What's so great about Capital One?

[Anonymous]

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@Remedios wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Remedios wrote:

If there is anything that's driving me nuts about this thread, it's the "They gave me a second chance" 

No, they did not. Their computer does not sit there, crying 1s and 0s over somebody's situation. It's a part of their business model.

People get approved for a second Cap One card while being sued by them for the one they defaulted on. 

It's a business decision, not benevolence on their part. 

I have nothing bad to say about Cap One. They certainly work for some people, tend not to be hyper reactive when it comes to behaviors commonly seen here. At least you don't have to walk on eggshells after opening Cap One card. 

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It’s still valuable to have an avenue to rebuild credit again even after burning them. Capital One’s business model is much better than Credit One, Surge, etc. for the consumer. 

I pointed out earlier in the thread that it’s not altruistic and that they don’t hesitate to sue but it doesn’t change the fact that they extend credit to people other banks won’t touch, motives behind it don’t matter. If Capital One didn’t send me that mailer in 2014, I don’t think I would have gotten a credit card again for many years. Even Credit One wasn’t interested back then because my BK went on in 2010 and then the 💩 really hit the fan in 2012 with a repo, multiple cellular providers charged off, student loans defaulting, and lots of medical debt (including a $20K bill from the helicopter they sent to my dad’s) with no positive activity. Even with all of that there, I got a mailer for the no AF Platinum and was instantly approved for $300. 

The timing was perfect too. I had $48K sitting in my checking account for disability back pay and I needed a card to give my roommate to do shopping with that didn’t involve him having access to the money on the debit card. I told him it had a $200 limit and paid it off multiple times a month and by 2016 it was $1250 and through a series of $2K and $3K increases it went to $8250 where it is now even when I had more medical charge offs coming in, they still increased my limit every 6 to 8 months when I asked. I don’t think any other lender would have done that. 

I was so happy with Capital One that I added the PlayStation to my wallet in 2016 and didn’t bother looking anywhere else for credit until I got the invite from Ollo in 2017 which prompted me to take that and start checking Disco and AMEX prequals. We only need to look at my signature to know what happened in 2018. 

And then they still approved me for my $10K SavorOne when I was at 11/24. 

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The whole point is to extend money to the people other lenders wont touch. It ensures their card gets used. Again, not benevolence, simply taking advantage of the situation in a way that can be beneficial both to consumer and lender

As far as what happened to you in 2018, you found MyFico and added a bunch of cards. That, too, is not an unusual occurrence. 

I'm glad it worked out for you 

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Is there something inherently wrong with that business model compared to more predatory lenders though? I mean yeah I get that they are sue happy but some responsibility has to be put on the consumer who keeps defaulting on credit cards. 

It was funny, I actually didn’t find myFICO until September. My March spree of AMEX, Disco, and SSFCU was all me lol. 

[redpat]

They are just as good as the others.  

Some luv'em and some hate'em.

I have a very weathly friend that has biz sparks card 200k limit and the other card for his spend is 75k limit Venture and that's all he uses.  I have begged to use him for Amex, Ink referrals and he won't bite.

So for those who think they most of their market is builders and beginners, think again.

[Anonymous]

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@simplynoir wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I pointed out earlier in the thread that it’s not altruistic and that they don’t hesitate to sue but it doesn’t change the fact that they extend credit to people other banks won’t touch, motives behind it don’t matter.

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How do the motives not matter? Honestly asking here. They play to both the subprime and prime market as their market strategy. If they started adopting a financial model like Chase to cater to those that are fiscally responsible then those same people wouldn't have a card to go with them in the first place.

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Motives don’t change the fact that their business model is what helps many people like myself get their credit back on track is what I meant. There are plenty of us on this forum who were not looked at favorably by any other lender and would have had to pay through the nose for secured cards or annual fees to rebuild without Capital One. 

[longtimelurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:


Will I keep this card once the AF comes up? Maybe. It might not be worth it after the free year since there are 0 AF cards with 2% back, so we’ll see

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Unless you can use the transfer partners, it won't be worth it, rewards wise!

[Anonymous]

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@redpat wrote:

They are just as good as the others.  

Some luv'em and some hate'em.

I have a very weathly friend that has biz sparks card 200k limit and the other card for his spend is 75k limit Venture and that's all he uses.  I have begged to use him for Amex, Ink referrals and he won't bite.

So for those who think they most of their market is builders and beginners, think again.

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It’s actually not possible with an ABS model for them to only target builders and rebuilders because they need the more credit worthy to balance out the risk in their portfolios. ABS portfolios have a managed risk vs reward for investors. They wouldn’t be able to sell it if it was all extremely risky subprime. 

[redpat]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@redpat wrote:

They are just as good as the others.  

Some luv'em and some hate'em.

I have a very weathly friend that has biz sparks card 200k limit and the other card for his spend is 75k limit Venture and that's all he uses.  I have begged to use him for Amex, Ink referrals and he won't bite.

So for those who think they most of their market is builders and beginners, think again.

