A

ACH Payment
Automated Clearing House Payment. Payments made online will be reflected on your billing statement with this term.

Access checks
Checks issued that are written against a line of credit. The transaction is applied to the cash balance and a transaction fee may be applicable. Also known as cash advance checks or convenience checks.

Adjusted balance
A balance computation method where all payments made during the billing cycle are subtracted from the outstanding balance at the beginning of the billing cycle, prior to the calculation and accrual of finance charges to the account.

Affinity card/Co-brand
A card offered by a lending institution in conjunction with another organization. Schools, non-profit groups, pro wrestlers, popular singers and airlines are among those featured on these types of cards. Frequently, use of this card entitles holders to special discounts or deals from the non-financial group.

Annual fee
A fee charged (on a yearly basis) for the customer's continued participation in an open-end, credit plan.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
The total yearly cost of the interest on a loan, expressed as a percentage rate. The Federal Truth in Lending Act mandates a standard calculation method to allow a consumer to make "apples to apples" comparisons of lending rates.

Annual Percentage Rate Imposed
Your annualized cost of borrowing money from us for this billing period. It is sometimes different than your APR because of one or more of the following reasons:

• your finance charges are compounded daily;
• you may have fees assessed on your account;
• the rounding of the daily periodic rate to five decimal places

(For example: The daily periodic rate for 19.8 = 0.0542465 is rounded to 0.05424)
The "Annual Percentage Rate Imposed" includes transaction-based fees and all finance charges assessed on the account. While this figure is not used to determine your daily periodic rate, it is provided for your benefit and is within the federal regulation guidelines. This figure is NOT used to calculate the actual finance charges assessed on your account.

Authorized user
A person who has been given authority by a primary cardholder to make charges to that primary cardholder's account, but who does not have legal responsibility for repaying the account.

Average daily balance
A balance computation method for calculating finance charges. It is calculated by adding each day’s outstanding balance (in a billing cycle) and then dividing that total by the number of days in the billing cycle.

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B

Balance transfer
The process of moving an unpaid credit card debt from one issuer to another. Card issuers sometimes offer teaser rates to encourage balance transfers and charge balance transfer fees to discourage transfers to other accounts.

Balance transfer fee
Fee which may be charged to customers for transferring an outstanding balance from one account to a different account.

Banking Days
Banking days are Monday through Friday, with the exception of the following Federal Holidays:

• New Years Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• President's Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

Bankruptcy
A legal mechanism, the purpose of which is to modify or eliminate a person's obligation to repay certain kinds of debt in order to permit the person to get a "clean start” economically. There are generally two basic ways of filing for personal bankruptcy: Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidates a debtor's assets, pays off the creditor and discharges most debts; Chapter 13 allows a borrower with a steady income to propose a plan designed to pay off bills over an extended period. Bankruptcy is a serious step for a borrower because it can severely limit access to credit for years to come.

Billing cycle
The period between billing statements.

Billing statement
The periodic statement sent by a credit card issuer to the customer that summarizes all transactions and other activity applicable to a credit card account, including balance, purchases, payments, credits and finance charges and may contain other notices or inserts.

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C

Card Quest
A tool to help determine which Capital One card product is right for you.

Cardholder agreement
The written statement that sets forth all of the terms and conditions applicable to a credit card account. It generally outlines the cardholder's obligations with respect to their credit card account, such as repayment, default, billing disputes and other associated terms. Changes in the cardholder agreement may be made, with written advance notice if necessary, at any time by the issuer. Rules for imposing changes vary from state to state, but the rules that apply are those of the home state of the issuing bank, not the home state of the cardholder.

Cash advance fee
A charge for using a credit card to obtain cash (generally at an ATM or bank window). This fee can be stated in terms of a flat, per-transaction fee or a percentage of the amount of the cash advance. For example, the fee may be expressed as follows: "2%/$10". This means that the cash advance fee will be the greater of 2% of the cash advance amount or $10. Depending on the bank issuing the card, the cash advance fee may be deducted directly from the cash advance at the time the money is received or it may be posted to the bill on the day the advance was. Generally, cash advance fees do not have a grace period, which means that interest accrues from the moment the money is withdrawn.

