My husband received two $300 cards from Cap One after our BK. One is just over a year old and the other is about 8 mos. old. Never late, always in good standing. They say they review their accnt's from time to time and increase them. But his has never been done. I applied for one a month ago and got the same lousy limit - but they did say after 3 mos. of good pay they would increase to $500 (WOW - how generous of them.) What's the problem? Is there a secret, does anyone have any insight? Thanks. These limits are ridiculous. Thanks! Missig
Cap One has really slowed down their increases. It used to be that you could call and ask for an increase every 6 months and you were usually given "something" as long as you did not go over your limit or make a late payment during that six month period. The new policy is that accounts are "automatically" reviewed once a year if those same two conditions have been met (no lates, no over limits). I understand your frustration with the new policy, however, do rememeber that you are pretty fresh out of BK (I am not saying that is bad, I have been in your shoes myself). If you think about it, Cap One has been pretty gracious giving you three accounts so soon after BK- most creditors would not have given you one. (again, I am not putting you down- I have been there. I am just trying to help you understand both sides). Your best bet is to write a nice letter to Cap One through Planet Feedback. Explain your situation, the reason for your BK, and your faithful re-payment history with Cap One. You should get a reply by email within the next few days with an 800 number to call. Call the number and politely explain your situation. They will most likely help you out. Good luck! Don't get frustrated, it will continue to get better. I am 6 yrs post BK and very happy with my credit situation. It was hard in the beginning, but it only gets better as long as you learn from your mistakes and take very good care of your finances.
Take Cap One for what it's worth: a place to start rebuilding credit. After about six months of good payment and low balance, try for Orchard or Patelco. Why are you in such a hurry to get high limits so fresh out of BK? Rebuilding credit takes time. Like the other poster noted, nicely I may add, you showed you couldn't repay your debts (BK) so no one is going to turn around and hand you $20,000 CL. Don't worry. One year will pass rather quickly. Then two....and the next thing you know you'll have a higher score with a few credit cards and you'll be well on your way. Whatever you do, DO NOT ask Cap 1 for a CL because they will do a Hard Pull on all three reporting agencies only to either Deny you a limit increase or give you $100.00 Max. I'm 3 years post BK with a 697 PG Fako score (I'm waiting to pay down more of my debt before pulling myfico scores) and since my BK I've bought a house, I have 3 Cap 1 cards ($2250, $300, $300), an Orchard Card ($750), Patelco ($2500) card, Exxon ($100), QT Gas ($300), Dillards ($1000), Jareds ($3500), Zales ($1050) and Target Guest ($200) card. The only balances I have on these is $2000 on one Capitol One card, $1500 on Patelco and $1000 on Jareds. The others are all $0 balances. I've received approval offers from Citi in the mail but I've decided I'm done applying for a long time since I have enough credit for any emergency. Good luck.
I seemed to notice that the one C1 increase that I did get appears to have been based on a change to my EX report. My EX report got a negative trade line nuked (down to 2 negs), the newer of my C1 cards billing cycle came up then, I got a $100 bump to $300; an unknown negative popped up on EX before the other C1 card (which I had about 3 months before the other one), and no CLI for that account.
No Cap one does not increase. They give you a teaser limit then sit around hoping you will go over the limit by a dollar or more so they hit you with a 29 dollar fee. Then they raise your interest rate. Just pay it off and put it in your sock drawer. Soon you will have a real credit card.
Capital One is not "that bad". A lot of people are quick to give them a bad rap here, but Cap One was the first to give me (and a lot of others) credit when no one else would. It's easy to say bad things about lenders like cap one when you have great credit, but when you are just starting out- or restarting after bk- Cap One doesn't seem so bad. There are a lot of posters (and lurkers) on this board who may have Cap One as one of their "better" cards- how do you think they feel when you make fun of them? Is my Cap One my favorite card? No, but it is still one of my open accounts. They are good people and they have never treated me badly. I had three accounts with them at one time when it was hard to get credit with other banks. I have actually done consulting work at Cap One in Fredricksburg, VA. I met some of the people in the "Special Handling" department (i.e. Mr. Cooke) that are mentioned here from time to time. They are truly good people whose ONLY job is to try and help people out when they call with special requests. I think we can all agree that many "prime" cards don't even offer this option. And as far as having $29.00 fees for going over your limit- the last time I looked my prime cards (Amex, etc) charged the same fee. Don't go over your limits and that should not be a problem.
