Finally, Capital 1 gives me the true reason behind why I won't be approved for Venture X

Edit: lots of people seemed to miss the purpose of my post. I knew I was getting rejected for too many other cards, but it’s the first time I’ve seen THEM say it versus just speculation on reddit.

Off and on, I’ve been testing the preapproval tool for VX, and it’s always been a “no” with reasons ranging from “oldest account too new” (when I have 20 years of accounts) to “credit usage too high” (usually around 3-4% total usage, individual cards may go up to ~10%).

The other night, I finally got this to satisfy my curiosity: Imgur: The magic of the Internet

So there we have it, I finally got written confirmation from them that you will not be approved if you have too many other credit cards.

For reference, I’m 800+, 4/24, 0/12, 200k+, 8-9 AAoA, ~20 oldest account, 15 other cards.

C1 is well known to decline people with large credit profiles. They make money from subprime lending and you’re not profitable for them.

BettyClark said:
C1 is well known to decline people with large credit profiles. They make money from subprime lending and you’re not profitable for them.

Then what’s up with their VX and the credit requirements?

@Brook
What do you mean? I see tons of people get approved with very little credit history. I got it really early in my credit card journey.

BettyClark said:
@Brook
What do you mean? I see tons of people get approved with very little credit history. I got it really early in my credit card journey.

Same here with excellent credit. We don’t churn so we get approved by them. We also use the card a lot. Subprime :rofl: I guess if you want to call churning subprime, which I kind of get honestly. VX is my favorite card :person_red_hair:

BettyClark said:
C1 is well known to decline people with large credit profiles. They make money from subprime lending and you’re not profitable for them.

Yeah, they definitely don’t care about high scores, just the people they can charge fees to.

15 other cards.

That’s most certainly the issue, as we’ve seen countless data points to support it on this sub. Capital One wants customers that are going to lean heavily on the VX. When they see that many other cards (especially not heavily utilized), they think you’re just after the SUB / will barely use their product. They don’t see you as a potentially profitable customer.

@LILY
I had 23 cards around 400k in open lines and 823 Experian score when I got mine. Had a preapproved offer on card match. Instant approval and 30k starting line.

Lilnim said:
@LILY
I had 23 cards around 400k in open lines and 823 Experian score when I got mine. Had a preapproved offer on card match. Instant approval and 30k starting line.

Yes, there are outlier examples like yours for sure. They definitely aren’t the norm though.

Lilnim said:
@LILY
I had 23 cards around 400k in open lines and 823 Experian score when I got mine. Had a preapproved offer on card match. Instant approval and 30k starting line.

Were you carrying a balance on any of your cards? (0% offer?)

@Tate
My balances are always zero or less than 1%.

Lilnim said:
@LILY
I had 23 cards around 400k in open lines and 823 Experian score when I got mine. Had a preapproved offer on card match. Instant approval and 30k starting line.

Same.

@LILY
I carry no balances and have a fair amount of accounts open. Definitely had 15-20 during my application for VX.

I got mine at 750, 2/6, 4/24, 55k, 3 years of credit history with 11 other cards. C1’s algorithm is the hardest one to understand from all the data points.

Zach said:
I got mine at 750, 2/6, 4/24, 55k, 3 years of credit history with 11 other cards. C1’s algorithm is the hardest one to understand from all the data points.

Same. 0/12, 4/24 and 11 cards. Got approved.

@SophiaMartinez
I’ve heard from someone that selecting ‘may do balance transfer’ will increase chances of approval. From the data points, maybe C1 wants people who max out their card or C1 being their only card that they use.

Capital One wants you to use their cards a lot. People with a lot of other cards don’t fit the bill.

I’m not convinced there is a method to their madness. I was approved for a Venture X a few days ago. I’m 6/24 and churned and burned Cap 1 for regular Venture bonuses in 2018 and 2022. No idea how they approved me.

I have 10 open cards and another dozen closed trade lines beyond that on my credit report.

@Kel
Carrying a balance anywhere?

Tate said:
@Kel
Carrying a balance anywhere?

If their algorithm looks at reported balances, a balance transfer can be theorized even if nothing is being carried. It’s for this reason that during the years I micromanaged my balances, I saw almost no 0% mailers, but once I switched to organically reported balances (4-figure aggregates) I saw tons of 0% offers. Never carried a balance; it was the reported balances that changed.