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Capital One offers a wide range of credit cards. These vary from student and secured cards designed to help build credit to premium rewards cards offering great travel benefits. With the introduction of 18 transfer partners and steady improvement of the credit-card products on offer, Capital One is well established as one of the top rewards-card issuers in the U.S. In today’s post, we’ll review the seven best Capital One credit cards for every purchase.
This will include welcome offers, earning rates, and feature benefits of our favorite Capital One cards. We'll also explore when it makes sense to hold the no-annual-fee version of the card, if available. Some of the cards listed below charge no annual fee for the first year. This lets you try them out for 12 months before deciding if it deserves a long-term spot in your wallet.
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Capital One Credit Card Top Picks
Capital One has an expansive rewards card portfolio, including top student cards and plenty of options for folks looking to build their credit file. However, rather than list out all the Capital One cards, we’ve focused our attention on the seven that we think offer top value for points-and-miles fans.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening; worth $750 in travel if redeemed for a fixed-value, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 2 Miles on every purchase
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔® (up to $100)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
Sign-up bonus: Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
Annual fee: $95
Rewards: 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day. 5 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
Feature benefits: Sporting a high-value signup bonus of 75,000 miles after you meet the minimum spend, the Capital One Venture is one of the best travel cards available in its price point. In addition to operating as traditional fixed-value points redeemable for 1¢ per point towards any travel purchase, Venture Miles earned on your Capital One Venture can be transferred to 15 airline and three hotel partners.
Capital One added several new partners in April 2021. In addition, they improved the rate at which miles transfer to several existing partners. Check out our complete guide to Capital One transfer partners for inspiration on how to make the most of your miles.
Cardholders receive a TSA PreCheck / Global Entry fee credit, travel insurance benefits, and pay no foreign transaction fees. If you're curious to learn more, we have a detailed post on how to extract maximum value from the Capital One Venture.
Related: Full review of the Capital One Venture
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
- 2 miles per dollar on all eligible purchases
- 5 miles per dollar on flights when booking via Capital One Travel
- 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booking via Capital One Travel
Sign-up bonus: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual fee: $395
Rewards: 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day, plus 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5 miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel.
Feature benefits: The Capital One Venture X is Capital One's luxury card and comes stacked with benefits. You'll get up to $300 in travel credits each year for purchases made through Capital One Travel and 10,000 bonus miles on each account anniversary. The Capital One Venture X also gives you access to Priority Pass and Capital One airport lounges, Hertz President's Circle elite status, and a $100 TSA PreCheck / Global Entry fee credit.
You'll earn at least two miles for every dollar spent — or up to 10 miles per dollar on travel booked with Capital One Travel. In addition to operating as traditional fixed-value points redeemable for 1¢ apiece towards any travel purchase, just like with the Capital One Venture, Venture Miles earned on your Capital One Venture X also can be transferred to Capital One's 18 transfer partners.
Related: Full review of the Capital One Venture X
Savor Rewards from Capital One
- $300 Cash Back after you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
- 4% cash back on dining, entertainment, and popular streaming services, plus 3% at grocery stores and 1% on all other purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- 4% cash back on dining
- 4% cash back on entertainment
- 4% cash back on popular streaming services
- 3% cash back at grocery stores
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
Sign-up bonus: Earn $300 Cash Back after you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
Annual fee: $95
Rewards: 4% Cash Back on dining, entertainment, and popular streaming services; 3% at grocery stores; and 1 % on all other purchases.
Feature benefits: The Capital One Savor comfortably sits inside our best rewards cards for dining and restaurants. New cardholders earn $300 cash-back after meeting the minimum spend requirements. Plus, the card offers a massive 4% back on dining, entertainment, and popular streaming services plus 3% back at grocery stores. This is a great card to hold if you’re looking to supercharge your cash-back strategy — rather than for any benefits you might gain from holding the card.
