Hi all,could anyone tell me why some people think Capital one is the best credit card to carry?I got their pre-approved offer almost every week;min credit line $300,19.99% and $79 annual fee.I have other platinum cards with high credit line and my Experian score is 716,did I miss something here?
No, I don't think you missed anything. Some people have had good luck with them. They lost my confidence two or three times over.
Ok, I'll take a stab at this... Seems like an interesting question to me... One point of clarification, though: I think there are quite a few people who believe that Capital One may be the best credit card company out there -- although perhaps not necessarily the best credit card. Here are a few of my best guesses why: 1) Capital One seems to have managed their subprime membership really well. Their largest competitor in this market, Providian, is bleeding money (their stock is a fraction of what it was). Capital One, on the other hand is fiscally healthy and hasn't taken undue risks with their riskier customers. 2) Even so, Capital One has demonstrated a willingness to listen to their customers and to work with them as their credit improves. The company even established a department whose mission is to act as advocates for members with escalated complaints. (In the 70s, they would have called that the "Escalated Complaint Department," but I like to think of it as the "Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease Department.") There are probably a hundred messages on this board (no, I haven't counted them for a change, lol) which are practically Valentines to the chief consumer advocate, Mr. Miller, and even a few for their newer hire, Mr. Cook. 3) Capital One has smartly entered the prime market with a terrific idea -- "No Hassles" is their trademark for the card and its chief feature is automatic NO TELEMARKETING CALLS. The rest of us are forced to opt out, but they're serious about it. If you tell Capital One you never want to get another telemarketing call from them or their partners, you won't. Just think, you'll never have to listen to some sleazoid greeting you with, "Hello Mr. Lindsay, I'm calling on behalf of Capital One..." 4) If you use the card responsibly, Capital One will grant credit line increases and lower your APR over time. Sure, there are some customers who will recount their horror story of denial (and every credit card company alive will indeed screw some of the people some of the time), but more often than not Capital One is responsive. In any case, they seem more willing to work with LOC and APR than most of their competitors (take Providian, for example, or better yet don't). 5) Even in the lowest sub-basement of subprime, Capital One seems to be fair. You won't find those ridiculous sign-on fees imposed by Cross Country (gag!) and others of their ilk. Plus, Capital One errs on the side of generosity with respect to lines of credit with their secured card customers. 6) If you're trying to repair your credit, and Capital One is one of your trouble spots, there's a good chance that someone in their Office of the Consumer Advocate will work with you to explore options. Some CreditNet members have posted that they'll exchange a negative tradeline deletion for full payment and then reinstate an account to boot! Others haven't been so lucky, so it depends just how badly Capital One was royally screwed the first time around, lol. In any event, just try to bargain away a tradeline with, say, First Card, har har har. 7) They sometimes demonstrate a rare quality among credit card companies -- they seem to care for their customers. Let me give you a personal example. I was one of the (morons | suckers | greedmongers) who lost money when Cyberrebate went bankrupt. Cyberrebate was a company that claimed to give 100% rebates for merchandise but turned out to be little more than an elaborate Ponzi scheme. Capital One refunded my $80, while quite a few other credit card companies (notably American Express with their "world class customer service" -- what a joke in this situation) denied their own customers similar claims. Ok, that's the best I can do. I think a good case can be made that Capital One is a very good company, and I'm not surprised that some people would say that it's the best. Doc P.S. Our respected CreditNet member breeze could probably write a compelling rebuttal. I think there are two sides to every story, and this is certainly no exception.
I'll never say they're the best, I and others had some not so good experiences with them, but it mainly seems to be 1998 and before. Somewhere between 1998 and 2001 they must have learned to better help sub primers and not be Providian or CCB or FCNB clones. But because they seem very receptive now, I decided to let them issue me three cards (1 secured). Right now I think Citibank is the best Steph
I see it this way. This board is frequented by people with credit at all levels. People that are just starting with building credit or have bad credit and are starting to rebuild are the ones that will say that cap1 is the best. Because quite frankly they are good for their situation. But once you start moving up on the credit ladder you will have more options available to you and cap1 will drop down on your list.
excellent card for subprime, i recommend it above all others, in fact. my gold card sucks, it has 12.9% APR!! crazy. Anyways. Eventually they will get tired of me or vice versa. I certainly will ask for "no-hassles" sooner or later.