Cash card
A card similar to a pre-paid phone card with a set amount of value, which can be read by a special cash card reader. Participating retailers will use the reader to debit the card in increments until the value is gone. The card is like cash -- it has no built-in security, so it can be used by anyone if lost or stolen.

Charge card
A card that requires a full payment of the entire accrued balance by the due date. Unlike credit cards, which give borrowers a revolving line of credit and let them carry a balance at a predetermined interest rate, charge cards generally do not allow a cardholder to carry a balance and do not charge interest. American Express and Diner's Club are examples of charge cards.

Classic card
The brand name for the standard card issued by VISA.

Co-signer (Joint Applicant)
A person who signs a credit card application with the primary applicant. The co-signer agrees to be legally liable for any balance incurred on the credit card, regardless of who used the card.

Credit bureau (credit reporting agency)
A company that collects and sells information regarding people and their credit history. The company issues credit reports that list a person’s creditors and their creditor’s history with an individual. The reports are made available to those individuals and to organizations who request the report for a permissible purpose. The three major national credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian (formerly TRW) and Trans Union.

Credit card
A plastic card with a coded magnetic stripe that provides access to a revolving line of credit. Credit cards began in the late 1940's when banks began issuing paper certificates that could be used like cash in local stores. The first real credit card was issued in 1951 by Franklin National Bank in New York.

Credit insurance
Insurance that pays or pays off credit card debt should the borrower be unable to pay the debt as a result of the loss of employment, death or disability. Generally, this protection covers only the debt that existed as of the last billing cycle.

Credit limit
The maximum amount of available credit a cardholder may access. The Consumer Federation of America suggests people carry credit lines no greater than 20 percent of their gross household income. For example, people with a gross income of $50,000 would cap credit lines at $10,000.

Credit report
A compilation of information regarding a consumer’s credit. The credit report is often a critical factor in credit scoring systems that lenders use to issue credit cards, mortgages or other loans. It is a good idea to check your credit report to know where you stand and correct any errors. If you have made mistakes in paying previous loans, bounced checks, made late payments or had other problems, you may be able to correct them -- or at least reduce the amount of damage they will do to your credit. If someone else has made a mistake that ended up on your credit report, you want to get it removed. To make certain your credit reports are accurate, it is a good idea to check with all three major national credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian (formerly TRW) and Trans Union.

Cyberize^SM
To register online for a special package of benefits offered to Capital One cardholders. These benefits include 100% protection against fraud, online account management, and discounts with select online stores.

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D

Debit card
A bank-issued plastic card that provides direct access to a cardholder's checking or savings account. Any withdrawal of funds is immediate with online debit cards and delayed a day or two with offline debit cards. Debit cards that carry the logo of either MasterCard or VISA can be used at any location that displays that network's logo.

Default
The failure of a cardholder to perform all of the duties and obligations set forth in the cardholder agreement. Some card issuers may consider you in default -- enabling them to penalize you via a higher interest rate -- if you miss a payment with any creditor.

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E

Electronic Funds Transfer System
Electronically based system that moves funds from one account to another.

Encryption
The process by which a satellite signal is scrambled (encoded) to prevent signal theft.

Equifax
One of the Credit bureaus used by Capital One to acquire and report credit information.

Experian
Credit bureau used by Capital One to acquire and report credit information. (Formerly TRW)

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F

F (Fixed)
If the letter "F" appears after the annual percentage rate (APR) the interest rate is fixed and not subject to adjustment.

Fair Credit Billing Act (Part of Regulation Z)
A federal law to help customers resolve billing disputes with card issuers. Disputes include everything from computational errors and incorrect charges to the proper crediting of payments. To be protected under the law for billing errors, a customer must notify the issuer in writing within 60 days of the mailing date on the bill containing the error. The issuer is then required to investigate and either correct the mistake or explain why the bill is correct within two billing cycles. The issuer also must acknowledge a customer’s complaint in writing within 30 days of receipt of the notice. Generally, the Act requires issuers to credit payments to a customer’s account as of the date it was received. However, an issuer is allowed to set specific payment guidelines. If any of the guidelines are not met, the issuer can take as many as five days to credit the payment.

