The Best Capital One Credit Cards for Travel Rewards, Cash-Back, and More [2024]

Well-known for its advertising slogan “What’s in your wallet?” Capital One presents a compelling case for always having one of its cards on hand for earning rewards on every purchase you make.

Add the fact that J.D. Powers has recognized Capital One as having the highest customer satisfaction among the mobile banking apps of all financial institutions, and you’ll start to understand the company’s commitment to delivering a good product.

Capital One cards historically don’t come with fancy quarterly bonus categories, airline or hotel perks, promotions needing registration, or a long list of bonus categories you have to memorize. You normally just earn unlimited rewards and enjoy no-hassle redemptions.

However, Capital One’s entry into the premium travel rewards card space offers a more vibrant card that we’ve included in today’s collection.

If you’re looking for a credit card that earns travel rewards, cash-back, or a chance to build or rebuild your credit history, there’s bound to be a Capital One card that fits your needs.

Let’s take a look at the rewards, benefits, and credit-building solutions offered by some of the best Capital One credit cards.

While we will review a more exhaustive list of the best Capital One credit cards for various categories, here’s a detailed overview of our favorites:

Card	Welcome Offer and Annual Fee	Benefits
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $395 (rates & fees)	10x miles on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel 5x miles on flights purchased through Capital One Travel 2x miles on all other purchases $300 annual travel credit on bookings made through Capital One Travel Access to Priority Pass Lounges, Capital One Lounges, and Plaza Premium Lounges 10,000 bonus miles awarded on your account anniversary each year Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit Cell phone protection
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95 (rates & fees)	5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 2x miles on all other purchases Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card	Earn $300 after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95	8% cash-back on Capital One Entertainment 5% cash-back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 4% cash-back on dining, entertainment, and popular streaming services 3% cash-back at grocery stores
Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card	Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months. Annual fee of $0 (rates & fees)	8% cash-back on Capital One Entertainment purchases 5% cash-back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 3% cash-back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target)
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card	Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus when you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $0 (rates & fees)	1.5% cash-back on all purchases
Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card	Earn $1,200 cash back once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $150	5% cash-back on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel 2% cash-back on all purchases No preset spending limit Get your $150 annual fee refunded every year you spend at least $150,000
Capital One Spark Miles for Business	Earn 50,000 miles once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months. Annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, $95 after that	2x miles on all purchases

How To Choose a Capital One Credit Card

Before we get into our breakdown of each of our top Capital One credit cards, here’s what to keep in mind as you’re choosing which Capital One card is right for you.

Which Types of Rewards Do You Want To Earn?

For the most part, all of the best Capital One credit cards either earn cash-back or Capital One miles. This is an important distinction because, depending on how you want to redeem your rewards, you want to make sure you choose a card that offers that option.

What Card Perks Are You Looking For?

It’s also important to keep in mind that not all perks are available on all Capital One credit cards. So if you want a specific card feature, like airport lounge access, then that narrows your pool of eligible cards.

Do the Bonus Categories Match Your Spend?

If your goal is to earn as many points as possible, then you should select a card that offers bonus categories for the items you spend the most on, whether that is travel, dining, grocery stores, or a combination of categories.

Best Capital One Credit Cards for Travel Rewards

Capital One Venture X Card (Best Premium Card for Travel and Lounge Access)

Capital One’s flagship credit card, the Capital One Venture X card, is a powerhouse when it comes to earning Capital One miles on travel purchases. You’d fare best when purchasing travel via Capital One Travel, but you still earn 2x miles on every other purchase you make, including travel.

At redemption time, you can use your Capital One miles to purchase travel via Capital One Travel or transfer your miles to airline or hotel partners for greater potential value.

And, as you’d expect from a premium travel rewards card, you get plenty of perks and benefits. Perks include worldwide lounge access with your Priority Pass Select membership, access to Capital One Lounges and Plaza Premium Lounges, a $300 travel statement credit for travel purchased via Capital One Travel, cell phone protection, car rental insurance and benefits, and more.

Capital One Venture Card (Best Midtier Card for Travel and Lounge Access)

If simplicity is still your priority, the Capital One Venture card may be a fit, as you’d earn double miles every day on every purchase you make, making it a great travel rewards card.

When it’s time to redeem your miles, you can purchase travel via Capital One Travel or transfer miles to the card’s partners.

That strong marketing message of earning double miles has made the Capital One Venture card a popular choice, and with simple earning and redemptions and lots of benefits, it’s an easy card to have in your wallet.

Have more questions about these 2 popular Capital One travel rewards cards? Don’t miss our in-depth article comparing the Capital One Venture X card and the Capital One Venture card.