I agree with everything that's been said, LOL. Actually, my beef with Cap One is: They will not for any reason report your limit. That's enough right there. I have a Cap One Visa with $2,200 limit. They're stingy with increases, and won't lower my rate. There's no good reason - my ratios are lower than when I got the card. A few months after I got the Visa, they offered me a MC with "up to $1,000" limit. It was $200. I called as soon as I saw it and told the rep I didn't want it. The rep told me that I was actually approved for a $2,000 limit, but it would be another card, and I had to keep the $200 card. He told me to cal this 800 number and give them this invitation number (long number). I did. I got a person who actually took an application. It began to dawn on me what was going on, but I was too far into it, and thought maybe I was going to get a card. A few days later I got a letter telling me they couldn't issue me another card because I had just gotten one, that I had to wait 90 days or whatever. I was ticked. I will never trust their reps about anything again. So, I kept the $200 card (by that time it had become a major hassle to me, and I have enough of those). I kept the card charged up and in use, figuring I could get it to another level by using it. At the 6 months mark, no increase. I called, and the rep said, no you can't get an increase on this card. I had just gotten an increase on the other card. I waited the next 6 months- one year, right? No increase. I called, they said, no not on this card. I said "can you see my other account?" - they could. I said "Why do I get increases on that one and not on this one?" they couldn't answer me. (There were also some insane reasons given all along, that would crack you up - like I didn't use it enough - I used it all the time, I just paid it off before I called to cancel.) I hung up, thought about it, called back and said, "Cancel the card." They sent me to R, and the R guy asked why I was cancelling. when I told him, he said "There's nothing I can do with this card." So I said that was fine, close it, and that I was going to pay the other one off and cancel it too. Then he looked at my other card, gave me another increase on it!!!! He said they value my business blah blah blah. Yeah right. I am due for an increase on it this month. We'll see whether I keep it or not.
Aha Breeze, I have the same POS CrapOne Gold MC!! I had to write to Mr. Miller for a limit increase ($300) after 6 months. After a year of perfect payment history, C.S. tells me that increases are automatic on that card, and there is nothing they can do for me. My plans are to combine the Gold with my regular c@rd and put the one Cap One card aside for awhile.
They were my second card ever. They helped me get the good credit I have now. If you call in and they won't lower your apr/increase your credit line, a letter to PFB should do it. I got my APR down first from 19.8 Fixed to 14.77% Libor rate to 12.9 fixed. I also got one credit line from $500 to $1000 and the other credit line from $200 to $950. Overall, they have treated me very well and worked quickly to sort out any kinks I've run into.
Working with a score of 580 they were my first card (Nov. 99) on the way back. I actually received a low interest 9.9% card with a $300 unsecured line. Thanks to planet feedback two letters and three calls I now have a $2,000 credit line in less than two years. The first increase was May of this year. Before I messed up in 1998 my favorite companies to deal with were Citibank and Amex. I am now probably blacklisted from both companies forever. I would agree with all the feedback as being very accurate. Ironically my K-mart card which is now 6 months old carries a $4 membership fee and a $200 line. Recent purchases were locked in at a low interest rate. I am still waiting for improvements, two phone calls and promises of change in near future. They know that I will cancel. My father who has a very similar situation to George and has never been treated well by Cap One or MBNA but Citi-bank loves him. Mileage does vary greatly with Cap One. My only other cards Providian get smart (Sept 2001 $1,000) and Orchard Bank (Sept 2001 $500). I am also a co-purchaser on a 1999 vehicle, from a credit union, which is not showing up on reports. I may wait till the balance due is lower.
