Capital One - A stoozers friend?
| Author: Clariman | Created: 18/09/2007 |
We don't normally write articles about specific card issuers or their products, preferring to focus on stoozing techniques, ideas and research. However, Capital One has been reorganising its credit card offerings since the beginning of the summer and is now leading both our 0% Balance Transfer Cards table and our Cashback Cards table. In addition, they are finely tuning their offers to satisfy various segments of the market. It is the author's view that this has always been one of Capital One's strengths. In this article, we felt it would be a good time to discuss their track record for stoozers and review their current product range. For those who want to read more about how smart Capital One is at targeting different customers, there is further reading at the end of the article.
Capital One - the Stoozer's Friend?
We at stoozing.com believe that Capital One should be on every stoozer's watch list when looking for new deals. They don't always have the best offers, but every now and then they come out with some table-topping deals. Many of us will remember the superb 18-month 0% deal from them in the first half of 2005. The deal wasn't around for long but those of us who caught it did very well out of it, thanks very much. There is nothing more frustrating than closing a card, only to find out that the card issuer brings out a great deal a few months later when you are ineligible to apply for it because they won't treat you as a "new" customer yet. This is not an issue with Capital One, who treat you as a new customer as soon as you have closed an existing card. This means that just about everyone can pounce on a new Capital One deal when it comes along - and they certainly have a couple of deals well worth looking at right now.
Capital One - Review of Current offers
Today Capital One has credit card products for those who are looking for a medium term fee-free balance transfer, those looking for a longer term fee-based balance transfer, those looking for cashback and those who need to rebuild their credit rating. On top of that, they have customised their balance transfer and cashback offers based on whether applicants have "Good" or " Excellent" credit ratings.
Cashback Cards
Capital One is topping our Cashback Cards table, offering 4% cashback for 3 months, followed by 1% cashback thereafter. This is great if you need to make a large purchase or are planning a lot of expense in the run up to Christmas. Falling back to 1% after 3 months is no hardship, because there are not many cards these days that offer 1%. One thing to watch out for is whether Capital One will regard you as having an "excellent" or "good" credit card rating. If they treat you as excellent, you get a purchase rate of 15.9% and the card has no annual fee. If they treat you as good, then your rate is 18.6% with an annual fee of £18. Still, that could be worth it for the cashback. To see Capital One's criteria for your credit rating, visit this image on their website.
It is worth mentioning that Abbey is currently offering 5% cashback but this is only on supermarket shopping, only on the first £1000 of spend and only until 31st January 2008 so is merely an attempt to hit the top of less discerning card tables in our opinion.
Balance Transfer Cards
Capital One has recently announced 0% on balance transfers until 1st April 2008 with no fee, but you need to have an "excellent" credit rating to get this card. It would appear that Capital One have been rejecting quite a few applications but others have got a card, sometimes after appealing a rejection. It should definitely be a candidate on your list but read this discussion thread first.
Capital One's other BT offer is even longer: until 1st August 2008. However, this card comes with a BT fee of 1.7% for those with an "excellent" rating and 3% for those with a "good" rating. None of the BT cards have an annual fee.
Tip: Although the Capital One website says the deals end on the 1st of the month, the detailed Terms and Conditions say that the 0% offer ends on the day after your April/August statement. When you apply, make sure that you select a statement date at the end of the month to maximise your 0% period. Thanks to YorkshireBoy for this tip.
Summary
Capital One offers are always worth keeping an eye out for. They currently have some excellent cashback and balance transfer deals which should interest many stoozers. If you want to read more about how smart Capital One is with its targeted marketing, click the link below.
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