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Home :: Money 15 Feb 2010 No more free money: everything bad you've heard about Capital One is true Money For the past couple of months, I've been trying an experiment in which I deposit "payment checks" from my credit card in my savings account, then pay off the account when the bill comes so I collect the savings interest. But not any more. On Feb 4th, I paid the balance from last time, and on Feb 5th, Capital One's web site said my balance was zero and I had lots of credit. So on the 8th, the next time I was at the bank, I deposited this month's payment check. On the 11th Capital One bounced it. Huh? When I finally got through to them today, I discovered that merely because I have paid off my account, and they say I have a zero balance and a large credit limit, that doesn't mean I really have a large credit limit. Evidently there is a secret seven day delay until they believe that I've paid them. On the phone, I asked repeatedly if the information on the web site is wrong, how am I supposed to know what's actually available, but the droid on the other end was unable to grasp the concept that what was on her screen was not the reality for the rest of the world. I have other credit cards, so this one is history. posted at: 17:54 :: permanent link to this entry :: 3 comments comments...        (Jump to the end to add your own comment) I think we all know that you saw that this would happen, and that this has all been merely an experiment to determine *how* it would happen. Looks like pretty standard check kiting to me. As far as I know, all banks engage in this practice. They'll even kite cash, given the opportunity. (by Edward A. Falk 15 Feb 2010 20:12) Seems like a flimsy reason to give up a credit card (especially one of the few that does not charge the usual vig on international transactions). We know that all CC companies are greedy pigs with spurious business practices, after all! And I don't know how much you were able to get from the "float", but my "high yield" savings accounts are at .15% and .01%, which don't add up very fast. Interesting experiment, though. (by Ben Littauer 16 Feb 2010 08:34) I ditched my Capital One card a few years ago, due to customer service issues. I don't miss it. (by Deb Shinder 16 Feb 2010 10:59) Add your comment... Note: all comments require an email address to send a confirmation to verify that it was posted by a person and not a spambot. Your email won't be displayed unless you check the box below, and won't be used for other purposes.   Name: Email: you@wherever (required, for confirmation) Title: (optional) Comments: Show my Email address Save my Name and Email for next time

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