While Credit One has some decent APYs on certificates of deposit (CDs), Capital One has slightly more going on. For everyday banking options and affordable deposit requirements, Capital One is the clear winner.
Open a Capital One 360 Checking account with promo code CHECKING250, set up direct deposits and receive at least two direct deposits of at least $500 each within 75 days of opening to earn a $250 bonus offer.
Open Capital One Performance Savings account with promo code BONUS1500. Deposit at least $20,000 to earn $300, $50,000 to earn $750 or $100,000 to earn $1,500 within 15 days of opening. You must maintain the balance for at least 90 days to earn the bonus.
Incentive Details and Disclaimers: Current Promotion
Earn a $250 bonus with 360 Checking. Open a new account on or after August 22nd, 2024 using the promo code CHECKING250 then set up and receive at least 2 qualifying direct deposits of $500 or more within 75 days of account opening. Terms Apply.
Credit One vs. Capital One: Account options
Capital One is a large, national bank that’s been around for many years. Like other full-service banks, it has FDIC insurance, multiple deposit accounts, credit cards and some lending services.
Credit One Bank is a lesser-known bank than Cap One, but has been around since 1984, is headquartered in Nevada and also has the typical FDIC insurance. Credit One specializes in jumbo CDs and credit cards. If you were looking for everyday banking services, like checking or savings, you’d be out of luck with Credit One.
Banking
Right off the bat, Capital One wins when it comes to banking.
Credit One doesn’t offer checking or savings accounts. Cap One has checking, high-yield savings, kids’ banking and CDs. But when it comes to CDs, Credit One offers higher rates than Capital One (but with much higher deposit requirements).
Capital One offers:
Checking. A flagship product, the 360 Checking account has no monthly fees, foreign transaction fees or opening deposit requirements. Balances also earn 0.1% APY. Also, there’s a $250 new customer bonus available if you can meet requirements.
Savings. With no balance requirements or monthly fees, the 360 Performance Savings account offers a high 3% APY. There’s also a bonus with this account, but it requires a deposit of at least $20,000 to get any bonus cash.
CDs. APYs as high as 4% on a 12-month term are available with Cap One’s CDs, which have no opening deposit requirements.
Kids’ banking. The MONEY Teen Checking account is for kids and teens, requiring an adult co-owner. It’s available to kids aged eight and up, with no monthly fees, opening deposit requirements or overdraft fees. There’s also the Kids Savings Account, which earns up to 2.5% APY with no age requirements and also requires an adult co-owner.
Credit One offers:
Jumbo CDs. All terms require a minimum deposit of $100,000, and rates can be as high as 4.30% APY on a 12-month term. It also offers jumbo bump-up CDs which allow you to “bump up” your rate once during your term if rates were to go up on your term.
When it comes to lending, both Capital One and Credit One really only offer credit cards. Neither Cap One or Credit One offer personal loans, but Cap One does have a few business financing options.
Credit One states that it has over seven million card members nationwide, making it one of the top banks for credit card issuing. Capital One has over 100 million customers, but we don’t have specifics on how many of those are credit card customers specifically.
Capital One credit cards. Known in the industry for lax credit score requirements compared to other large banks, Cap One offers travel cards, fair-credit cards with no annual fee, cashback reward cards and more. Some standout cards include the Platinum card and the Venture X Rewards card.
Credit One. Offers 10 different credit card options. Like Cap One, Credit One offers rewards cards, cards with no annual fees and options for borrowers with less-than-ideal credit histories. A standout option is the Credit One Wander American Express card, offering high cash back rate on travel purchases.
Neither Capital One or Credit One have investing options. If that’s a dealbreaker for you, compare the best investing platforms and services elsewhere.
Apps, features and more
Without a doubt, Capital One has more in the realm of banking features, simply because it actually offers checking and savings accounts that typically come with extras.
For example, Capital One supports early direct deposit, mobile check deposit, Zelle transactions and ATM deposits.