Best Capital One Credit Card for Dining

Capital One Savor Card (Best for Cash-Back on Dining, Entertainment and Streaming)

Often overlooked but certainly worthy of consideration is the Capital One Savor card.

If you’re a foodie, have a lot of business dining expenses, or dine out frequently, you can’t go wrong earning 4% cash-back on dining.

You earn at least 1% cash-back on every purchase and 3% at grocery stores, so there’s plenty of earning potential for everyday spending.

Hot Tip: A great perk that comes with all Capital One consumer and business cards through June 22, 2024, is a free 6-month membership to the Cultivisit, a service offering free access to museums across the world.

Best Capital One Credit Cards for Cash-Back

They may lack excitement, but simplicity may be more important when it comes to everyday earnings, and that’s what you get with Capital One cash-back credit cards.

You earn cash-back on every purchase, but you can also take advantage of the 0% APR periods for purchases and balance transfers that come with all of these cash-back credit cards.

Capital One SavorOne Card (Best for No Annual Fee and Cash-Back on Popular Categories)

Quicksilver Card (Best for No Annual Fee and Everyday Cash-Back)

Hot Tip: Don’t forget that you can earn additional cash-back by using Capital One Offers.

Best Capital One No-Annual-Fee Credit Cards

Capital One has a long list of cards in its lineup that do not charge an annual fee. The collection of no-annual-fee Capital One cards includes a credit card for every spending profile and credit history.

You’ll find rewards-earning credit cards, 0% APR credit cards, cash-back credit cards, cards for less-than-perfect credit, and a card for rebuilding your credit.

Best Capital One No-Annual-Fee Credit Cards
Recommended for Excellent Credit	Capital One Quicksilver (our preferred option) Capital One SavorOne card Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
Recommended for Average Credit	Capital One Platinum Credit Card Capital One Spark Classic for Business
Recommended for Rebuilding Credit	Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card

Bottom Line: Regardless of your credit history, Capital One has a no-annual-fee credit card that can match your financial profile. 

Best Capital One Credit Cards for Business

Earning 2% cash-back or 2 miles per dollar on all of your business expenses can be a respectable return, but you have to pay an annual fee to do so on the following cards, unlike with the no-annual-fee business credit cards.

Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card (Best Business Card for Cash-Back)

Don’t let the $150 annual fee deter you, as spending $50,000 a year on your business nets you $850 on the Capital One Spark Cash Plus card ($1,000 in earnings minus the $150 annual fee). Compare that to the Capital One Spark Cash Select card, with a $0 annual fee earning 1.5% x $50,000, or $750 cash-back.

Capital One Spark Miles Card (Best Business Card for Earning Miles)

The same is true for the Capital One Spark Miles card, which earns 2x miles per dollar spent. Spending $50,000 would equal 100,000 Capital One miles for just an annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, $95 after that, versus 75,000 miles earned for the same spending level on the Capital One Spark Miles Select card with a $0 annual fee.

Let’s look at how the cards compare:

Best Capital One Credit Card for Business	Earnings	Annual Fee
Capital One Spark Cash Plus card	2% cash-back on every purchase	$150
Capital One Spark Cash Select card	1.5% cash-back on every purchase	$0
Capital One Spark Miles card	2x miles on every purchase	$0 intro for the first year, $95 after that
Capital One Spark Miles Select card	1.5x miles on every purchase	$0

Bottom Line: Don’t let an annual fee scare you away from a particular business credit card from Capital One. Estimate your annual spending on the card and calculate the value you’d receive in return. You may find that paying the annual fee increases your bottom-line earnings. 

Best Capital One Introductory 0% APR Credit Cards

It would be wishful thinking to find a credit card that doesn’t charge interest, but the next best thing is a credit card that doesn’t charge interest for a period of time.

A window of interest-free purchases or balance transfers allows you to make a large purchase and pay off the balance over time — or transfer balances from your high-interest credit cards and receive temporary relief from interest charges.

You must manage your 0% APR transactions well and make sure all balances are paid off in full prior to the expiration of the 0% APR period to avoid incurring interest charges. Once the 0% APR period has expired, you’re subject to normal interest rates on the card, which can exceed 20%.

Recommended Capital One card choices for introductory 0% APR offers include:

• Capital One Quicksilver card (our preferred option)
• Capital One VentureOne card
• Capital One Spark Cash Select card
• Capital One Spark Miles Select card

Bottom Line: A 0% APR period can save you hundreds, even thousands of dollars on interest charges. Fortunately, Capital One makes it easy to secure 0% APR credit cards for purchases and balance transfers, as none of these cards charge an annual fee.