Finance charge
The charge for consumer credit, including interest and certain fees.

Fixed Rate
An interest rate that does not vary based on an index but is fixed at a previously disclosed level.

Foreign currency surcharge
A charge to cover the cost of converting purchases made in a foreign currency to US currency.

Fraud Protection - 100%
This is our guarantee that when you use your Capital One credit card online or offline, you can rest assured that you will not be liable for any fraudulent or unauthorized charges. We make this promise to you for shopping anytime, anywhere.

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G

Gold card
A credit card with a gold hue that may offer a larger line of credit than a standard card. In addition, gold cards may provide extra perks or incentives to cardholders.

Grace period
The period of time you have without a finance charge on new purchases if the total new balance is paid in full each month by the payment due date noted on your periodic billing statement.

Guarantor
An individual who is financially liable for an account and does not have charging privileges.

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H

Household income
The total income of all members of a household. An important measure used by credit card issuers when evaluating applications for joint credit.

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I

Index
An objective, published figure (not controlled by the lender) used to establish a lending rate. Some common indices are the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Prime Rate as listed in the Wall Street Journal.

Indexed rate
The sum of the published index plus the margin. For example, if the index is 9% and the margin is 2.75%, the indexed rate is 11.75%.

Interest rate
The factor used to calculate the finance charge applied to your account, often expressed as an annualized rate.

Introductory (or intro) rate
A rate charged by a lender for a short period of time (usually commencing when an account is established). After the introductory period is over, the rate charged increases to the stated post-introductory interest rate. Often called a teaser rate.

Issuing financial institution
The financial institution that issues a credit card and bills the customer for purchases made against the card account.

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J

Joint credit
Credit issued to two people based on an evaluation of each party's respective assets, incomes and credit history. Both parties are fully responsible for repaying the debt.

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K

Kilobyte
A unit of computer memory equal to 1,024 bytes.

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L

Late payment fee
A charge to a customer whose monthly payment has not been received as of the due date for payment as shown on the billing statement.

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M

Minimum payment
The minimum amount a cardholder can pay to keep the account from going into default. Some card issuers will set a high minimum if they are uncertain of the cardholder’s ability to pay. Most card issuers require a minimum payment of at least 2 percent of the outstanding balance.

Monthly periodic rate
The interest rate factor used to calculate interest charges on a monthly basis. The factor equals the yearly rate divided by 12. See periodic rate.

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N

New balance
Outstanding amount calculated as of the statement closing date, also known as total new balance. The new balance may include purchases, cash advances, and special transfers.

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O

Offline debit card
A card that shares traits of both ATM and credit cards. Offline debit cards have the VISA or MasterCard logo on them and can be issued by a bank, instead of, or in addition to, an ATM card. These cards can be used at any establishment that displays the VISA or MasterCard logo, but using them does not access a line of credit -- it debits a customer's checking account. It is "offline" because the account is not directly accessed -- there's a delay of 24 to 72 hours before the debit is made in the account. If you sign a slip of paper to conclude the transaction, it was offline. In the U.S., no Personal Identification Number (PIN) is required to use an offline debit card.

Online account management
A service provided to Capital One cardholders that allows you to view your statements, pay your Capital One credit card bills, and view recent transactions posted to your account.

Online debit card
An online debit card that deducts funds from the bank account immediately, as soon as the card is used. It may have the VISA or MasterCard logo, or only the issuing bank's logo, like an ATM card. There is no delay for processing the transaction -- the money is immediately deducted from your account. In the U.S., if you entered a Personal Identification Number (PIN) during the transaction, it was online.

Over-the-limit fee
A fee charged for exceeding the credit limit on the card.

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P

Pay-down program
The steps for paying down a credit card balance. First, stop charging on the card and make the normal monthly minimum payment by the due date. Then, two weeks later, send half the amount again, and two weeks later, half again. Repeat the half payments on the two-week schedule until the balance is paid.

Penalty rate
An increase in a card’s annual percentage rate, which may go into effect in the event an account holder defaults on a payment or other obligation. On some cards, a single late payment triggers a penalty rate.

