If you’re a fan of Sin City’s NHL team, the Credit One Golden Knights Card might pique your interest thanks to its exclusive offers, like discounts on qualifying team merch.
But beyond those surface-level perks, the ice is very thin. The card earns a paltry 1% back in only a handful of categories, doesn’t come with a welcome offer and — as with some other cards from Credit One — charges an annual fee for all except those with excellent credit.
If that happens to be your credit profile, you could instead have your pick of any number of exceptional rewards credit cards that offer significantly better value and benefits.
Even those with only average or poor credit can find better, cheaper options.
Here’s what to know about the Vegas Golden Knights Card credit card before applying.
1. Excellent credit puts the annual fee on ice
Traditional credit cards typically charge the same annual fees for all cardholders across the board. However, with the Credit One Golden Knights Card, your annual fee is based on your creditworthiness:
- Excellent credit: $0 annual fee.
- Average credit: $39 annual fee
- Rebuilding credit: $75 first year, then $99 annually. This is billed in monthly installments of $8.25.
It's unclear how exactly Credit One defines “excellent,” “average” or “rebuilding credit.” But according to credit scoring companies like FICO and VantageScore, excellent credit generally refers to scores in the high 700s or above; average or fair credit refers to scores in the mid-500s to low 600s; and poor credit scores are typically those between 300 to the high 500s.
The card has a minimum credit line of $300. But if you're charged an annual fee, that fee will be subtracted from your credit line, giving you less spending power until you pay it back. For example, if you’re assigned a credit line of $300 and you have average credit, your credit line will be $261 — $39 less than what you were initially assigned.
Credit One notes that it may grant future credit line increases based on a cardholder’s credit performance.
2. Rewards, though, are no power play
Cardholders earn 1% cash back rewards on eligible gas, groceries (excluding superstores and warehouse clubs), mobile phone services, internet, cable and satellite TV services. Rewards are automatically redeemed as statement credit toward your account balance.
While those are useful and common spending categories, 1% back simply isn't a competitive rewards rate anymore. (And remember, any spending outside of those categories earns nothing at all.)
These days, you can find any number of credit cards that offer a high flat rate on everything you buy. The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, for example, earns 2% cash back on all eligible purchases. The $0-annual-fee card also comes with benefits like a welcome bonus and a 0% intro APR promotion, neither of which the Credit One Golden Knights Card offers.
3. It won't skate by on its perks either
The Credit One Golden Knights Card advertises exclusive deals and experiences for cardholders. These include discounts on food items (excluding alcoholic beverages) and logo apparel (excluding jerseys) purchased with your card at the Arsenal, the Golden Knights' official team store at City National Arena in Las Vegas.
Those discounts might be appealing to Golden Knights fans. But notably, the card’s “exclusive benefits” don’t include things like discounted game tickets, preferred seating or similar perks that would be particularly valuable.
By comparison, the New York Yankees Mastercard — another sports team credit card — earns 5X points at Yankee Stadium concession stands and offers new cardholders complimentary tickets to eligible games if they spend enough.
4. Avoid the interest penalty box
As of August 2026, the Golden Knights card charges an interest rate topping 29%, which makes it an expensive card to carry a balance on.
By comparison, the average APR for credit card accounts that assessed interest was 22.15% as of May 2026, according to data from the Federal Reserve.
5. It falters in faceoffs with other cards for limited credit
Credit card options for those with fair or average credit are generally slim compared to what's available for other credit score bands. But there are still options that can offer more in rewards and benefits than the Credit One Golden Knights Card does.
For instance, the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is available to consumers with fair credit. And although it charges a $39 annual fee, it earns a simple 1.5% back on purchases, plus an unlimited 5% cash back on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through the Capital One Travel portal.
Similarly, there are better options for those building credit. If you're focused on that, earning rewards might not be your top priority, but there are no-fee credit-building options that come with useful benefits that the Credit One Golden Knights Card lacks. For example, the Chase Freedom Rise® is a $0-annual-fee unsecured credit card and doesn’t require a credit history to apply. Not only does it earn an uncapped 1.5% cash back on all purchases, but new cardholders can also earn a $25 statement credit when they enroll in automatic payments within the first three months of account opening. Plus, your account will be automatically reviewed on your annual anniversary to see whether you're eligible to upgrade to the more rewarding Chase Freedom Unlimited® card.
