What counts as “entertainment” on the Capital One Savor cards?
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Key takeaways
- The Capital One Savor credit cards are both excellent choices for those looking for entertainment and dining perks on cards with good rewards rates.
- What Capital One includes as "entertainment" spending is pretty broad, so cardholders will likely get good use out of the cash back rate.
- Even though Capital One leaves this category pretty open, whether your purchase counts in the entertainment category will ultimately depend on how the merchant classifies their product.
There are a number of rewards cards that offer cash back for each dollar spent, but they don’t all work in the same way. Some cash back credit cards let you earn a flat rate of rewards regardless of what you buy, while others have rotating rewards categories that change each quarter. From there, you’ll also find cash back cards that offer tiered rewards for different types of purchases.
The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card* and Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card are two popular rewards credit cards that fall in the latter category. Both cards offer bonus rewards for dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and grocery store purchases, but the cards vary on annual fees and rewards rates.
What counts toward the Capital One Savor cards’ entertainment categories?
While grocery store purchases and dining are pretty straightforward bonus categories, it’s easy to wonder what counts as “entertainment” with the Capital One Savor cards. Fortunately, Capital One spells out exactly which purchases count as entertainment in the FAQs of its website.
Ticket purchases that count as entertainment with the Capital One Savor cards include:
- Movie theaters
- Theatrical promoters
- Sports promoters (professional and semi-professional live events)
- Amusement parks
- Tourist attractions
- Aquariums and zoos
- Dance halls
- Bowling alleys
- Pool halls
- Record stores
Purchases that do not count as entertainment with Capital One include:
- Golf courses
- Collegiate sporting events
- Purchases with non-industry entertainment merchant codes (like cable, digital streaming and membership services)
Do popular streaming services count as entertainment?
Purchases from popular streaming services do not count as entertainment purchases. Instead, “popular streaming services” qualifies for cash back as its own category.
Based on what the card issuer’s website states, some eligible music and video streaming services that qualify for cash back include:
- Netflix
- Hulu
- Disney+
- Max (formerly HBO Max)
- Apple.com, iTunes and Apple Music
- Peacock
- Spotify
- ESPN+
- FuboTV
- Bandcamp
- DirecTV
- Sirius XM
- Sling TV
- Starz Entertainment
- Tidal
Purchases from popular streaming services that do not qualify for cash back include:
- Prime Video
- AT&T TV
- Verizon Fios On Demand
- Audiobook subscription services
- Fitness programming
How to earn entertainment rewards (and more) from home
If you don’t go out much, you may be wondering how you can maximize the bonus categories on these cards. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to take advantage of Savor entertainment rewards from the comfort of your home.
For example, both Savor cards offer 8 percent cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases. If you’re planning to buy concert tickets or seats to a sporting event for next year or beyond, the Savor cards can help you rack up cash back fast in this category.
Savor cards also offer rewards on dining purchases. So, if you’re ordering takeout and picking it up from your favorite restaurant, you can earn bonus rewards on those purchases, too. Plus, both cards offer 10 percent cash back on purchases made through Uber and Uber Eats (through Nov. 14, 2024).
Finally, use your Savor card for all eligible streaming purchases so you earn cash back while binging your favorite shows.
A closer look at the Savor and SavorOne
At this point, you’re probably wondering how much you could earn in rewards with the Savor cards’ entertainment, popular streaming services and dining categories. While both of these Capital One credit cards let you earn more rewards than usual in these bonus categories, how much you can earn depends on which card you sign up for.
You’d likely be better off choosing the Savor card if you want a higher welcome bonus and a better rewards rate for dining and entertainment. On the other hand, the SavorOne card might be a better choice if you’re willing to earn a lower rewards rate in exchange for no annual fee.
These additional Savor and SavorOne card benefits and other details might help you with your decision:
Capital One Savor vs. Capital One SavorOne
Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card | Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card | |
---|---|---|
Welcome bonus | Earn a $300 cash bonus when you spend $3,000 on your card within 3 months of account opening | Earn a $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on qualifying purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. |
Rewards rate |
|
|
Highlighted benefits |
|
|
Annual fee | $95 | $0 |
Maximizing your Savor or SavorOne card
To get the most out of either Savor card, you’ll want to use your credit card for all purchases that qualify for bonus rewards. With either card, this includes qualifying dining and entertainment purchases as outlined by Capital One. However, it’s worth noting that some merchants may use a category code other than “entertainment.” In this case, any purchases made with these merchants would not qualify as entertainment purchases with Capital One. For example, some amusement parks may use the category code “merchandise” instead of “entertainment” for online tickets.
Also, keep in mind that both cards let you earn 3 percent cash back on grocery store purchases (excluding Walmart and Target). In the meantime, you may also be able to boost your rewards haul if you take advantage of the 8 percent cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases and 10 percent cash back on purchases made through Uber and Uber Eats (through Nov. 14, 2024).
Because the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards card has an annual fee of $95, you’ll need to earn at least that much in cash back to make the card worth carrying. For example, spending just $3,167 a year on grocery store purchases or $1,188 through Capital One Entertainment would cancel out the amount you spend on your annual fee — and that’s not even counting spending you’d do in other categories.
To make the most of either Savor card, you should also pay your credit card balance in full each month so you avoid interest charges.
The bottom line
If you want to maximize the entertainment category with either the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards or the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards card, it’s smart to stay informed about which types of entertainment purchases count. Fortunately, this is a broad rewards category, so it’s easy for consumers to receive cash back on entertainment. Plus, Savor cardholders can earn rewards on popular streaming services, dining and other categories.
*Information about the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate. Card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.