You could comfortably trade this card for the no-annual fee Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card. This is particularly true if you don’t maintain a sizeable monthly spend in the dining and entertainment categories. Year one, you’ll come out ahead holding the Capital One Savor, thanks to the higher cash signup bonus. From year two onwards, however, you would need to spend at least $9,500 per year on dining and entertainment to overcome the $95 on the Capital One Savor since the Capital One SavorOne doesn't have an annual fee.
Related: Full review of the Capital One Savor
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
- One-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
- 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day
- 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 annual fee
- 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day
- 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply)
Sign-up bonus: One-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: Earn 1.5 % Cash Back on every purchase, every day. 5 % Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply)..
Feature benefits: The only no-annual-fee card on the list, the Capital One Quicksilver is a simple, flat-rate rewards card with no complex bonus categories. Capital One rewards never expire as long as your account is open. In addition, there is no minimum redemption amount for your cash-back earnings. This is a great feature for folks who don’t put a lot of spend on their credit cards. The Capital One Quicksilver also offers an attractive introductory annual percentage rate (APR) if you’re looking to fund a large purchase without paying interest:
- Purchase: 0% intro on purchases for 15 months, then a regular APR of 19.99% - 29.99% (Variable).
- Balance transfer: 0% intro on balance transfers for 15 months, then a regular APR of 19.99% - 29.99% (Variable). Note that balance transfers have a fee of 3% for the first 15 months or at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer you at any other time. No fee for amounts transferred at the Transfer APR.
Related: Full review of the Capital One Quicksilver
Capital One Venture X Business
- 10X miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on flights booked via Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per $1 on other eligible purchases
Sign-up bonus: Earn 150,000 bonus miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual fee: $395
Rewards: 10X Miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 5X Miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel, and 2X Miles on all other purchases
Feature benefits: The Capital One Venture X Business is the standard other business cards are measured against when you consider a return on everyday spending. You'll earn unlimited 2x miles on all purchases, plus additional miles on travel booked in Capital One's portal. Earnings don't get simpler than this, and the fact earnings aren't capped makes it even better.
Additional benefits on the Venture X Business include an annual $300 travel credit, 10,000 bonus miles on each account anniversary, and unlimited visits to multiple lounge programs. If you're able to use these benefits, they're worth far more than the card's annual fee.
Capital One Spark Cash Plus
- 2% cash back on every purchase and 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
Sign-up bonus: Earn a one-time cash bonus of $1,200 once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months..
Annual fee: $150
Rewards: 2% cash back on every purchase and 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
Feature benefits: We consider the Spark Cash Plus the benchmark business rewards card for earning cash back. Cardholders receive a solid 2% cash back on everyday spending.
Rewards strategies don't get simpler than this. In addition, the Spark Cash Plus is a fantastic complement to earning up to $1,200 from the welcome bonus. Beware that you need to charge around $2,500 per month on the Spark Cash Plus to justify its $150 annual fee. Otherwise, you may fare better with the no-annual-fee alternative, the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit.
The Spark Cash Select earns a solid 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase. That's 0.5% lower than everyday earning rates on the Spark Cash Plus. It takes $30,000 of purchases at 0.5% to earn $150 — the annual fee difference between the cards.
Capital One Spark Miles for Business
- Earn 50,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening; worth $500 in travel if redeemed for a fixed-value, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 2 Miles per $1 on every purchase, everywhere
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔® (up to $100)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 intro for first year; $95 after that
- 2X miles per dollar on every purchase, everywhere, no limits or category restrictions
- 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
Sign-up bonus: Earn 50,000 when you spend $4,500 within 3 months from account opening.
Annual fee: $0 intro for first year; $95 after that
Rewards: Earn 2X miles on every purchase and 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
Feature benefits: Choosing between the Spark Cash Plus and Spark Miles cards used to be an easy decision. Cash is more flexible than fixed-value travel points. Given those two options, it made sense for most business owners to choose the cash-back card. However, the Spark Miles card earns the same valuable miles as the Venture cards, which you can now transfer to the majority of airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio. This makes the Spark Miles a much more valuable card than it once was. This is particularly true if you can leverage the rewards earned for premium-cabin award travel.
