Capital One Platinum Credit Card Review: Build credit without an annual fee

Capital One Platinum Credit Card benefits

The CardName offers a solid option for people who are looking to improve their credit with responsible use of a credit card. Besides being a good basic card, the Capital One Platinum card goes a step further and doesn't charge a number of the fees typical with credit cards – especially those for people with CreditScoreNeeded credit. You don't have to worry about an annual fee or foreign transaction fees with this card; additionally, it isn't a secured card, so there's no lump sum deposit needed to establish your line of credit.

Removing those fees and barriers should allow you to focus on using the card well. Over time, with responsible use of your card, you can build a better credit score. Plus, Capital One will automatically consider you for a higher credit line in as little as six months.

Plus, this card includes other benefits that can help you on your journey to improved credit. You can keep an eye on your credit profile and credit score with Capital One’s free CreditWise tool. You also get Eno, Capital One’s assistant, which answers questions and monitors your accounts 24/7 and sends alerts when there is any questionable activity.

Finally, this card comes with the option for contactless payment so you can get through checkout a little faster.

Other features of this card include the potential to earn a higher line of credit in as little as six months; $0 fraud liability for unauthorized charges; access to the credit monitoring app CreditWise; and no foreign transaction fees. See Rates and Fees

What our editors like most about the Capital One Platinum Card

If you have a low credit score or even if it falls in the “fair” credit range, your primary options for a credit card are often secured cards. While secured credit cards are a great tool for building or repairing credit, you might not have the extra $200 or more to hand over for a security deposit. On top of that, secured cards usually have either a monthly or annual fee.

The CardName, however, is an unsecured credit card. This means you won’t have to put down a security deposit to get the card. Plus, it’s specifically for people who have fair credit or are in the process of building credit. What makes this card even better, is there’s no annual fee so you can get started rebuilding or building your credit without it costing you.

Potential downsides of the Capital One Platinum Card

Like many credit cards available for fair credit or building credit, this card has a fairly high APR of RegAPR. However, if you’re working on your credit, you probably don’t want to carry a balance from month to month anyway. You can avoid paying high amounts of interest by paying off your card balance in full each billing cycle by the due date. See Rates and Fees

Another downside is that there isn’t any rewards program. Although the ability to earn rewards is rare with cards designed for building credit, there are some options available that do offer cash back or points when you use your card (we discuss a few below). There also isn’t any special bonus or incentive for new cardholders. However, if your goal is to build your credit, it might be best to focus on just paying your balance in full every month and using your credit responsibly.

Capital One Platinum Card cardholder scores

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

How the Capital One Platinum Credit Card compares to other cards

Capital One Platinum vs. Capital One QuicksilverOne

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Like the Platinum card, the CardName is a Capital One card designed for people with fair credit. You get all of the same benefits such as CreditWise and automatic credit limit increases, while working to build your credit with responsible use.

The biggest difference is in the rewards program. While the Platinum card has no rewards program, the CardName awards all purchases a flat rate of 1.5% cash back on every purchase you make with the card. For the privilege of earning those rewards, though, you'll pay an annual fee. The Platinum card has no annual fee (See Rates and Fees), but the QuicksilverOne card charges an annual fee of AnnualFees (See Rates and Fees).

If you're trying to choose between the two cards, consider whether you can earn enough in rewards to make up for the annual fee of the QuicksilverOne. If not, it might not be worth paying the extra fee every year. Also, keep in mind that if your goal is to earn rewards, you'll need to pay your balance in full each month so you don't cancel out the cash back you earn by paying interest on your purchases.

Capital One Platinum Credit Card vs. CardName

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The CardName is also a good card for people who are new to credit or rebuilding credit. This card, however, is secured so you'll need a security deposit of at least $200 to get started with an initial credit limit of $200.

Unlike many secured cards, this card offers a nice welcome offer opportunity. Discover will match, dollar-for-dollar, all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year as a cardholder. That means earning $100 cash back during your first year is actually a $200 bonus after the first-year match. On an ongoing basies, cardholders earn 2% cash back on the first $1,000 spent at gas stations and restaurants each quarter and 1% on all other purchases.

Both the new cardmember bonus and the rewards program are rare for a secured card. Plus, there's no annual fee.

However, if you can qualify for an unsecured credit card, you won't have to come up with a security deposit to be held while you have an account. In this case, you might prefer the Platinum card over the Discover card, despite the additional rewards offered. Remember, too, that the rewards are an added bonus. Your priority at this point in your credit journey should be responsible card use and building your score.

Capital One Platinum vs. CardName

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The CardName offers another option for people with CreditScoreNeeded to earn rewards on everyday purchases while building their credit score with responsible use.

Cardholders can earn 1%-1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases, which is a solid rewards opportunity for a card available to people with less than good credit. However, one of the biggest draws of this card is the ability to see whether you'll qualify without an impact to your credit score. When you're looking to build your credit, applying for credit is a double-edged sword. That's because most credit applications require a hard credit pull that will ding your score. The Mission Lane Cash Back Visa, though, offers a prequalification step so you can check whether you'll be approved before a hard credit check is ever performed. Every little bit helps when you're working on improving your credit.

Additionally, there's no annual fee or security deposit to worry about, making this card a solid contender for those looking to build their credit from the average to good and then excellent range.

Is the Capital One Platinum Credit Card a good card?

This card is a respectable option for poeple looking to build their credit score through responsible card use. If you have a lower credit score or you’re building credit and don’t mind a fairly vanilla credit card, this is a great card to start out with. For rebuilding and building, you can’t really beat an unsecured credit card with no annual fee that reports to all three credit bureaus and offers automatic consideration for a credit limit increase in as little as six months. See Rates and Fees

However, if you’re looking for a card that offers the extras like a rewards program, or if you need to carry a balance, you might be better off with another credit card for lower credit scores or a secured card. There are cards available that can help you build your credit that come with rewards programs and lower interest rates.

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.

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.