Hi Everyone. If you'll indulge me, I need to vent! That confounded CapitalOne bank! Currently, I have two accounts with them, a classic and an alleged gold. My gold is pretty new and only has a $500 limit. I've had it since last September. My classic, on the other hand, is well established. It dates back to 96 and currently has a lame $1,500 limit. There are no derogs on the account. As some of you may remember, I recently was successful in asking CitiBank to combine my silver and gold AA cards. I canceled the silver, combined the two credit limits lowered my interest rate, and kept the gold. Keep in mind that I've only had these two cards since October. So, this morning, I got the bright idea to call Cap One and make a similar arrangement. "not possible," the customer service rep told me, "Your gold account must be at least six months old." What an attitude! Why wouldn't this crazy company combine these two accounts? My quasi gold account only has a limit of $500 and the current balance is zero. The annual fee has already been paid, so they would still be ahead financially. Yes, CapitalOne is great at extending credit to those of us who have had problems. But the interest rates are outrageous and credit increases are extremely slow in forthcoming. My credit reports are looking better. There are no derogs for the past two years and I'm making pretty good progress rebuilding. When I can tell CapitalOne good bye, I'll be happy! For now, however, I have to stay with them because they are the issuer of my oldest card.
RE: CAPITALONE -- AAARRRGGGHHH Hi Donna. I had similiar problems with capital one. They told me I had to wait 6 months to combine my cards also. I got my latest capital one in Sept00. I decided to close it when i pay off the rest of the balance. I only have $95 to go next month. And then I am closing that one and just keeping my oldest account. For you though,good history since '96 is a long time. I am surprised they didnot just upgrade you to gold, instead of making you get a whole new account. Also with Citibank, I thought you got a upgrade to platinum, or did you just combine and stay at gold. No annual fees with the platinum cards. roni
RE: CAPITALONE -- AAARRRGGGHHH I'll tell you what I've told Mike G. Call them and ask to speak directly with Retention. Worst case scenario is that you end up with the APR reduced to 12.9% - prime rate. Saar
RE: CAPITALONE -- AAARRRGGGHHH At first Retention will offer 13.9% APR. Decline it, and they'll take it to 12.9% This is as low as it gets for non-Platinum cards with Cap 1. Saar
RE: CAPITALONE -- AAARRRGGGHHH Roni, No, I didn't get the CitiBank Platinum. Instead, I canceled my silver, combined that credit limit with the gold, got a lower interest rate and will only have to pay one annual fee. Like you, I hope Experian reports CitiBank's credit limits. My gold is at $18,000 now and that would look pretty good. And, yeah, CapitalOne is pretty unaccommodating. They need to take customer relations lessons from CitiBank. The Gold I accepted from CapitalOne was one of those pre-approved deals. In retrospect, I shouldn't have taken it. Really, I'm not looking to have a lot of credit cards. What I want is two or three decent ones. I haven't tried Chase yet. Maybe that should be my next move.
RE: CAPITALONE -- AAARRRGGGHHH definitely Chase. I got one from them. I would apply for the gold card with chase.They are not as hard as some think. Not as easy as citibank right now. But they are trying to get into the subprime market as well. Dont forget that you can upgrade that gold to platinum. roni
RE: CAPITALONE -- AAARRRGGGHHH Thanks, Saar, for the excellent advice. Unfortunately, I missed your original post on this subject but I have nothing to lose by trying. First thing in the morning I'll give Cap One another call. Donna
RE: CAPITALONE -- AAARRRGGGHHH 12.9 sounds mighty good to me! 13.9 is the deal I ended up getting from Citibank. Thanks. Donna
RE: CAPITALONE -- AAARRRGGGHHH Roni, A Chase card is pretty enticing. Is the online application as easy to fill out as You know, I just received word from J C Penney that they are going to delete my late pays. Maybe I'll wait til the positive status is listed on my credit reports and then apply to Chase. If I'm going to do it, I might as well wait until I have my best shot. Thanks. DonnaCitiBank's?
Donna citibank reporting You should look back through the older threads, Citibank rep stated why they are not reporting limits. Experian is the only one that doesn't right now, but from what I read I am afraid Eq and TU may follow Mom
RE: Donna citibank reporting Thanks, Mom, for the inffo. I appreciate the tip and will try to sift through and find the thread. Donna
RE: CAPITALONE -- AAARRRGGGHHH I would wait. When I applied to chase I had no negatives since 2/99. I applied in 8/00. Chase is not as generous as citibank . They will not upgrade until after 6 months history. But at least they will upgrade unlike capital one or providian. Also, my limit was lower- $2K. But I still like Chase. The card I have has a 3.99% apr introductory for 6 months. Other cards have 2.99 intro, but I was afraid to apply to those. roni
RE: CAPITALONE -- AAARRRGGGHHH Thanks, Roni. I don't need the credit so I'll wait. The letter from Penneys came about a week ago. I'm so happy they're going to upgrade my account to an R1 status. That should really help my score. Any idea how long it will take for my credit reports to reflect the change? Thanks. Donna
RE: CAPITALONE -- AAARRRGGGHHH 2 weeks max for the change. About 3 months for the change to reflect in a change in scores. At least that is what I think. roni
RE: CAPITALONE -- AAARRRGGGHHH Great! I'm pleased to hear that the account upgrade will only take two weeks. I was afraid it would be longer. I appreciate the info. Thanks. Donna
RE: Late pays? hehehe Will, It wasn't easy! And getting my mission accomplished took forever. Since my account was already paid, there was nothing to negotiate. (Actually, my task would have been easier if there had been.) Just write letters and give some good reason for each late pay. Remember: The deed isn't done yet. I haven't seen my credit reports showing that the derogatory marks are gone. When that happens, I'll truly have reason to celebrate. Good luck and I hope you're successful. Donna
RE: Late pays? Will, Regardless of which way you decide to go, good luck. My report still needs work. I have a two-year-old paid charge off that I can't seem to get off. Unfortunately, at the time I paid it, I didn't know anything about negotiating. Consequently, I don't have any bargaining power. If I ever have sparkling credit again....and I sure intento to....I'll guard it with my life!
