The Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is one of the best starter credit cards for college students who are looking to establish or build credit. If you have fair / good credit, and you’re currently enrolled or admitted and planning to enroll in the next three months, at an accredited university, community college or other higher education institution, you may fit the bill for this card.
It’s one of the most rewarding student credit cards you can find. It offers unlimited rewards on categories that students are likely to spend heavily on, including dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and grocery stores. The rewards rate is on par with the regular version of this card, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card.
But, if you don’t spend a lot on entertainment or food, flat-rate cash back rewards like the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card may be better. Also beware: You’ll need some credit history and income in order to be able to qualify for card ownership.
How much does it cost to own? We estimate that the average cardholder will pay $0 in annual fees and earn around $129 in rewards in the first year (see rates & fees).**
Earn a higher rate of cash back in popular spending categories
The Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card offers a generous cash back rate in several popular spending categories for students, making it one of the most rewarding cash back credit cards for students.
Cardholders 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 won’t expire for the life of the account and can be redeemed for statement credits and gift cards, as statement credits to directly cover a recent purchase, and more.
Since it offers the same rewards rate as the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card card, it’s a card you’ll want to keep in your wallet long term.
Easy-to-earn sign-up bonus
Cardholders can earn $50 Cash Back when you spend $100 in the first three months. The spending threshold is quite low and is equal to spending just over $33 per month on your card.
This is a very modest sign-up bonus, but keep in mind that it’s rare for starter credit cards to offer a sign-up bonus — so any offer is better than nothing. However, if earning a sign-up bonus is important, you can find a few student credit cards with better offers, including the Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students and the Discover it® Student Cash Back.
Few fees
The Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card has a $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fee (see rates & fees). Additionally, there are no ongoing maintenance fees, which are often found on cards geared toward customers with low or no credit scores. Such fees can easily add up to an extra $100 a year, or more.
However, it does have fees for late payments, cash advances and balance transfers (see rates & fees). With careful planning and responsible spending, these are generally avoidable.
As long as you pay off your statement balance each month, this card will cost you nothing to use, even if you spend time studying or traveling abroad.
Geared to applicants with Fair / Good credit
The Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is targeted toward students with fair / good credit. It’s possible to be accepted for this card if you’re still at the start of your credit journey. With responsible use, this card can help you build a credit history.
Reports to three major credit bureaus
This card reports to the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) — an important feature to have in a credit card, especially a beginner credit card. You never know which report a future lender will look at — you want all your credit reports to show all your information, especially if you always pay every bill on time.
Great additional benefits
The Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card also comes with additional travel and shopping benefits, which are less common among student credit cards.
Potentially high APR
If you carry a balance on your Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card from month to month, you will be subject to a high APR of 19.74% - 29.74% (Variable) (see rates & fees). While it’s typical for student cards to charge high interest rates, you should keep this card’s high APR in mind before you apply. If you don’t have the discipline to pay off your balance each month, it may be wise to explore other options for building credit.
No intro APR offers on purchases or balance transfers
The Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card doesn’t offer an introductory 0% APR on purchases or balance transfers (see rates & fees). This isn’t a deal breaker, because it’s rare for student credit cards to offer intro APRs. However, there are a handful that do, including the Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students.
Only available to students with some credit history and income
This card may be harder to qualify for, especially if you’re young and in college with no credit history and/or job. If this is your situation, the Discover it® Student Cash Back may be a better option, especially if you haven’t been added as an authorized user on someone’s credit card — it doesn’t require a credit score to apply.
Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Welcome Offer | Rewards Rate | Annual Fee | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card
Apply Now
on Capital One's secure site Rates & Fees |
N/A | Earn $50 Cash Back when you spend $100 in the first three months | 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 | $0 |
Apply Now
on Capital One's secure site Rates & Fees |
Discover it® Student Cash Back*
|
Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers – 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 cash back into $200. There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match. | Earn 5% cash back at different places each quarter up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically | $0 | ||
Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card
Apply Now
on Capital One's secure site Rates & Fees |
Earn $50 when you spend $100 in the first three months | 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply) | $0 |
Apply Now
on Capital One's secure site Rates & Fees |
|
Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students*
Review Coming Soon
|
25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases | 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases. | $0 | Review Coming Soon |
And there’s a potentially better sign-up bonus: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers – 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 cash back into $200. There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
On the downside, Discover’s 5% categories are capped at $1,500 in purchases each quarter, require enrollment and may not always align with your spending. You may find that the Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is the simpler and more rewarding option since it doesn’t have a cap on its 3% cash back categories.
Earning rate aside, the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card offers most of the same great benefits as the Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card. You can earn a similar sign-up bonus, and you’ll pay no foreign transaction fees as well as receive solid travel benefits and purchase protections (see rates & fees).
New cardholders can earn 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases. You can earn 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases. The flat-rate rewards offer simplicity — you won’t be tempted to overspend in a bonus category just because it offers more rewards. Rewards can be redeemed for a broad range of travel categories including dining, parking garages and attractions like aquariums.
It also offers long intro APRs on purchases and balance transfers, which could be helpful if you want to finance a purchase or pay off debt.
A downside to this card is that it requires good / excellent credit, which may be harder to qualify for if you’re just starting to build credit.
The Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is one of the best student credit cards you can get, especially if you want to earn rewards on common spending areas like groceries and entertainment. This card is especially unique in that there’s no upper limit on its spending categories.
However if you have some large purchases that you need to make, and would benefit from financing it at a 0% APR, the Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students is another solid choice.
No matter which student credit card you choose, remember that regular, responsible use of your credit card gives you a good start on building credit, which is generally a slow and steady process.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
The information related to the Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students and Discover it® Student Cash Back has been collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.
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