Atheist Symbol Rejected By Capital One, But Jesus Is Preapproved

Consumerist reader Mike has a Capital One credit card. He’d hoped to get one of the bank’s customizable “Image Cards” printed with a big red “A” for atheism. His initial upload was rejected by Capital One, which sent him a long list of possible reasons. And when he called to appeal, things just more bizarre.

The first person Mike spoke with said they had no idea why it was rejected and submitted his appeal.

Then the image was rejected a second time.

“I spoke to someone after the second rejection that someone there said that there was a note in my file regarding the fact that they do not allow religious or anti-religious images,” Mike tells Consumerist.

And yes, far down that list of possible reasons for rejecting a card, CapOne does list “Controversial subject matter such as political or religious statements and/or images.”

But why, Mike asks, does the card-making interface on Capital One’s own website have 34 photos in a category it labels “Spiritual” and which includes several options to put Christian and Jewish imagery on your card?

There are also categories like “Patriotic” and “Holidays” that likely contain images one could deem as political or religious.

“When I asked about the Spiritual section, the man responded that he didn’t have access to the gallery so he couldn’t comment on it,” Mike tells Consumerist. “He also mentioned that the rules are handed down to them from VISA and Mastercard and that this latest appeal was final.”

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