Capital One Credit Card Application Rules: What You Need to Know

Improve your odds of success on a Capital One credit card application. Find out what the rules are and what else you should know before applying. Image source: Getty Images.

Capital One used to be as flexible as it gets for credit card applications. There weren't any strict guidelines that would stop you in your tracks, and it was possible to get approved for multiple cards even if you applied for them on the same day.

Even though Capital One still isn't aggressive about denying applications, it has put application limits in place that you should know about so you don't waste your time.

Capital One application limits

Capital One has a single restriction on credit card applications, and that is a firm limit of one application every six months. The rule covers both personal and business credit card applications, and it doesn't matter whether you were approved for a card or not.

If you try applying for a Capital One card and it hasn't been at least six months since your most recent application, Capital One will automatically deny the application. Fortunately, it won't run a hard credit inquiry on you, so this won't affect your credit score.

Credit bureaus Capital One checks

Capital One is unique in that it pulls your credit file from all three credit bureaus, resulting in a hard credit inquiry with each of them.

For most consumers, this won't be an issue, since hard credit inquiries typically decrease your score by five points at most. But it's worth noting, especially if you have any other recent applications that also required hard credit inquiries, as multiple inquiries will bring down your score more.