"Secured Card"
Capital One® Secured MasterCard® Review
Written by: w998afr on 2010-11-29
Overall Satisfaction
Customer Service
Rewards
Account Management
Delivery Time
w998afr's review: 
There are serious pro and cons to this card. I posted the other note on the "Young Adults" card also so if you want to see the more "negative" issues about the card, please read that posting.
Regarding this card, I will try to be more objective. When I applied, my scores ranged from 550-599. I don't remember which score was assigned to each bureau. Here is the pattern that I have observed. If I keep depositing $300/month to CD/Savings accounts, then in five (5) years, I will get the Venture Card. I do not intend to withdraw the savings money. If correct, if I leave the money in the bank then the bank knows where I will fund my card then they won't call to verify employment all the time and they will be less anxious about credit line increases beyond the maximum of $3,000 deposit. The end result will be 2 x $5,000 CDs and 1 x $2,000 savings account.
CAPITAL ONE CREDIT LEVELS
(Select "browse" all cards from their menu)
(Click "find your credit level here" link on the right and you will see this chart)
Analysis of this chart is as listed below:
< 3 years - limited 01-18 mos
< $5,000 limit - average 18-36 mos
> 3 years + $5,000 limit - good credit 36-60 mos
> 5 years + $10,000 limit - excellent credit 60+ mos
Break down of actions to be taken
limited = secured card = $3,000 18 months
average = unsecured card = $5,000 25 months
good = 3 years + $5,000 36 months
excellent = 5 years + $10,000 60 months
=============
venture blue - excellent - 762
------------
capital one platinum prestige - excellent - 751
capital one no hassle cash rewards - excellent - 751
venture gold - excellent - 743
------------
capital one platinum credit card - good - 699
capital one no hassle miles - good - 692
-------------
no hassle cash rewards - average - fair - 660
capital one MasterCard - 650
-------------
capital one standard - fair - 627
capital one classic - average - 620
-------------
Basically, I am changing my habits from being a compulsive spender to being a compulsive saver. I only want one high-grade card. plus from what I have read on other websites, "better" customer is provided at the "prime" level cards. secured card has the "sub-prime" level customer service and they are worthless to me.
There are serious pro and cons to this card. I posted the other note on the "Young Adults" card also so if you want to see the more "negative" issues about the card, please read that posting.Regarding this card, I will try to be more objective. When I applied, my scores ranged from 550-599. I don't remember which score was assigned to each bureau. Here is the pattern that I have observed. If I keep depositing $300/month to CD/Savings accounts, then in five (5) years, I will get the Venture Card. I do not intend to withdraw the savings money. If correct, if I leave the money in the bank then the bank knows where I will fund my card then they won't call to verify employment all the time and they will be less anxious about credit line increases beyond the maximum of $3,000 deposit. The end result will be 2 x $5,000 CDs and 1 x $2,000 savings account.
CAPITAL ONE CREDIT LEVELS
(Select "browse" all cards from their menu)
(Click "find your credit level here" link on the right and you will see this chart)
Analysis of this chart is as listed below:
< 3 years - limited 01-18 mos
< $5,000 limit - average 18-36 mos
> 3 years + $5,000 limit - good credit 36-60 mos
> 5 years + $10,000 limit - excellent credit 60+ mos
Break down of actions to be taken
limited = secured card = $3,000 18 months
average = unsecured card = $5,000 25 months
good = 3 years + $5,000 36 months
excellent = 5 years + $10,000 60 months
=============
venture blue - excellent - 762
------------
capital one platinum prestige - excellent - 751
capital one no hassle cash rewards - excellent - 751
venture gold - excellent - 743
------------
capital one platinum credit card - good - 699
capital one no hassle miles - good - 692
-------------
no hassle cash rewards - average - fair - 660
capital one MasterCard - 650
-------------
capital one standard - fair - 627
capital one classic - average - 620
-------------
Basically, I am changing my habits from being a compulsive spender to being a compulsive saver. I only want one high-grade card. plus from what I have read on other websites, "better" customer is provided at the "prime" level cards. secured card has the "sub-prime" level customer service and they are worthless to me.
4 Comments
Comment 1 by vingstar
Re: Secured Card 
on 2010-11-30
What's the maximum amount of secured cards that Capital One will let you have?
on 2010-11-30 What's the maximum amount of secured cards that Capital One will let you have?
Comment 2 by wanderer
Re: Secured Card on 2010-12-01
Consider other card issuers in addition to Capital One. Spread yourself around. Generally Capital One is a good starter (tend not to grow with you). Bank of America and Citi Bank have been good with secured cards graduating and when it is done you have first class prime.
on 2010-12-01 Consider other card issuers in addition to Capital One. Spread yourself around. Generally Capital One is a good starter (tend not to grow with you). Bank of America and Citi Bank have been good with secured cards graduating and when it is done you have first class prime.