Best Capital One Credit Cards for Building Credit

Have you had past credit challenges and want to get back on the right path? Or are you just starting out and need a credit card to help you build a solid credit history? Perhaps you’re even an entrepreneur with less-than-stellar credit trying to get your business up and running.

These are all situations that Capital One addresses with its credit cards for building or rebuilding credit.

Capital One Credit Card for Building or Rebuilding Credit	Benefits
Capital One Platinum card	Access to a higher credit limit after the first 6 months of on-time payments Free credit score access No security deposit Reports to credit bureaus
Capital One Platinum Secured card	An initial credit line of $200 upon making the minimum required security deposit Access to a higher credit limit after the first 6 months of on-time payments; no additional deposits needed Reports to the 3 leading credit bureaus
Capital One Spark Classic card	1% cash-back on all purchases Business credit card with employee cards, annual statements

Bottom Line: Even with less-than-perfect credit or no credit, you can qualify for a Capital One credit card and get started on the path to building a better credit history. 

Best Capital One Credit Card for College Students

Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One SavorOne Student card is very similar to the standard Capital One SavorOne card but is designed for college students just starting their journey with credit cards.

With it, you earn unlimited 3% cash-back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and grocery stores. Plus, you get 1% on all other purchases. You also earn 8% cash-back on Capital One Entertainment purchases and 10% cash-back on purchases on Uber and Uber Eats, along with your Uber One monthly membership fee being covered through November 14, 2024.

Everything Else You Need To Know

What Credit Score Do You Need To Get a Capital One Credit Card

There is no set credit score, no matter how high, that will guarantee that you will be approved for any Capital One credit card. Your credit score is just 1 factor in your approval decision, and other factors like your income, years of credit history, and history with Capital One are considered. That said, those with credit scores of 670 or above usually report a high percentage of success in getting approved for a Capital One card.

What Credit Limit Can I Get With a Capital One Credit Card?

The credit limit that you receive on your new card depends on what card you are approved for, your income, the amount of credit Capital One has already extended to you, and more.

For the most part, cards designed for building your credit might have a relatively low credit limit in the range of $500 to $1,000, while more premium Capital One credit cards might start with a credit limit of $5,000 and increase from there.

How Can I Get a Credit Limit Increase on a Capital One Credit Card?

Capital One gives you multiple ways to request a credit limit increase. You can do so through their online form or you can give Capital One a call at 1-800-227-4825 for personal cards and 1-800-867-0904 for small business cards.

Asking for a credit limit increase does not impact your credit score. You can request a credit limit increase at any time, but ideally, you should have had your credit card for at least a few months, always paying your bill on time and in full.

How Many Capital One Credit Cards Can You Have?

Capital One has a hard limit of 5 credit cards that you can hold at one time. That said, this only applies to personal credit cards, as Capital One does not publicly set a limit to the number of small business credit cards that you can have at once.

If you are currently at the 5 personal card limit and want to open a new Capital One credit card, you can simply close one of your current cards in order to get approved for the new one.

Can You Combine Points on Capital One Credit Cards?

Yes, all cards from the Venture, Savor, and Spark family of cards can combine the rewards earned among them. Say you have the Capital One Venture card, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus card, and the Capital One Savor card. You can convert the rewards from all 3 of those cards into Capital One miles and then transfer your Capital One miles to any Capital One transfer partner.

How To Apply for a Capital One Credit Card

Applying for a Capital One card is easy. You simply go to the Capital One website, navigate to the card you want to apply for, and then fill out the application details. This includes your name, address, income, Social Security number, and so on. You might receive an application decision instantly, but it also could take up to 7 to 10 days.

Prequalifying for Capital One Credit Cards

Applying for a credit card can be intimidating, as you’re never 100% sure you’ll get approved. Fortunately, you can lessen that stress with Capital One credit cards, as they have a user-friendly prequalifying process to let you know upfront if you’re likely to qualify for one of its credit cards.

Simply complete the short form to see if you’ve prequalified for any of its cards.

The prequalification form is not a credit card application, so there’s no hard credit pull and no guarantee you’ll ultimately be approved. However, it does give you an idea of which cards you’re likely to be approved for.

To read about the prequalifying process for Capital One and other credit card issuers, you can read our complete guide to credit card prequalification.

Another option is to use the CardMatch tool, which lets you know if you’ve been targeted for any credit card offers. Capital One is one of the participating financial institutions on the site.

Redeeming Rewards on Capital One Credit Cards

Once you sign in to your Capital One online account, you can easily redeem your miles for travel.

Redeeming Miles

Capital One miles are generally worth 1 cent each, are easy to redeem, and can be used for several different types of redemptions. Just log in to your Capital One online account to see how you can redeem them. Note that all redemptions are available for every card.

