Avoid Credit One Like The Plague!

Joined
Feb 27, 2018
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Location
Idaho
I closed my Credit One card today because it has the lowest limits out of all the cards I have ($300 vs my other cards which are $550, $1600, $1800 and $4000), it's the only card I had that has an annual fee, and I barely used it as it is. And let me tell y'all, that was a chore and a half!

Every single phone number on their website goes to the exact same automated system which has no menu option to speak to a live representative or make account changes. I had to find out from a forum elsewhere that in order to reach a real person at Credit One, you have to spam 0*0# on the dialpad and eventually you get connected to a real person.

The guy I talked to on the phone, couldn't hardly understand a word he said and his name definitely was NOT "James", kept interrupting me while I was talking and threatened to disconnect the call, citing their policy apparently which is that if the call drops then the account remains open. He also tried baiting me to stay by offering to remove the annual fee and give me a lower APR.

Got put on hold and bounced between 2 or 3 different people before I finally talked to someone who actually helped me close my account, and I made sure to request confirmation via mail.

Credit One, super predatory and super scummy lender. Don't go through them!
 
Never heard of Credit One but based on your limits, it sounds like you might just be starting out. If that was a “student” or “credit building” oriented card, that might explain the low limit. Chase did something similar to me. My original student card which I have had since 18 years old, only has a limit of $5K while all my “adult” cards have risen over the years to $10K-40K limits. Even if call and ask for an increase, it will only get a $500 bump every year or so while Amex and others will give me $5-10K bumps upon request. I keep that old card around just to increase the average age of my revolving accounts (roughly 15% of one’s FICO score).
 
Never heard of Credit One but based on your limits, it sounds like you might just be starting out. If that was a “student” or “credit building” oriented card, that might explain the low limit. Chase did something similar to me. My original student card which I have had since 18 years old, only has a limit of $5K while all my “adult” cards have risen over the years to $10K-40K limits. Even if call and ask for an increase, it will only get a $500 bump every year or so while Amex and others will give me $5-10K bumps upon request. I keep that old card around just to increase the average age of my revolving accounts (roughly 15% of one’s FICO score).
Yeah my credit history is fairly new I'm 20 and my first card I got about 2 years ago which was a Capital One and I still have it.
 
Youth and five credit cards is typically not a good combo.

That said, (stepping off the parental soap box) thanks for the heads up on Credit One. Always best to stay with the main players.
No worries, I'm doing pretty good with my credit situation. I keep all my cards under 30% and pay on time and my score currently is in the low 700s
 
Capital One use to be bad about closing accounts. You could call them on the phone but it usually took a letter. Not the case anymore though.


Your unused credit limit is their asset....
 
I know this isn't about financial management but you're young and I'm old so I'm going to mention this - don't start carrying a balance on a credit card! Use it only for important purchases and when necessary such as at a gas pump and when the bill comes in you pay it off.. EVERY SINGLE PENNY!

Debt is the devil's spawn and it's ruined many a life. Buying on credit is not the problem... paying on time is. Get rid of those cards and keep only the good ONE.

Good Luck. Don't spend what you don't have.
 
Yes, credit cards CAN be a great tool because as your credit improves you can get cash back cards, everything you purchase the company will pay you 2 to 5% which is kind of cool.
But like the post above mine, the companies know people dont pay their balances off every month and it is a cash cow lending money at 20 to 25%.
MAKE SURE you all pay the balance off every month and then having a card will be a benefit. Also for security use the card and not your debit card, last but not least, No excuses, dont borrow what you dont have. Dont be the kid on the neighborhood always looking to borrow money form someone else.
 
+1 Don't carry credit card balances.

Cards I wish to close and have an issue with contacting them will result in me letting the card die a natural death after paying off my debt.
 
I think I heard of credit one on the news years ago since they had an ultra scam credit card that would begin compounding interest by the literal day not the month. What made you go for this credit one scam in the first place. Just didn't read the fine print by mistake?
 
compounding interest by the literal day not the month.
All credit cards do that, while you are paying interest. Some of the low end cards have no "grace period" which means you will start paying interest from the day of a purchase, even if you pay off the full balance every month.
 
Before anyone starts accusing Credit One with stealing the Capital One logo, think twice. Credit One had the logo first, then Capital one started using a similar logo.
 
Sounds like they took a play right out of the AOL and Comcast playbook when you try to cancel them.
 
I closed my Credit One card today because it has the lowest limits out of all the cards I have ($300 vs my other cards which are $550, $1600, $1800 and $4000), it's the only card I had that has an annual fee, and I barely used it as it is. And let me tell y'all, that was a chore and a half!

Every single phone number on their website goes to the exact same automated system which has no menu option to speak to a live representative or make account changes. I had to find out from a forum elsewhere that in order to reach a real person at Credit One, you have to spam 0*0# on the dialpad and eventually you get connected to a real person.

The guy I talked to on the phone, couldn't hardly understand a word he said and his name definitely was NOT "James", kept interrupting me while I was talking and threatened to disconnect the call, citing their policy apparently which is that if the call drops then the account remains open. He also tried baiting me to stay by offering to remove the annual fee and give me a lower APR.

