parent56

there was a thread a while ago about student credit cards and the changes coming. i had originally thought i would just get a 2nd card for son on one of my accounts but realized that wouldnt be on his credit. so we went to our local bank (not a national chain) he opened a checking account in his name, automatically came with a debit card and then applied for a credit card through the local bank... they required that i apply as a co-applicant so the history will also go on my credit report but it will create a credit reporting for him. we got the minimum 500 limit. my first thoughts in getting a card were just for emergency flight home from college if he goes out of state, but then as he talks about wanting to live off campus at some point, realized he may need a credit score for rentals. He will use the card perhaps once a month and pay off immediately just to begin to establish timely payments

intparent

I don't know if I could hate credit card companies (and credit bureaus) any more. I called Capital One, and after 7 calls (3 electronic "dead ends" telling me to wait for my decision letter in the mail, 2 dropped calls, and 2 different people), I managed to get a person who told me that I was denied due to "insufficient progress in paydown of my mortgage". Huh? I have never been late on a payment. Had the mortgage since 2002. It is a fixed rate. The one odd thing is that it is a balloon mortgage (so in about 8 years I will have to refinance the remainder of it, which will be about 1/3 of the original loan amount).

Of course they can't tell me which of the three credit score companies gave them this info. So I had to go pull all 3 credit reports. Which are... squeaky clean. No comments like this. I call Capital One back. Two people later, they confirm that they can't tell me which company gave them the info (which I think is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act), nor can I speak to the person's supervisor (asked politely, as it is not his fault...), nor is there anyone in all of Capital One who can overrule the decision of the computer system on this credit decision and make a manual decision. Grrr....

coureur

Don't keep banging your head on the wall with Capital One. Take your business elsewhere. We opened a student credit card account with BofA for D2 this fall when she went off to college. It has a modest credit limit, but it wasn't difficult to get.

Columbia_Student

I think the balloon mortgage might be a problem. My daughter opened a checking account with BofA and was given $800 credit line. She was denied of a credit card at my old credit union for not having a job. You might want to try BoA.

NewHope33

"My understanding is that if a credit card company denies you they need to tell you the reason."

We were turned down once and asked why. The response was "Not in our service area." We lived ten miles from the bank. As the old saying goes ... when the answer is no, any reason will do.

I second the suggestion of a secured credit card in the student's name. Good luck!

intparent

I think the last few posters have missed the point. It isn't my daughter's denial that is an issue, it is mine. And the reason I want this card is because Capital One is the only Visa or Mastercard on the market that I am aware of that waives the 3% transaction fee for foreign currency transactions. I am planning a fairly expensive overseas trip, and D is also studying overseas next year (so I would probably just add her as a 2nd cardholder so we could save these fees and she could have a credit card to use there). So as much as I HATE Capital One right now (and I do!), I still want this card.

To add insult to injury, I reached 2 of the 3 credit bureaus, and they say that Capital One is actually making that judgment call on insufficient progress on the mortgage payments. I called Capital One back, and all they will say is that I should "talk to an outside credit counselor". Like I have a credit problem... I don't. I have a customer service problem with Capital One. Went as far up the chain as I could go ("I'm sorry, there is no one who manually can look at any credit card underwriting decision at Capital One" and "No, my manager is only administrative and does not take customer calls").

I figure I've blown about 6 hours on this today. I'm penning a letter to the CEO and head of customer service at Capital One, then I guess I'll start looking for any other credit card options with lower/no foreign txn fees and wide acceptability in northern Europe. If anyone knows of any, please post...

Columbia_Student, you may be right about the balloon, but my loan balance to equity ratio on my house is something like .40 now even with lower housing prices. So there is tons of equity in my house, that doesn't seem like it should be a factor.

Columbia_Student

Yeah, it does not sound right but we are post credit bubble so things are not the same as before. I just recently opened a new credit card and I thought business as usual, ie if I pay the balance by the end of the grace period I pay no interest. But that was not the case, I was charged interest from day one. Luckily I only put less than $50 purchase to get the credit card activate.

dmd77

We do a lot of international travel (suppliers in Europe). I've never found the transaction fees to be onerous when using our B of A visa or my own US Banks visa. The last trip--two weeks in Italy and a lot of restaurant meals--the total fees were about $35. I don't think $35 is a problem. There were no fees for getting cash using my B of A debit card.