Re: Capital One is the best Certainly for rebuilding. They are fair and they work with you. I used to call them all the time and ask for changes on my cards just to see what they would do... got something probably 1/3-4 calls. So, I started with a 300 card, 39 annual fee (which was very reasonable considering my credit report) 21.9 interest rate. I was able to work on the terms and get them down when the line increases were denied (which was often). Still, this card is now 9.9 purch, 15.9 cash adv 3K limit. 2 years after getting the card. I have a perfect pay history... and I still get those piddling 300 increases... but then I simply escalate to a supervisor. I've always gotten at least 500 from a supervisor, or 700, or lately, 1k. Yes, 1k from a supervisor without having to bug the Exec dept. I have noticed if I use the card and make 2 large payments before my review date I tend to be able to get much larger increases from the supervisor. Oh, and I have 2 other cards. I Plat 9.9 card 5K... and another 3K gold with the same terms as the first. I have been careful to use my cards heavily.... all of them, but now when I want to send large payments to my other creditors I send 1K to Cap1... and balance transfer the other cards to 0. I am a profitable customer. I do run Cap1 balances. I pay in the mid cycle so there's no chance of late pays... I will eventually use the Exec dept to combine my cards and that way I'll have a Plat Visa and a Plat Mc... Or maybe I'll just work the 2 gold cards to Plat cards... just the fact that I can work them from classic to gold to Plat is so amazingly fair. Oh, my 3rd card had that monthly fee thing. I took it because I knew I could negotiate. I got it rebated I think every month for the first 6.. maybe I paid it once... but then they just dropped it because they were tired of me calling in and getting it refunded anyway. Besides, they were making some interest off of me and so they could drop the fee. So even with higher fees in the beginning... they'll level off to a fair card in a year or 2. You just have to negotiate with them and not just take what's offered you... just like life.
PsychDoc gave a good summary of why Capital One has kept my business. In short, they worked hard to keep my business and have improved my account terms tremendously. Although I do have a beef with them re the non-reporting of credit limits, I fixed that for myself with a large computer purchase and some PayDirect tricks. The one that stood out for me was the first apr reduction to 17.9%. Cap One actually sent me a nice letter confirming the reduction; that allayed my fears that their CS was of the type to say one thing and do another. They also removed a falsely reported 30 day late from my credit reports within two days of my asking and sent me nice written confirmation of that. Cap One does not play tricks with its customers. What they say is on the up and up. I started sub-prime in March 1999, three months after I opened my Providian account. Here's what Cap One did for me: 3/99 $200 limit 19.8% apr (classic card) 7/00 $500 limit 19.8% apr (upgrade to gold card for $39 fee) 9/00 $500 limit 17.9% apr 2/01 $800 limit 17.9% apr 3/01 $3100 limit 12.9% apr (permanent waiver of annual fee) 5/01 $4100 limit 12.9% apr 9/01 $4100 limit 9.9% apr 10/01 $5100 limit 9.9% apr (upgrade to platinum card - no fee) In contrast, my Providian account is stuck at $3000 limit, 16.9% apr, waived annual fee on a yearly basis, and NO grace period for purchases.
I opened a partially secured card in 11/99. $99 deposit $200 limit I think it's a $49 annual fee my APR varies but is always 18.XX% each month. I called 11/00 and they gave me $100 increase = $300 I wrote PFB last month regarding limit only and Mr. Cooke increased to $600 This account has/is always in good standing and I use it all the time. I can get better terms than this by now, can't I? Any suggestions...... Bob P.S I have a K-mart Capital One also opened in 11/00 $200 about the same terms. I received an automatic $100 on a statement beginning of this year and Mr. Cooke increased that account to $600 same time as other one.
