What's in your wallet? Capital One Shame?

[KneelBeforeZod]

I just stepped off the Capital One train recently. I had sub-prime cards with them but not a whole lot of luck dealing with the EO in contrast to others here on the board. My scores are certainly not super-duper high profile like others, but good enough that when I couldn't get the credit lines I needed, AMEX and Discover and Barclay had no problems rolling out the red carpet and giving me limits well above anything I ever had from Capital One.

Could I have gotten a better card from Capital One? Possibly. However, they were not the only game in town. I found a lot of better benefits from my new issuers that I simply did not get from Capital One.

Yes, it's true there is a lot of resentment against them from us that came from subprime territory and worked hard to build ourselves up to get prime cards. Admittedly, I vented a number of times on this board about it.

All in all, Capital One is a solid company and they do offer nice products. I think the experience in customer service could use some improvement, but I never had a single problem with them. I don't think you can call any one company the best, but they're not carrying a black eye for any intended reason.

My gut tells me I'll probably be back with them one day (not for rebuilding, lol). Until them, I'm still on a long 0% APR honeymoon with my new credit cards.

[SOGGIE]

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@s_haliz wrote:

I was approved this April for $20,000. 

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So it seems as little or no problem for prime cardholders.

[SOGGIE]

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@daybreakgonesXe wrote:

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@SOGGIE wrote:

I'm really curious after hearing a multitude of complaints from Capital One QS cardholders with paltry credit limits. Capital One boasts about its 'unlimited cash back' card products. In many cases, an unlimited cash back card with a small CL is less valuable than another lender's product offering a higher credit limit and a cap on cash back. Is it true that Cap One is issuing small credit limits to the vast majority of their cash back accounts. Can any Cap One cardholders weigh in on this? I'd love to know what is really transpiring.

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SOGGIE,

Many people are not happy with Cap One because they've outgrown them. For example, they were building/rebuilding and got a Cap One card <$1k. A year+ later, they're in a much better position, getting better cards, but because they were subprime when approved for Cap One, Cap One won't budge.

If you have fantastic credit from the get-go and apply for the regular QS, VentureOne, or Venture, many report higher limits.

Personally I was a convertee from Orchard Bank where I started out with a $200 secured to build, no baddies ever. Utilizing Cap One's EO and chats and with their mass unsecuring of the Orchard accounts, I was able to get a $10k limit, then convert my card to a WMC Quicksilver

So as always, YMMV. Cap One is easier to deal with when you start out as prime, than to start out subprime and try to grow with.

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Wow! You really had to work to get to your current level with them. Your experience speaks for how difficult it may be for other initial subprime Cap One cardholders to grow with them.

[KneelBeforeZod]

I don't believe you will hear a single bad thing from the prime Cap One holder, SOGGIE.

[SOGGIE]

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@signaturecardmember wrote:

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@yfan wrote:

In my experience at least, Capital One also seems to treat you better when they see from  your softpulls that other prime lenders are courting your business. Basically, if they think they are the only  game in town for you, you are SOL. If, on the other hand, they see that they have competition for your business, they will try to earn it.

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I believe this is how BOA treated me before I found this forum even though I have had a long relationship with them. To be fair I only tried a couple of times and might not have been talking to the right person. I know for a fact on my large CLI with the EO recently I leveraged my new Chase accounts and they def seemed to notice what I said too.

I wrote a detailed report about my captial one approval through their EO. Although my limit was on the smaller side it was still fair. I do think the hate here for them might be a little stronger then neccessary.

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I believe this is the practice of many lenders.

[SOGGIE]

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@Andy77 wrote:

Like the other member that got approved for 20k off the bat, so did I, with 10k avail for cash.

The interest rate (for the Venture card) that I got was horrible, 20.99, but I PIF, so does not matter.

It is a crapshoot with capital one...here is why...in 2009 I included Cap one in my bk, in 2011, I got approved for two cap one cards with low limits, like 1500.00 each, I used those accounts and then closed them because I did not think they would grow with me.

Fast forward to today and I honestly think the reason why I got the 20k had to do with the fact that they saw my Penfed Amex had 20k and my utilization was 1%, but I could be wrong...only pure speculation.

Credit approvals have no logical sense what so ever..

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Very interesting!

[Anonymous]

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@KneelBeforeZod wrote:
I don't believe you will hear a single bad thing from the prime Cap One holder, SOGGIE.

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Well, that's a little too strong!   I would complain that the reps are much less empowered than with some other lenders, so calling them tends not to help anything.  But the basic card/rewards, no problems there.

[KneelBeforeZod]

Okay, I agree I had that frustration longtime lurker. My prior experiences with them, I feel like the reps I talked to use the same web sites as we do to manage the account and have no insight into the mechanics of how magic works there.

I'm done now! Promise!

[s_haliz]

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@SOGGIE wrote:

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@s_haliz wrote:

I was approved this April for $20,000. 

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So it seems as little or no problem for prime cardholders.

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I would not call a problem. However when they had approved me for $20,000 back in April 2014, I am already having BoA CC with $48,400. So in my opinion they are very conservative even with prime cardholders. 

[Dw4250]

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@SOGGIE wrote:

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@daybreakgonesXe wrote:

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@SOGGIE wrote:

I'm really curious after hearing a multitude of complaints from Capital One QS cardholders with paltry credit limits. Capital One boasts about its 'unlimited cash back' card products. In many cases, an unlimited cash back card with a small CL is less valuable than another lender's product offering a higher credit limit and a cap on cash back. Is it true that Cap One is issuing small credit limits to the vast majority of their cash back accounts. Can any Cap One cardholders weigh in on this? I'd love to know what is really transpiring.

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SOGGIE,

Many people are not happy with Cap One because they've outgrown them. For example, they were building/rebuilding and got a Cap One card <$1k. A year+ later, they're in a much better position, getting better cards, but because they were subprime when approved for Cap One, Cap One won't budge.

If you have fantastic credit from the get-go and apply for the regular QS, VentureOne, or Venture, many report higher limits.

Personally I was a convertee from Orchard Bank where I started out with a $200 secured to build, no baddies ever. Utilizing Cap One's EO and chats and with their mass unsecuring of the Orchard accounts, I was able to get a $10k limit, then convert my card to a WMC Quicksilver

So as always, YMMV. Cap One is easier to deal with when you start out as prime, than to start out subprime and try to grow with.

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Wow! You really had to work to get to your current level with them. Your experience speaks for how difficult it may be for other initial subprime Cap One cardholders to grow with them.

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My Cap One Platinum started at $500 (in 1999!) with no CLI whatsoever, and I finally contacted EO in January and got it bumped to $2K (and they also PC'ed to QSOne).  Last week, I asked for another CLI and was denied.  But....

Four days later, i applied for the Venture Visa Signature Card.....instant approval $10,000!  LOL.  

As others have said, it is difficult (if not impossible) to "grow" a builder/rebuilder card with them.  This is why I believe so many people become frustrated.  I also think there is some frustration in the incongruity of the EO "system" of recon they have in place.  OTOH, once you have established good overall credit for X amount of years and are willing to take the HP/New TL hit, they can be quite generous. 

There are so many great credit products available right now, I don't know why people get themselves so bogged down with Cap One.  If they give you what you want, great.  If not, go find another company who will.  If your credit is good, sky's the limit folks!

I have no illusions my original Cap One will ever truly "grow".  So I'll hang onto it indefinitely for AAofA purposes, keep it alive with Netflix or Mister Car Wash monthly autopays, and go on living the rest of my life.