Capital One

Capital One

Capital One Discontinues Orchard Bank Credit Cards

May 23rd, 2012 by Joshua Heckathorn

If you haven't heard yet, Capital One announced that it closed on the purchase of HSBC's U.S. credit-card business earlier this month. Capital One paid a little over $31 billion in cash and received just over $28 billion in credit card receivables following the acquisition. It really was a win for HSBC as they desperately wanted out of the volatile credit card business in the U.S., and it also happened to be a perfect strategic fit for Capital One who continues to aggressively grow its domestic credit card portfolio. Part of the deal included HSBC's well-known Orchard Bank credit cards too, which have consistently ranked for years among the best credit cards for people with bad credit. If you have great credit scores, you've probably never even heard of this card. However, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone with bad credit who hasn't at least considered an application for an Orchard Bank credit card at some point in time.

Ask Creditnet: Credit Cards without Foreign Exchange Fees

November 16th, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn

Dear Creditnet: I know Capital One credit cards don't charge foreign exchange fees, but I'm frankly not a big fan of Capital One. Are there any other credit issuers offering the same perk with a no annual fee credit card? I travel overseas a lot for both play and work, so a credit card with no foreign exchange fees would save me a lot of dough.

Capital One Accused of Dishing Out Low Blows

February 5th, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn

] What would you do for a whopping $1.00 of new credit from your credit card issuer? Hmmmmm...let me see—nothing? You certainly wouldn't agree to move old charged-off debt to a new credit card just so you could start making payments and paying interest again, right? That would be absurd! That is, unless you were tricked into doing so.

Limited Options for Cards Sans Currency Conversion Fees

January 28th, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn

Dear Creditnet: I received a credit card offer in the mail from the university I attended for graduate school. It's a MasterCard issued by a major bank with no annual fee, and it also boasts no currency conversion fees for international transactions. Is this a perk that's common through other no annual fee credit cards as well? I travel overseas often, so this could really come in handy on future trips.

Managing Credit Cards While Living Overseas

May 28th, 2009 by Joshua Heckathorn

My wife and I moved from Seattle to Thailand for work late last year. Other than preparing myself for lots of spicy food, tropical weather, and a 12-hour time difference with clients on the East Coast, I also wanted to make sure I was prepared to properly handle my credit cards while living overseas. I have always traveled internationally for work, and ever since my first trip abroad I quickly realized that credit cards were my lifeline. They could mean the difference between staying at the Hyatt, or sharing a hostel room with a talkative German named Franz. That said, over the last seven months I have learned some valuable lessons - many the hard way- about managing my credit cards internationally. Hopefully some of these experiences will be of value to you wherever you happen to call home.