Hi I've been sitting on two Cap 1 unsecured offers, one Platinum Visa, one Platinum MC, both 14.9% fixed APR, 0% thru Sept, $59 annual fee. I read both good things and bad things about this card. Since the offers haven't expired yet I haven't responded to either. Yesterday, a friend was having lunch with me and saw the Cap 1 offers on my kitchen table. She and husband have a joint acct with Cap 1 (not a "No hassle card" so I think it's Cap 1's subprime offer). She advised me not to get this card because besides the annual fee Cap 1 charges a $5 month fee even if you don't have a balance. I thought "WTF... it doesn't say anything about charging a fee in their acct info that I received with my Cap 1 offers". Sure enough, probably because I hadn't responded to the offers yet, a Cap 1 representative called me this morning and said, blah,blah ,blah (extolling the virtues of their card) said that once the yearly fee of $59 was paid there would be a $5/month maintenance fee. I said no thanks to her. After I got off the phone I reread all the info that came with the offers and no where does it state that there will be a maintenance fee. Is this a recent change - or will it be buried in the ultra fine print I will receive if I "bite" and receive a card because the info I received says under item 9 of the "offer Conditions" that "Full details with be mailed to you upon approval"? Certainly lessens the value of a 14.9% fixed APR. I have a new Providian card with a $2000 CL and an old BOA "Prime Card" that I still can use with a $3700 CL. I'm about to apply for a Household Bank Master Card. What I don't know at the moment whether the credit rebuilding aspects of having a Cap 1 card (even though Cap 1 doesn't report high CL) outweighs the cost of the card/maintenance fee and would really like more input. Thanks in advance.
I had a cap1 with a 14.9 and a $6 monthly charge. I called then and asked them to waive the fee and they said they charge a fee because they "offer other services like additional cards." I canceled the card. The only way I can see paying the fee is if you have no other CC and need to establish a credit history. If you do get the card they only report the highest credit usage.
Some cards have ANNUAL FEES...some don't...I HAVE NONE THAT CHARGE ANNUAL FEES EXCEPT THE AIRLINE CARDS.
I had a Cap 1 MC and VISA. I paid the $6 every month on each card and used them for awhile. My limit was $300 and they never increased it. I asked once about 12 months in they said no. I should've asked every 6 months. My main purpose was to build some positive tradlines while I was disputing some identity theft stuff, and some of my own baddies. After a little over two years I cancelled the cards. If you don't mind paying the $6 and want the positive TL's, it's worth it. If you can afford to get a $200-300 secured card, you'll end up paying less in terms of fees.... but I don't know if lenders like or care seeing the "secured" on your CR or not??? I wasn't sure at the time and wanted to have an unsecured card so I went with Cap 1. From having a ton of identity theft stuff on my CR, including some legitimate derogs of my own, my FICO went from low 500's to 640-660 now. I think when I get my credit utilization lower (80% now) I can truly get it 680+. I'm hoping to get a mortgage later this year! So Cap 1 was a means to an end for me.
Thanks for the input; I've decided to pass - for now at least. I just can't believe Cap 1 says nothing in the literature that comes with their offers. At this time, I don't need positive trade-lines that desperately because I have a long credit history with an average of 15 positives and five negatives and of course, the mother of all baddies a C7 bk filed in late August 2002. Three of five baddies don't say included in bk and two do. That's why I can't get many offers with $0 fee, George. My Providian card is the only new offer I've received with no fees. My "prime" BOA card still carries an APR of 9.9% - with no annual fee. I don't know how long that rate will last though, possibly until BOA pulls the next A/R, then BOA might bump me up to their default APR of 22.9% for seven or eight months. I've always used my CC's sparingly. I am going to apply for the Household Bank card with a $35 annual fee today and a possibly a Target Guest Card and a small personal loan in the next couple of weeks.
That's strange. I have Cap1 and my annual fee is $39 with no monthly fee. In fact I have no interest because I pay my balance off every month leaving me with 0% interest fees. Ok I realize this does not make me a valuable customer because they can't make any interest off me but I do plan to leave a small balance next month so they can have a "nibble."
I got a Cap 1 card about 9 months after filing C13. It has a zero percent rate through late summer, and 14.9 afterwards, $59 annual fee, no monthly fees. If there's nothing in the information you received about a fee, there shouldn't be one. You can call up about those cards without necessarily taking them. I grilled them for 10 minutes before I took this one.
that's strange... i have a cap1 plat with NO annual fee and NO monthly fee.... i don't get it... maybe they are going off of the credit reports when they make diff offers?????
This *may* be their policy for newer accounts because when the Cap 1 rep called me yesterday she definitely stated that there would be a $5 "maintenance fee" and a $59 annual fee. I have received two mail offers - one "platinum" visa and one platinum mc. Both offers included the $59 annual fee but didn't say a word about the maintenance fee. Some people have renegotiated their annual fee to half or less when their card(s) come up for renewal but that's it. And apparently Cap 1 discontinued their semi-secured ($99 for a $500 CL) card a couple of months ago. That's the offer I was more interested in. I don't need/want a high limit CL at this stage of my credit rebuilding, just some new tradelines. But $5/month on top of $59 annual fee is just not worth it YET (subject to later reconsideration) because I have so many positive tradelines already. If I need more new positive tradelines I think I'd prefer an American Pacific Bank Secured card (I have an application).
Well let me correct myself to say I have the semi-secured card with $500 cl and $99 down. I did not know they discontinued it. This is the card most people really need to rebuild their credit. I guess Cap1 is not interested in "helping" to rebuild credit after all. :\
Sorry - I was doing other things for a few moments and didn't the rest of your fine replies. reddevil: since my first offer doesn't expire until 4/8 (the mc offer - I have two Visas, the Providian and the BOA), I may apply online at the last minute and see what it says about any maintenance fees charged. Atiyana: You may be correct about what it say's on your credit reports. I saw soft inquiries on all three of credit reports thru 2001 and into mid 2002. I guess this was for their "Prime No-Hassle" card because I only started to fall behind when I was positive that I would have to declare bk and so didn't pay any credit debt for three months prior as my lawyer advised. That was very painful because I ALWAYS paid my bills - it was the joint debt I shared with my ex, including a leased car repo that forced my hand. SoParkDiva: Yes, it's a shame that Cap 1 discontinued their semi-secured card because that's the one I wanted for credit rebuilding. Thanks for the replies folks.
