# Capital One. You suck. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 30, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580 "2005-06-30T19:31:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/41 "2005-07-30T17:39:23Z")
> [@PittChemist](#): > > I carry a Citibank Diamond Rewards card which has some pretty decent rewards, but more importantly you can make online payments directly from your bank account up to 4 times in a given billing cycle. If I wanted to I could transfer money from my bank account to my Amex or Mastercard whenever my little heart desired (assuming, of course, my little heart desired to often enough to keep them happy). Are you saying Citibank doesn’t accept money from you if you give it to them a 5th time in one month? ---
**Author:** ![randomlyblanks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@randomlyblanks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randomlyblanks)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/42 "2005-07-30T20:42:27Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > If I wanted to I could transfer money from my bank account to my Amex or Mastercard whenever my little heart desired (assuming, of course, my little heart desired to often enough to keep them happy). Are you saying Citibank doesn’t accept money from you if you give it to them a 5th time in one month? Yep, I have no clue why, but 4 times a month is more than enough for me. Just pointing out some options. ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/43 "2005-07-30T20:55:22Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > Interesting Update. > > Now, I’m not sure if that high limit will carry over all the time or if I have to make big purchases and return 'em. > > Still, a big hearty fuck you to Capital One. Your new high limit will always reflect that now. What you’ve done is the only way to get past Cap1’s bullshit. Use it temporarily up to your maximum and pay it off. In the unlikely event that they give you a credit increase, you have to do it again to make sure that they report your maximum. Boogers! ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/44 "2005-07-30T23:26:05Z")
> [@Steve MB](#): > > Every postage paid envelope I get from Capitol One goes straight back, with as much crap as I can shove into it within the limits inferred from the Master’s commentary on the subject. Actually, that may not help cut down on your junk mail. [Cite](http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/telemarket.asp) > [@Snopes.com](#): > > Returning junk mail to direct mailers on their dime (by stuffing it back into their postage-paid return envelopes) may cost them some money and provide you with a bit of personal satisfaction, but it won’t cut down on the amount of junk mail you receive. In fact, it may actually increase your junk mail load, since the primary metric used to gauge the effectiveness of many direct mail campaigns is the number of responses received (even if those responses are negative). ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/45 "2005-07-31T00:32:35Z")
Thank you SDMB for saving me from ever falling into Capital One’s clutches. A thread a while back alerted me to their evil ways and I’ve steered clear. When the waterfall of offers come pouring out of my mail box, I shread with smug satisfaction. > [@PittChemist](#): > > I carry a Citibank Diamond Rewards card which has some pretty decent rewards, but more importantly you can make online payments directly from your bank account up to 4 times in a given billing cycle My card allows me to give them money as many times as I’d like per cycle, and it even has an automatic minimum payment feature so that I’m never late I’ve never encountered this feature so I hope I’m not praising something that’s SOP everywhere). I like this card, though I’m looking into another that a money magazine suggested. Nothing flashy, just a very fair rate. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/46 "2005-07-31T01:45:27Z")
Guess what’s in my wallet? Not Capitol One any more, that’s for damn sure. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/47 "2005-07-31T01:49:36Z")
I read the same _Consumer Reports_ article as **DrDeth** , and something I haven’t seen mentioned in this thread yet is that getting your free credit report does _not_ give you your FICO score (and a report without a score isn’t very useful). That is a separate request, and IIRC there may be a fee involved. _Consumer Reports_ also mentioned that the “easy” links for the free reports are sometimes anything but: you have to go jump through various hoops to get to your report. They recommended a site/service called [MyFICO.com](http://www.myfico.com/), and I’m here to second their recommendation. I was considering ditching my AmEx and replacing it with a VISA card, but before doing so I wanted to look at my credit reports. Virginia won’t offer free reports until September, but I didn’t want to wait that long (in hopes of ditching AmEx before the annual fee payment in October) so just yesterday I went to MyFICO and ordered my reports – _plus_ my FICO scores. I ordered the package that provides all three reports, and the cost was less than $15/report. It’s a great service: the reports were provided immediately, and everything was very clear and easy to understand. My score varied by 20 points from the highest to lowest (with the highest being from Experian, **stpauler** … I hope you checked the other reporting agencies, too!), but I’m hovering right around slightly-better-than-average. It’s what I expected, but it was nice to see it confirmed. 