Comment 3 by redeye
Re: Secured Card on 2011-11-06
I have had a Capital One Secured card for 3 months now. I have called their customer service line a few times and asked about gradating accounts to unsecured. The first time they said they do not ever do it. The second time the girl seemed unsure what to say. She gave me a maybe/sometimes answer. Then the other day the rep said that the review after 6 months automatically and the decision is made then and that I can also request an upgrade after 6 months. Well see what happens.
on 2011-11-06 I have had a Capital One Secured card for 3 months now. I have called their customer service line a few times and asked about gradating accounts to unsecured. The first time they said they do not ever do it. The second time the girl seemed unsure what to say. She gave me a maybe/sometimes answer. Then the other day the rep said that the review after 6 months automatically and the decision is made then and that I can also request an upgrade after 6 months. Well see what happens.
Comment 4 by w998afr
Re: Secured Card Got Me Unsecured Dillards on 2012-09-30
Hello, I had bankruptcy chapter 7 discharged in 2/2010. I got my Capital one Secured Card in 12/2011 with $49 down for a $200 credit line. Since that time, I have saved and now have a total of $450 unsecured with $2550 secured for a total credit limit of $3000 all in 10 months. My TU score went up to 636 and that allowed me to purchase a used truck from Toyota Motor Credit. I have had the truck about 3 months now and my score went all the way up to 680 then I got stuck with some unplanned car repairs (other car not the truck) and took 2 months to clean up which tanked my score back down to 634 because I was over the utilization %. However, I am now $400 from the card being paid off again and that got me an automatic approval for a Dillard's Card. My Dillard's credit limit is only $400 but that's a step in the right direction.
The trick i have learned is to charge just about everything on the card like i would on a debit card ... normal charges i.e. utility bill, car insurance, cellular bill, groceries, gas, etc. but pay it off within 3 days of the charge going from "pending" to "posted" category and keep a rolling balance of $25 on the card.
My average monthly usage is around $2K a month and i PIF (pay in full) every month. Now that I have the Dillard's Card, it will be $1500/month for Capital One and $500/month for the Dillard's Card. $5K a year on the Dillard's card will get me the Dillard's Elite card which will then lead to the American Dillard's Card at some point in time. I also am paying $100/month "principal reduction" on the Toyota Motor Credit loan so that loan will be paid off 1 year early.
The point in all this for myself is that I have learned from my mistakes. I'll never assume I have a job ever again. I now save for the rainy day and will work a second job if need to keep my finances "golden."
When my annual review comes with the Card, i will keep you all updated. I am curious to see if they will give me another $300 unsecured credit extension again.
on 2012-09-30 Hello, I had bankruptcy chapter 7 discharged in 2/2010. I got my Capital one Secured Card in 12/2011 with $49 down for a $200 credit line. Since that time, I have saved and now have a total of $450 unsecured with $2550 secured for a total credit limit of $3000 all in 10 months. My TU score went up to 636 and that allowed me to purchase a used truck from Toyota Motor Credit. I have had the truck about 3 months now and my score went all the way up to 680 then I got stuck with some unplanned car repairs (other car not the truck) and took 2 months to clean up which tanked my score back down to 634 because I was over the utilization %. However, I am now $400 from the card being paid off again and that got me an automatic approval for a Dillard's Card. My Dillard's credit limit is only $400 but that's a step in the right direction. The trick i have learned is to charge just about everything on the card like i would on a debit card ... normal charges i.e. utility bill, car insurance, cellular bill, groceries, gas, etc. but pay it off within 3 days of the charge going from "pending" to "posted" category and keep a rolling balance of $25 on the card.
My average monthly usage is around $2K a month and i PIF (pay in full) every month. Now that I have the Dillard's Card, it will be $1500/month for Capital One and $500/month for the Dillard's Card. $5K a year on the Dillard's card will get me the Dillard's Elite card which will then lead to the American Dillard's Card at some point in time. I also am paying $100/month "principal reduction" on the Toyota Motor Credit loan so that loan will be paid off 1 year early.
The point in all this for myself is that I have learned from my mistakes. I'll never assume I have a job ever again. I now save for the rainy day and will work a second job if need to keep my finances "golden."
When my annual review comes with the Card, i will keep you all updated. I am curious to see if they will give me another $300 unsecured credit extension again.
Please login or register for free to view your stats, add reviews and card application results, or post comments.
Credit card reviews and comments are posted by user submission and do not warrant the opinions of Finance Globe.
Disclaimer: This content is not provided by Capital One. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by Capital One. Review content is powered by Finance Globe.
Disclaimer: This content is not provided by Capital One. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by Capital One. Review content is powered by Finance Globe.
