The best Capital One credit cards are those that 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 factors, including the value they offer versus their annual fee, breadth of reward categories, travel perks and APRs. We’ve ranked the 8 best Capital One credit cards based on our comparisons to help you make the right choice for your financial needs. Despite some small card changes at the tail end of 2020, our best Capital One picks remain unchanged in 2021.
- Why trust us? Unlike our competitors, Finder’s credit card experts research and write about all credit cards, including those from providers who aren’t partners on our site. Our trustworthy, unbiased evaluations are solely meant to help you choose the best credit card for your financial needs.
Best for travel
Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
670
Min. credit score
$95
Annual fee
60,000
Miles welcome offer
5x
Miles
The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card is a great travel card. You’ll earn a strong 2x miles on every purchase, which means you won’t have to fuss with tiered rewards.
- Reward miles. Earn unlimited 2x miles on all purchases.
- Signup bonus. Earn 60,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. These miles are worth up to $1,000 toward travel.
- TSA PreCheck and Global Entry fee credit. Get up to $100 statement credit once every four years when you use your card to pay for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee.
- Annual fee. Enjoy a $95 annual fee for the first year. But you'll pay a $95 annual fee for the second year onward.
- No intro APR period. You don't get a 0% intro APR period on balance transfers or purchases with this card.
| Annual fee |
$95
|
|---|
| Purchase APR |
17.24%, 21.99% or 24.49% variable
|
|---|
| Foreign transaction fee |
None
|
|---|
| Welcome offer |
60,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months plus miles after spending in the first
|
|---|
| Rewards |
5x miles on Uber Eats and 2x miles on all purchases
|
|---|
Best for cash back
Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card
670
Min. credit score
$0
Annual fee
1.5%
Cash back
$200
Welcome offer
Capital One offers a great cashback card with Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card. You’ll earn a simple 1.5% cash back on all purchases. You’ll also get a strong intro APR and a shot at a healthy signup bonus.
- Signup bonus. Earn $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 within the first 3 months after opening your account.
- Cash back. Earn flat 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
- Intro APR period on purchases. Get 0% on purchases for 15 months after account opening. After that, your purchase APR will be 15.49% to 25.49% variable.
- No intro APR on balance transfers. Without a 0% intro APR period, this card may not be a good choice for balance transfers.
| Annual Fee |
$0
|
|---|
| Purchase APR |
0% intro for the first 15 months (then 15.49% to 25.49% variable)
|
|---|
| Balance transfer APR |
15.49%, 21.49% or 25.49% variable
|
|---|
| Welcome offer |
$200 cash back after spending $500 in the first 3 months
|
|---|
| Rewards |
1.5% cash back on all purchases
|
|---|
Best for dining and entertainment
Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card
670
Min. credit score
$95
ongoing
Annual fee
Up to
8%
Cash back
$300
Welcome offer
If you mostly spend on dining and entertainment and you're looking to get the highest signup bonus, Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card could be a solid choice.
- Signup bonus. Earn $300 cash bonus after you spend $3,000 during your first 3 months of card membership.
- Cash back. Earn 4% cash back on dining and entertainment purchases, 2% at grocery stores and 1% back on all other purchases.
- No foreign transaction fees. Use this card freely abroad and you won't pay any foreign transaction fees.
- Annual fee. Enjoy a $0 annual fee for the first year, but a $95 a year after that.
- No intro APR period. You get cool perks with this card, but you don't get a 0% intro APR period on balance transfers or purchases.
| Annual Fee |
$0 intro annual fee for the first year ($95 thereafter)
|
|---|
| Purchase APR |
15.99% or 24.99% variable
|
|---|
| Balance transfer APR |
15.99% or 24.99% variable
|
|---|
| Welcome offer |
$300 after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months
|
|---|
| Rewards |
8% cash back with Vivid Seats, 5% on Uber Eats, 4% on dining and entertainment, 2% at grocery stores and 1% on all other purchases
|
|---|
Best cashback card for fair credit
Capital One® QuicksilverOne® Cash Rewards Credit Card
580
Min. credit score
$39
Annual fee
1.5%
Cash back
n/a
Welcome offer
If your credit score doesn't allow you to get the Capital One® QuicksilverOne® Cash Rewards Credit Card, you can opt-in for its sibling card the QuicksilverOne® from Capital One®. You will earn the same cashback rate on all purchases, but you'll also pay an annual fee with this card.
- Cash back. Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
- Access to higher credit limits. Make your payments on time for five consecutive months and Capital One may consider increasing your credit limit.
- No foreign transaction fees. Use this card freely abroad and you won't pay any foreign transaction fees.