😉 My reports will be available online for just over a month. I also second the conventional wisdom about looking at all three of the major agencies’ reports, and not just to see the different score assigned by each: it was very interesting to see what accounts/inquiries showed up on which report, and what some agencies considered “negative” things (like the high balance-to-limit ratio mentioned in the OP) that other agencies didn’t mention at all. The MyFICO service has some neat features, too: for example, you can pick from a few “what if” scenarios and see how your FICO score would be affected (what if I get a new credit card, what if I skip a payment, etc.). I almost started a MPSMIS thread about this yesterday, but didn’t want to sound like a MyFICO shill. Seems appropriate for this thread, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/48 "2005-07-31T05:57:01Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > I suggest closing CapitolOne ASAP and getting an American Express Blue card instead. My Blue Cash card has a $7500 limit, no annual fee, and doesn’t need to be paid off every month. I’ll look into it, but I’m always leary of closing credit cards. I decided to run up my CapOne car to 2/3 its limit (to $2000), wait a month, pay off the debt (since I have 6 months 0% financing), and now the agencies should see $2000 as my CapOne credit limit, which is fine by me, as it represents about 1/4 of my available credit, and I have no balances on any of the other cards. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/49 "2005-07-31T19:12:44Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ll look into it, but I’m always leary of closing credit cards. Normally that’s a good idea but it probably doesn’t apply here because CapitolOne doesn’t report credit limits. Maybe you could get the AmEx card, transfer your CapOne balance, then close that card. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/50 "2005-08-01T01:30:20Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Normally that’s a good idea but it probably doesn’t apply here because CapitolOne doesn’t report credit limits. Maybe you could get the AmEx card, transfer your CapOne balance, then close that card. Yeah, but they report high balance, which is used in lieu of credit limit right. So if I rack up my high balance to $1800, then pay it off, $1800 will be reported as my de facto credit limit until I carry a higher balance, n’est-ce pas? ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/51 "2005-08-01T03:33:07Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, but they report high balance, which is used in lieu of credit limit right. So if I rack up my high balance to $1800, then pay it off, $1800 will be reported as my de facto credit limit until I carry a higher balance, n’est-ce pas? Sorry for jumping in, but won’t your limit only show as $1800 for that one month? Then you’re back to square one the following month, unless you plan to repeatedly charge $1800 and pay it off a month later. And even if you do, if a potential creditor pings your report on a date when your balance equals the limit (or is close to it), your score will be negatively affected. Or have I missed something? ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/52 "2005-08-01T03:49:31Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Or have I missed something? My original post obviously. ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/53 "2005-08-01T03:54:06Z")
All three of my credit reports drawn last month report my high limit, although the actual balance is zero and has been for many months. As I mentioned, once you use your available credit and pay it off, they do report the high balance, forever I assume. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/54 "2005-08-01T04:56:15Z")
> [@bare](#): > > My original post obviously. Yep, you’re right. My bad. > [@](#): > > All three of my credit reports drawn last month report my high limit, although the actual balance is zero and has been for many months. As I mentioned, once you use your available credit and pay it off, they do report the high balance, forever I assume. I think I temporarily confused AmEx with Capital One; I knew we were talking about one, but I was thinking about the other. If so, that’s probably why I forgot about your original post (because it doesn’t work that way with regular green AmEx cards). ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/55 "2005-08-01T16:35:38Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, but they report high balance, which is used in lieu of credit limit right. So if I rack up my high balance to $1800, then pay it off, $1800 will be reported as my de facto credit limit until I carry a higher balance, n’est-ce pas? Yeah, which is why financial experts say transfer the balance to another card and close the non-reporting one ASAP. I’ve just learned that American Express reports limits for their Optima and Blue cards but not the Green, Gold, or Platinum. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoneyKingofNowhere)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/56 "2005-08-01T16:41:07Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > I love my CitiBank card. No annual fee. Low percentage rate. Cashb I’ll second this – I’ve never had an issue w/ my CitiCard – great rewards (I seem to be able to cash out between $50-$70 several times a year), can pay online up to 4 times per cycle, only receive “offers” maybe once a month, and like their “virtual account number” program for making on-line or one-time purchases is nice. Not sure what my interest rate is tho (but I’ve never not paid the full balance, so . . .). ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580/57 "2005-08-01T16:42:58Z")
> [@Snopes.com](#): > > Returning junk mail to direct mailers on their dime (by stuffing it back into their postage-paid return envelopes) may cost them some money and provide you with a bit of personal satisfaction, but it won’t cut down on the amount of junk mail you receive. In fact, it may actually increase your junk mail load, since the primary metric used to gauge the effectiveness of many direct mail campaigns is the number of responses received (even if those responses are negative). How about if you make sure the response is anonymous (including tearing a bit out of the “Customer Tracking Number/Barcode” some of them have)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-one-you-suck/310580.md?page=2)