Which Card Is Right for You?
Top choice for frequent travelers
For those who travel frequently, the miles-earning cards are the best way to go. This is especially true for those willing to put in a bit of extra effort to utilize the transfer partners. Even if you don't use the transfer partners, you can redeem your miles for a statement credit on any travel-related charge (from the past 90 days) at a value of one cent per mile. This makes cards like the Capital One Venture and Spark Miles equivalent to 2% cash-back cards if you can spend your miles on travel. But, with the miles cards, you also retain the huge upside of oversized value with the Capital One transfer partners.
For the most frequent travelers, however, the best choice is the Capital One Venture X. You'll get up to $300 in annual travel credits, anniversary bonus miles, lounge access, and high earning rates when booking travel in Capital One's portal.
Top choice for ease and flexibility
On the other hand, if ease and flexibility are your top priorities, Capital One offers some of the best cash-back products on the market.
In either case, there's no shortage of options for small business or consumer spending. If you keep a tight budget (or are just allergic to annual fees), there are plenty of no-annual-fee products. The generous first-year annual fee waiver on select cards gives you a solid 12 months to try out the card. This helps ensure that you are getting value before you commit long-term.
The Capital One Quicksilver earns well on every purchase you make and can be a great partner to other cards when purchases don't fall into a bonus category.
Application Rules
The key rule to know is that you can only apply for one Capital One card every six months. This includes both business and personal cards. If you're interested in multiple cards featured in this post, you'll need to decide which one will give you the most value in the immediate future. Then, in six months, you can apply for another.
You'll also see these terms in many Capital One applications:
“Existing or previous Accountholders may not be eligible for this one-time bonus.”
While there's little data about not earning a welcome bonus if you've had a card in the past, it's worth knowing that you could be rejected for this reason.
Capital One is known to pull your credit report from all three credit bureaus. For most, this isn't a big deal. However, if you're carefully monitoring your inquiries, it's good to know. Although there isn't a published rule, Capital One also seems sensitive to the number of recent inquiries and new accounts showing on your credit report. Lastly, Capital One is known for reporting most business cards to your personal credit report.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
Final Thoughts
Capital One offers value-focused credit cards aimed at maximizing the rewards you earn on everyday spending. This is in comparison to cards that are loaded with travel credits and elite status perks like some of its high-cost rivals. Instead, these value-focused credit cards offer a great mix of traditional travel rewards and cash-back cards. No matter what your travel or rewards goals are, you can fill your wallet with high-earning cards with a low out-of-pocket cost.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I used to think annual fees were the dumbest thing ever, but I am starting to see that some annual fee cards actually offer a value equal to if not more than the cost of the annual fee. I currently use the no-annual-fee Venture One card. Would I still be eligible for the sign-up bonus if I wanted to instead apply for the annual-fee Venture card and transfer my points/miles to the new card?
Hey Lauren, you should be eligible to get the Venture Card. You can find Capital One application rules here: https://awardwallet.com/blog/understanding-rewards-credit-card-application-rules-restrictions/
Most notably, you can’t get approved for a new card if you’ve applied for another Capital One card in the previous 6 months.
It’s been a long time since I’ve applied for a card, so I should be good on that end. I just really want to take advantage of the welcome offer if possible since I’m already a no-annual-fee Venture One cardholder and would be looking to upgrade to some of the Venture benefits.
That’s the right strategy. You should be in good shape to apply for the Venture as a new card and take advantage of the welcome offer.
I like the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card. No Annual Fee (not just in the first year). I also like cash instead of miles. Can’t always use the miles and have to keep the account active to prevent miles from expiring if it is an airline I don’t fly often. I always find a way to spend the cash and it never expires.
Capital One is getting better and better. We’ll have to acknowledge the effort, but let’s see where it will go.
It would be nice if they have the same % on everything. Because I can never predict what I will spend in the coming months.
Capital One has improved but still has to catch up to chase and amex.
