@NRB525 wrote:
... for many people, their volume of spend gets a decent return on a Quicksilver, which is only slightly improved by other reward structures from their other cards.
True. Which is one reason why I have been slow to get a 2% or better card. It is a marginal bonus from my 1.5% options and they all have their quirks such as minimum redemptions, new banking accounts, fees, etc.
QS is simple and hard to beat when it comes to cashback. No games, no delays. Flat 1.5% on everything and available to redeem for statement credit for any amount as soon as the charges clear. Capital One has been easy to work with on fraud prevention and other issues.
Most every lender has their ups and downs. Cap One is no exception.
Pro's:
- All cards are no FTF
- Willing to give 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th chances as seen here on MF
- Easy to use web and app interface.
- Once you get in and prove yourself, they generally give great SL's
- Fairly honest pre-qual page.
- While Venture may never beat UR and MR in value, Cap One is evolving Venture further towards being a true travel card.
- Very liberal definition of "entertainment" on the Savor card.
- Generally bullet proof when it counts, regarding cards being declined when you're out of your normal geographic footprint.
- SP CLI's happen and can be requested (but typically are far from generous).
- Not easily spooked by high utilization. Heavy use tends to yield CLI rewards (when you're not in a bucket.)
- Easy peasey to dispute fraudulent use.
Con's
- Bucketed cards are a thing, and it sucks not being able to make that decade old Quicksilver grow to something useful.
- HAL 9000 controls everything. Don't expect customer service to tell you anything different from what the screen in front of you says.
- 3 hard pulls for one card. Cap One loves to mark their territory on your CR's.
- Branches are few and far between where you can talk to someone face to face and even then, they have to make a call to HAL 9000.
- PPMC > QS. As long as you never have to deal with a human at Synch.
- Once an AF, always an AF... Never start out with the QS1. Go Platinum and upgrade to QS when you get the chance.
- Business cards report to consumer CRA's, essentially taking away one of the main points of a business card.
- Product changes are restrictive and moving CL's around seems to be a thing of the past.
While Cap One may be full of quirks and hangups when you first start your relationship with them, they do tend to open the door for just about anyone. Once you graduate into Savor or Venture territory, they're a pretty solid lender that will give you a card that can be depended on when you need it.
