Capital One - Progress

getting_there1

Hi,

I have had a Capital One Classic card for a year (£500 limit) to try and get my credit score back on track after a few defaults from about 5 years ago. I was told it is a good credit builder.

I have now applied for the Progess card and did not think I would be accepted as I had gone over my a few times but surprisingly I did get it also with a £500 limit. Is this really Progress - or can anyone get this card? I really hope it means that i am on my way to a mainstream card now!

BugsyBrowne

getting_there1 wrote: »

Hi,

I have had a Capital One Classic card for a year (£500 limit) to try and get my credit score back on track after a few defaults from about 5 years ago. I was told it is a good credit builder.

I have now applied for the Progess card and did not think I would be accepted as I had gone over my a few times but surprisingly I did get it also with a £500 limit. Is this really Progress - or can anyone get this card? I really hope it means that i am on my way to a mainstream card now!

You won't get a mainstream card until those defaults drop off, as for the progress card it's still a sub-prime card but the APR drops 6 monthly.

Simon7685

I think it depends on your point of view as to whether 'Progress' is progress. Personally I would say it is a step in the right direction and it is progress towards mainstream.

I know a lot of people think it is a waste of time and you should just wait for the time that you can qualify for mainstream cards but this can be a long time to have to accept sub prime APR's of anywhere between 30 and 60% or more. At least during that time with the advantage of the Progress card, you can look forward to a decreasing APR every 6 months. Of course if you pay in full every month then the APR is insignificant but if you do find yourself needing to carry a balance then the reducing APR could prove to be a benefit.

BugsyBrowne

Simon7685 wrote: »

I think it depends on your point of view as to whether 'Progress' is progress. Personally I would say it is a step in the right direction and it is progress towards mainstream.

I know a lot of people think it is a waste of time and you should just wait for the time that you can qualify for mainstream cards but this can be a long time to have to accept sub prime APR's of anywhere between 30 and 60% or more. At least during that time with the advantage of the Progress card, you can look forward to a decreasing APR every 6 months. Of course if you pay in full every month then the APR is insignificant but if you do find yourself needing to carry a balance then the reducing APR could prove to be a benefit.

I don't think the OP will be worried about the APR even if carrying a balance as the credit limit will be that low it won't make a difference.

Chrysalis

I also have both cards as well now.

The original card has had many credit limit increases and is now just shy of a 5k limit (although some on here claim thats impossible) but the card is still high APR.

I got the progress at the start of the year although have only used it once so far.

Simon7685

BugsyBrowne wrote: »

I don't think the OP will be worried about the APR even if carrying a balance as the credit limit will be that low it won't make a difference.

I think that you may well find that anyone that has sub prime cards with high APR's would and do worry about interest charges irrespective of whether the card limit is low or high.

A lot of people in this position quite probably only have limited incomes as well so the APR is a factor.

£500 @ 59% APR = £23.80 monthly interest.

£500 @ 14% APR = £5.65 monthly interest.

Interest calculated using;
http://www.whatsthecost.com/creditCard.aspx

BugsyBrowne

Simon7685 wrote: »

I think that you may well find that anyone that has sub prime cards with high APR's would and do worry about interest charges irrespective of whether the card limit is low or high.

A lot of people in this position quite probably only have limited incomes as well so the APR is a factor.

£500 @ 59% APR = £23.80 monthly interest.

£500 @ 14% APR = £5.65 monthly interest.

Interest calculated using;
http://www.whatsthecost.com/creditCard.aspx

No we are talking 34.9% capital one classic going to a progress not sure where your getting 59% & 14% from.

Having 500 limit on a progress at say 24.9% which will take you a year is not that much difference then a 500 limit on the classic at 34.9%.

Simon7685

BugsyBrowne wrote: »

No we are talking 34.9% capital one classic going to a progress not sure where your getting 59% & 14% from.

Having 500 limit on a progress at say 24.9% which will take you a year is not that much difference then a 500 limit on the classic at 34.9%.

I appreciate that the OP is talking about the Progress APR, however in my post earlier I mentioned about sub prime APR's that range from 30% (Cap One Classic) upto 69% (Vanquis Gold. As quoted by another member of this forum. My personal Vanquis card is 59%). The 14% I used as an average APR of a lot of the mainstream cards.

Irrespective of the APR's used ther is still a large difference in what someone with sub prime has to pay. To say they should not be worried about it because it's not that much is not entirely the right sort of advice to be giving out in my opinion.

To demonstrate;

Cap One Classic 34.9% APR with £500 limit & 5% min payment =
Monthly interest starting at £14.08.
Paying the 5% min payment each month it will take you 101 months (over 8 years) to repay the £500.
Total cost = £1045.45

Cap One Progress at 24.9% with £500 limit & 5% min payment =
Monthly interest starting at £10.05.
Paying the 5% min payment each month it will take you 78 months (over 6 years) to repay the £500. Total cost = £787.91

So starting interest = £4.03 more on the classic
Time to repay £500 = 1 year and 11 months
Total to repay = £257.54 more on the classic

If that is not much of a difference to you, then I would suggest you are in a minority as the majority of people will find this to quite a big difference!