hi all iam a newbie to the forums here and i need a little help. I got a pre-approved offer in the mail from capital one for a platinum mastercard with 0% apr until feb 03 with a credit line upto $7500. I have been unemployed for quite some time now and could really use that $7500. The offer also says that there is no income verification but in the fine print it says that they will check the employment history. My qestion is, will i be decclined if i apply since i currently don't have a job or will they give me some "toy" card with a low credit limit? And if i do indeed get the "toy" card, how do i go about increasing my credit limit? Are there any other gotchas/catches with this kind of offer? Appreciate your thoughts/suggestions on this. PS: My e-loan score was 721 in nov 2001 (don't know if this is decent or not).
You have a good score so you should be approved for a card. Regarding the employment situation, you can always list the total household income and you could also say that you're a student (sounds better than unemployed). I'm not sure about the limits because I've heard of people getting toy cards even with good income and scores. You can raise the limit every 6 months either through customer service or by contacting Mr. Cooke.
I don't I have ever read on this board that Cap 1 does an employment verification. The key word is up to 7.5k cl. With your score being over 700, imho your cl should be more than 200.00 Just a word of friendly advice, credit cards are not the best way to pay for daily expenses if you are unemployed. If payments are not kept up or what not, the price down the line can affect your entire life. Best of luck Mirage
PLEASE, PLEASE Don't use credit cards to pay for daily living expenses. I learned the hard way at 24 and I'm still paying for those mistakes (now 29). BTW, I received the offer saying something about employment history too. My offer has been shredded. No more credit cards for me! I want a home! Good luck to you!
It depends on the PERSON...I use credit cards for EVERYTHING I CAN...BUT I pay MOST of it off within 30 days after billing...but I still see NO logic in paying off a 0.00% account monthly or even a 3.99% account...
Well, the poster is saying that they are unemployed right now and that they could use a credit card. They could be out of work indefinately. By the time they go back to work they could have a huge balance. I have have know many financially disciplined people that say they use credit cards for everything and pay them off at the end of the month. Unfortunately when I was younger I looked at it as free money. Plus I thought I must be able to afford it or the creditors would not keep offering me the credit. Yeah...I know..stupid. Oh well..we live and learn!
Thank you everyone that replied and thanks cfand3boyz for your concern. After much thought i went ahead and applied for this card. I understand that it is a bad idea to use a credit card for daily expenses but i am hoping i will get a job soon and will keep up with the payments.
An update to this. Just as i feared would happen, Cap1 approved me with a "toy" card with only a $500 CL. wtf? $500 will not help me much. What should i do to get them to raise the limit? Or, should i just cancel the card? Thanks for your help.
ABSOLUTELY George...I get a 30 day float on groceries...30 day float on gas...then I get the airline miles or cash back from the purchases...how many grocery stores give you AA miles for cash. My Boss does this for every expense he has, and took 3 trips to Spain last year on the freebies. If I pay on time I get no interest charge (although every other month I leave a bit of a balance for good points). Now I get 3 months at 0% on purchases...I will take that too. Just depends on the situation...CF, I agree with you, if you can not afford to use it and pay for it, then it is a bad move for building yourself into a debt box. But if you can use it, it is a great tool. -Peace, Dave
Keep paying on time and leaving balances now and then...with good history Cap1 rewards you with limit increases. BUT ONLY THROUGH PFB. Their CS reps are paid to be a bit stingy on the increases. I have had my Cap1 card for about a year and have gone from $300 to $2800. Granted it is smaller than my lowest Citi card, but they will reward you with CL increases for a good history if you keep it up. -Peace, Dave
PFB. You get nowhere with their customer service reps. Their CS reps are only allowed to give you limit increases based on length of time. Their executive office will reward you for good history and for "effectively" using your card. Just pay on time and leave a balance now and then. Pay more than the minimum if possible. When I leave a balance I pay 2-3x minimum...then next month pay it off. -Peace, Dave
They must base part of the decision on the credit report... the ARs they do... because PFB helped, but no big money... Ill see what they do next round...
Yes I am sure they do. I have no more derogs, all errors were removed from my report. And that happened right after I got my Cap1 card...I am sure that lead to a speedier increase. -Peace, Dave
thanks for the replies. I understand that with good history, cap 1 will increase the CL over time. But like i said in my first post, iam unemployed and my intent in applying for this card was to take advantage of the 0% apr until i landed a job. That is why i want a decent CL now!! - not after 1 year. I just checked my TU score and it is 722. I have a decent mix of credit cards all with reasonably high limits. No derogs except for a @#!%ing $185 medical bill. And I've never been late in my payments. Does all this count for nothing??
Unemployment vs Credit Cards Several posters in this thread have advised against using your credit card to cover daily living expenses. What they don't offer is how you're supposed to keep gas in the car, clothes on your back, food on your table, and the electricity turned on. If you're living the same lifestyle as you were when you were employed, BAD NEWS. If you've cut expenses left and right and are taking advantage of $.99 deals at McD's, that's much better. No Nikes, no sushi, no new 3D accelerators for your computer. I have personally lived off of my cards three different times and I don't regret it for a minute. I did what needed to be done, got another job, and paid them off. You tend to get good CL increases to boot. And most of all, if you have your own health insurance, do NOT let it lapse and FOR GOD SAKES do NOT get [anyone] pregnant. Health problems and/or having a new mouth to feed while being unemployed will send you into subprime hell in a big hurry. RM
