5 Best Capital One Credit Cards

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After 40 hours of research evaluating 15 products, we picked Capital One Venture Rewards Card as our top choice.

Capital One is one of the largest credit card providers in America, offering cards with no-to-low annual fees and rewards programs that have been recognized for being great thanks to features that include:

Earning as much as 2x more miles per dollar spent and as much as 3% cash back
Leading categories that include popular options such as dining, groceries, and travel
Rewards that can be redeemed in the form of cash back, gift cards, travel, or donations
Miles worth 1 cent per mile

It gets better:

With so many options, how do you pick the best Capital One credit card for you and your unique needs? No problem! Capital One offers options for those with limited or fair credit history as well as seasoned credit card users. And if you love to travel, you’ll be glad to know that many of the best Capital One credit card choices function without collecting a foreign transaction fee on related purchases.

What’s the perfect option for you? Let’s take a look at the wide range of options:

Editorial Note: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and may not have been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through a credit card issuer partnership.

This article was last updated July 10, 2018 but some terms and conditions may have changed or are no longer available. For the most accurate and up to date information please consult the terms and conditions found on the issuer website.

Why trust us: Faveable has spent thousands of hours researching, interviewing experts, and testing products to come up with carefully selected lists trusted by millions of consumers since 2013.

Best Unsecured for Bad Credit

Capital One® Platinum Credit Card

Get from Capitalone

Variable APR	19.99% - 28.99%
Cash Advance APR	28.99%
Rewards Rate	n/a
Annual Fee	n/a
Intro APR	n/a
Bonus Offers	n/a

377 Clicks

Why People Love it

Credit limit can increase after 5 months of on-time payments
Pick your monthly due date
No annual fee or foreign transaction fees

ProsCons

Helps you build credit without distractions
Can qualify with average credit

Card offers no rewards or any other major benefits
High APR

Details

Application Process: Apply online and get a response within 60 seconds.

Rewards: None.

Bonus Offers: None.

Annual Fee: None.

Details:Capital One® Platinum Credit Card »

Best Starter Card for College Students

Journey® Student Rewards from Capital One®

Get from Capitalone

Variable APR
Cash Advance APR
Rewards Rate
Annual Fee
Intro APR
Bonus Offers

210 Clicks

Why People Love it

Automatic credit line increase after you pay on time for the first 5 billing cycles
Cash back on qualifying purchases
Widely accepted around the world

ProsCons

Helps establish and build credit for students who might not qualify for other cards
Offers bonus rewards for on-time payments
No foreign transaction fees

The APR is high
The card offers access to a non-FICO credit score

Details

Application Process: Apply online and get a response within 60 seconds.

Rewards: Earn 1% cash back on all your purchases. Pay on time to boost your rewards rate to 1.25%.

Bonus Offers: None

Annual Fee: None.

Details:Journey® Student Rewards from Capital One® »

Best for Flat-Rate Cash Back

Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Card

Get from Capitalone

Variable APR	24.99%
Cash Advance APR	24.99%
Rewards Rate	1.50%
Annual Fee	$39
Intro APR	n/a
Bonus Offers	n/a

179 Clicks

Why People Love it

Unlimited flat 1.5% cash back rate on all purchases
Easily obtainable bonus of $150 when you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months of account opening
Value Penguin calls it one of the best cashback cards for low spenders

ProsCons

Travelers will appreciate that there are no foreign transaction fees associated with this credit card. Everyone will appreciate that you don’t have to be purposeful to collect your rewards, as the Quicksilver Cash Rewards Card offers a flat, unlimited 1.5% cash back rate on all purchases.

If you’re new to the world of credit cards, this card might be your perfect match. But if you’re a little more of an experienced user, you can certainly find higher percent cash back credit cards for a small annual fee that will likely be more than justified. A related example? The Capital One Spark Cash for Business credit card. Additionally, you may be interested in using one of the best Capital One credit cards for balance transfers... until you find out that it comes with a 3% balance transfer fee.

Details

Application Process: Apply online just as you would with the other best Capital One credit cards on this list.

Annual Fee: Absolutely no annual fees! Definitely a perk of this credit card.

Rewards and Redemption Options: It’s very simple: earn an unlimited flat rate of 1.5% cash back, which does not expire. You can redeem this cash back as a statement credit or cheque.

Bonus Offers: Just about anyone using this credit card will earn a $150 bonus after spending $500 on purchases within 3 months of account opening.

Details:Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Card »

Best for Flat-Rate Rewards

Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business

Get from Capitalone

Variable APR	18.49%
Cash Advance APR	24.49%
Rewards Rate	2% cash back on all purchases.
Annual Fee	$0 for the first year, then $95
Intro APR	n/a
Bonus Offers	A one-time $500 cash bonus once you spend $4,500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.

158 Clicks

Why People Love it

No foreign transaction fees
Simple, uncomplicated, and flexible reward structure
Cash in on the $500 bonus when you spend $4,500 in 3 months

ProsCons

Earn 2% cash back on all purchases
Pay no foreign transaction fees

Annual fee after the first year
Relatively high APR
No bonus rewards on business-related expenses

Details

Application Process: Apply online and get a response within 60 seconds.

Rewards: Earn 2% cash back on all purchases.

Bonus Offers: Earn a $500 bonus when you spend $4,500 within the first 3 months.

Annual Fee: $0 for the first year, then $95 after that.

Details:Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business »

Best for Travel Rewards

Capital One Venture Rewards Card

Get from Capitalone

Variable APR
Cash Advance APR
Rewards Rate
Annual Fee
Intro APR
Bonus Offers

193 Clicks

Why People Love it

A simple, no-fuss earning structure and redemption process
Flexible rewards: miles don't expire and there are no blackout dates
Nerdwallet lauds the card's “Stress-free 2% travel rewards”

ProsCons

This card stands out thanks to a high rewards rate of 2x the miles per $1 spent, plus flexible, user-friendly redemption options. Like many of the other best Capital One credit cards, the use of this card means no foreign transaction fees—a perfect pair with mileage-focused rewards points.

If you’re a frequent traveler, you might be deterred from this card because of the fact that it offers no airline specific perks. You may be better off with more specific airline credit cards. Furthermore, you won’t get a lot out of this credit card if you’re looking for general cash back benefits—this is a card whose strength lies in travel.

Details

Application Process: Apply for your shiny new credit card on Capital One’s website and receive a decision within seconds.

Annual Fee: This credit card comes with a fee of $95 per year, but you’ll get a free pass during your first year of use.

Rewards and Redemption Options: There are two ways to claim rewards when using this card:

Use Capital One’s platform to find hotel, flight & rental car deals.
Use Capital One’s Purchase Eraser to get statement credit for your flight or hotel.

What makes Capital One’s Purchase Eraser different than the standard option is that there is no minimum for full travel statement credit options, just a 2,500 mile minimum for partial travel credit redemptions. This means that you can redeem at least $25 to help offset costs for more expensive tickets.

Bonus Offers: Capital One offers a one time bonus of 50,000 miles for every $3,000 spent in the first 3 months of account opening, or $500 in rewards.

Details:Capital One Venture Rewards Card »

Article Staff

By Maddy Osman

Maddy Osman creates engaging content with SEO best practices for marketing thought leaders and agencies that have their hands full with clients and projects. Learn more about her process and experience on her website, www.The-Blogsmith.com and read her latest articles on Twitter: @MaddyOsman.

Editor Jenna Holtz

Researcher Ronnie Langston

Art Director Cherry Barbacena

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