Capital One credit card offers

If a Capital One credit card is not in your wallet, here’s your chance to decide if you want to change that.

Capital One says its mission is to change banking for good, and it seeks to incorporate simplicity, ingenuity and humanity into its products. It’s a mission that hasn’t been around for all that long, compared to its credit card competitors. Capital One was founded in 1988 by two businessmen and offers a variety of banking and financial services.

Those include bank accounts, credit cards, loans and business products. Capital One has its headquarters in McLean, Va., and operates bank branches and cafes in several states. However, you’ll find its customers across the country thanks to its popular credit cards and online banking accounts.

Its diverse products and strong reputation have helped Capital One become the fifth largest consumer bank in the country, and the eighth largest bank overall. The business regularly receives awards recognizing its commitment to sustainability, diversity and inclusion and work-life balance. It has been named one of the 100 best companies to work for by Fortune, a leading disability employer by the National Organization on Disability and one of the 50 most civic-minded companies by Civic 50.

Many Capital One credit cards offer cash back or travel rewards. There are also specialty cards designed for business customers and consumers seeking to build their credit. Many cards come with perks such as travel insurance, extended warranty protection and no foreign transactions fees. Plus, Capital One gives members access to CreditWise, a credit tracking and monitoring service.

CardRatings has named several Capital One credit cards to its best credit cards of 2021 lists, including:

What Are the Benefits of a Capital One Credit Card?

There are many. We’ll give you a rundown of some of them.

TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry for international travel. TSA PreCheck® is a program that helps passengers get through security faster and easier in domestic travel in the U.S.; Global Entry refers to returning to the U.S. from international travel. If you apply for either program, for the next five years, you can sail through security checks without having to take off your shoes and unpack every little thing. Meanwhile, if your Capital One credit card has this feature, you can earn a $100 statement credit every four years, which pays for your application.

Travel accident insurance. Worried that something will go wrong on your domestic or international trip? Your card may cover whatever goes amiss – provided you used your credit card to purchase your airfare.

Lost luggage reimbursement. You’re in St. Moritz, and your luggage is in St. Louis? Your card may pay for new clothes while you wait for your baggage to catch up with you, and your card’s locator services may be able to help you with the claims procedures of tracking down that luggage.

Extended warranty. You may be able to extend your warranty on that new washing machine you bought – or any other merchandise – provided you made the purchase with your Capital One card.

Getting Approved for a Capital One Credit Card

Is it hard to get approved for a Capital One credit card? This is always a difficult question to answer. Is it hard to make crème brûlée? Very, unless you’re really good at baking. In which case, maybe you’ll find that it’s easy.

In other words, if you have an excellent credit score, it should be a piece of cake or brûlée to get a Capital One credit card. For everybody else, it may be harder.

If your credit score and history are only fair, you may have trouble getting its best cards, but you may find that you’re easily approved for a credit card that doesn’t offer much in the way of rewards.

If you have shaky credit, you may want to apply for the CardName .

What Are the Best Capital One Credit Cards?

Capital One has a lot of credit cards. Here are some of the best.

Best Capital One Card for Cash Back

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It’s a simple and straight-forward cash back card.

You’ll get 1.5% cash back on every purchase, unlimited. As a one-time welcome bonus, if you spend $500 within three months, you’ll get $200 back.

On top of that, there’s no annual fee to offset that cash back, no foreign transaction fee, and for 15 months, you’ll get an intro 0% APR for purchases and balance transfers (then, RegAPR; 3% fee on the amounts transferred within the first 15 months).

So what’s not to like? This card is one of the most popular Capital One credit cards because of its flat rate of cash back (no categories to worry about).

Plus, you get a pretty nice welcome bonus and intro APR offer, all without an annual fee.


Best Capital One Card for Students

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If you’re a college student, you may want to look into this card. It’s aimed at students with a limited or non-existent credit history and will give you 1% cash back on everything.

If you pay your bill each month, though, you’ll get a little more – and it’ll be a 1.25% cash back card.

There’s no annual fee, and because there’s no foreign transaction fee, it does well if you happen to study abroad.

Speaking of travel, it’s also worth noting that the card offers 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

Plus, the card has the perks that many Capital One credit cards have, such as travel accident insurance and extended warranty protection.


Best Capital One Card for Dining and Entertainment

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First, let’s talk about the welcome bonus. There are better bonuses out there, but you may still find this enticing. If you spend $1,000 during the first three months, you’ll get a one-time $200 bonus.

But if you’re somebody who does a lot of carryout and delivery or dine in when you can, well, this may be a great card for you. You’ll fare well when you cook or bake, too. You’ll get…

– 3% cash back on dining and entertainment
– 3% cash back at grocery stores
– 3% cash back on popular streaming services
– 1% cash back for everything else

Plus, there’s no annual fee, and there’s a terrific period of 15 months where you’ll pay 0% intro APR on all purchases and balance transfers (then, RegAPR; 3% fee on the amounts transferred within the first 15 months). You’ll also find perks like extended warranty and travel accident insurance.


Best Capital One Card for Business Owners

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Getting this card could end up being an excellent business decision. The rewards program will make you money, and that’s the main thing. You also won’t spend any of your work time trying to figure it out.

You’ll earn 2% cash back on all purchases. So will any employee authorized to use a card, and the cards for your staff are free.

And you can earn up to a $1,000 cash bonus – earn $500 after spending $5,000 in the first three months, and earn another $500 when you spend $50,000 in the first six months of account opening.

There is a AnnualFees annual fee to consider.


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.

By Geoff Williams CardRatings Contributor |  updated on May 27, 2023