- Annual fee. You'll pay a $39 annual fee for this card.
- No signup bonus. You don't get to earn a bonus when you signup for this card.
| Annual Fee |
$39
|
|---|
| Purchase APR |
22.99% variable
|
|---|
| Balance transfer APR |
22.99% variable
|
|---|
| Welcome offer |
N/A
|
|---|
| Rewards |
1.5% cash back on all purchases
|
|---|
Best for students
Journey® Student Rewards from Capital One®
580
Min. credit score
$0
Annual fee
Up to
5%
Cash back
n/a
Welcome offer
If you’re a student, it’s hard to go wrong with the Journey® Student Rewards from Capital One®. You’ll pay no annual fee, and you’ll earn cash back on all purchases. When you pay your card bill on time, you’ll earn cash back on the rewards you earned for that billing period.
- No annual fee. Start your credit-building efforts without paying an annual fee
- Cash back. Earn 1% cash back on all purchases. When you pay your card bill on time, you will earn an extra 0.25% on the cash back you have earned during that billing cycle.
- Streaming subscription credit. Earn $5 per month for 12 months toward select streaming services when you pay your credit card balance on time.
- No signup bonus. You won't earn any bonus when you sign up.
- No intro APR period. There's no 0% intro APR period on balance transfers or purchases.
| Annual Fee |
$0
|
|---|
| Purchase APR |
22.99% variable
|
|---|
| Balance transfer APR |
22.99% variable
|
|---|
| Welcome offer |
N/A
|
|---|
| Rewards |
1% cash back on all purchases, 1.25% for months you pay on time
|
|---|
Best for rebuilding credit
Capital One® Secured Mastercard®
580
Min. credit score
$0
Annual fee
26.99% variable
Purchase APR
From $49
Min. deposit
The Capital One® Secured Mastercard® doesn’t offer rewards, but it is a great Capital One card for building credit. You may get a $200 credit line without having to put down a security deposit of the same amount.
- No annual fee. This is one of the rare secured cards that has no annual fee.
- Low security deposit. Deposit either $49, $99 or $200 based on your creditworthiness and you may receive a $200 credit line without having to put down a security deposit of the same amount.
- Chance at a higher credit line. When you make your first five monthly payments on time, Capital One will give you a higher credit line.
- Secured deposit required. You must make a secured deposit to use the card.
- No rewards. You won't earn any rewards on your purchases with this card.
| Annual fee |
$0
|
|---|
| Minimum deposit required |
$49, $99 or $200
|
|---|
| Purchase APR |
26.99% variable
|
|---|
| Balance transfer APR |
26.99% variable
|
|---|
| Recommended minimum credit score |
580
|
|---|
- Visit the Capital One website.
- Navigate to the credit cards section and pick the card you want.
- Click 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. You can prequalify for a Capital One card to see the cards you’ll have the best chance of approval for.
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 can have a maximum of two personal Capital One cards. This typically doesn’t include cobranded cards, though this isn’t set in stone.
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.
- Do you spend a lot on dining and entertainment?
If so, you’ll earn great cash back with one of the Savor® cards. These products also offer solid rewards at grocery stores, but consider other grocery credit cards if this category consumes most of your spending. - Do you spend relatively evenly across many categories?
If so, you might get more out of Capital One’s flat-rate cashback cards — that is, the cards that offer the same rewards rate on every purchase. Instead of having to modify your spending to earn bonus rewards in certain categories, you can spend normally and earn solid cash back. - Do you have fair credit?
If you have fair credit, the Capital One® QuicksilverOne® Cash Rewards Credit Card might be the right choice. If you’re a business owner with fair credit, consider the Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business. - 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.
Capital One is best known for its dining and entertainment rewards cards, as well as it’s powerful travel rewards cards. In fact, you might think of Capital One as just under the 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 it’s two big name competitors.
Compare Capital One credit cards by card type
- Dining and entertainment rewards. Capital One possesses one of the strongest rewards cards on the market for dining and entertainment in the Capital One Savor Cash.
- Small but mighty travel card lineup. If you like simplicity with your travel 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.
- No foreign transaction fees on a majority of cards. Capital One doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, even for non-travel cards. You might be surprised to find no foreign transaction fees for certain 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 the return of this feature.
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.
- How does Capital One keep my credit card information secure?
Capital One protects your information with many of the standard card security measures, including 128-bit Secure Socket Layer and mobile or email alerts when Capital One detects unusual transactions. - Can I cancel my Capital One credit card without calling?
No. Here are the ways you can cancel your Capital One credit card.
