughts on my relationship musings?

[cardme]

My relationship with Capital One has always been lukewarm.  If they have a product offering that tickles your fancy, then I'd use them.  In my experience though, they don't care that I have stellar credit and typically classify me in the mid-tier in terms of interest rates, etc.  If it wasn't for the Venture X, I wouldn't likely be doing business with them.

In terms of PayPal, I personally refuse to do business with Synchrony.  I had a PayPal Mastercard at a time, but noticed that they always liked to play around with my statement closing dates to try and make it close with a balance (something that I usually zero-out for the most part prior).  It may not be a big deal to others, but I felt it could indicate their desire to not do the most utmost moral actions in doing business with their customers (I had never seen an issuer act as bad as them).

NFCU is a credit union so I'd imagine they have pretty good customer service.  I've heard good things, but have no personal experience with them.  Just be sure if you are thinking of one of their annual fee cards that you are getting enough value from it and are good with paying that annual fee yearly.

[purebulldogs]

If it doesn't have an annual fee, you could think about it before closing it and see if the card works for you at all. If it doesnt you can always close it. If it comes in handy sometimes it may be worth keeping 

[GatorGuy]

Capital One has always treated me right. But I have also used their card alot. 

Regardless, you have a young profile. I'd recommend keeping a no AF card.

[Bill77]

If the cards in your signature are accurate I think it's ok to close.  I understand hate closing.  Lol.  Although I personally would just sock drawer it but you have other current options and don't think it will hurt you.  In terms of PayPal MC I've never had problems and get a lot of outsized value from it.  Synchrony gets a lot of hate but the profiles I usually see that run into problems have many multiple synchrony cards.  I'm not someone that would get store only synchrony cards like tire direct etc and would stick only to their credit cards.  Less is more with Synchrony.

[Gollum]

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@Creditsen wrote:
Capital one reduced my CL from $30,000 to $10,000 for low usage at the end of July. They gave a warning letter but I didn't feel a strong urge to contact them as I did in the past to continue with the CL. I am not all that satisfied with capital one but besides the CL decrease I haven't experienced difficulty other than just not feeling like they are all that interested in building a relationship with me. I've never closed a card before and my average credit history is not particularly long (3 years). I don't see people gushing about their love for capital one here very often. Definitely past the honeymoon phase for how I feel about Capital One but...I just don't know.

In terms of new relationships....I usually look for rewards cards as I am fairly low usage but I just like to maximize cash back. I use PayPal quite often and I think the PayPal 3% cash back and then 2% cash back everywhere else. Are there limits to that 2%? because I don't have a card that is default at 2% and that just sounds too good to be true. I am also a member of NFCU and have thought about a card through them for a while but I'm not sure if any of the cards would be better than what I have in my rotation. Any thoughts on my relationship musings?

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I think credit cards are supposed to report to the credit bureaus for ten years after being closed. Since you're thinking about cutting ties with Capital One anyway,  and the Fed is increasing interest rates, I think you should close your Capital One card immediately then try (for a couple years) to be happy/satisfied with the credit cards that you already have.

[CL-Addiq]

I generally use my SavorOne when I'm not sure which merchant code applies. Grabbing a sandwich at the deli in the local bodega, is that groceries or dining? Get a hot dog at the ballpark, is that dining or entertainment? I now have the Citi Custom Cash which also pretty much guarantees 5%, but maybe my category is already decided for the month. Locking in a guaranteed 3% is better than shooting for 4% or 5% dining and getting the 1% default.

Also underrated is CapitalOne offers. They have a long list of merchants where you can save significant cashback. It's back to school time! Need some clothes? 9% off at Macy's, 10% back at J. Crew or 7% at JCPenney's. Need new shoes? 15% back at Adidas or 10% back at Puma. Need some new sheets for the bed? 7% back at Bed Bath and Beyond. The list goes on and on...

[OmarGB9]

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@CL-Addiq wrote:

I generally use my SavorOne when I'm not sure which merchant code applies. Grabbing a sandwich at the deli in the local bodega, is that groceries or dining? Get a hot dog at the ballpark, is that dining or entertainment? I now have the Citi Custom Cash which also pretty much guarantees 5%, but maybe my category is already decided for the month. Locking in a guaranteed 3% is better than shooting for 4% or 5% dining and getting the 1% default.

