In an earlier post I mentioned that the best card that I found for use overseas was one offered by Capital One. Some people mistakenly thought I was endorsing Capital One as a Credit Card.
I most certainly was not. In fact - I have assembled a top ten list of the things I really can't stand about Capital One for your reading pleasure:
10. Their customer service is awful. Their phone operators in India are reading out of a script and have trouble answering questions beyond account balance and last payment history without getting a supervisor. The fact that they’re in India is not what bothers me, it’s that they can’t answer my questions without transferring me which makes the calls longer – and since I’m overseas, I’m paying for every minute.
9. Their website help-desk or “message center” is completely useless. I've sent five emails asking for clarifications about different aspects of my account and all I got back were generic, auto-response emails. Completely worthless.
8. They are not compatible with MS Money’s download service. They are like the only ones on earth who aren’t. In fairness, you do have the ability to manually download transactions, but that's a royal pain, and so 1997.
7. Their merchant categories are incomplete and confusing – at least for overseas merchants. For all grocery stores the merchant category generically reads “merchandise” and you have to drill through their website to find out if you get credit for buying at a grocery store or not. This is unnecessarily time consuming.
6. Their fraud department is unnecessarily hyper. They put a hold on my account after my first charge. I called them for something else and was transferred to the Fraud Department – The Dude asked me if I really made a purchase at a Shell station in Poland. When I said I did – he asked me “Well how long will you be staying overseas?” Dude, I live here.
5. They request letters of correspondence be sent by fax and not by email. Apparently their customer service headquarters is located in the year 1990.
4. Despite the fact I have an excellent credit history, have had previous Capital One Credit Cards, and have a really high credit limit on every other card I have – for the first three months they put me on a probationary spending limit of $2,000 a month. Are you kidding? I spend that much on gas – Just ask ACA!
3. I would bet money that when I signed up for the Cash Rewards Card they advertised 3% back. When I got the card, it said 2% - and the web site had changed. I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy, but my office mate said the same thing. I called and asked when they changed it and their only answer was “Sir, That’s the rate you’ve always had" – emphasis on the you… It is a conspiracy, I know it is!
2. After having their card for two months I applied for a Motorcycle Loan. Their lowest advertised loan was 5.47% - but they only offered me 5.87%. I asked why and was told that rate was for their best customers - Amex wants to send me a Platinum Card, but Capital One won't give me that extra .4% on a loan? They risk alienating a customer over 50 cents a month? Give me a break!
1. Every time I go to pay for something I can’t help but to imagine some hairy Viking standing next to me shouting “What’s in YOUR Wallet?”
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