The Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is aimed at college students — including those at community colleges, four-year universities and other institutions of higher education. It offers a simple cash back program, charges a $0 annual fee and allows students to start building credit history before they graduate.

Capital One debuted the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card in August 2021, alongside another new student credit card, the Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card.

• Sign-up bonus

  The Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card allows cardholders to earn $50 when you spend $100 in the first three months.

• Cash back rewards

  While some student credit cards earn lackluster rewards, the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card offers 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day; 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through capital one travel (terms apply).

  Redemption options for your cash back include:

  • Statement credits
  • Checks
  • Credits for previous purchases
  • Gift cards

• Pay no annual fee

  Since college students are typically on tight budgets, it’s best to build credit with a no-annual-fee card. The Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card checks that box with its $0 annual fee.

• Helps build credit history

  Capital One reports your account and payment activity to the three major consumer credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Each of these bureaus maintains a credit report with your information, and your credit score is generated based on the information in these reports. If you don’t max out your credit card and always pay on time, chances are you’ll build a good or even exceptional credit score over time. But if you spend close to your credit limit, your score will suffer due to high utilization — and if you pay late or miss a payment, that’s one of the fastest ways to tank your credit score.

  Building good credit while in college is important, as you may want to take out a car loan or a mortgage later in life and your credit score will impact the interest rates you’re offered on such products. Using the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card responsibly can help set you up for success.

• No foreign transaction fee

  Some credit cards charge a foreign transaction fee (often 3% of each transaction) when you use them outside the United States — however, the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card has none. Whether you’re planning a study abroad trip or going on vacation with family, this is a good card to take with you.

• The interest rate is high

  This card has a 19.74% - 29.74% (variable) APR, which is very high if you don’t qualify for the lower amount. If you roll over a balance from month to month, you’re likely to see some expensive interest charges. However, you can avoid incurring interest by paying in full every billing cycle. And note that you don’t need to carry a balance to build credit — using your card regularly and paying on time is all you need to do.

• There's no intro APR

  Some credit cards offer a 0% introductory APR period, after which the regular APR takes effect. This can be useful if you need to make a big purchase and pay it off over time — for example, maybe you need to buy textbooks and a laptop for school. Unfortunately, the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card doesn’t offer an intro APR period. The Discover it^® Student Cash Back is a competing student card that does offer an intro APR, and we’ll examine that card in the next section.

 

One of our top student credit card picks is the Discover it^® Student Cash Back, thanks to its generous cash back program, $0 annual fee. It also reports to the three major credit bureaus and helps you build credit history.

You’ll earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like Amazon.com, grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically There’s a $1,500 spending cap in the rotating categories, meaning you can earn a maximum of $75 in cash back at the elevated rate each quarter before your earning rate drops to 1% on all purchases.

There’s also a unique sign-up bonus: Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! So you could turn $50 cash back into $100. Or turn $100 into $200. There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.

And there’s an intro APR of 0% Intro APR for 6 months on purchases. After, a 17.99% - 26.99% Variable APR applies.

It’s worth noting that in some countries, Discover credit cards aren’t as widely accepted as those on Visa or Mastercard payment networks. Since the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is a Mastercard, it’s likely a better choice if you’re planning to travel abroad.

The Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is an excellent choice for a first credit card if you’re a current college student, or you’re planning to start your studies within the next three months. It earns better rewards than you may find on some other student cards, charges a $0 annual fee, and has a foreign transaction fee of none. Plus, if you keep utilization low and always pay on time, you can use this card to build a good credit score, which will come in handy after graduation.

If you want to earn a higher cash back rate or perhaps need a short intro APR period on purchases, the Discover it^® Student Cash Back is another student card worth considering. But unlike the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card, the Discover it^® Student Cash Back will require you to activate rotating cash back categories each quarter.

If you prefer a card with no rotating categories or spend caps, the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card could be a better fit.

The information related to the Chase Freedom^® Student credit card has been collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.

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