Mike
Radford,#2Consumer Suggestion
Tue, December 02, 2003
Capital One is unique in this practice. I think they do this so other banks won't know what your credit limit is with them. Without that information, the competetiors are less able to decide what to approve you for. Having a balance at the credit limit, even if both are zero, looks bad. You want a high credit limit and a low balance reported. The solution: Don't deal with Capital One. Oops, too late for that. In this case, you need to use the card to run up the reported "High Credit". It's a one-time thing, once a high number is reported it will stay there for the life of the account. You could take a large cash advance and put it in the bank until they report it as "High Credit", then pay it back. This might cost you considerable interest and fees though. The standard recommendation is to purchase something expensive and then return it to the store after the balance has been reported as "High Credit." Be sure to keep the receipt and not open the box to make the return troublefree. You could tell the store you bought it as a gift for someone, then found out they already had one, so you don't need it. It will still cost the store money on both ends of the deal though; the cash advance scheme doesn't involve a third party. Of course be sure to make all required payments to Capital One while you have a balance.
Richard
Miami,#3Consumer Comment
Mon, December 01, 2003
The way the balance shows on your credit... On your credit, the amounts shown are high credit, monthly payment and current balance. So your credit limit will show along with what you owe and what you have used on the credit card. You can not get credit with a zero balance and zero high credit.
Ed
Houston,#4Consumer Suggestion
Fri, June 07, 2002
Actually, I think "High Credit" refers to the highest balance you have had. The question is whether they should limit that to purchases and cash advances, or also include interest and fees. (I say the former because that is the "credit" portion.) Balance is the current balance on the account. There should be another column on your report for "Available Credit" or something similar. Therefore, it appears you had not used your card as of the reporting date. The high available credit is typically a negative because it shows creditors that you have the potential for getting into deep debt. On the other hand, it also shows that you are a good risk to someone else. Like Lemmings, people don't like jumping alone.