Also underrated is CapitalOne offers. They have a long list of merchants where you can save significant cashback. It's back to school time! Need some clothes? 9% off at Macy's, 10% back at J. Crew or 7% at JCPenney's. Need new shoes? 15% back at Adidas or 10% back at Puma. Need some new sheets for the bed? 7% back at Bed Bath and Beyond. The list goes on and on...

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Yea, but good luck getting those rewards paid out. It's always a hassle.

[Anonymalous]

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@Creditsen wrote:
Capital one reduced my CL from $30,000 to $10,000 for low usage at the end of July. They gave a warning letter but I didn't feel a strong urge to contact them as I did in the past to continue with the CL. I am not all that satisfied with capital one but besides the CL decrease I haven't experienced difficulty other than just not feeling like they are all that interested in building a relationship with me. I've never closed a card before and my average credit history is not particularly long (3 years). I don't see people gushing about their love for capital one here very often. Definitely past the honeymoon phase for how I feel about Capital One but...I just don't know.

In terms of new relationships....I usually look for rewards cards as I am fairly low usage but I just like to maximize cash back. I use PayPal quite often and I think the PayPal 3% cash back and then 2% cash back everywhere else. Are there limits to that 2%? because I don't have a card that is default at 2% and that just sounds too good to be true. I am also a member of NFCU and have thought about a card through them for a while but I'm not sure if any of the cards would be better than what I have in my rotation. Any thoughts on my relationship musings?

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I wouldn't read too much into the sentiments of this forum. We're a narrow segment of the market, with niche interests. In 2021, JD Powers did a survey of credit card satisfaction survey covering the major issuers. American Express and Discover were at the top, but Capital One was in third place, above all the other major banks. They're perfectly fine for most people. 

And I say that as someone with a card from Cap1, which I've sock drawered. But I made that decision for concrete reasons, specifically low limit ($300) and their reluctance to increase it. If not for that, I would have been happy to keep on using my QS as my everything else card. Similarly, it sounds like you may have moved beyond them. Cap1 does tend to look for a lot of spend on their cards, and if that doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for you. Canceling it and letting it age for another 10 years on your credit reports, or just sock drawering it, are both reasonable options.

It's hard to recommend cards without knowing your spend, but the Navy cards don't seem like a great match. The More Rewards is comparable to the Savor One, but swaps out streaming and entertainment for gas and transit -- except you already have 4% for gas from your PNC card (the MR also has a high redemption min -- $50). The Flagship is a 2% card, with a bonus 3% on travel, but it has a $49 AF, which is harder to justify with low spend (though the SUB covers 6 years of the AF), so the PayPal card might be a better option. Navy does have exceptional customer service, though. Alternately, you might want to look at something like the WF Autograph for a ton of 3% categories, or go after some more 5% categories with something like the Citi Custom Cash or US Bank Cash+/Elan Max Cash Preferred.

[Anonymalous]

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@OmarGB9 wrote:

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@CL-Addiq wrote:

I generally use my SavorOne when I'm not sure which merchant code applies. Grabbing a sandwich at the deli in the local bodega, is that groceries or dining? Get a hot dog at the ballpark, is that dining or entertainment? I now have the Citi Custom Cash which also pretty much guarantees 5%, but maybe my category is already decided for the month. Locking in a guaranteed 3% is better than shooting for 4% or 5% dining and getting the 1% default.

Also underrated is CapitalOne offers. They have a long list of merchants where you can save significant cashback. It's back to school time! Need some clothes? 9% off at Macy's, 10% back at J. Crew or 7% at JCPenney's. Need new shoes? 15% back at Adidas or 10% back at Puma. Need some new sheets for the bed? 7% back at Bed Bath and Beyond. The list goes on and on...

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Yea, but good luck getting those rewards paid out. It's always a hassle.

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I've never had a problem getting the rebate, but they do take an age and a half for the statement credit to post. It's typically 3 months or so. The main downside for me is all the Capital One offers seem to be online-only. I can't just activate it and swipe my card at Macy's, I need to click through the offers on Cap1's website, and then shop at macys.com.