Best Capital One credit cards of May 2024

Capital One offers some of the best cash-back and rewards credit cards available to consumers and small business owners.

The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card* and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees) both rank on CNBC Select's list of best dining and travel cards, respectively, and other cardholders can earn generous rewards on everyday spending. Capital One also has a premium credit card, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees), which offers a range of luxury benefits.

CNBC Select reviewed the top Capital One credit cards in seven categories, so you can choose the best card based on your spending habits.

Who's this for? Prospective cardholders with bad credit may find it difficult to open a traditional, unsecured credit card. However, there's often the opportunity to qualify for a secured card, such as the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card (see rates and fees). These cards can be used just like an unsecured credit card and can help build your credit.

The main difference is that you'll be required to make a minimum deposit as low as $49, $99 or a $200 security deposit, based on your creditworthiness, to receive a $200 credit limit. This card stands out for offering the chance to qualify for a lower deposit and still receive the same $200 credit limit.

Other great perks: If you don't qualify for the $49 or $99 deposits, you can receive access to a higher credit limit in as little as six months with no additional deposit needed. Capital One automatically considers you for a credit limit increase based on your payment history and creditworthiness.

Who's this for? The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card is an easy-to-use no-annual-fee credit card (see rates and fees) that offers cash back and a generous welcome bonus. Cardholders earn 1.5% cash back on everything, which can be conveniently redeemed anytime and for any amount.

Other great perks: Beyond rewards, you can benefit from a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months; 19.99% - 29.99% variable APR after that; balance transfer fee applies (3% for the first 15 months; 4% at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer you at any other time; see rates and fees). This provides you with over a year to repay large purchases or get rid of debt.

The Quicksilver card also has no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees), *travel accident insurance and extended warranty protection. Through Capital One Entertainment, you'll have access to exclusive events, such as culinary and sports experiences. Cardholders can enjoy up to six months of complimentary Uber One membership statement credits through Nov. 14, 2024.

Who's this for? The Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees) offers bonus cash back on common student purchases. It earns 3% on dining, entertainment, groceries and eligible streaming services and 1% back on all other purchases. Cardholders also receive 8% back on Capital One Entertainment purchases.

Other great perks: This card has no annual fee (see rates and fees)and only requires a fair credit score, which makes it a great starter card for college students (see rates and fees). And through November 14, 2024, you'll get the Uber One monthly membership fee reimbursed and earn 10% back on Uber and Uber Eats purchases.

Who's this for? The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees) is an excellent choice for someone who travels often and can take advantage of this card's wide range of perks. It earns 10X miles per dollar on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles per dollar for every dollar spent on flights through the same site. Plus, you'll earn 2X points on all other purchases.

As with the Venture Rewards Card, there are many ways to redeem your miles, including transferring them to Capital One's airline and hotel partners.

Other great perks: The card is loaded with benefits, including a statement credit of up to $100 for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®, complimentary cell phone insurance* and access to Capital One Lounges as well as an extensive network of airport lounges. Cardholders also receive a $300 Capital One Travel credit to use toward purchases made through Capital One Travel and a 10,000-mile bonus on each account anniversary. These benefits can easily make the card worth keeping, even though it has a $395 annual fee (see rates and fees).

Who's this for? The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees) is a great choice for travelers who value flexible rewards. Cardholders earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, plus 5X miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

You can redeem your points for travel by transferring them to one of Capital One's airline and hotel partners (like Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Air Canada Aeroplan), or you can use them to offset recent travel purchases.  You can also redeem your points for cash back, but points are worth less if you go this route.

Other great perks: A noteworthy perk of this card is a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit every four years worth up to $100. Taking advantage of this benefit alone more than offsets the card's $95 annual fee (see rates and fees). This card has a variety of other useful travel perks, such as Master RoadAssist and MasterRental Insurance*.

*Benefit available to accounts approved for the World Elite Mastercard product, subject to terms, conditions, and exclusions in the World Elite Mastercard Guide to Benefits. See Account Terms or Application Terms for more details. Terms, conditions and exclusions apply.

Who's this for? If your ideal night is ordering takeout and streaming a movie, you should consider the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card*. This card offers 10% cash back on purchases with Uber and Uber Eats, 4% on dining and entertainment, 3% at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target) and 1% on all other purchases.

Plus cardholders earn 4% cash back on eligible streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu and Disney+.

Other great perks: Other perks include complimentary Uber One membership statement credits through Nov. 14, 2024, access to premium reservations with Capital One Dining and exclusive events and experiences through the Capital One Entertainment portal.

Who's this for? Small business owners who want to earn simple cash back on purchases should consider the Capital One Spark Cash Plus*. This card offers 2% cash back on every eligible purchase — whether it's shipping costs, office furniture or meals for your employees.

Other great perks: The Spark Cash Plus* also comes with helpful business benefits, including account management tools (such as the ability to view recurring transactions and download purchase records to Quicken®, QuickBooks® and Excel®), extended warranty protection and no foreign transaction fees.

This card has a $150 annual fee, but employee cards are free and earn unlimited 2% cash back from their purchases, so there's no added cost there .

Capital One issues a range of credit cards, from travel credit cards to business credit cards and cards designed for those with lower credit scores. To find the best credit card for you, think about what type of rewards you prefer to earn and consider which cards you are likely to qualify for.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best Capital One credit cards.

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To determine which Capital One cards offer the best value, CNBC Select analyzed Capital One credit cards available in the U.S. We compared each card on a range of features, including rewards, annual fees, welcome bonuses, introductory and standard APR and balance transfer fees and foreign transaction fees. We also considered additional perks (e.g., ongoing travel or merchant statement credits), cardholder protections (e.g., purchase protection, $0 liability protection and travel insurance), the application process when available (e.g., is there a credit pull or required credit score) and how easy it is to redeem points (e.g., are rewards are tied to a specific brand; if transferable, to how many/which partners, can you redeem for straight cashback). 
 
We also considered CNBC Select audience data when available, such as general demographics and engagement with our content and tools.  

For the cards that offered a rewards program, we considered consumer spending data forecasts from location intelligence firm Esri to determine where U.S. consumers are spending the most money, like on dining and travel. We used this to help determine what bonus categories are most useful for consumers. Since the value of a point or mile varies based on what they can be redeemed for, we also considered things like transferability and the ability to redeem for cash-back. 

*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.

* Information about the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards and Capital One Spark Cash Plus has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.