Compare Capital One credit cards, view the best picks, and browse a full list of card reviews.
Compare Capital One credit cards
Use our table to sort Capital One cards by name, intro APR, annual fee and more. Check the Compare box under up to four cards you're interested in. You can also click Show filters to narrow your options and browse products that fit your credit score range and have features you need most.
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Capital One offers a great variety of simple and strong card options. Notable among the collection are several great rewards cards, a few secured card picks plus to-the-point travel cards. Use this table for a quick overview of the cards available and how they stack up.
The best Capital One credit cards
The best Capital One credit cards offer the biggest rewards or most travel perks for your specific financial and travel needs. Finder’s credit card experts reviewed all Capital One cards and compared them against one another based on several card details, including their value versus their annual fee, range of reward categories, travel perks and APRs.
We’ve ranked the best Capital One credit cards based on our comparisons to help you make the right choice for your financial needs.
How do I get prequalified for a Capital One credit card?
Capital One offers an online prequalification process that lets you see customized card offers within 60 seconds. This doesn’t mean you are approved for a credit card, nor that you have applied for one. It only means you have high chances of approval for select credit cards.
The process is done with a soft pull on your credit, which has no impact on your credit score. But after you apply for a card you’re prequalified for, Capital One will do a hard pull on your credit. Keep in mind, even if you prequalify for a certain card, it doesn’t guarantee approval.
Go to the Capital One prequalification page.
Complete the prequalification form with your name, date of birth, Social Security number and residential address, employment status and annual income.
Review your application and click See if I’m preapproved.
Note: Capital One calls the process pre-approval.
What are the benefits of a Capital One prequalification?
Better chances of approval. You can see cards that fit your credit profile, though nothing is guaranteed.
You can still shop around. There’s no obligation to apply. Feel free to get prequalified with other banks.
Your credit score won’t be affected. Keeping your credit score intact could increase your odds when you apply for a card.
Capital One credit card application instructions
Visit the Capital One website.
Navigate to the credit cards section and pick the card you want.
Choose Apply now.
Complete the application with details such as your full name, contact information, employment status and total annual income.
Review your information and submit your application.
Eligibility criteria
You’re at least 18 years old.
You have a Social Security number or tax identification number.
You live in the United States or a US military location.
Your monthly income exceeds your monthly rent or mortgage payment by at least $425.
Information you’ll need
Your name and residential address
Your Social Security number
Your email address, phone number and date of birth
Financial information like your annual income and income source
Application restrictions
For applications, Capital One is more restrictive than other issuers. If you’re approved for a card — personal or business — you must wait six months before you can be approved for another. Apply to prequalify for a Capital One card. Then you’ll see the cards where you’ll have the best chance of getting approved.
You may also want to wait if you’ve recently applied for a card from a different provider. According to reports, Capital One has been known to deny applications if you’ve recently applied for credit.
How many Capital One cards can I have?
You may have a maximum of two personal Capital One cards. This typically doesn’t include cobranded cards, though this isn’t set in stone based on reports from some cardholders.
How is my Capital One credit limit determined?
You’ll find that each credit card provider has its own criteria to determine the amount of credit line you will receive. This often includes:
Annual income. Get a higher credit limit with a higher annual income.
Employment. Having a steady job proves you are responsible and you have a steady income to pay off your debt.
Creditworthiness. Clean credit history and a high credit score pave the way for a higher credit line.
Relationship with Capital One. Loyal customers may get rewarded with a higher credit limit.
How often will Capital One increase your credit limit?
You can request a higher credit line once every six months.
How can I find out my Capital One credit limit?
Log in to your online Capital One credit card account and find your credit limit in your account summary. Alternatively, look for the specific amount in your credit card statement.
How do I know if I am eligible for a credit line increase?
Capital One has its own criteria to determine your eligibility, including:
Your credit card account must be at least three months old.
Your credit card must be unsecured.
You have not received a credit line increase or decrease in the last six months.
You make timely payments with all creditors.
You must pay more than your minimum payment each month.
Keep in mind that even if you meet these criteria, Capital One may still decline your credit limit increase request.
How to increase my Capital One credit limit
Once you are eligible for a credit limit increase, you have four options:
Submit your request online
Call the bank
Get an automatic credit limit increase
Apply for another card
How do I choose the best Capital One credit card?
One of the first things to do when looking for a Capital One card is to evaluate your spending. This will help you find a product that offers ideal rewards.
Review your types of spending. If you spend evenly across many different categories, you might get the most value out of Capital One’s flat-rate cashback cards — that is, the cards that offer the same rewards rate on every purchase. But if you spend heavily in a few categories such as dining or entertainment, a card in Capital One’s Savor suit might prove more lucrative.
Do you have fair credit? If you have average or limited credit history, the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card might be the right choice.
