I had have been browsing around here for a couple of weeks and have read a lot of bad things about Capital One. I have a Capital One credit card that has a $48 annual fee and I have had it for about 7 months. I also have a First Premier card that has annual fee of $50 and a montly fee of $6 and I have had it for about 15 months. I would like to cancel the First Premier because of the fees and I want only one card. My question is, would I be better off keeping the First Premier card and doing away with the Capital One, as I know that CO only reports to one credit bureau and doesn't even report correctly.. i.e. they put amount owed in high credit limit and do not report actual credit limit at all. Or would it be best to keep First Premier as they report correctly to all three bureaus monthly? My FICO is 576, so not many choices for another card.
Well Capitol one has been great to me, and reports to all three bureaus. Perhaps you might want to call them about that ? However they do not report the credit limit which does suck but I'll agree to it. When I had NO Credit 18 months ago they issued me a visa with a $200 limit, after they received my $49 Deposit. Today its a gold visa , 15.9% apr $2200 limit. Its not near being prime but I am very thankful for it. Without that first card I wouldn't have been able to obtain the 8 cards I have. Their customer service has always been top notch for me and I've been given generous line increases, the last one being of $1200. Im not sure if this helps you much but I just wanted to share my view of Capitol One.
I think they're great. I had a charge-off with them back in 1998 (my own fault) but they still agreed to open another account with me in 2000, $500 limit with $99 down at 19% with a $29 annual. Today the account is at $3500, no annual fee, 9.9%, and my deposit was returned to me with interest. I call them every six months for a credit line increase and they've always granted it. Hopefully by June (the next time I can ask for an increase), they'll bump me to $5000 and then I want to go platinum. Slowly, but steady. I think they're great.
They were the first credit card I got when I was 18 and have been great. I hit a bad spot where I couldn't pay my credit cards. I didn't pay for two months. Providian dropped me right away, the other card I cancelled once I paid it off and cap 1 has been excellent. They did report my late pay but I just disputed it and it was taken off. They also increased my limit without a problem and thankfully I've had a steady job for over a year and have been paying all my bills on time. My score is now up to 731.
I too have had great service from Capital One. I applied for my first CapOne card when I had severe credit issues. They gave the typical $200 limit, but since it has been raised quite a bit. They also deleted a 30 day late out of goodwill. Remember, though, that your average age of accounts is also a factor in your scoring. By getting rid of the other card you would shorten the average length. You may be better off keeping the card you've had the longest. gilmores
Well, it is nice to hear positive feedback about Capital One. Seems like I only read negative. I do have a girlfriend that started out with Capital One and they were very good about giving credit limit increases, and offered her other cards after a year or so. She was very happy with them and so far I have not had any problems, except that I always get a CSR that barely speaks or understands English
There are two major problems with Crapital One... they don't report credit limits to the CRA's and thus messing with your FICO score and the freakin annual fee. Other than that, good service and no BS. They are the best sub-prime lender out there IMO.
First Premer is SO much worse... if your going to cancel a card, this one should be the first to go. I've had both... believe me. Cap1 has been good to me, even with several prime cards now, my Cap1 still has the highest limit and one of the lowest rates. I agree that the lack of reporting CLs is a problem, but one that can be managed if you are willing to carry a maxed out balance for a full reporting cycle. Also, applying can hit your scores since they do check all 3 in most cases. Otherwise, they are A-OK in my book.
www.planetfeedback.com (CAPITAL ONE) Ask for the annual fee to be REMOVED. They may counter offer 1/2 off. If they say no...YOU CAN DECIDE FROM THERE.
Anyone know how I could apply for this card? I am looking for about a $200.00 limit to start off. I went to their web site and it just says Platinum, ect nothing about a small card
They'll give you the $200/low limit/toy card if you don't qualify for the platinum one (assuming you qualify for ANY card, of course)
I forgot about the CL increases. So far my card has been open 14 months and I only have gotten a measly $200. And to top it off, the first CL increase landed me a hard on each of my credit reports!
As far as credit limit increases go, I spoke with a CSR that said that my card was only allowed 1 activity every six months. That activity could be a credit limit increase, a decrease in interest rate or decrease in annual fee- but only once every six months. They gave me a $100 increase after only 4 months (I was trying for decrease in APR or annual fee), so that was good. So if I keep this card, I will try again in a couple of months. Maybe you should call and request an increase.
OH ! I forgot to mention that they have pulled my CR several times since I got the card. I think 3 times. Once was when I got the increase. So that must be standard procedure. I have heard that CC companies do that a lot so they can bump up your interest rate if you have been late with other creditors. So they were probably trying to get me. But the joke was on them, because I refuse to pay anything late since I am now reformed and realize how important a good credit score is and how expensive a bad one can be.
They pulled a hard inquiry the first time I asked for 'activity'...ever since, every six months I get an increase (about $1500 lately) and then they only do a soft account review...hope this helps!
They have been very good to me, no complaints. I got a preapproved plat MC invitation in Nov 2002 from them thinking it was prob for a $200 limit or so as it said min limit $200 up to $5K. Well, they surprised me and gave me the FULL $5K limit and the APR is 9.9% Fixed for purchases and cash. I still have a BK 13 on file for 6 more months and one negative acct that is included in the 13 as well. The only downside is that the card has a $39 annual fee but I called "R" and got it refunded. So, no complaints from me RE Cap One. I think Dogman has had a similar good experience with them as well!
