Best Capital One Credit Cards of December 2024

Before applying, verify details on the issuer's website:

CONSUMER CREDIT CARDS

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Our pick for: Simple travel rewards

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card - Miles Boost

Our pick for: Simple travel rewards + no annual fee

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Our pick for: Travel perks

Capital One's premium travel credit card can deliver terrific benefits — provided you're willing to do your travel spending through the issuer's online booking portal. That's where you'll earn the highest rewards rates plus credits that can make back the bulk of your annual fee (see rates and fees). Read our review.

Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card

Our pick for: Simple cash back

Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

Our pick for: Going out & staying in with no annual fee

Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card

Our pick for: Bonus cash back for students

Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card

Our pick for: Simple cash back for students

Capital One Platinum Credit Card

Our pick for: Fair credit + no annual fee

Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card

Our pick for: Fair credit + cash back

This card for people with fair or "average" credit pays the same cash-back rate as the regular Quicksilver card, which targets people with excellent credit. The key difference is that this version charges an annual fee while the regular one does not (see rates and fees). Read our review.

Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card

Our pick for: Flexible security deposit

Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card

Our pick for: Poor credit + cash back

BUSINESS CREDIT CARDS

Capital One Spark Cash Plus

Our pick for: Cash back for business

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is an excellent option for business operators whose expenses don't fall into the bonus categories on other business credit cards. There's no preset spending limit and you get a high, flat rewards rate on every purchase. Plus, you can earn a welcome bonus if you hit certain spending requirements. Just make sure that you can pay off your spending in full each month, as this is a charge card that doesn't let you revolve a balance. (See rates and fees.) Learn more and apply.

Capital One Spark Cash Select

Our pick for: Cash back for business + no annual fee

Capital One Spark Miles for Business

Our pick for: Travel rewards for business

The Capital One Spark Miles for Business earns 5 miles per dollar on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar on all other purchases. Miles can be redeemed at a value of 1 cent apiece for any travel purchase, without the blackout dates and other restrictions of branded hotel and airline cards. The card offers a great sign-up bonus, too. (See rates and fees.) Learn more and apply.

Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business

Our pick for: Travel rewards for business + no annual fee

The Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business offers a lower rewards rate and a smaller bonus offer than the regular Spark Miles card, but there's no annual fee, either. Smaller spenders might come out ahead compared with the regular version. Learn more and apply.*

The credit score required to get a Capital One credit card depends on the card you’re considering. For example:

• As is often the case with any issuer, premium cards with the most perks require excellent credit, generally defined as a credit score of 720 or better. An example here is the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.

• Many of Capital One's most popular rewards cards are available to applicants with good to excellent credit. Good credit is generally defined as a score of 690 and up.

• Capital One also has cards specifically designed for fair or "average" credit, generally represented by scores in the mid-600s. These include the Capital One Platinum Credit Card, which is a basic card with a $0 annual fee (see rates and fees), and the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card, which offers the same spending rewards as the regular Quicksilver card but charges an annual fee and does not come a sign-up bonus or a 0% intro APR offer (see rates and fees).

• Student credit cards from Capital One generally require fair credit.

• The issuer also has options for bad credit. The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card doesn’t have any specific credit score requirement — but it requires a cash security deposit.

Keep in mind, however, that your credit score is just one factor in determining whether you’ll qualify for any credit card. Issuers typically look at your income and other information on your application as well as specific data from your credit report.

Interest rates on Capital One credit cards vary. As of this writing, the issuer's rewards cards for good or excellent credit generally offer a range of rates, and the APR charged on your account will largely depend on your credit history. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, for example, charges rates in this range: The ongoing APR is 19.99%-29.49% Variable APR (see rates and fees). Meanwhile, Capital One cards for people with fair or bad credit tend to charge a single interest rate. The ongoing APR is 29.99% Variable APR on the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card, for example (see rates and fees).

Some cards offer a 0% introductory APR promotion, which means no interest is charged on your balance for a period of time after you open the account. The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card, for example, has a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months; 19.49%-29.49% variable APR after that; balance transfer fee applies (see rates and fees).

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus, a card for small business operators, stands out because it doesn’t have an APR at all. It’s a charge card, not a credit card, meaning the balance must be paid in full each month. Late payments on the Capital One Spark Cash Plus incur a 2.99% penalty. (See rates and fees.)  

For regular, unsecured credit cards, your credit limit will depend on several factors, including your income and information from your credit report — including other debts and how much credit you have available on other accounts. This is typically the case with all issuers. In most cases, you aren't going to know how much of a credit limit you qualify for until you submit your application.

With secured cards, you must provide a security deposit to open the account, and the amount you deposit usually becomes your credit limit. The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card, for example, requires a $200 minimum initial deposit, and the maximum is $3,000. Capital One reviews Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card accounts for a potential credit limit increase with no additional deposit after the account has been open for at least six months.

Credit limits for the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card range from $200 to $1,000. However, some applicants may qualify for an initial credit line of $200 with a security deposit of only $49 or $99. With this card, too, you may be eligible for a credit line increase with no additional deposit in as little as six months after opening the account.

You can request an increase in your credit limit, or Capital One may offer you one, usually after you’ve demonstrated responsible credit use, such as paying balances in full every month. Requests can be submitted online through your account portal. When you submit a request, you’ll be asked to provide your total annual income, employment status and monthly housing payment. For Spark business cards, you’ll also need to supply last year’s total business revenue. 

With secured credit cards, you generally can't request a credit line beyond what you get with your initial deposit. However, Capital One reviews secured credit card accounts for credit limit increases with no additional deposit after they have been open for at least six months. 

Benefits are highly specific to each Capital One credit card, but there are some commonalities. All Capital One credit cards do not charge foreign transaction fees. If you have a rewards card, the cash back or miles earned with that card do not expire, and there is no limit on the amount you can earn. Capital One cardholders also get access to Capital One Entertainment, a ticketing platform that offers early and sometimes exclusive access to concerts, sporting events and more. See our reviews of individual cards for specific benefits.

What makes any card "good" for one person may not be a good fit for someone else, but Capital One offers a variety of credit cards to suit a range of consumers, and those cards regularly find a home on NerdWallet's roundups of the best credit cards. Those who regularly dine out may like the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card and its unlimited 3% cash back on dining, for example, while the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card may be a match for someone who wants to earn simple rewards without having to pay an annual fee (see rates and fees). 

Capital One’s website offers "pre-approval" for several of its credit cards. You fill out a form with questions similar to what's asked in a standard credit card application, and Capital One will show you offers you may be eligible for. The initial process doesn’t involve a "hard inquiry" on your credit report so there's no effect on your credit scores. If you see an offer you like, you can then formally apply. Note that being "pre-approved" does not necessarily guarantee approval when you submit an official application. 

Capital One will neither confirm nor deny whether it has limits on how many cards you can have. Cardholders have reported, however, that they can have no more than two personal cards at any given time, and that they can't get approved for more than one card every six months.

You can combine miles on Capital One travel credit cards by linking the accounts, and you can do the same with the rewards on Capital One cash-back cards. Cash-back rewards can be transferred to a travel card account, but miles cannot be transferred to a cash-back account. Accounts must be linked in order to transfer rewards, which can be done in the Capital One Rewards hub.

*Information for this card is not reviewed by or provided by Capital One.