so heres the deal. i went through a credit proposal several years ago, i was discharged in april 2011. by my understanding i should have an r7 on my account until april 2014, though i see no mention of my proposal on my equifax report. my current credit score is 660.
i got myself a capital one secured mastercard in 2009, shortly after i filed the proposal. it is a $300 card with a $300 deposit, i use it and pay it off in full every month. i have never been late, i was over limit once in 2010 by about $30. its been 4 years and i have not gotten my deposit back and i have not gotten any credit limit increases, and from what i understand requesting one is useless(though have not tried).
in oct last year i applied for a canadian tire mastercard on a whim and got approved for $1000. i used that the same way as the cap one and in jan this year i got a credit limit increase to $3000. since then i have been thinking about cancelling the cap one card but havent because it would decrease my average credit age.
then last week i got an offer from capital one for a card with a $6000 credit limit. it also said no annual fee and better interest rates than my current cap one card. so how do i respond to that? i am still solidly in the "fair" credit range, so approval on other cards is certainly not a sure thing and id rather not go and apply to a bunch of cards just to find out. i feel that i am in a financial spot now to use credit wisely and build my credit even more, so another card with a decent limit appeals to me.
the thing is, when i go to apply it says that i will not be approved because i already have a cap one account. so then why did i get an offer? are these just random and not mean anything(the offer was in my name)? is there a way to replace my old $300 card with this new card? it seems kinda stupid to me that i can go all these years and not hear a word from them regarding my current card, then get an offfer for a $6k card that i cant act on? any advice?
i plan on calling them tomorrow, but i dont expect much. here and everywhere else says their customer service reps dont actually know anything. id like to just apply for it and see what happens, but if i get denied then theres another ding on my credit.
another option is to apply for a card with my bank, which is BMO and i have banked with them for over a decade. i dont know if i would have better luck with them or what.
i wish i had learned about proper use of credit back when i was young with a clean slate.
i got myself a capital one secured mastercard in 2009, shortly after i filed the proposal. it is a $300 card with a $300 deposit, i use it and pay it off in full every month. i have never been late, i was over limit once in 2010 by about $30. its been 4 years and i have not gotten my deposit back and i have not gotten any credit limit increases, and from what i understand requesting one is useless(though have not tried).
in oct last year i applied for a canadian tire mastercard on a whim and got approved for $1000. i used that the same way as the cap one and in jan this year i got a credit limit increase to $3000. since then i have been thinking about cancelling the cap one card but havent because it would decrease my average credit age.
then last week i got an offer from capital one for a card with a $6000 credit limit. it also said no annual fee and better interest rates than my current cap one card. so how do i respond to that? i am still solidly in the "fair" credit range, so approval on other cards is certainly not a sure thing and id rather not go and apply to a bunch of cards just to find out. i feel that i am in a financial spot now to use credit wisely and build my credit even more, so another card with a decent limit appeals to me.
the thing is, when i go to apply it says that i will not be approved because i already have a cap one account. so then why did i get an offer? are these just random and not mean anything(the offer was in my name)? is there a way to replace my old $300 card with this new card? it seems kinda stupid to me that i can go all these years and not hear a word from them regarding my current card, then get an offfer for a $6k card that i cant act on? any advice?
i plan on calling them tomorrow, but i dont expect much. here and everywhere else says their customer service reps dont actually know anything. id like to just apply for it and see what happens, but if i get denied then theres another ding on my credit.
another option is to apply for a card with my bank, which is BMO and i have banked with them for over a decade. i dont know if i would have better luck with them or what.
i wish i had learned about proper use of credit back when i was young with a clean slate.