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It’s actually not possible with an ABS model for them to only target builders and rebuilders because they need the more credit worthy to balance out the risk in their portfolios. ABS portfolios have a managed risk vs reward for investors. They wouldn’t be able to sell it if it was all extremely risky subprime. 

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Umm, Credit One, first progress, primor, indigo, merrick and fingerhut.  I sure they could sell to someone in a NY minute.

[Anonymous]

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@redpat wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@redpat wrote:

They are just as good as the others.  

Some luv'em and some hate'em.

I have a very weathly friend that has biz sparks card 200k limit and the other card for his spend is 75k limit Venture and that's all he uses.  I have begged to use him for Amex, Ink referrals and he won't bite.

So for those who think they most of their market is builders and beginners, think again.

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It’s actually not possible with an ABS model for them to only target builders and rebuilders because they need the more credit worthy to balance out the risk in their portfolios. ABS portfolios have a managed risk vs reward for investors. They wouldn’t be able to sell it if it was all extremely risky subprime. 

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Umm, Credit One, first progress, primor, indigo, merrick and fingerhut.  I sure they could sell to someone if a NY minute.

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Go look up Capital One asset-backed securities and you’ll see what I’m talking about. The ABS model is why people find themselves bucketed with Capital One. In fact the top tier bucket, you can’t even get put in until you have had your card for 5 years. 

[redpat]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@redpat wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@redpat wrote:

They are just as good as the others.  

Some luv'em and some hate'em.

I have a very weathly friend that has biz sparks card 200k limit and the other card for his spend is 75k limit Venture and that's all he uses.  I have begged to use him for Amex, Ink referrals and he won't bite.

So for those who think they most of their market is builders and beginners, think again.

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It’s actually not possible with an ABS model for them to only target builders and rebuilders because they need the more credit worthy to balance out the risk in their portfolios. ABS portfolios have a managed risk vs reward for investors. They wouldn’t be able to sell it if it was all extremely risky subprime. 

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Umm, Credit One, first progress, primor, indigo, merrick and fingerhut.  I sure they could sell to someone if a NY minute.

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Go look up Capital One asset-backed securities and you’ll see what I’m talking about. The ABS model is why people find themselves bucketed with Capital One. In fact the top tier bucket, you can’t even get put in until you have had your card for 5 years. 

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Credit one and the others are the same, bucketed just has to do with risk nothing more.  If you have a bucketed card you can still apply for another one, many have escaped before five years as seen on these forums.

[M_Smart007]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@iced wrote:

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@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
With the upcoming transition of my Wally cards to Cap One, making them my first ever C1 cards, being off today and bored, got me wondering this. Its only fair guys and you knew it was coming😄

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You may have finally made a thread I'm interested in...

I've always correlated an issuer's need to run lots of advertising with that issuer making up for an otherwise bland product. And let's be honest - aside from co-branded cards shamelessly shoved in your face at airports and hotels, the only issuers who really run a lot of advertising are Discover, Capitol One, and Credit One. And all three are basic cash-back offerings. Is this a clue as to who their target audience is?

I do see the occasional Chase/American Express ad, but it's usually only at the launch of a new card (a la Tina Fey's shamless plugs of American Express a few years back) and then they quickly fade out, leaving the three aforementioned banks to regail me unsuccessfully with their sad trombone products.

So that leaves me to also wonder...if Capitol One's cards are already great, why do they need to advertise...and advertise...and advertise...and hire celebrities to advertise...and ads at bus stops and billboards and ballparks and ... no wonder the Venture has an AF! They have to cover their massive advertising budget!

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I mean I personally see more adds for NFCU and CEFCU than I do for Capital One but I don’t see anything wrong with them advertising their product. Their target audience is not and never has been those of us who collect cards on myFICO. The fact they actually seem to be stricter than 5/24 these days definitely shows they don’t like our games. Also Capital One is somewhat unique in that credit cards are their main business. Capital One was a spin off of Signet Financial Group’s credit card division and for years, all they did was credit cards. For the major banks, credit cards are a side hustle really. 

I do see quite a few ads for Amex as well. Amex likes to advertise online a lot more than Capital One does. 

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The ONLY ads I see on TV are Capitol One ...(sorry just had to use the "O" as in "O"CD)

[iced]

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@redpat wrote:

They are just as good as the others.  

Some luv'em and some hate'em.

I have a very weathly friend that has biz sparks card 200k limit and the other card for his spend is 75k limit Venture and that's all he uses.  I have begged to use him for Amex, Ink referrals and he won't bite.

So for those who think they most of their market is builders and beginners, think again.

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Wealth and risk are not dependencies on one another, and they don't even correlate all that often. There are high income people who are high risk, low income people who are low risk, and every other combination in-between. They can largely target moderate risk (aka builders and beginners) and still have high-income customers, both long-term and rebuilders.

Your friend may well have originally fallen into one of those buckets, built up and out of it, and simply remained a loyal Capital One customer. Maybe he fell for their advertising jedi mind tricks. Maybe he just doesn't want to be your referral pawn. In any case, his case doesn't preclude Capital One from largely targeting people who fall into one of those buckets, to which even I concede most data points to them doing.