1. Use for Travel Purchases

You can redeem your miles for new travel with Capital One Travel or as a statement credit for travel purchases from the previous 90 days.

2. Transfer Miles to Travel Partners

One of the best options for redeeming your rewards is to transfer them to airline and hotel partners. If available for your card, this can result in potentially far better value than 1 cent per mile.

3. Redeem for Gift Cards

Use your miles to purchase gift cards at 1 cent per mile.

4. Redeem for Cash

Capital One only gives you 0.5 cents per mile when you redeem for cash. Avoid this choice if you can!

5. Donate

You can redeem your miles for a charitable donation. Capital One has a long list of organizations it works with, such as the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity. Be sure to select an option that gives you at least 1 cent per mile in value.

6. Check Out With PayPal

When your eligible card is linked to PayPal, you can check out with PayPal and redeem your miles at a rate of 125 miles per dollar (or 0.8 cents per mile). We’d recommend this only if you can’t use your miles for travel or as a statement credit.

Hot Tip: Look for special offers when redeeming miles for gift cards, as there are frequently opportunities to redeem for better than 1 cent per mile. 

Collecting Your Cash-Back Rewards

It’s easy to collect the cash-back you’ve earned on your Capital One cash-back credit card.

Log in to your Capital One online account to view your rewards balance and choose the redemption you want. You can take your cash-back as a statement credit applied to your credit card balance, or Capital One can send you a check.

Cash-back rewards can also be redeemed for gift cards or for charitable donations.

Hot Tip: Are you curious about how Capital One credit cards stack up to their competitors? Check out our head-to-head comparison of Capital One cards to Chase cards.

Cardholder Benefits and Protections

Your specific Capital One credit card will have its own travel protections, shopping benefits, and additional features. This list comprises many of the benefits and protections available. However, your card agreement determines which ones apply to your credit card.

You will receive a cardholder agreement in the mail accompanying your new credit card, or you can access any Capital One benefits guide online.

Visa and Mastercard Protections and Benefits

• Visa Benefits: Capital One Visa credit cards come with an entire suite of benefits, including Visa Concierge services, expanded travel benefits, and additional shopping benefits.
• Mastercard Benefits: Capital One offers several types of Mastercards, each having its own collection of protections and benefits.

Terms, conditions, and exclusions apply. Refer to your guide to benefits for more details.

Methodology: How We Selected Our List of the Best Capital One Credit Cards

We analyze several factors when determining our list of the best Capital One credit cards. These factors include card perks, bonus categories, best credit card welcome bonus offers, fees, and redemption value.

Card Benefits

The benefits that a card offers are very important when determining its usefulness. This can include items like airport lounge access, travel credits, travel insurance and other purchase protections, and more.

Bonus Categories

We assign a higher rank to cards that offer useful bonus categories that most people are likely to spend a large portion of their income on, which might include categories like dining, supermarkets, gas, and more. We also highly value cards that offer a simpler rewards structure where you can also earn more than 1 mile or 1% back on all purchases made with the card.

Welcome Bonus Offers

A card’s welcome offer is a unique opportunity to earn a large number of rewards in a short period of time. Given that, we love credit cards that offer a large welcome bonus, as they usually offer significantly more value than those that do not.

Fees

Some of the very best Capital One credit cards, like the Capital One Venture X card, charge a high annual fee. That said, many of these cards do offer a large list of benefits to offset the fee. However, you should still be mindful of all of the fees a card charges and ensure you are getting more value from it than the fee you are paying.

Redemption Value

Lastly, we highly prioritize cards that offer multiple high-value redemption options. This usually includes redemptions like cash-back, travel portal redemptions, and our favorite way to redeem points and miles, travel transfer partners.

Final Thoughts

The broad collection of Capital One credit cards ensures there’s an appropriate card for every type of consumer, including frequent travelers.

With the addition of the Capital One Venture X card, you could now have access to premium travel perks such as travel statement credits, elevated earning categories for travel, and worldwide lounge access.

Business owners looking for related bonus purchase categories such as office supplies, shipping, travel, and internet or phone services won’t find these on Capital One credit cards, but they will find solid flat-rate earnings that ensure every purchase earns rewards.

And even if your credit is less than perfect, you can find a card that can help you build or rebuild your credit.

Capital One seems to know its market well and does a good job of delivering solid credit card solutions that offer simple-to-earn rewards that are also easy to redeem — and plenty of its cards do not charge an annual fee.

There’s no identity crisis here; Capital One knows exactly what it’s doing.

---

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective guide to benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
The information regarding the Capital One Spark Classic for Business was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided or reviewed by the issuer.