Got put on hold and bounced between 2 or 3 different people before I finally talked to someone who actually helped me close my account, and I made sure to request confirmation via mail.

Credit One, super predatory and super scummy lender. Don't go through them!
How long has the card been open? If you have the account several yrs it may impact your credit very little probably not enough over the annual fee. Did you see if credit one had an upgrade to a standard charge card one possibly without an annual fee and better apr?
 
No worries, I'm doing pretty good with my credit situation. I keep all my cards under 30% and pay on time and my score currently is in the low 700s
Because of this statement, I’m guessing that you understand some things beyond basic credit management (aka: pay off what you borrow). I’m going to go against the grain on this thread and say to disregard the folks preaching “pay off every balance” and the like. (No offense everyone)

Start researching how to leverage unsecured credit lines for cash to invest. In short, put all your USUAL expenditures on credit cards that you can (up to 30% total limit), pay them off by doing a balance transfer to a 0% card (pay the 2-4% transfer fee). Use the cash that you would have paid off your balances to dump money into a Roth IRA, 401K, etc. or into a brokerage account (watch out for taxes on this one!). Then just pay the minimum due on your credit card (typically 1-2% of your balance, at 0% APR).

As your credit history advances and the companies see you “carrying a balance” (remember, at 0% APR!). More companies will offer you higher limits. Rinse and repeat. I have many colleagues that do this and we all carry 0% APR balances of roughly $10-80K (depending on the investor’s aggressiveness) and just pay the 2-4% transfer fees each year. For each year that their accounts are yielding higher than 2-4% (which is most years), they are earning profit.

You could start now if you want. Based on your listed credit limits, you should have $2300 or so that you could play with, without negatively affecting your score. Remember, you are young and have time on your side. Stick to index ETFs and mutual funds, they are cheap and good for long term average growth (research SPY, XLY, VTSAX). S&P 500 has yielded on average 10.49% since the 1920s; if that continues, your $2300 would be about $124K when you are 60. The trick would be having a good balance transfer card acquired BEFORE initiating the overall plan and DO NOT fall into the trap of spending extra just because it appears that you have more cash on hand for a few months.

Good luck kid.
 
Because of this statement, I’m guessing that you understand some things beyond basic credit management (aka: pay off what you borrow). I’m going to go against the grain on this thread and say to disregard the folks preaching “pay off every balance” and the like. (No offense everyone)

Start researching how to leverage unsecured credit lines for cash to invest. In short, put all your USUAL expenditures on credit cards that you can (up to 30% total limit), pay them off by doing a balance transfer to a 0% card (pay the 2-4% transfer fee). Use the cash that you would have paid off your balances to dump money into a Roth IRA, 401K, etc. or into a brokerage account (watch out for taxes on this one!). Then just pay the minimum due on your credit card (typically 1-2% of your balance, at 0% APR).

As your credit history advances and the companies see you “carrying a balance” (remember, at 0% APR!). More companies will offer you higher limits. Rinse and repeat. I have many colleagues that do this and we all carry 0% APR balances of roughly $10-80K (depending on the investor’s aggressiveness) and just pay the 2-4% transfer fees each year. For each year that their accounts are yielding higher than 2-4% (which is most years), they are earning profit.

You could start now if you want. Based on your listed credit limits, you should have $2300 or so that you could play with, without negatively affecting your score. Remember, you are young and have time on your side. Stick to index ETFs and mutual funds, they are cheap and good for long term average growth (research SPY, XLY, VTSAX). S&P 500 has yielded on average 10.49% since the 1920s; if that continues, your $2300 would be about $124K when you are 60. The trick would be having a good balance transfer card acquired BEFORE initiating the overall plan and DO NOT fall into the trap of spending extra just because it appears that you have more cash on hand for a few months.

Good luck kid.
I dont understand this statement, sounds like constantly shuffling credit card debt in return you're investing the money you would have paid your credit debt off with?
 
(No offense everyone)
Thats a very slippery slope and an advanced technique that would get many in trouble.
I have 15CC and what I do works for me (make 1k-4k year with rewards and bonus etc) with 830credit score but I wouldnt recommend it to everyone and its easy to mess up.
fwiw I've paid exactly 0 in balance transfer fees and interest for 9 years now.

You could also recommend to start with a entirely 0 fee balance transfer card such as the chase slate.. sucks for rewards but if you need to move 15k or more off a card 0 fee 0intrest for 15-18 month is pretty $$$ attractive.

A good rewards card for easy money would be one of those 2% back on everything such as citi double cash.
for a little more work rotating category cards such as the chase freedom flex or discover IT for 5% rotating cash back categories.
usbank has one thats good for 5% cashback on monthly house bills.
amex has 3 and 6% on grocery store cards.
there are various 4% restaurant or travel cards.
Some cards offer free smartphone insurance with small deductible.
etc.
Just keep anything that charges interest paid off. dont get sucked into paying 25% interest thinking you are "building credit"

I'll get off my soapbox and will say for 3 years I had to carry a 20k balance due to multiple surgeries and waiting on a settlement.
 
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Should have taken the offer for no annual fee and kept the card, just don’t use it.

Age of credit history is big for your credit score, better to have inactive credit cards than cancelling it.
 
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