Capital One

Capital One Credit Card Customer

/HPS

The only small gripe I have is about their phone verification. About 5 months ago I opened a 360 checking and savings with them. Spot on. Worked flawless. It took about a week to have the initial funds transferred from my external bank. I have direct deposit with them which worked flawless so far. However, after 4 months of using Zelle to make transfers, all of a sudden they wanted to verify my phone number. I've been with them for nearly a decade (credit cards) so they have everything on file. Since I have a pay-as-you-go mobile plan, I never give out my number, but what the heck. No big deal. Apparently they cannot verify pay-as-you-go or prepaid mobile plans. Since these phone plans do not require neither an SSN nor a driver's license, apparently there is no record that the phone number is tied to your name, hence they are unable to verify it.

I've pointed out that this is my first mobile number, and I have this number of 8 years. Never had another one, never used another SIM card. In vain. Apparently they can only verify postpaid phone plans. Of course the cheapest phone plan on a postpaid plan is 60 bucks (as opposed to $3). I have no way of justifying shelling out that much money a month just so a bank can verify my ownership of the phone number. As a result, my Zelle transfers were halted and had to go "around" by transferring the money back to my external account (which I kept open), and from that account I am able to make transfers. Also, I cannot add joint account holder to the checking account due to failed phone verification.

Now, get this. They can manually set up a joint account over the phone, if both parties are present at the same time, but they can only do this for savings account. To add a joint account holder to your checking account, you need at least a $60/month phone plan so they can verify your ownership of the phone number. In other words, if you have a six-figure savings account, they can add joint account holders to it no problem, but if you have a checking account with $200 monthly balance then forget it. Is this messed up or what!? Other than the ridiculous issue with unable to verify prepaid phone numbers, I have no gripe with them. Oh, also, I was able to call in and they helped me fix the Zelle issue. So that should be good to go again - we shall see this next month when I will do my regular transfer.

While doing my research, I also saw that other banks advertise a 2% interest rate but when I clicked to find out more information, it was only offered on CD accounts, which means that I would have not been able to touch my money for 9 or 12 months. With Capital One's Money Market, that's not an issue. I can receive a high interest rate while also being able to access that money any time, without paying any penalties. Capital One 360 has helped me obtain more for my money and keep better track of my credit score through its "creditwise" reports. Once I got hired and started working full-time again, I also decided to start using Capital One credit cards. I started with the Quicksilver, and now I have the Savor card. I love how easy it is to pay or transfer money both through my computer and the phone app. I loved Quicksilver because it felt like a very honest card, you get 1.5% cash back on ALL your purchases, period.

I didn't have to try to figure out if I was only getting 1% on gas, but 2% on entertainment, or try to figure out which purchase would classify for cash back. I now have the Savor card because I do spend a significant amount of money eating out and on entertainment, and the 4% cash back adds up fairly quickly. I genuinely feel that Capital One 360 has helped me improve my financial life and I prefer this bank over any of the other banks that I have used: higher interest, better and quicker customer service, and easy to use phone app.

My only suggestion would be that I wish Capital One offered mortgage options, that way I wouldn't have to look for mortgage lenders through another bank. I highly recommend Capital One and think that you will find the right account and card for your needs. Here's my referral code, in case you decided to try it. I receive $20 for referring you, and you receive $100 for opening a new 360 account (360 Checking, 360 Savings or 360 Money Market), with an initial deposit of $250. Enjoy! https://capital.one/2Xrh0Wx

I was late 2 times in the past 6 months due to a broken phone and a move and when I called to see if I could reverse the late fee they did so with no hesitation! My limits are 500 and 1000 so that they care for me as a mediocre customer speaks loudly to their integrity and shows they value All customers... which after being treated unfairly by Walmart credit after never making late payments and getting a credit reduction really made me appreciate them. Not to mention when you say you want an agent on the automated system it just says ok not asking why until you are blue in the face.. 10 stars Cap One.

The only way I found around this issue was to use Paypal where the card was registered. The card was accepted through Paypal, but unfortunately this isn't always an option. Bottom line, there are more user friendly cards on the market. Capital One really needs to upgrade their policies to reflect the real world needs of customers. This experience was not the first time I've run into this issue when outside the USA. It is incredibly annoying.

So here I am in Europe half way through my vacation, a card that's blocked and the "Help Desk" can't help me. I call again, explain the situation and now they tell me I have to email them a picture of my driver's license. I do that and give them my European phone number to get in touch. They call my US phone, my daughter answers but they can't give her any information because it is not me. I call again, explain again and they tell me that it is going to take 7 to 14 days to verify the documents that I sent. I explain again that I am in Europe with a card that doesn't work can we do anything sooner. Nope, 7 to 14 days is the answer.

I am out of my mind at this point, this is a card I use all over the world, charge 60 to 80 thousand dollar per year and I can't talk to them. I wait five days and call again, explain my problem, the girl tells me that she sees my driver license but it will take 7 to 14 days blah, blah, but she is very sorry. I ask for a manager. I get Patrick, explain everything again and he puts me on hold to verify my documents. After an eternity on hold, he comes back and finally he can talk to me. He tells me that he has no idea why my card was denied and can't explain why I didn't get an email to confirm that it was a valid transaction from my side. And the good news is that I can use my card again.

I ask Patrick what's going to happen when I call again in a few days to say that my cards was stolen, my card is denied, or for any other problem with my cards. You are not going to believe what he tells me: "Oh, we'll send you a six digit code to your phone on record to verify it is you". Bottom line: the card is great, the benefits are great but the support system sucks. The agents are robots reading from a script and are not allowed to use their brains. The verification system is inflexible and the system has absolutely no possibility to help a customer in a tough situation. As soon as I get home I will look into and alternative card for my travels.