Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card review

Student credit cards are rarely rewards cards but this Capital One card gives 1.5% cash back on all purchases you make. It is a great incentive for students looking to build their credit and earn some cash back in the process.

Written by
Jennifer Doss
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Key Features

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Editor Analysis:

Pros
  • Student expenses can be all over the place. What's great about this card is that it earns 1.5% cash back on everyday purchases and 5% on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
  • There is no annual fee, plus no foreign transaction fees so this is a great option for students planning to study abroad - or spend a summer backpacking in another country.
  • This card only requires fair credit, but has the perks of a credit card designed for someone with higher credit. This is a nice incentive for students looking to work on their credit score while earning rewards in the process.
Cons
  • The card's APR is a bit steep at RegAPR. If you plan to carry a balance, you might want to consider another option. See Rates and Fees

The card_name can help you establish a credit history and learn how to use credit cards responsibly during your college years. The card can also help students earn a little extra cash with 1.5% cash back earned on most purchases (and 5% earned on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel) – which can go a long way toward helping pay for some school expenses each year. Plus, as an early spend bonus, new cardholders can earn $50 once spending $100 in the first three months. Also, students save because there are no annual or foreign transaction fees.

On the other hand, the interest on this card is a bit high with a RegAPR APR, but this should serve as motivation to not carry a balance on the card, and thus help students build healthy credit habits. See Rates and Fees

Although this card is designed to be a starter credit card for students, it’s unique in that it has many of the same benefits that can be found with the non-student version of the card, the CardName, which is designed for those with higher levels of credit. Both cards, for instance, offer unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Student credit cards rarely come with many perks, so the fact that this card earns the same as its excellent-credit counterpart, is appealing.

Quicksilver Student credit card rewards

In addition to earning 1.5% cash back on all purchases made, the card_name offers a number of valuable perks that students are sure to really enjoy, such as tickets and VIP packages for concerts and music festivals, access to premier dining experiences, and on-site perks and discounts for sporting events through Capital One Experiences.

The card also features numerous protection and management perks which could help cardholders build healthy financial habits. To protect your account from fraud and put your mind at ease, Capital One provides security alerts that you can receive via text, email, or phone; virtual card numbers that you can use for online purchases; and a mobile card lock feature.

In order to save you money, or make you money, the Quicksilver Student card offers some additional perks like extended warranty for eligible purchases and $0 fraud liability for unauthorized charges – all while charging no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. See Rates and Fees

The card also gives you access to perks that make having it in your wallet fun, such as online shopping tools; concierge services to help you with travel, entertainment and dining; access to culinary experiences; and access to tickets and VIP packages for numerous events, including sporting events, music festivals, and concerts.

Finally, in order to protect your account and give you peace of mind, including emergency cash advances or card replacement, instant push notifications for all new purchases, security alerts on suspicious activity on the card, the ability to lock card if it’s lost or stolen and 24/7 customer service.

With these perks and protections, this card allows you to get a feel of what it’s like to take on the responsibilities of a first credit card, while giving you access to all the benefits that are enjoyed by those more experienced with financial responsibility– consequently encouraging you to use your card responsibly to qualify for even better offers in the future.

Quicksilver Student credit card fees

The card_name has no annual fee, which makes it a practical option for students. Also, this is a great choice if you plan on studying abroad or spending spring break in Mexico as the card doesn’t charge fees for international purchases. Many cash-back credit cards charge foreign transaction fees, usually around 3%. That means if you spent a semester abroad, and spent, say $10,000 in a foreign currency while away, you could end up paying $300 in fees alone with a different card. See Rates and Fees

However, this does not mean there are no fees associated with this card at all. Cardholders pay cash advance fees of cash_fee, and late payment fees of late_fee. Using a credit card for cash advances is almost never a good idea though, and the late payment fee is something to be mindful about, but as long as you’re paying your balances on time, you won’t have to worry about it.

What are the downsides of the Quicksilver Student credit card?

The APR of the card_name is a bit steep at RegAPR, which can make it more challenging for a college student to pay off their bill each month if carrying a balance. This should serve as an incentive though to not carry a balance on the card. If carrying a balance, any rewards you earn will likely be canceled out by interest charges. So, it’s best to spend only within your means and pay your statement each month on time and in full. Not only will this help you make the most out of your rewards earned with the card, but it should also help you in the long run as healthy financial habits like this could help raise your credit score. See Rates and Fees

How do cardholders rate the card_name?

CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results for the card_name:

  Current Scores Past Scores
Overall Score 77.2 N/A
Features Satisfaction 7.1 N/A
Customer Service 8.3 N/A
Website/App Usability 8.3 N/A
Likelihood of Continuing to Use 8.2 N/A
Recommend to a Friend/Colleague 7.8 N/A
Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

How does the Quicksilver Student card compare to other student cards?

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Rewards
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Regular APR
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card_name vs. card_name

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The Quicksilver Student card and the CardName both allow you to save money on fees because there are no annual or foreign transaction fees. (See Rates and Fees for the Quicksilver Student card; See Rates and Fees for the Savor Student card)

Both cards offer unlimited cash back, but the Savor Student card has double the rate for some purchases with 3% Cash Back at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services. Earn 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply). Plus, earn 8% Cash Back on Capital One Entertainment purchases. However, cash-back earning drops to 1% for all other purchases, compared to the 1.5% rate offered by Quicksilver Student card across the board.

They both offer the same management perks, as well as the same early spend bonus of $50 once spending $100 in the first three months of opening an account. So if it comes down to choosing between these two cards, it really boils down to your spending habits. Do you spend regularly in various categories, or are streaming, dining, grocery, and entertainment purchases where most of your money goes? If it’s the latter, you might benefit more from the Savor Student card.

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Instead of earning a flat rate on all purchases, the CardName card earns rewards in rotating bonus categories. Cardholders earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases, up to the quarterly maximum of $1,500 spent each quarter you activate, in categories that rotate. Some example categories include: grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations. All other purchases earn 1%.

What’s really nice about this card though is that it offers a welcome bonus to new cardholders – a rare perk for student cards. At the end of your first year as a cardholder, Discover will match every dollar you’ve earned. So say you earn $100 cash back that first year – Discover will automatically match that and you’ll pocket $200 instead.

The Discover card doesn’t charge an annual fee, foreign transaction fees, or a late fee on the first missed payment (after that the fee is up to $41). It also offers a low APR, which is intro 0% for the first six months on purchases and RegAPR thereafter.

Is the Quicksilver Student card a good credit card?

The card_name is a good card to help you start building your credit and to earn some money in the process thanks to its cash back rewards. The high APR makes it a good idea to pay the balance of this card off each month, which is also a great habit to adopt for long-term credit card usage.

Frequently asked questions

Capital One states that fair credit is required to apply for this card, which is likely where a traditional college student who is applying for their first credit card, credit score stands. The credit scoring agency Fico considers a fair credit score anything that’s in the 580-699 range, but keep in mind that additional factors from your application and credit history could also be considered in the approval process.
In order to be considered a student, you are required to be enrolled in an accredited college, university, or other type of higher education institution. In addition, those who have been admitted into an accredited school and plan to enroll within three months of applying for a card are eligible.
After graduation you can still keep your credit card open. In addition, all of your rewards and benefits will remain on your account. However, if you would like to upgrade your card to the non-student version, you may have that option, depending on your credit history. The benefit to this would be that you could be eligible for a lower APR, and possibly to a higher line of credit.
The card_name charges RegAPR APR. See Rates and Fees

Our Methodology

Survey methodology: CardRatings commissioned Op4G in September 2023 to conduct surveys among 1,869 cardholders nationwide. CardRatings website analytics from Jan. 1, 2023-Aug. 31, 2023 were used to determine a selection of the most popular cards and additional cards were included to add survey breadth. Responses to each of nine questions were given on a scale of 1-10 and respondents’ scores were then averaged under broad topics. To determine the overall score, responses from questions 1-8 were summed and the answer to "How likely are you to recommend this card to a friend, coworker or family member?" was double weighted. Current Scores reflect scores from the most recent survey (2023); “Past Scores” reflect scores from the 2022 survey.

Disclaimer:The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that credit card offers change frequently. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit card prior to applying.


This content is not provided by any company mentioned in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any such company. CardRatings.com does not review every company or every offer available on the market.


For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

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