Hi Donna, I'll break it into two parts, which I think are equally important... My habits: I paid my bill on time, every time. I stayed under-limit (barely, at first, b/c I wanted to demonstrate to them that I needed a larger limit to carry a larger balance). I paid my bill online, so that my payments were made two days after the new billing cycle began (the ACH transaction cleared my bank before the paper statement even reached my mailbox). And I paid 2-4 times the minimum due. I ALWAYS carried a balance. Never paid it off. This way Cap One knew that I was a "safe" customer who could be trusted with higher limits and who scored highly on their internal "profitability scoring system" b/c of the constant revolving. My negotiations: The gold upgrade and $500 limit came in the mail and I paid $39 for it. With regular CS: from 19.8 to 17.9. I told a supervisor that Cap One had credited my account for a fee twice by mistake (this is true) and that they should reassess one of the credited fees. I said that I valued my account with Cap One and would deal honestly with them. So, by the way, could they do something to my account to make me continue revolving a balance? Voila, 17.9% for being honest with the supervisor. The $800 limit was due to a free increase by retention. The increase to $3100 and apr drop to 12.9% was due to a letter written to the Exec. Office re not reporting limits. I got a call from the Con. Advocate, we had a long conversation about this issue, and he said that while he could not report my credit limit (of $800), was there anything else he could do for my account? I asked him for $3100 and 12.9%. I probably could have gotten platinum then, but was simply too scared to do it. The increase to $4100 was due to Providian being unclear to me on a car rental coverage issue two days before my vacation. I called the Exec. Office, explained my situation and asked for an increase to cover my car rental for my vacation. I told the Con. Advocate that I would close the Providian account and use Cap One instead. (This is true. Though I'll close the Providian account in January, Cap One can see in its ARs of my reports that I haven't used that card since May.) The apr reduction to 9.9% was due to someone on this board posting that he had just gotten a reduction to 10.9% from 12.9%. So I took a chance, called, and spoke with another Con. Advocate, who gave me the 9.9% since I "routinely carry a balance", even though he knew my profitability score was low since I paid the card off 3 months earlier. The increase to $5100 was due to me taking a chance again - not really expecting it - and no reason to get it other than pure vanity at having gotten a Platinum card from Cap One. I told the Con. Adovcate all this (I simply wanted a Platinum card from Cap One in my wallet) and he put me on hold for several minutes, granted the increase and did the conversion. All in all, though I have two other cards with better limits and terms - this Cap One card is the one I'm most proud of and the one I'm most happy to carry a balance on.
Marci, Thanks for the great post, lots of good ideas!! I got my card in 4/01 $500 limit 19.? APR.In the first 2-3 I charged it up to close to limit, min due was $15 I always paid $75-$100 charged some gas next month then paid $75-$100 again and brought it down to about $350. I got a late charge in August for a payment that was 1 day late. I always paid online about 2-3 days before due date and never had a problem with it posting on time. I called CS to find out what the problem was. They rep was nice but didn't know to much and basically said sorry but can't do anything for ya. Then I found this board ) I wrote to them on PlanetFeed Back and received a call from con. adv. the same day! He immediately told me the payment was late because my due date fell on Sunday and I made my payment on Friday & it did not post until the next business day. He appoligized for the troubles credited me back the $29, deleted my account history (so the late would not affect me from future offers increases etc.) and asked what else he could do for me......hhmm......he increased my limit $300 to total $800. I was affraid to ask for anything else seeing as my account was so new. Sorry for the rambling...there really was a point for my post.......LOL. Oh yah - did you run into any problems calling and getting better terms so frequently, did you just call con adv or just write to them? and.... Pay attention if you pay online to the day your due date falls on.
Marci- GREAT job on the Capital One!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's funny how much I am still 'learning' after my BK. I have somehow got into the habit of paying online as soon as I cahrge something, never letting my balances get anywhere. I think this has kept my increases fairly low. I am learning from this board, especially with posts like yours, that I hsould be taking advantage of my credit, just not abusing it. I am thinking about gettin a balance together and then maybe moving it around a little from card to card. This would let all the cards get a tast of a balance, yet I really would not be racking up debt. Thanks!!!!!!!! Shawn