As for getting cards, yep, it's getting harder. We recently needed a second card for DH--and his credit limit ended up being less than our 23-year-old son has (after having his card for three years).

sryrstress

I saw write the letter to the CEO. Corporate name and address should be available on the web. Send it certified, return receipt or somehow trackable. Several years ago, Blue Cross spent a year messing around, not paying claims ($55,000) for a drug they had pre-authorized. I spent HOURS (50-60 over 12 months) on the phone with incompetent clerks and superivors. Typed the letter, sent it overnight, had a call from the CEO's administrative assistant by 1 p.m. the next day. All claims properly processed and given our own contacts at corporate HQ should a problem ever again arise.

Several similar experiences have taught me to go as far as possible to the top when necessary. Don't take "no" from someone not able to say "yes".

3togo

^ I agree with this.

My escalation policy pretty much is this ... 1) Call customer service ... 2) Call customer service and ask for the manager ... 3) write/call to the CEO. Most big companies have a group who handle the calls/letters to the CEO ... taking this route avoids the various middle management levels that might try make a problem go away by avoiding it. I want to be clear ... I have not always been happy with the results when I deal with the CEO's office but I have always gotten prompt replies and prompt decisions.

intparent

I did write the CEO and cc:ed the President of the credit card division. I was clear on (1) what the customer service issues were that I encountered, and (2) what would satisfy me as a response from Capital One.

I don't require that they give me credit, but I would ask that they actually have a give and take underwriting conversation (why do they think my mortgage progess is unacceptable? Do they have an accurate picture of how my mortgage is set up and the LTV ratio on the property? Can I apply for a card one level down and be approved? If I reduce a credit limit on another card, would they then issue a card?).

I am not holding my breath, though. I am not a current customer; if I were, I would expect some kind of response, but right now I am just someone who applied for credit with them and was denied. Get in line with a whole lot of other people...

rocketman08

Just a theory but they likely don't know you have a balloon mortgage since it's likely not reported as such on your credit report. They may assume it's a traditional loan and when they look at the current balance and the originating amount from credit data their system throws up a red flag because it looks like you have more outstanding principal than you should (which you do relative to a traditional mortgage). Again that's just a theory, but it could at least explain how with the limited data on a credit report one could 'conclude' that you've made insufficient progress paying back your mortgage.

As for Capital One's handling of the situation, honestly don't waste your time. Your not their customer and they have no obligation to give you credit. From the data you posted it sounds like they should be happy to have you on their books, but if their screening algorithms don't see it that way then it's their loss and not yours. There's not exactly a shortage of credit card offers out there so shop around and I'm sure you'll find someone that can give you the product you want with the customer service you expect.

calmom

intparent -- if it were me, I'd rather pay more for credit from a bank that I have good relations with than less for a bank where I was treated like that. I mean.. sometimes it isn't worth the savings.

I do know how those bank charges can add up -- my d has BofA and has spent more time than not over the past 2 years living and traveling abroad, and it would make you sick to see how much she is dinged for foreign transaction fees and currency exchange and foreign ATM fees every time she withdraws money or puts something on a credit card. But BofA has been great to us. I think what impressed me the most was when my daughter was in India and I needed to book her return flight. So I was putting a one-way airfare on some foreign airline on my card from home. Plus I was making the charge at around 3am -- I had been monitoring several sites waiting for fares to drop and when I saw a relatively low fare I wanted to grab it. I made the charge and literally within about 90 seconds received an email from BofA asking me to confirm the transaction -- I did and it went through. Then the next day BofA called me again to re-confirm. It was obvious to me why the charge would trigger a flag for potential fraud -- but I was amazed at how quickly their system reacted.

The point is: what if you are traveling abroad and your credit card gets lost or stolen, or you are victimized by some sort of fraud -- such as someone pulling your credit card number off a a receipt, or one of those fake ATM's that is rigged to steal your number? Is Capitol One going to respond to your needs? Or are you going to spend the next 6 months of your life arguing with them over paying for unauthorized charges?

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I don't want to make this into an ad for BofA. I have had very good experiences with BofA in California, but my son lives in Washington and has terrible experiences there. I didn't believe what he was telling me until I looked on line and found that apparently the Washington BofA isn't even on the same computer network and they don't offer some of the services we take for granted here in California. So I told him to move his money -- if he's not getting the customer service we're used to, then he really should find a better option. I'm encouraging him to try a credit union there.

The main point is not to promote a specific bank or card. Rather, just that you need to consider customer service and respect to be a high priority no matter who you are dealing with. You can't put a dollar value on that, but it might be more than the 3% you think you will save with a company that treats you like crap.