Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card review

Not too many bells and whistles come with student credit cards, so this is a rare opportunity. Earn bonus rewards in popular student categories while enjoying valuable perks.

Written by
Jennifer Doss
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Student Card

Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card

  • Rewards
  • 3% Cash Back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®). 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply). 8% Cash Back on Capital One Entertainment purchases. 1% Cash Back on all other purchases.
  • Welcome Bonus
  • Earn $50 Cash Back when you spend $100 in the first three months
  • Regular APR
  • 19.99% - 29.99% (Variable)
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5.0
Credit Score: Average, Fair, Limited
Terms and Limitations Apply

Key Features

Editor Analysis:

Pros
  • Endless cups of coffee, late night streaming sessions, summer concerts... these are all things cardholders can earn bonus rewards on when making purchases with this card. What a great fit for college students!
  • Not only is there no annual fee, but this card also doesn't charge foreign transaction fees so it's a great fit for students planning to study abroad - or spend a summer backpacking through Europe.
  • What student wouldn't appreciate a little extra cash in their pocket? The fact that this card earns cash back and there are no complicated points systems to navigate or hoops to jump through is a plus. And as an added bonus, new cardholders can earn an early spend bonus of $50 once spending $100 in the first three months of opening an account!
Cons
ALTERNATE CARD TO CONSIDER

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What rewards does the card_name offer?

Student cards normally give college students with a limited credit history access to a line of credit… and that’s about it. Very few bells, almost no whistles, certainly no sizzle with that steak.

The card_name is a much appreciated exception to that expected idea of a student credit card. The benefits start with the card having no annual fee. If you are subsisting on ramen and Uncrustables, the last thing that you want is to pay is a fee to own a credit card. See Rates and Fees

The SavorOne Student card, unlike many of its student card counterparts, is also a rewards credit card. The SavorOne Student earns unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment purchases, grocery store purchases (excluding superstores like Target and Walmart), and on popular streaming services. So whether you’re dining out and catching a movie with friends, replenishing your dorm room snack bin, or binging your favorite Netflix show, you’ll earn rewards on it all.

Additionally, if you love attending live shows, the SavorOne Student card also earns 8% cash back on entertainment purchases when you book through the Capital One Entertainment portal. Plus, earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you’ll get Capital One’s best prices on thousands of trip options (terms apply). All other purchases made with the card earn 1% cash back.

Other card benefits include:

  • A welcome bonus for new cardholders: Earn an early spend bonus of $50 when you spend $100 in the first three months of opening an account.
  • Capital One Experiences: Enjoy VIP and early access to premiere culinary experiences, must-see concerts and big time sporting events with your card.
  • The rewards earned never expire for the life of the card and have great redemption options including directly for cash, covering card purchases, gift cards, using rewards through PayPay, and paying for Amazon.com purchases using your Capital One rewards.
  • Card protection features like security alerts if Capital One notices potential suspicious transactions on your account, $0 fraud liability for unauthorized charges, and card lock allowing you to lock your card in the Capital One mobile app.
  • Travel benefits include no foreign transaction fees and complimentary concierge services to help plan dining or entertainment.

What fees does the SavorOne Student Credit Card charge?

The card_name has very few fees, which makes it perfect for students on a budget. There are a few lesser occurring fees, like late payment penalty fees and cash advance and transfer fees, so it’s important to be aware of those, but as far as common fees go, there’s not much to worry about with this card. 

The card has no annual fee, which means that you don’t have to pay just to have it in your wallet. 

The SavorOne Student also has no foreign transaction fees, allowing you to use your card abroad without incurring extra costs. If you plan to study abroad or just want to scratch your wanderlust internationally, this is a great card to pack. Usually, cards that have foreign transaction fees charge on average a 3% fee for every purchase made outside of the continental U.S. and on purchases made in a foreign currency. For your backpacking adventure through Europe, if you spend $4,000 on purchases you could be adding on an additional $120 in fees alone if you were to make those purchases with a card charging a 3% foreign transaction fee. See Rates and Fees 

What are the potential downsides of the SavorOne Student Credit Card?

While there are a lot of great benefits to the card_name, there are some potential downsides. The most noticeable downside is the relatively high purchase and transfer APR of RegAPR. As this is on the high side relative to some cards on the market, it is important to stay on top of paying off your balance every month. Otherwise, any rewards you earn with the card could easily be canceled out by interest charges. See Rates and Fees

How do cardholders rate the SavorOne Student Credit Card?

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

  Current Scores Past Scores
Overall Score 72.8 76
Features Satisfaction 6.4 7.6
Customer Service 7.6 7.7
Website/App Usability 8.2 7.4
Likelihood of Continuing to Use 8.1 7.9
Recommend to a Friend/Colleague 7.8 7.5
Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

How does the SavorOne Student Credit Card compare to other student credit cards?

SavorOne Student Credit Card vs. Capital One QuickSilver Student Card

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The CardName has no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, and excellent reward-earning opportunities (See Rates and Fees). Where the two cards diverge is in their earning rates. The Capital One QuickSilver Student card earns at least 1.5% cash back on all purchases made with the card. Additionally, earn 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply). Compared to the tiered earning rates offered with the SavorOne Student card, the QuickSilver Student card has lower rewards earning in certain categories, but has the potential to earn more rewards overall as there is no limit to where the card can earn bonus cash back. Additionally, new Quicksilver Student cardholders can earn an early spend bonus of $50 after spending $100 in the first three months.

Deciding which one of these cards is a better fit for you depends on your purchase habits. If your spending is all over the place, or you don’t want to keep up with the categories where you’re earning bonus rewards, the QuickSilver Student card might be a better choice. However, if you spend heavily on entertainment and dining, you might benefit more from the SavorOne Student card.

SavorOne Student Credit Card vs. CardName

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The CardName card, like the SavorOne Student card, earns tiered rewards on purchases in specific categories, however, these rewards categories rotate quarterly. With the Discover card you can earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases during the school year (and all year long) at different places each quarter, up to the quarterly maximum each quarter that you activate.  Some category examples include: grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations.

This card also has a bonus offer for new applicants. New cardmembers can earn an unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back earned the first year as a cardholder. That means you could turn $50 cash back into $100 automatically at the end of the first year of card ownership.

Is the SavorOne Student Credit Card a good card?

The card_name is a good card. With great everyday rewards earning, low fees, and a lot of security and travel benefits it is a great card for students who are looking to build their credit while earning some rewards in the process.   

Frequently asked questions

The Capital One SavorOne Student Credit Card requires fair credit so it’s great for people newer to establishing their credit history. Capital One specifically mentions two different scenarios that fit within their definition of fair credit. The first scenario is someone who has defaulted on a loan in the last five years. The second being someone with a limited credit history, which Capital One defines as having a credit card or other form of credit for less than three years. Most often, traditional students will fall into this category. The credit scoring agency Fico considers a fair credit score anything that’s in the 580-699 range, however, additional factors from your application and credit history could also be considered in the approval process.
The Capital One SavorOne Student Credit Card, as the name suggests, is for college students. Capital One, for card eligibility, considers students to be anyone currently enrolled, or admitted and planning to enroll in the next three months, at an accredited university, community college or other higher education institution.
You can keep your same card, rewards, and benefits even after graduating from school but you may have the option to upgrade your card, depending on your credit score. The non-student option offers the same great benefits, but it may offer you a better APR, which is important if you ever need to carry a balance on your account. You may also be able to get a higher credit limit, which could be necessary for your post-college lifestyle.

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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