Foodies and fun lovers, rejoice!
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4.9
Bottom line
If you spend heavily on groceries, dining and entertainment, this is one of your best no-annual-fee options. But if your spending isn’t concentrated in these categories, you might be better off with a flat-rate cash back card.
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The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards credit card may be the ultimate no-annual-fee cash back card for foodies, social explorers and streaming fans alike. It offers a high cash back rate on dining and entertainment, popular streaming services and grocery store purchases, making it one of the most versatile everyday cash back cards on the market.
That said, the SavorOne doesn’t offer the highest rate out there in any of its bonus categories. While this card’s category coverage is impressive, another card may be a better fit if you spend heavily in a specific category like groceries. You’ll also need at least a good credit score (a FICO score of 670 or more) for a chance at approval.
No annual fee, so you won’t need to think about offsetting recurring costs with your reward earnings
Long intro APR period for purchases and balance transfers
Easily achievable welcome bonus requirements
The barrier to entry for this card is a bit high, as it’s recommended you have at least good credit.
If your spending falls outside of these tiered rewards categories, you may not reap the most benefits from this card.
You must book through Capital One Travel to get the boosted rewards on hotel and rental car bookings.
You’ll get $200 in cash back after spending $500 on qualifying purchases within the first three months. While this is not a massive sign-up bonus, the spending threshold is low enough to make it easily accessible.
For a credit card with no annual fee, the SavorOne offers competitive cash back rates, especially on dining and entertainment purchases. Although there are cards with higher rates, the SavorOne covers several categories with solid rates that just about any cardholder could find value in.
The SavorOne earns 3 percent cash back in several key everyday categories, including dining, entertainment, grocery store purchases (excluding Walmart and Target) and popular streaming services.
These categories cover many of the average person’s biggest expenses, making the card a great option for earning everyday cash back. However, keep in mind that superstore and wholesale club purchases will only earn 1 percent back. The card’s list of eligible streaming services also excludes a few major services like Prime Video, as well as some popular audiobook and fitness programming subscriptions.
The SavorOne also earns 8 percent cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases, 5 percent back on hotel and rental car bookings made through Capital One Travel and 1 percent on all other purchases. While 8 percent with Capital One Entertainment purchases is an incredible cash back rate, you should expect the most of your rewards to come from your regular expenses, like groceries and dining.
Cash back can be claimed for any amount, at any time, for a statement credit, check or gift card. You’re also able to pay with your rewards at the checkout screen on PayPal (select “Pay with Points”) and Amazon.com (select “Shop with Points”), but you may be better off pocketing the cash back since there may be restrictions on what you can buy. For example, Amazon has a list of restricted items you can’t use rewards on, including digital music, Kindle eBooks, Prime Video titles and other digital downloads that small sums of cash back are perfect for.
Your rewards also don’t expire as long as your account remains open and in good standing.
The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards credit card is a great option for that empty slot in your wallet because of a few key benefits. Although some of the best benefits available on credit cards come on cards that have annual fees, the Capital One SavorOne carries a few that make this an all-around great card to hold, especially if you’re a first-time cardholder or just looking to get started with rewards.
Cardholders who travel outside of the United States don’t have to worry about foreign transaction fees, making this card a great travel companion. Additionally, there is a 24-hour travel assistance service that delivers an emergency replacement card. Cardholders also qualify for travel accident insurance when they use their credit card to purchase their tickets.
Cardholders can find extra discounts on online shopping through the Capital One Shopping extension. You receive automatic discounts from thousands of retailers and earn rewards when shopping with certain retailers like Walmart and eBay, which you can redeem for gift cards. If you have your eyes on specific products, Capital One Shopping can keep track of price drops, a handy tool when you start holiday shopping.
The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards card is pretty low on fees, considering there is no annual fee or foreign transaction fees.
Still, customers can expect to pay a cash advance fee of 3 percent (minimum $3), whichever is greater and a late payment fee of up to $40 is also levied when cardholders pay after their due date.
The SavorOne comes with generous, introductory periods for saving on interest: You’ll get a 0 percent intro APR for the first 15 months of account opening (then 19.24 percent to 29.24 percent, variable) on both balance transfers and new purchases. You’ll have to pay a 3% balance transfer fee on amounts transferred within the first 15 months, but this is pretty standard even on cards for balance transfers.
The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards card slots in nicely between two industry heavyweights: the Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card and the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card. While both of these cards feature a $0 annual fee and strong rewards, there are some areas where each card excels over its competitors and others where it may fall short.
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How much control do you want over how you earn your cash back? That might determine whether the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards or SavorOne Cash Rewards card is a better fit for your wallet.
Like with the SavorOne, you can earn 3 percent cash back on certain purchases with the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card. But unlike the SavorOne card, you can choose in which categories you can earn this cash back. You can choose to earn your 3 percent back in the categories of gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores or home improvement and furnishings stores. You’ll also earn 2 percent cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (on up to $2,500 combined 3 percent and 2 percent categories per quarter, then 1 percent). With the SavorOne card, you don’t have this choice of elevated cash back categories.
However, the SavorOne has a better welcome bonus. With the Customized Cash Rewards card, you’ll need to spend $1,000 in the first three months of opening your account to earn a $200 cash back bonus. With the SavorOne card, you only need to spend $500 in the same amount of time to earn the same bonus.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited earns 5 percent back via Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3 percent cash back on dining and 3 percent back for drugstore purchases. Plus, you’ll earn 1.5 percent cash back on general purchases, beating the 1 percent offered with the SavorOne.
If most of your spending falls outside of the typical credit card bonus categories, the Freedom Unlimited carries more cash back potential than the SavorOne thanks to its base 1.5 percent cash back rate. However, if you typically eat at home, the SavorOne can be the better choice thanks to its 3 percent back for grocery store purchases. The SavorOne card’s cash back rates for streaming services and entertainment may also be more lucrative for the average person than the Freedom Unlimited card’s cash back rate on drugstore purchases.
While groceries, dining and entertainment are three of the biggest cash back earners on the SavorOne card, these are not the biggest credit expenditures for everyone.
If you want to stick with the issuer, Capital One has other great credit cards in its product range. For those who travel a lot, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a great option if you want to earn unlimited 2X miles on all purchase. The annual fee is only $95, which is standard in the travel card category. For people who want to cast a wider net on what purchases earn rewards, a solid flat-rate rewards card like the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card may fit the bill, earning unlimited 2 percent cash rewards on purchases.
The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards credit card is one of the best cash back cards on the market, especially for foodies. The sheer variety of the card’s bonus cash back categories allows you to earn cash back at a generous rate on plenty of purchases, all while paying no annual fee and enjoying a generous introductory offer on new purchases.
*All information about the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.
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Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.