Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card Review: A Top Choice For A Cash Back Credit Card

If you’re in the market for a cash back credit card, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card is hard to beat. It’s our top choice for cash back because it offers a generous rewards rate on popular spending categories, including groceries, dining, entertainment and select streaming services. With a $0 annual fee and an easy-to-earn sign-up bonus, you can easily maximize your rewards. Plus, it comes with a solid intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers (a balance transfer fee applies).

That said, if the bonus categories don’t align with your spending habits, you may be better off with a card that offers an elevated flat cash back rate on general purchases, like the Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card or Chase Freedom Unlimited^®.

• Annual fee: $0
• Sign-up bonus: Earn $200 Cash Back after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
• Rewards: Earn 3% Cash Back at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services, 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply), 8% Cash Back on Capital One Entertainment purchases, 1% Cash Back on all other purchases.
• Intro purchase APR: 0% intro on purchases for 15 months
• Intro balance transfer APR: 0% intro on balance transfers for 15 months (balance transfer fee applies)
• Regular purchase and balance transfer APR: 19.24% - 29.24% (Variable)
• Foreign transaction fee: None
• Recommended credit: Good / Excellent

Chase Freedom Unlimited^®: This card offers a higher cash back rate on purchases outside of its bonus categories compared to the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card, while earning a high cash back rate on dining purchases and Chase Travel^SM. Plus, you’ll get a similar intro APR on purchases and balance transfers, along with excellent travel and purchase protections.

Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express: While this card charges an annual fee after the first year and foreign transaction fees (see rates & fees), it offers a higher cash back* rate on U.S. supermarkets and U.S. streaming subscriptions compared to the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card. However, the higher cash back* at U.S. supermarkets is capped at $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%). You’ll also earn a strong cash back* rate at U.S. gas stations and on transit.

Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card: Unlike these other card picks, there are no rewards categories to keep track of with the Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card. You’ll earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases, making this a much easier card to use than the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card.

• Generous cash back rate on popular spending categories

  The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card offers a high cash back rate on everyday expenses, making it an excellent choice for grocery shopping or dining out: Earn 3% Cash Back at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services, 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply), 8% Cash Back on Capital One Entertainment purchases, 1% Cash Back on all other purchases.

  Rewards don’t expire as long as your account is open, and you can redeem cash back for any amount.

  According to a LendingTree survey, about 61% of Americans have expressed concerns about affording groceries, while 85% are adjusting their dining habits to protect their finances from inflation. The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card can help ease some of these costs by offering accelerated rewards on these common expenses.

• Easy-to-earn sign-up bonus

  The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card offers a solid sign-up bonus with a low spending requirement. You can earn $200 Cash Back after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. That equals out to approximately $167 spending each month for three months.

  This is a pretty standard sign-up bonus for a cash back credit card with no annual fee (see rates & fees). For example, with the Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card, you can earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.

  According to a LendingTree study, the average sign-up bonus for a cash back card as of November 2024 is $161.37, while the median is $150.

• Intro APR on purchases and balance transfers

  The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card offers a longer-than-average intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers. There’s an APR of 0% intro on purchases for 15 months (then a 19.24% - 29.24% (Variable) APR). There’s also an APR of 0% intro on balance transfers for 15 months (then a 19.24% - 29.24% (Variable) APR). Note, a balance transfer fee applies.

  A recent LendingTree study found that the typical length of a 0% balance transfer offer is 15 months, with 82% of 0% balance transfer credit cards offering introductory periods of either 12 or 15 months. 21 months is the longest duration you can find for a 0% balance transfer card.

  *To see rates & fees for Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card, please click here.
  A balance transfer fee applies for promotional rates that Capital One may offer.

• $0 annual fee

  The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card charges a $0 annual fee (see rates & fees). This lets you keep all the rewards you earn in your wallet, without having to worry about out-earning an annual fee.

   See all of the best no-annual-fee credit cards.

• No foreign transaction fees

  If you plan on traveling abroad, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card is a great credit card to take because it has no foreign transaction fees (see rates & fees). By contrast, many credit cards charge around 3% in foreign transaction fees when you use them to make purchases outside the U.S.

• Low rewards rate outside of bonus categories

  While you can earn generous rewards on groceries, dining, entertainment, streaming and Capital One travel purchases, any spending outside of these categories will earn just 1% cash back.

  If you tend to spread your spending across various categories, it might be more beneficial to choose a card with a flat 2% rate on purchases, like the Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card, rather than one that focuses on specific categories. Or, consider the Chase Freedom Unlimited^®, which offers a slightly higher cash back rate outside of its bonus categories.

• Grocery store category exclusions

  If you typically make a lot of grocery purchases at superstores like Target or Walmart, beware that those purchases won’t qualify for the higher grocery store cash back rate. So if you primarily do your shopping at these stores, you may want to consider a card that earns a flat-rate on purchases like the Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card. Or, a co-branded store card like the Target Circle™ Card may be a better fit.

• A balance transfer fee applies

  While a balance transfer can help you save by offering an interest-free period to pay off debt, a balance transfer fee applies with the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card when you transfer a balance (see rates & fees).

  While most balance transfer credit cards charge a fee typically ranging from 3% to 5% of the amount of each transfer (with a minimum of $5 or $10), there are some credit cards that don’t charge a balance transfer fee. Just know, these cards are typically offered by credit unions with membership requirements.

  A recent LendingTree study shows that balance transfer fees are on the rise with 4% and 5% fees becoming more common: 44% of 0% balance transfer card offers come with a one-time fee of 4% or 5%, while 51% of 0% balance transfer cards have a 3% fee.

If your top spending categories include groceries, dining, streaming services and events, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card makes a great cash back card to have in your wallet. But if those purchases aren’t high on your list, you may be better off with a card that offers a more generous cash back rate on the types of purchases you spend the most on, like the Chase Freedom Unlimited^® or Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express. Or, a card that offers flat-rate cash back on purchases, like the Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card, may be a better option.