Capital One

[mjs020294]

I have no idea what interest rate our cards our because we pay in full every month.

[GhostRider]

Capital One is a lower tier credit card, offered to customers who cannot qualify for bank cards.  They'll approve just about anybody who can fog a mirror.  That's why their rates suck.  If you have the means, open a bank card (a card backed by a real bank like US Bank or Chase) then roll over the balance and close the acct.  If you don't have the means, well then, take what you deserve.

I paid off and cut up all of our credit cards over 4 years ago, and have never looked back.  If we can't buy it outright, we simply can't afford it.

[cyberdude557]

Forget American Express. They are actually PAYING people right now to close accounts.

Discover isnt too bad but you have to have perfect credit to get approved.

[pewtersurf]

Yep, AMEX raised my rate to 29% and lowered my credit amount from $10,000 to $500.  Insane!

 I don't use it anymore as I use my GTE CC now and that rate has stayed the same for over 10 years.

[mjs020294]

We have had and used AMEX for about a decade.  Two cards, $18,000 credit limit on each but we only used one.  We charge about $40-45k a year but pay it off every month and I have never failed to clear the card each month.

Had an automated call saying one card was canceled and the other one has had the credit limit lowered to $4k.  That is on the low side for us but they will not consider a credit line request for twelve months.  Funny thing is I tried to lower our credit limit to $10k on both cards last year and they refused.

[SnookAU]

If you have a credit card and don't use it for an extended period of time, that account will more than likely be closed.

[MrFreakinMiyagi]

Chase did that with mine. So I paid it off and cut it up. But kept the account open. Dont close it if you do the same, it hurts your credit.

Chase and Citi both raised my APR to >20% out of the blue.

Called them both. Citi wouldn't help me, but Chase actually brought it down to a lower rate than I had before. Go figure.

[cyberdude557]

We have had and used AMEX for about a decade. Two cards, $18,000 credit limit on each but we only used one. We charge about $40-45k a year but pay it off every month and I have never failed to clear the card each month.

Had an automated call saying one card was canceled and the other one has had the credit limit lowered to $4k. That is on the low side for us but they will not consider a credit line request for twelve months. Funny thing is I tried to lower our credit limit to $10k on both cards last year and they refused.

That's the problem... sometimes doing the right thing actually hurts your credit.

Credit score is a funky formula. It does not judge how well you manage your finances, it judges how well you manage your debts. And the way it is set up is that if you have no debts, that alone damages your score. A person who is carrying $25k of credit card debt, who pays his bills on time every month, is going to have a higher credit score than someone who pays off their credit cards in full every month.

Think of your credit score as a price tag for banks to buy you. Someone who carries debt but manages it well will make a lot of money for the bank on interest. Therefore, banks will be more interested in that applicant than someone who doesnt carry any debt, therefore makes no money for the bank since interest never accrues.

It's all f-ed up bigtime...I know. But it is what it is... When banks look at loan applicants, they consider two thing: 1. Will the bank be able to get their money back? and 2. Will the bank make any money?

[mjs020294]

Our credit scores are around 800.  Card companies are reducing credit lines because they are close to folding like the rest of teh banking sector.

A good credit system should evaluate two things:  ability to pay; and risk.  If servicing debt is over a certain percentage of income passes a certain level you become a bigger risk.  If you have no real assets the ability to recover any debts is greatly reduced.

The US system sucks. 

[SnookAU]

Credit score is a funky formula. It does not judge how well you manage your finances, it judges how well you manage your debts. And the way it is set up is that if you have no debts, that alone damages your score. A person who is carrying $25k of credit card debt, who pays his bills on time every month, is going to have a higher credit score than someone who pays off their credit cards in full every month.

Your credit score is howwell you manage your debt POTENTIAL.

If that person's CC limit is $30k, then carrying $25k in CC debt really hurts their score.  If their limit is $100k in CC, they're good.

That's why I also request a credit line increase whenever I can.  I used to have credit card debt and found as I increased my limits, I upped my credit score.  And now that I owe nothing other than a mortgage, all my credit scores are between 790-810. 

But if I closed all (or most) of my credit card accounts, that number would fall.

[BucsBullsBolts]

Capital One is a lower tier credit card, offered to customers who cannot qualify for bank cards.  They'll approve just about anybody who can fog a mirror.  That's why their rates suck.  If you have the means, open a bank card (a card backed by a real bank like US Bank or Chase) then roll over the balance and close the acct.  If you don't have the means, well then, take what you deserve.

I've got Capital One and aren't crazy about them but their rewards set up is the best I've found ... I do pay off every month so the interest rate isn't a factor, though.

[GhostRider]

Capital One is a lower tier credit card, offered to customers who cannot qualify for bank cards.  They'll approve just about anybody who can fog a mirror.  That's why their rates suck.  If you have the means, open a bank card (a card backed by a real bank like US Bank or Chase) then roll over the balance and close the acct.  If you don't have the means, well then, take what you deserve.

I've got Capital One and aren't crazy about them but their rewards set up is the best I've found ... I do pay off every month so the interest rate isn't a factor, though.

Wanna hear something crazy? Those rewards that you get are paid for by the merchant.  Whenever you swipe a rewards card the person that takes it pays almost double the rate to process it...

[SnookAU]

Capital One is a lower tier credit card, offered to customers who cannot qualify for bank cards.  They'll approve just about anybody who can fog a mirror.  That's why their rates suck.  If you have the means, open a bank card (a card backed by a real bank like US Bank or Chase) then roll over the balance and close the acct.  If you don't have the means, well then, take what you deserve.

I've got Capital One and aren't crazy about them but their rewards set up is the best I've found ... I do pay off every month so the interest rate isn't a factor, though.

Wanna hear something crazy? Those rewards that you get are paid for by the merchant.  Whenever you swipe a rewards card the person that takes it pays almost double the rate to process it...

That's the cost of doing business...

[GhostRider]

Capital One is a lower tier credit card, offered to customers who cannot qualify for bank cards. They'll approve just about anybody who can fog a mirror. That's why their rates suck. If you have the means, open a bank card (a card backed by a real bank like US Bank or Chase) then roll over the balance and close the acct. If you don't have the means, well then, take what you deserve.

I've got Capital One and aren't crazy about them but their rewards set up is the best I've found ... I do pay off every month so the interest rate isn't a factor, though.

Wanna hear something crazy? Those rewards that you get are paid for by the merchant. Whenever you swipe a rewards card the person that takes it pays almost double the rate to process it...

That's the cost of doing business...

Not really.  It's a total screw job by the credit card companies, IMO.  They attact customers by offering "rewards" but to offset it, they stick it to the person that accepts the card.  And there is no way to tell a rewards card from a regular card until the statment comes in. 

[LFO]

Capital One is a lower tier credit card, offered to customers who cannot qualify for bank cards. They'll approve just about anybody who can fog a mirror. That's why their rates suck. If you have the means, open a bank card (a card backed by a real bank like US Bank or Chase) then roll over the balance and close the acct. If you don't have the means, well then, take what you deserve.

I've got Capital One and aren't crazy about them but their rewards set up is the best I've found ... I do pay off every month so the interest rate isn't a factor, though.

Wanna hear something crazy? Those rewards that you get are paid for by the merchant. Whenever you swipe a rewards card the person that takes it pays almost double the rate to process it...

That's the cost of doing business...

Not really.  It's a total screw job by the credit card companies, IMO.  They attact customers by offering "rewards" but to offset it, they stick it to the person that accepts the card.  And there is no way to tell a rewards card from a regular card until the statment comes in. 

I don't know, my rewards cards pretty much clearly state that on them.