Capital One Aspire credit card - any real world experience?
 

The endless devaluation spiral of Aeroplan miles is pushing me away from any credit cards that accumulate in the program. Of the alternatives, the Capital One Aspire World MasterCard is the one that best suits my needs. On paper the card looks great, but I was wondering if anyone had any real world feedback to share. I am particularly interested on whether there is any hassle in claiming insurance (rental car / trip cancellation / trip interruption) or disputing charges. Capital One has terrible customer service in the US; this is the only thing that gives me pause right now.

(Not interested in TD Infinite / RBC Avion / SPG - thanks).

I'm in the same boat.
I'm going with Amex for Canadian purchases and Chase amazon.ca Visa for all foreign purchases.

Heard the aspire card is smart value

Hmmm... Just got this card in June after cancelling the CIBC Aventura MC to finish my commitment to AE. Didn't know about Capital One's customer service reputation, though. So far I haven't had problems, but I haven't had any issues to deal with.

+1

My redemptions have gone through without issue - use the website for redemptions.


I haven't had a disputed charge or other situation that required customer support to intervene.

Hi Everyone,

It's Andrew from Capital One Canada. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank @Mauricio23 for initiating this thread. We're always looking for feedback on our products and services, so I look forward to reading everyone's comments.

If I can ever be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Cheers!

Thanks Andrew! I have applied for the card, and will be in touch if I have any questions.

Should be making our first claim in the next couple weeks. All I know so far is that last year MoneySense rated the various reward cards based on various spending levels and CapitalOne came out #1 in almost all categories so we applied and switched most of our spending to it. Now only use Amex for Costco and AirMiles partners as we get double miles.

I'm looking into the Capital One Aspire World as well, because RBC is "improving" the WestJet World MC to a more expensive "World Elite". Now I can't decide between Travel and Cash. Cash is nicer as I don't need to reach a certain level of points to use the reward - but Travel has by far the nicer sign up bonus. :-)

Is there currently a referral bonus if an existing customer refers a new one?

A quick update - I got my card three weeks after applying. Nice welcome package, and very good description of all coverages. My credit limit is more than ample (low credit limits were the most common complaints against Capital One when the card was first introduced). The welcome bonus posted immediately after the first purchase. One welcome surprise is that your mileage balance is updated and can be applied towards redemptions as soon as each charge posts - no waiting for statements in order to access your rewards!

My wife submitted a claim under the baggage delay insurance covered by the Capital One Aspire card and we received a reimbursement within 3 weeks of submitting the claim and supporting documentation.

I have had the card for almost a year now and have no complaints apart from the credit limit which will apparently be reviewed at the one year mark.

I have had a Capital One card for a few years now and every horrible customer service experience makes me swear I am going to cancel it. I haven't yet but the last interaction yesterday has pushed me over the edge.

I made an online purchase - nothing expensive, $22. The product arrived and doesn't work. The company has not reponded to enquiries (have tried for a week, by email, webpage contact etc; they do not have a phone number listed on their site and googling only gets me fax numbers and non- answered numbers). I called Capital One to dispute the payment and after about a half hour on the line, they say there is nothing they can do! The charge was made 3 weeks ago so it is still recent but they just won't do it. They say I must first return the product at my expense to Hong Kong and wait and see if they respond. I pointed out that when you usually return something, you have had some contact with the company first so they know/have advised you to return it. And I would just be throwing more money away as the company obviously isn't going to reimburse me for the product, let alone the return postage.

I asked them what was the point of paying by credit card if I can't dispute charges? Where is the protection? I have never had this issue with other cards. The charge is removed and they investigate. Not so Capital One. They will not remove a charge, dispute it with the originator or help you in any way. You get no consumer protection when using this card. I shudder to think of trying to claim for rental car or travel insurance. Bye bye Capital One.

I started this thread asking for real world experience with the insurance products associated with the Capital One credit card. Now I got some of my own, and it is not good. Bottom line - if you plan to rely on your card's travel insurance, go with someone else. Capital One sucks.

In late December, I was delayed for over 13 hours in an EZE-YVR flight (4 hours at EZE, another 10 because of a missed connection in YYZ). I called Capital One, and they directed me to their insurance provider, World Travel Protection (WTP). WTP confirmed that I would be eligible for hotel and meal expenses, as the delay was over 4 hours. I checked into a day-use room at the Hampton Inn in YYZ, and ordered lunch. Total expenses: slightly over $100.

On January 3, I submitted the claim exactly as instructed by WTP - receipts, copy of itinerary, copy of credit card statement charging the flight, confirmation of delay from the airline, explanatory letter - the whole enchilada. Six weeks later, having heard nothing, I email them a status inquiry. Within two days I get a call back informing me that the claim is "at the last stage of review" and I should hear back soon.

After hearing nothing for two more weeks, I sent a second status inquiry three days ago, making it clear that this delay was unacceptable and that my continued cardmembership depended on how they handled the claim. Yesterday, still having heard nothing, I called WTP. A customer service representative informed me that the claim was "with a supervisor", and that she had no idea how long it would take to resolve. She had my email in front of her, and promised to escalate it. I have yet to hear from them.

In the meantime, I also contacted Capital One via secure message, informing them that I was getting the runaround from WTP, and that since the benefit is offered and published by them, I expected them to sort out the mess if they want me to keep pushing my spend through their credit card. All I got was a canned response telling me to contact WTP for any questions about benefits.

I also contacted AMCyyz on this board, who identified himself as the Capital One Aspire representative, three days ago. No response.

I'll update the thread with whatever happens next. In the meantime, all spend for which I expect to need insurance will go to Amex Gold. Depending on the resolution of this, that may soon become all spend, period. An extra fraction of a percentage in benefit yields is not worth dealing with this type of hassle.

Minor update: after I replied to Capital One's canned email with a few choice words and requested escalation to a supervisor, I received a slightly more meaningful reply. The customer service rep said that my complaint "was forwarded to the appropriate department for review", and offered a $30 credit as a goodwill gesture for the delay and inconvenience. Still, they said that I need to wait for the claims processor to make a decision. While I certainly appreciate the goodwill gesture, it doesn't solve the basic problem: I now have no confidence in the insurance protection offered by Capital One.

As a result of this, I am already putting all the purchases that may require insurance through AMEX Rewards Gold. Since with that card you get two points per dollar spent on groceries, gas, travel and drugstores, there's no difference between its yield and the Capital One Aspire for these purchases.

If you ask me, Capital One's choice of travel claims processor was a pretty dumb move in terms of cardholder retention.

Probably a great move for cost savings for them, lol....Hope your claim finally gets settled.