Periodic rate
The APR divided by a unit of time (e.g. monthly periodic rate or daily periodic rate).

Personal Identification Number (PIN)
A number required to be punched into a keypad before a transaction can be completed. The number can usually be changed by the cardholder and is used as a security measure.

Platinum card
A credit card with a platinum hue that may offer a larger line of credit (generally $5,000 and up) than a standard or a gold card. In addition, platinum cards may provide extra perks or incentives to cardholders.

Point of sale (POS)
The location where the transaction takes place is the point of sale.

Posting date
The date that a credit or charge is recorded on your account. This date may differ from the transaction date.

Pre-approved
A credit card with a "pre-approved" offer means that a potential customer has passed a preliminary credit screening.

Previous balance
The outstanding balance on the account at the end of the previous billing cycle.

Primary cardholder
A person listed on an account who shares financial responsibility with the secondary cardholder.

Prime rate
An index used to calculate the applicable APR for a variable rate account. One frequently used index is a composite of the average prime rates of the largest commercial banks as published in The Wall Street Journal.

Private label cards
A card issued by a retail outlet, such as a department store or gasoline company, that contains the logo of the private company. It is generally accepted only by the retailer who issued it. Retailers partner with a bank or a card-issuing management company to back the cards.

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R

Rebate card
A card that allows the customer to accumulate cash, merchandise or services based on card usage.

Recent Activity
Transactions posted to your account for the current billing cycle. Recent activity will reflect all activity that has posted on your account since the last statement. If you have not made any transactions since your last statement, this section will not have any entries. If you have made a transaction and it does not appear, that transaction may not have posted to your account yet.

Revolver
A term credit card issuers use for cardholders who roll over part of the account balance to the next month, instead of paying off the balance in full each month.

Revolving line of credit
An agreement to lend a specific amount to a borrower and to allow that amount to be borrowed again once it has been repaid. Most credit cards are considered to have a revolving line of credit.

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S

Secondary user
A person who has jointly applied for a credit card and has financial responsibility for the repayment of the account balance.

Secured card
A credit card that a card holder secures with a security deposit to ensure payment of the outstanding balance if the card holder defaults on payments. It is used by people new to credit or people trying to rebuild their poor credit ratings.

Standard card
The basic card offered by issuers. Customers with higher incomes and good credit reports can qualify for the higher-limit gold and platinum cards.

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T

T (tiered)
If the letter T appears after the annual percentage rate (APR), the interest rate is based on tiered pricing, with different periodic rates applied to different levels of the outstanding balance. The rate shown applies to the lowest of the balance tiers.

Titanium card
A credit card with a titanium hue, carrying an even higher credit limit range and benefits than a platinum card.

Transaction date
The date that goods or services were purchased or the date the cash advance was made.

Truth in Lending Act
A federal law that requires lenders to provide standardized information so borrowers can compare loan terms. In general, lenders must provide information on what credit will cost the borrowers, when charges will be imposed and what the borrower’s rights are as a consumer.

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U

Unsecured debt
Debt that is not guaranteed by the pledge of any collateral. Most credit cards are unsecured debt, which is one reason why their interest rate may be higher than other forms of lending, such as mortgages, which use property as collateral.

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V

V (variable)
If the letter V appears after the annual percentage rate (APR) the interest rate is variable and subject to change.

Variable Rate
An interest rate that varies based on the combination of a published index rate and a previously disclosed margin. For example, if the current index rate is 9% and the margin is 2.75%, the variable rate will be equal to 11.75%.

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W

Western Union Quick Collect
Method of wiring a payment for rapid posting. One of the forms of express payments Capital One accepts.

Welcome Kit
A packet of information sent to a new credit card customer. It includes:

• Welcome brochure outlining the offer they have received
• Brochure detailing products and services available to Capital One cardholders
• Access Checks
• PIN issued (if requested by the customer)
• Truth in Lending Disclosure

Wire transfer
The electronic transfer of funds from one financial institution to another.

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Z

Zero balance
The amount shown on a credit card customer's bill when the outstanding balance has been repaid in full.

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