Since Credit One doesn’t offer checking or savings, you won’t have the ability to do typical banking features like ACH transfers between accounts in an app or get an ATM or debit card. Credit One’s CDs work like any other CD — you deposit the cash, wait for the term to end and collect your deposit and interest earnings. You can’t perform transactions with CDs like you can with a checking account, or make more deposits like you’d be able to with a savings account.
Additionally, Credit One can’t work with Zelle. To use Zelle, the bank or credit union must become a Zelle partner, and Zelle only allows transactions between US deposit accounts, like checking and savings.
Capital One is pretty light on fees overall. But since Credit One doesn’t have accounts that typically charge fees (like monthly service or foreign transaction fees), it’s hard to compare the two banks. But what we can compare are the CDs and credit cards.
Capital One doesn’t have a minimum deposit requirement to open a CD, which means you could hypothetically open a CD with as little as $1. With Credit One, though, you’ll need at least $100,000 to open a CD and earn interest on any of its terms. While a $100,000 deposit isn’t unheard of for a jumbo CD, we do wish Credit One had some other CD options because the interest rates are good.
Comparing credit cards, offerings and fees are similar. Cap One and Credit One offer options with no annual fees, and cards with annual fees are within typical ranges. APRs vary widely, and your exact rate will depend on your creditworthiness for either bank.
When it comes to credit card late fees, Credit One has a structure of an increasing late fee, with the fee increasing with each subsequent late payment (from $29 up to $40). Cap One’s credit card late fee is up to $40.
What customers say about Capital One and Credit One
For the most part, customers of Credit One write about their credit card experiences. This makes sense, as we barely ever see reviews about CDs specifically (historically, these products don’t have much going on). Some customers are pretty happy with their experience, often saying applying for a credit card was simple, fast and pleased with the options. On the negative side, some say it can be hard to get in touch with a customer service rep and complain of slow response times — a typical complaint of an online-only bank.
For Capital One, most reviews talk about credit cards and poor customer service. Some note poor experiences with the recent Capital One and Discover merger. And other reviews mention disappointment with not qualifying for a specific bonus or credit card.
Overall, neither bank has glowing customer reviews, but that’s pretty normal. Most folks don’t go to the Better Business Bureau or Trustpilot to praise a bank (unless prompted by the bank itself).
Final verdict: Capital One is better
Unfortunately, it’s not much of a contest between Capital One and Credit One. Capital One is the clear winner in terms of account options, affordability, accessibility and ease.
Capital One has the typical bells and whistles you’d want from a full-service bank, including checking and savings with no monthly fees, kids’ banking options, CDs, credit cards, ATM access and Zelle support.
Credit One focuses on credit cards and jumbo CDs — and that’s really it. And with the high opening deposit requirement of its CDs, it’s not exactly an option for most folks. Credit One also is an online bank with no physical branches or ATM network. But if you can afford the $100,000 deposit requirement for a jumbo CD, Credit One does have slightly higher CD rates than Cap One, at the time of writing.
Capital One at a glance
Cap One sweeps the competition with its variety of deposit account options and its affordable services.
Pros
No monthly fees on deposit accounts
No foreign transaction fees
Variety of credit cards
$0 minimum deposit on CDs
Kids' banking
Around 750 branch and cafe locations
Works with Zelle
Cons
No investing services
No personal loans
Credit One at a glance
A bank with two specialties it does well, but it’s not enough if you need a full-service bank.
Bethany Hickey is the banking editor and personal finance expert at Finder, specializing in banking, lending, insurance, and crypto.
Bethany’s expertise in personal finance has garnered recognition from esteemed media outlets, such as Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo Finance, GOBankingRates, SuperMoney, AOL and Newsweek. Her articles offer practical financial strategies to Americans, empowering them to make decisions that meet their financial goals. Her past work includes articles on generational spending and saving habits, lending, budgeting and managing debt.
Before joining Finder, she was a content manager where she wrote hundreds of articles and news pieces on auto financing and credit repair for CarsDirect, Auto Credit Express and The Car Connection, among others.
Bethany holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan-Flint, and was poetry editor for the university’s Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine.
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