Thread: Capital One Credit Limit Increase Secrets

Just the information for college students who have capital one MC.

I am a college student, and have a capital one MC.

They increased my CL by $250 on the first 3 months and didn't increased at all. Its been a year now, I called them and asked that if I requested a CLI will it be a hard or soft pull,.. she said soft, so I requested it right then, and after like 40/50 seconds, she said I was declined for CLI.

So, I decided to pay off the card in full and not use it anymore. (Its been one month now, haven't used the card at all),
.. they somehow increased my CL by $1000...

I thought I'd share my experience with Cap. One which has been a really weird one. When I first moved to the US about 5 years ago, I was a student with no credit history and Cap. One gave me a card for $500 and after 3 months, bumped it up to $750 with $39 AF. For two years, there was no CLI, so I called and got denied. I closed that card.

About a year ago, they sent me a pre-qualified offer for the VentureOne Rewards (the one that has no AF and 1.25 points) card with 0% APR for 12 months and I got approved for a $3000 CL. I'm still a student at this point. I've been using the card very heavily since I got it, and with the 0% APR, I've carried balances because I used the card for very big purchases e.g. plane tickets, furniture. I've always paid more than the minimum amount though.

A week ago, I called up to get a CLI since I am going to travel in a few months. I explained that I wanted to be able to take advantage of the 0% foreign transaction fee and that I don't care if the increase is temporary or otherwise. I got DENIED by three people (as I expected). The reason was that I was carrying a balance on the card. Two days ago, I paid everything off and wanted to close the card. I know it's dumb but I was thinking about the point of having a card where it doesn't grow with you. I have other cards that have more than 5k CL on it and really didn't to have a Cap. One card.

Here's the kicker: I logged into my account this morning to use the online form to request an account closure and they've increased my credit limit to $5000. So I guess I may just have been lucky or they are pretty much loosening their lending policies even though they seem to be confused as to whether or not they should increase your credit limit in the first place.

I've just read an article about using the backdoor double-trouble strategy to increase credit limit. And I was wondering if anyone had any luck recently to increase their credit limit by opening another Capital One credit card and transferring the new credit limit to the old card? Is it possible to transfer rewards too? How does that work?

It's my first credit card but only has $750 limit and no rewards or anything but I don't want to close it because it's the oldest card. I've asked them about an increase but they did not have any offers for me. My credit score is very good so I'm sure I would get a much better limit with a new card but I do not want to have too many cards.

Thanks in advance!

Originally Posted by poniabaum

I've just read an article about using the backdoor double-trouble strategy to increase credit limit. And I was wondering if anyone had any luck recently to increase their credit limit by opening another Capital One credit card and transferring the new credit limit to the old card? Ism it possible to transfer rewards too? How does that work?

It's my first credit card but only has $750 limit and no rewards or anything but I don't want to close it because it's the oldest card. I've asked them about an increase but they did not have any offers for me. My credit score is very good so I'm sure I would get a much better limit with a new card but I do not want to have too many cards.

Thanks in advance!

I tried this a year ago and they said they don't combine CL's. From what I can deduce from the readings I have done, the way to get a CLI is to stop using the card or get another card with a higher limit. I stopped using the card last year at one point and I called and asked for a credit limit increase, I was told no. They said that I had to use it every month, even for small purchases. I then did that and called and they said they only do periodic reviews. In December I used the card for 3 times my credit limit and called the next month and no CLI. I used the card for a a few more months and kept calling. Nothing. Now I am going back to not using the card! I read a few people who said that if you don't use it for a few months and then ask they will increase it. So when the annual fee is due I will call them and see if they will again waive the fee. If they do that I will keep the card open and not use it. I will also afterwards ask for a credit limit increase. After that I will ask that it be a rewards card. I call them at least once or twice a month and ask for that currently. For now I will just use my other cards and only keep their card open for the history.

They always suggest that I apply for another card. This is a hard inquiry and that I don't want. I want to qualify for a good card and a house loan, so I want few inquiries in the next 2 years. I currently have many inquiries from opening accounts to build my score. By the end of the year I will have no negative items on my report except not paying my student loan, not currently in default but was refinanced in 2010 after default. This will be the 2 year mark for that and no other negatives in that time period. This should greatly increase my score.

In September I got a gas card with a limit of $150, it is now $500. Thank you Marathon! Others should consider opening a card with them if they are this good at CLI's. Don't use the full limit, kept your Debt to Available credit limit lower than 20% for best results to your score. Use the card once a month or so and they will be happy. (I actually don't use the card, my sister does. She is a student so I let her charge $50 a month on it. I can't actually use it, I don't live in the US. I can use Visa and MC for online purchases and purchases overseas and my department store card to give gifts.)

I have a capital one too, and I haven't used it in 6-8 months. Like you, I have a $750 CL, and I think the rewards are 1.25% with no annual fee. I recently asked them if they would up my CL because in the last 6 months I had received an Amex Gold PR and a Barclaycard financing with a 1,300 CL and a Citi card with a 1,500 CL, and the lady on the phone was polite but told me I was declined, so I told her that I'd be researching new cards and intended to close the card, so I applied for an AMex Blue Cash Preferred and was approved for a 2,000 CL. It's frustrating because it's by far the smallest CL, and they won't upgrade the CL or the card to a venture card... oh well.

I called Cap1 the other day just to test the waters of a CLI. I barely use the card ($500 CL and like 24% apr) so I figured why not. They told me it had been almost 7 months since my last increase, but then they got into the "unfortunately not available now" I told her I never used the card due to the poor credit line and if somehow it got increased I would be more inclined to use it. She said they do periodic reviews after a year and ironically I just hit my year then it quickly changed to "oh june and december we review". I know Cap1 doesn't increase credit lines which is why the card just sits in my wallet collecting dust.

The only time I have ever heard of anyone getting a CLI with Capital One is when they call 800-707-0489 and speak directly with a customer service manager or 877-513-9959 for retention. Mind you, if your credit has gone down and not up since obtaining the card OR you have less than stellar payment history you may as well just not call.

not trying to be negative but from the advice and stories of everyone on the forum, capitol 1 is a company to stay away from when using credit. I feel like capitol 1 is the lowest of the low and there are many options that are far better for you, even with little to zero credit established.