3.0 stars across
6 reviews
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Their customer service reps know nothing
This review is for: Capital One Direct Banking
I like their rates. It's the only reason to have a Capital One Direct Banking account. However, if you have a question that needs a real person, forget it! I wanted to do a wire transfer into the account, and when I called I got someone who I'm pretty sure had never even heard the term "wire transfer," because she was telling me the process to do an ACH transfer, despite my assuring her that I was talking about something different.
Then, with a different rep, I had a question about an incoming ACH transfer I had from an external account. This was a transfer I initiated from the external account. I did not initiate it from Capital One. She said once those funds came into my Capital One account, it would go into a five-day hold. But that's wrong. That only applies to transfers initiated by Capital One. When you set up the transfer from the external account, the funds are available immediately.
Any other time I've had questions about something, they tell me to wait while they research it. I'm pretty sure their research involves doing a keyword search on CapitalOneDirect.com and then reading what it says there. Gee, it's nice that these people know what they're talking about...
Luckily, there's almost never any hold time. But what does it matter? Nothing makes me more frustrated when I know more about a company than its support representatives...
Posted by markraby -- Jan. 11, 2011
meh
This review is for: Non-jumbo CD
I'm pretty sure this is only available so lazy folks with Capital One Direct savings or checking accounts can open a CD without putting any effort in. And when you don't put effort in... you get CDs like this one.
My favorite part of this CD is that when you go to their site they advertise a 1.50% rate - for a seven year CD! There are one year CDs better than that! How depressing must your outlook be on the future of the American economy if you think you won't be able to beat a 1.50% APY five years from now.
Posted by prostheticforehead -- Sept. 28, 2009
Banking Requires Math, Sadly
This review is for: Rewards Money Market
This is a reeeeeally interesting account (if you’re the sort of person that can ever find a bank account interesting, that is). For every $20 in your account, they’ll monthly give you an airline rewards mile.
So let’s do some math, eh? Let’s say I’ve got $10K in the account all year. So I’d earn roughly 6K miles in a year, which translates to $90 worth of airline rewards (according to their site, which is a bit confusing around this point), which is the same as receiving an extra 0.90% APY on the account.
Their current rate is 1.1% APY, and summing the stated APY with the effective-rewards APY gives us 2% APY, which is the best available money market account in the nation right now. Rates change, of course, but you can always run through the math above to see if this one’s still competitive. And I’d imagine it will continue to be that way.
So if you are going to keep enough money in there to actually accrue the 10K miles it takes a to get a free flight, and you like free flights, this is an awesome account. The rewards “miles” can also be redeemed for cash, but at a lower rate than the airline miles (~effective-rewards APY of 0.6% instead of 0.9%). So if miles don’t interest you, I’d look elsewhere. But if they do, and you want a money market account, this account will be tough to beat.
Posted by gmlaughlin -- Sept. 9, 2009
Great support, good rate
This review is for: High Yield Money Market
I initially opened my Capital One high yield savings account about 5 years ago. At that point, interest rates were above 5%. The interest rate on the account has declined ever since, along with most other banks. However, I think it remains relatively competitive for the largest banks in the country.
I am not sure how many other banks, if any, have higher interest rate AND offer the online support that Capital One does. The bank is entirely online - you do everything on the website. Everything you might want to do is there. Calling customer service is very easy as well and every representative I have spoken to has been knowledgeable and helpful.
I am not sure how this bank account would function if it was your primary savings account. Transfers take a few days. I always transfer money between this account and my every day checking account.
In summary, this Capital One account has a good interest rate with great online support.
Posted by kmv1214 -- June 22, 2009
Very Competitive Rate if over $10K
This review is for: 360 Savings
After a lot of comparison shopping I settled on Capital One's Online Savings account as it had the best rates I could find among major online banks (if your balance is over $10K).
My experience with this account has been very positive. Really no major issues, was easy to setup, and the online banking through capital one's website is very convenient and easy to use. Transferring funds, reviewing your balance, its all straightforward, and if you have a Capital One credit card it minimizes the number of bank sites you have accounts at.
I would say the primary downside to this account is that its not the most convenient if you need to access your money quickly - transfers take a few days, and unlike their High Yield Money Market account they don't give you checks and an ATM card. However, if you're stashing money there for the long term, this isn't a huge problem.
Posted by Hentilson -- June 9, 2009
Won't get burned twice
This review is for: 360 Savings
I had a really bad experience with Capital One's credit card customer service a few years ago to the point that I was almost stranded in South Africa. I canceled my card upon return to the states, so you could say I'm a little biased.
So why would I check out their online savings account? Well, given the climate, I'm looking for a large bank with a good rate. Top of the list is GMAC, and with the current rates, Capital One is 2nd. My hope is that they've improved their operations in the past few years.
From the information that I was able to collect from their website, the online savings account looked fine. No fees for normal usage, no minimum deposit amount, and a reasonable rate for balances over $10k (I don't have plans to dip below this).
However, given my past experience, I gave them a call to be sure I got the whole story. The woman I got on the phone was a mildly helpful mid-western woman - unfortunately all too reminiscent of my earlier experiences. I asked a number of questions about the account, including their online banking site, and she mentioned that they aren't able to provide online statements, only paper. I was a little suspicious. When I hung up the phone, I re-checked the website, and sure enough, right on there it said "Online account statements." Frankly, I don't know who is right, but that's enough to reinforce my previous impression of Capital One, and stay away.
Posted by TrvlnMn -- March 28, 2009
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