The Best Capital One Credit Cards for Travel Rewards, Cash-Back & More [2023]

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 recognized Capital One as having the highest in customer satisfaction among mobile banking apps of all financial institutions,¹ and you’ll start to understand the company’s delivery commitment.

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’d normally just be earning unlimited rewards and enjoying no-hassle redemptions.

However, Capital One’s most recent entry into the premium travel rewards card space offers a new, more vibrant card option 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 is a detailed overview of some of our favorites:

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Best Capital One Credit Cards for Travel Rewards

Capital One Venture X Card (Best Premium Card for Travel & 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’ll fare best when purchasing travel via Capital One Travel, however, you’ll 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’ll have plenty of perks and benefits. Enjoy worldwide lounge access with your Priority Pass Select membership, access to Capital One Lounges and Plaza Premium Lounges, an up to $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 Mid-tier Card for Travel & Lounge Access)

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

When it’s time to redeem your miles, you’ll have the same options of purchasing travel via Capital One Travel or transferring to travel partners.

That strong marketing message of earning double miles has made the Capital One Venture card a popular choice, and with simple earning and redemption options, plus 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.

Hot Tip: Cardholders of the Capital One Venture X card, Capital One Venture card, and Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card can enjoy exclusive experiences and up to $300 in discounts towards a Gravity Haus membership. The club caters to adventurers who are interested in health and wellness and those who enjoy the outdoors. 

Best Capital One Credit Card for Dining

Capital One Savor Card (Best for Cash-back on Dining, Entertainment & 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 2% 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’ll get with Capital One cash-back credit cards.

You’ll earn cash-back on every purchase, but you’ll also have the opportunity to 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 & Cash-back on Popular Categories)

Quicksilver Card (Best for No Annual Fee & 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.

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 will have to pay an annual fee to do so on the following cards versus 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, however, as spending $50,000 a year on your business will net you $850 on the Capital One Spark Cash Plus card ($1,000 in earnings minus the $150 annual fee) versus 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 earning 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 no annual fee.

Let’s look at how the cards compare:

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’ll 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 specific period of time.

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

You’ll want to 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 any interest charges. Once the 0% APR period has expired, you’ll be subject to normal interest rates on the card, which can exceed 20%.

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

• 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 balances 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 card offerings for building or rebuilding credit.

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. 

Everything Else You Need To Know

Pre-qualifying 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 diminish that stress with Capital One credit cards, as they have a user-friendly pre-qualifying process designed to let you know upfront if you’re likely to qualify for one of its credit cards.

You’ll simply complete the short form to see if you’re pre-qualified for any of its cards.

The pre-qualification 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 pre-qualifying process for Capital One and other credit card issuers, you can access our complete guide to credit card pre-qualification.

Another option is to use the CardMatch tool that 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’ll have the option to easily redeem your miles for travel.

Redeeming Miles

Capital One miles are generally worth 1 cent each, are easy to redeem, and you have several redemption options. Just log in to your Capital One online account for access to several redemption options. Note that all redemption options will not be available on every card.

1. Use for Travel Purchases

You can redeem your miles for new travel with Capital One Travel or redeem 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 to airline and hotel partners. This option, if available on your card, can result in potentially far better than 1 cent per mile in value.

3. Redeem for Gift Cards

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

4. Redeem for Cash

Not a good option as your miles are only worth 0.5 cents per mile when redeemed for cash. Avoid this choice if you can!

5. Donate

Redeem your miles for a charitable donation by selecting from a long list of organizations 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. Checkout With PayPal

When your eligible card is linked to PayPal, you can checkout with PayPal and redeem your miles at a rate of 125 miles to $1. 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 frequent options 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.

You’ll simply log in to your Capital One online account to view your rewards balance and choose the redemption option you want.

Take your cash-back as a statement credit that will be applied to your credit card balance, or you can request that a check be sent to you.

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

Hot Tip: Are you curious about how Capital One credit cards stack up to its 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 and benefits. This list comprises many of the benefits and protections available. However, your card agreement will determine which ones apply to your individual 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.

Final Thoughts

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

And with the addition of the Capital One Venture X card, you’ll 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 offerings 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’ll 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.

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 nor reviewed by the issuer.

The information regarding the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. 
The information regarding the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Capital One Platinum Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

Information regarding the Capital One Spark Miles for Business was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.