Introduction
Capital One is a huge credit card company, with millions of customers and over $200 billion in assets. So why should you not get one of their cards? Here are five reasons:
Capital One boosts rewards after purchase.
Capital One boosts rewards after purchase. This is one of the main reasons people are drawn to Capital One cards, but it isn’t all that it seems. For example, most Capital One purchases come with a 1% cash back reward. However, if you sign up for their Quicksilver Cash Rewards card and make 20 purchases in one month (and pay off your balance each month), you can earn 2%, which translates into $40 extra cash back on $1,000 worth of spending! Sounds great so far, right? Not really—if you spend more than $1,000 per month on credit cards in general, then paying an annual fee is likely going to make this card harder for you to justify than other options out there. It’s always better to pay less overall rather than more upfront; otherwise it just becomes another thing weighing down your wallet!
Capital One boosts rewards after purchase: The Verdict
Your credit limit is based on your annual income.
If you have a Capital One card, your credit limit is based on your annual income. That means you can’t just apply for the card and get approved for a $5,000 line of credit. Your credit limit is calculated using a complicated formula that takes into account things like your annual income, debt-to-income ratio and other factors.
The good news is that if you don’t want to sit around waiting for them to approve or deny your application (and then wait some more if they do it again), there’s an easy way to find out what kind of limits Capital One will give you: Check out their website’s eligibility calculator! You’ll enter in some basic info about yourself (like how much money you make) and the calculator will spit out how much they think they’ll approve for each type of loan (mortgage/auto/student loans). It also tells you whether or not their underwriting process considers factors like race and gender when deciding who gets approved for what amounts of capital at what interest rates.
Capital One also has an online chat feature where someone can walk through all kinds of questions related specifically to getting approved based on income—which could be useful if this whole “income” thing is confusing or intimidating at all!
It’s hard to cancel your card.
You can’t cancel your card online. You can’t cancel your card by email. You have to call and cancel the card yourself, which is the opposite of what you want from a financial institution that you asked for help within the first place.
It’s not just canceling the card itself—it’s also asking for one more thing: a refund of all your monthly fees, which Capital One has charged you even though it knows you don’t want the service anymore!
You have to pay an annual fee.
The first thing you should know about Capital One is that they charge annual fees. The second thing you should know is that those annual fees can range from $0 to $199. The third, fourth, and fifth things are that these annual fees are charged regardless of whether or not you use the card in any given year, and that the only way to opt-out of paying an annual fee is by canceling your account with Capital One entirely.
For example: You have a credit card with Capital One whose annual fee is $49 ($0 for students). You decide not to use it for six months and then decide one day in March that you want a new pair of shoes but don’t have enough money saved up to buy them (lame!). Well, if this happens while your account still has an active balance on it—and even if there’s no balance whatsoever because all purchases were made with cash—you’ll still be charged an additional $50 just because some person somewhere decided “Oh yeah let’s charge people who don’t use our product money.” This can add up quickly if there are multiple accounts involved!
You can’t choose which other people on your account have access to the card.
You can’t choose which other people on your account have access to the card, which is a huge bummer. The only way to add someone is by adding them as authorized user. This means they can use the card, but they can’t make charges on it. If you do this, you will have to pay their bills and make sure they don’t go into debt with your money—and if they’re irresponsible, that could mean paying late fees and high-interest rates for years until their credit improves enough for them not to max out at every store and restaurant in town.
It’s also worth noting that Capital One doesn’t seem very good at telling people what exactly an authorized user is:
- “You’re responsible for charges made by anyone who uses this account.”
- “The person who opens a new account will be named as the primary account holder.”
Capital One cards are not worth the hassles and costs associated with them.
The benefits of a Capital One card are not worth the costs and hassles associated with them. For example, when you apply for a card with them, they do not ask you to input your income or credit score. They don’t even ask for any proof of address! This makes it easy for anyone to get approved for one of their cards—even those who have no business owning one (i.e., people with poor credit scores).
The rewards you earn from these cards are also very low compared to other reward programs out there. The American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card offers 6% cash back at grocery stores up until $6K spent each year; if you spend less than that amount at grocery stores per year ($5K), then this is the best option for earning rewards on groceries because it gives higher rates than other companies’ cards such as Chase Freedom Unlimited which offers just 1% cash back on all purchases regardless of category -and even Citi Double Cash which gives 2% cash back but only on up-front purchases made during each billing cycle
Conclusion
We’re not trying to talk you out of getting a Capital One card. But if you do, just remember that there are so many other options out there that can help you build your credit history without costing you money or causing stress. And if all else fails and you still want to go with Capital One? Well then at least be sure that you read the fine print before signing up for anything!
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