CapitalOne - from Clark Howard's Show

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Registered: 03-26-2003
CapitalOne - from Clark Howard's Show
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Sat, 01-15-2005 - 11:55am

I heard something so interesting this week in the car while listeing to Clark Howard that I thought I would pass it along here.

All my best,
Danni

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-18-2004
Sat, 01-15-2005 - 2:40pm

Thanks for posting about this. I have seen the Capital One commercials and received offers for their cc. But, I would say those only apply as long as your score doesn't drop and that's how they make such great offers. They end up getting more in the long run because people don't realize they do this.

Kellie

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 01-15-2005 - 4:15pm
Wow
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-14-2003
Sat, 01-15-2005 - 5:35pm

I just pulled my and my husband's credit reports, and sure enough, that is how Capital One reports it. What a pain. Capital One is our oldest credit account, so I planned on keeping it open just to have some longevity. Now, when I pay it off, I may go ahead and close it out. Ugh.

Windy

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Sat, 01-15-2005 - 9:29pm


I get lots of Capital One credit offers in the mail. Sometimes two or three in one day! I recently signed up for one of those "opt-out" thingies for direct mailings, and this company is the reason why. We have had incidences where mail has been stolen in our neighborhood, and I don't want one of these many Capital One mailings to end up in the wrong hands....costing me my credit.

Pat

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-21-2004
Sat, 01-15-2005 - 10:17pm
Wow, thanks for the heads up. My dh has a capitol one and so do I even though mine is not activated and I haven't quite decided if I want to keep it. Although it wouldn't affect dh at the time, since his is basically maxed out lol it is good for future reference. Will definitley remember to look for that next time we check our credit reports.
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Sun, 01-16-2005 - 8:55am

That's not the case on my reports. I just pulled all three at the end of December and all three show my high balance (meaning the highest balance you've ever had in the past). I think creditors can pick between high balance or limit, and Chase and MBNA also report high balance. The line item on the credit report actually says "Credit Limit (High Balance)" I had two Capital One cards, one I just closed and the other is open. One had a $350 limit and the most I ever charged was $337, so my report says high balance $337, current balance $0. The other one has a $500 limit, and my report says high balance $495, current balance $0.

I haven't used either card for over a year and 1/2 and the lower balance one charged me an annual fee because I didn't use it, which is why I closed it. I had called recently and the lowest interest rate they would give me on either card was 14.9% so I had no intention of using either one. Then I just got a notice in the mail that they lowered the interest rate on the open card to 2.99%. So maybe I'll use that one for gas or something and pay it off each month, just to reward them for lowering the rate. Chase wouldn't lower my rate below 11.99% (just put the down payment on my car on it, but it will be paid in a couple months) and MBNA is a joke at 22.99% (it's at $0).




Edited 1/16/2005 9:00 am ET ET by firstamendment

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Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 01-16-2005 - 11:13am
Firstamendment - High Balance and Available Credit or Credit Limit

All my best,
Danni

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Sun, 01-16-2005 - 11:28am
Yes, I realize they are two different numbers. My point was just that they do report high balance, they don't only report current balance... and they are doing the same case thing as Chase and MBNA, it's not just them. In my case it doesn't make much of a different, my high balance is very close to my limit.

Photobucket

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-14-2003
Sun, 01-16-2005 - 11:41am

I agree with Danni. If your high balance is close to your credit limit, then it may not be much of a difference to you. But since my credit limit is much higher than my highest balance, I want it to look like I don't max out my credit. This is very much a factor when you are applying for other forms of credit. On my credit report, my MBNA card shows my credit limit, my highest balance and current balance.

Thanks for pointing this out,Danni.

Windy

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-21-2004
Sun, 01-16-2005 - 12:55pm
BTW I told my dh about this and he is totally freaking. He's like "should we get rid of it?" blah, blah, blah. I said not right now. I told him if they are doing it it really isn't hurting his credit at least at the moment since it is almost maxed out. What is hurting is credit is all the credit he has that is almost maxed out. But that should start being rectified here in about a month. Yay! lol. I told him, before he gets deployed this year, we will check his credit report again, and if that is what Capitol One is doing to him, then we will get rid of it. I told him to calm down. Plus he hasn't had the cc for very long, 7 months, and I have other fish to fry at the moment. Besides, if all goes well, here in like 2 months, there won't be any balance on it at all.

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