What annual fee do you want to pay? Capital One doesn’t have any premium cards that cost hundreds of dollars a year. Rather, your choice is whether you want to pay a $0 or $39 annual fee, or a $95 annual fee starting the second year. If you’ll pay an annual fee, consider whether you’ll get enough value from the card to justify the cost. For example, you might want the card for its rewards, or simply because it’s one of the few cards available to someone with your credit profile.
Do you want a signup bonus? Capital One’s personal cards have signup bonuses of $150 to $300, while its business cards have signup bonuses of $200 to $500. Keep in mind some cards have annual fees that will eat into these rewards.
The right Capital One card for you is the one that fits your financial needs best. For example, Logan Allec, CPA and owner at Money Done Right, tells Finder that he has one of the Spark small business credit cards.
“Because most of the expenses I have in my business don’t fall into traditional bonus categories such as travel or dining, I was looking for a card for my business that could give me 2% back on every purchase, and this card fit the bill!”
Jessica Clark, a 35-year-old mother and founder of Gluten Free Supper, tells Finder that she uses a Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card.
“I chose this card because, at the time, I did not have perfect credit and that was not a requirement. I also was enticed by the 0% initial interest rate for purchases as well as balance transfers. I initially used my Quicksilver card to transfer a balance from another credit card that carried a balance with a high interest rate. This allowed me to pay off that balance a lot quicker. Now that I no longer have any credit card debt, I use my Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card for all of my monthly expenses as well as spending and groceries.”
Types of Capital One cards
Capital One is best known for its dining and entertainment credit card offerings, as well as its powerful travel rewards cards. In fact, you might consider Capital One as slightly under Chase and Amex when it comes to travel and rewards power. On top of that, it also offers good choices if your credit is less than perfect, something not offered by its two big-name competitors.
Here are a few more types of cards you’ll find with this provider.
Balance transfer cards. While Capital One traditionally offers several balance transfer cards, their APR offers tend to come and go. You’ll also encounter balance transfer fees with several of these cards.
No annual fee cards. There are a variety of no-annual-fee card options from Capital One, including several strong reward options like the VentureOne Rewards Credit Card.
Business cards. Capital One’s Spark lineup focuses on rewards. In fact, even their business offering for fair credit offers cash back on purchases.
No foreign transaction fee cards. Surprisingly, not a single Capital One credit card charges a foreign transaction fee, so you have your pick of the lot.
How to compare Capital One credit cards with no annual fee
Capital One offers a variety of no-annual-fee credit cards, including cashback cards, credit-building cards and a travel card. In fact, Capital One cards are cheaper on average compared to providers like Chase or Amex, with the most expensive Capital One cards topping out at around $95 annually. However, there’s still plenty of power packed into Capital One cards.
Comparing Capital One cards with no annual fee is straightforward given the range of cards available under the Capital One umbrella. Here are the main features to look at.
Rewards. Any opportunity to earn rewards on a purchase without paying an annual fee is pure value.
Intro APR. A few Capital One cards offer low intro rates on purchases and balance transfers.
APR. If you plan on carrying a balance, you’ll want as low an ongoing APR as possible.
Standout benefits of Capital One cards
Dining and entertainment rewards. Capital One possesses one of the strongest cashback rewards cards on the market for dining and entertainment in the Capital One Savor Rewards.
Small but mighty travel card lineup. If you like simplicity with your travel reward cards, the Venture Rewards cards are excellent choices. Their earning rates are comparable to Chase and Amex offerings without the same complexity of juggling points across cards. And similar to these competitors, the Venture cards earn rewards on many types of travel purchases.
No foreign transaction fees on a majority of cards. Capital One charges no foreign transaction fees, even for nontravel cards. You might be surprised to find no foreign transaction fees for specific cards. For example, the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card charges no foreign transaction fees, while similar cards usually do.
Easy-to-obtain signup bonus. Capital One signup bonuses generally have relatively low spending requirements for the value of the bonus.
Combine cards. Capital One used to allow you to combine two of their cards into one account. This was helpful, as Capital One only allows you to have two credit cards maximum. As of March 2021, this feature has been discontinued, though Capital One claims this is only temporary, so keep an eye out for this feature to return.
Bottom line
Capital One has an impressive stable of simple and powerful rewards cards. But if you’re looking to dive into a more complex rewards program with the potential for bigger rewards, American Express and Chase both have some great options.
If you’re not sure whether a Capital One product is right for you, check out leading credit card providers to compare more options.
Credit card ratings
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
Our team evaluates credit cards to determine their value against similar cards on the market.
We rank card types — travel, cash back, business — on a set of factors that are most relevant to that type of card. We create these rankings to help you narrow down a credit card that best suits your spending and budget.
Kevin Chen is a personal finance expert and a former writer at Finder. His expertise has been featured in CNN, U.S. News and World Report, Lifehacker and CreditCards.com, among other top media.
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finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions. While we are independent, the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which finder.com receives compensation. We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn't influence our assessment of those products. Please don't interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. finder.com compares a wide range of products, providers and services but we don't provide information on all available products, providers or services. Please appreciate that there may be other options available to you than the products, providers or services covered by our service.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