They’ve got a long way to go (probably too far to catch up) but they’re at least showing that they want to be a contender.
I received a Venture mailer and a Savor One mailer. If I use the codes in the letter to check for prequalify online, does that result in a hard pull?
I can’t say for sure but usually prequalified offers don’t trigger a hard pull unless you apply for the card.
Great summary of the various cards and their earning categories for an often overlooked issuer.
I recommend the Quick Silver. If I remember correctly there is also no foreign transaction fee on this card
Correct. No Discover card and no Capital One card has transaction fees.
Great options! evaluate the benefits is appropriate. But I don’t like to change too often or even have too many cards with me.
wow! thanks for sharing
The only downside with Capital One is that they pull from all three credit bureaus. Not a deal breaker, but definitely something to be aware of.
Exactly why I’m not applying for any of their cards for quite a while.
If you can put $100,000 with Bank Of America, including their discount brokerage Merrill Edge, you get a 75% bonus on credit card rebates, which brings cash back as high as 5 1/2% on a category of your choice with their Cash Rewards card, and, for a $95 annual fee for their Premium Rewards card, a minimum of 2.625% on non bonus category purchases (with a $500 sign up bonus, $100 airline incidentals credit, TSA precheck or Global Entry fee rebate). Also a free safe deposit box and 100 free Merrill trades a month.
Thanks for pointing out this route to boosting their cashback rate to a point other card options will have a hard time competing with.
I wish Capital one was more interested in not rejecting applicants.
Thanks for mentioning this. I had a few old cards with them, that were once worthwhile, like a card that paid 1.25% back, the best at the time, and an old HSBC card they bought. They cancelled all three cards a year and a half ago, for lack of use, with an invitation to apply again for any of their cards. A few monthes later, I applied for one of their newer cards, using my 820 or so FICO, and was rejected. Now, I would be leary to waste inquiries on my credit reports to apply for any card with them.
Really? How many cards have you opened recently? I wonder if they have a policy similar to Chase’s 5/24.
Thanks for the info. I’m not wow’ed by the lineup here. I guess like the other comments, these are good secondary or tertiary cards to have.
They all have no foreign transaction fees so that has a time and a place.
Can you combine points and cash back rewards so they are all points?
Unfortunately not, the cash back rewards can’t be turned into points.
Too bad, that would have made them more valuable
Wow. the email didn’t tell me it was all 5 Cap One cards. Oh well…
Wow it looks like Capital One is determined to catch up (or even exceed) other major travel card providers like Chase and Citi.
I’m waiting for better sign up offers though.
In this instance, keeping up with the Jones is just excellent.
I remember when the Capital One card was just a cash back card that you could only use for travel. Not interesting at all. Now, with the addition of transfer partners and other perks, it has become one of the best deals in the business. Unfortunately, Capital One seems to be allergic to approving me for cards despite an excellent credit score! I do realize that I have too many cards for their liking. I certainly would get a Venture card if they would approve me but until then, I’ll have to make do with my Chase and Amex trifectas.
My favorite feature here is the ability to “erase” any travel-related charge with a statement credit at a value of one cent per mile. That’s a real plus.
I really like Capital One. The trick for me is making those spending requirements though.
That’ll be the case with 90% of sign up bonuses though.
Capital One seem to have a good range of reward cards available.
They’re definitely trying to be a contender by having a real travel card that has transfer partners.
I think it’s difficult to recommend any of these cash back cards over the Citi Double Cash, for example, which has no annual fee. The Savor has superior earning, but unless you’re a really big spender, the Double Cash is the way to go because of the Savor’s $95 annual fee.
Use these cards when you have maxed out the bonuses of the more rewarding cards.
The Savor One has no AF. If you want a single card, sure the DoubleCash is good (except overseas) but there are many cards that are better than the DoubleCash (Savor One, Amex Blue Cash, etc).
It’s at least useful in the first year when the signup bonus more than makes up for the annual fee. And you may be able to call after the annual fee posts and get it waived.