If food is your love language, you may be thrilled to find out that the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card was designed with you in mind. Or, perhaps you prefer a family movie night at home or a night at the theater with friends—the Savor card was made for this, too. If food or entertainment is involved, chances are this cash back credit card will reward you for your choice.

Putting all food and fun aside, is the Capital One Savor worth it? The annual fee (although relatively low) may be enough to spoil your appetite, but the potential for high cash back rewards in select categories makes this card worth considering.

What does the Savor card offer?

Card highlights

  • Rewards rate: Earn 4 percent cash back on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services, 3 percent back at grocery stores and 1 percent on all other purchases. Plus, get 8 percent cash back on purchases from Vivid Seats (until January 2023).
  • Welcome offer: $300 cash bonus after spending $3,000 within three months of account opening
  • Annual fee: $95
  • Purchase intro APR: None
  • Balance transfer intro APR: None
  • Regular APR: 17.49 percent to 25.49 percent variable

The Capital One Savor benefits those who like to eat out, entertain at home or enjoy a night on the town. The unlimited cash back on dining, entertainment and grocery store purchases means you do not have to keep track of rotating categories or a promotional calendar.

Not only are cardholders rewarded for spending on what they already love, but the Capital One Savor comes with multiple other perks, including Mastercard benefits.

Welcome bonus and annual fee

The Capital One Savor currently offers a $300 cash welcome bonus when you spend $3,000 within the first three months of account opening, which is a slightly stronger offer compared to that of its sister card. The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card offers a $200 welcome bonus when you spend $500 within the first three months of account opening.

There’s also a $95 annual fee. While this may not seem like a lot at first glance, if you’re considering the card, you may want to balance the amount of cash back you can truly earn versus the annual fee. If you’re an infrequent spender, for example, you may find that the $95 eats up any cash back earned.

Earning rewards with the Savor card

The Capital One Savor offers its highest permanent cash back rate on dining, entertainment and streaming services, along with 3 percent back at grocery stores and 8 percent back on Vivid Seats purchases until January 2023.

For all other purchases outside of those categories, you’ll receive 1 percent cash back. It should be noted that the grocery store category excludes purchases at Walmart, Target and other superstores—those purchases will earn only 1 percent.

The Savor card makes it easy to keep track of your spending in each category. Simply swipe your card and Capital One will do the rest; you’ll be able to track your cash back earnings on your monthly statement, within your online account or via the Capital One mobile app.

Redeeming rewards with the Savor card

When you’re ready to redeem your cash back (for any amount and with no minimums required), Capital One offers a variety of redemption options. You can choose to redeem as a statement credit, gift card or have a check issued. You can also link your card to your Amazon or PayPal account, which allows you to pay for purchases through these sites with your rewards.

Savor card benefits

In addition to the cash back earning potential, the Capital One Savor features plenty of benefits. For starters, the card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees—meaning when you’re in the enviable position of dining out in Paris, you won’t be charged a fee for purchases made outside of the U.S.

The 24-hour travel assistance service is another benefit worth noting. It includes an emergency replacement card and a cash advance if needed. Plus, if you use your card to purchase travel, you can rest assured you’ll have travel accident insurance at no extra charge.

How does the Savor compare to the SavorOne card?

The Capital One SavorOne is the no-annual-fee version of the Capital One Savor. While there is a lack of an annual fee, the welcome bonus is smaller, too, as mentioned above. Additionally, the cash back structure is set up differently for the SavorOne—it offers 3 percent cash back on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services compared to the Savor card’s 4 percent rate. Both cards offer 3 percent cash back at grocery stores, 8 percent back at Vivid Seats (until January 2023) and 1 percent on all non-category purchases.

Another major difference between these two Capital One credit cards is that the SavorOne provides introductory APR offers, whereas the Savor card does not. With the SavorOne, enjoy a 0 percent intro APR for 15 months on both purchases and balance transfers (followed by a 16.49 percent to 26.49 percent variable APR after).

When comparing the Capital One Savor to the SavorOne, you’ll find almost everything else to be the same. Overall, you should ask yourself if earning 1 percent more on your dining, entertainment and streaming purchases would justify the $95 annual fee. If you purchase more than $2,400 per year in those higher cash back categories, for example, you’d offset the cost of the annual fee.

Is the Capital One Savor worth it?

If your idea of a good time involves eating out or eating in, watching a movie at home solo or a night out with friends and family, the Capital One Savor card is worth considering—even with the $95 annual fee. Further, the higher cash back rate on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services may make it worth owning compared to the SavorOne.

The Capital One Savor isn’t ideal for someone who wants to transfer high-interest credit card debt. However, if you decide to transfer a balance, know that you won’t owe a balance transfer fee.

The bottom line

Is the Capital One Savor a good card? Overall, if you dedicate a fair amount of spending to dining, entertainment, streaming and groceries, it has serious cash back rewards to offer.