Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card: A Real User Review

I'm a big fan of the Capital One Savor card. I often tell my friends about it, especially if they’re looking for one solid rewards credit card they can use for most of their daily expenses. I’ve been using this card for a while now, so I wanted to share my experiences.

This card is straightforward. It covers many of the average person’s common spending, has great introductory deals, and is a good starting point for building a collection of rewards cards. I’ve found that even some cards that give you more rewards in areas like groceries or eating out don’t give you as much overall value as the Savor card. This is because the Savor card has a useful mix of bonus categories. I especially like getting extra cash back on my entertainment buys – I haven’t seen this on many other cards.

Now, it’s not the perfect card for everyone. If you're just starting to build your card collection and don’t mind using different cards to get the highest possible rewards in each category, the Savor card might not be the best option. It gives you good rewards in several important categories, but not the absolute best in any single one. Also, Capital One’s travel rewards program isn’t the best, so you might want to mix cash back cards with travel cards from other companies like Chase, Citi, or American Express.

Breaking Down the Rewards

Here’s what you can earn with the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards card:

• 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases – that’s a big win for concerts and sporting events!
• 5% cash back on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
• Unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming subscriptions, and grocery store purchases (but not at places like Walmart and Target).
• 1% cash back on everything else.

Pros and Cons: What I Like and What Could Be Better

What I Like:

• Easy Rewards: It gives you a good mix of useful bonus categories, so it’s easy to earn rewards on your everyday spending.
• Easy Sign-Up Bonus: The spending you need to do to get the sign-up bonus is pretty reasonable.
• Travel Potential: You can combine it with a higher-end Capital One travel card and possibly get more from your points by transferring them to airline and hotel partners.

What Could Be Better:

• Better Dining/Grocery elsewhere:Some other cards give you better rewards on dining or groceries.
• Travel Limitations: The boosted rewards on Capital One Travel don’t include flights, so it’s not as great for frequent flyers as it might seem.
• Better Travel Programs elsewhere:Other travel programs might give you better value for your rewards, so you might want to mix cards from different companies.

First-Year Value vs. Long-Term Value

One of the main reasons I got the Savor card was because it gives you good value over time.

Here’s what you could earn in the first year and beyond if you spend about $700 a month on general purchases (getting 1% back) and another $700 a month on groceries, dining, streaming, and entertainment (getting 3% back). This also includes the sign-up bonus ($200 after spending $500 in the first three months). First Year Value Ongoing Value Welcome Offer $200 $0 Rewards $336 $336 Annual Fee $0 $0 Total$536$252

As you can see, even with normal spending, the Savor card can give you a lot of rewards each year.

If you’re like me, you won’t even have to change your spending habits. Just use the card for things you normally buy, and you can earn hundreds of dollars in cash back each year.

Why You Might Want This Card

The Savor card has a really good mix of everyday rewards categories, an easy-to-get welcome bonus with good value, and the potential to pair it with other Capital One cards for even more rewards.

It also has a decent intro APR offer, which is great if you need to pay off a balance or new purchases over time without paying interest.

Rewards in Detail: Great Rates on Everyday Buys

The Savor card’s rewards cover most of the things people spend money on, especially groceries and dining. This makes it a good choice if you want just one card: You can easily earn cash back just by using it for everyday purchases.

You’ll get 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, streaming, and grocery stores (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs). While some cards might give you more rewards on groceries or dining alone, the Savor card gives you high rewards on both, which makes it stand out. Plus, there’s no annual fee.

Sign-Up Bonus: Easy to Get

Another thing I liked about the Savor card was the welcome offer: a $200 cash bonus after spending $500 in the first three months. This is similar to what you can get from other cash back cards with no annual fee, but some of those cards require you to spend twice or three times as much.

Spending $500 in three months is easy if you use the card for everyday purchases. I used the bonus offer and the card’s intro APR to make a big purchase (a car repair). Putting that purchase on the card got me $200 in cash back from the bonus, plus the regular rewards.

Intro Offer: Good Intro APR for a Cash Back Card

The Savor card has a good intro APR for a cash back card: 0% for 12 months on new purchases and balance transfers. After that, the regular APR of 18.49% - 28.49% (Variable) applies.

Because of this offer, I was able to pay off my car repair over time without paying interest. Even though I could have paid it all at once, spreading out the cost made it easier on my wallet.

I didn’t need to transfer a balance, but I was impressed with that part of the card, too. The intro APR period is pretty long, and the balance transfer fee is lower than most balance transfer cards (3% of the amount transferred during the first 12 months, then 4% at a promotional APR that Capital One might offer later).

Many cards that offer a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months or more charge a 5% fee right away. It might not seem like much, but it could cost you more than you’d save with a few extra months of intro APR.

Why You Might Want a Different Card

I thought the Savor card was a great choice because of its rewards, welcome offer, and intro APR. But there are a few things you should think about before getting it.

Applying: You’ll Need Good Credit

I’d recommend having at least good credit (a FICO score of 670 or higher) before applying for the Savor card. This might mean it’s not an option for people with fair credit, but that’s normal for cards like this.

My advice:

If you don’t meet the credit requirements, you can still build your credit over time. A good first step for students would be to apply for the Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card. Once you’ve built better credit, you can apply for the Savor Cash Rewards card with a better chance of being approved.

Perks: Nothing Special

The Capital One Savor card comes with standard Mastercard benefits, like fraud coverage, rental car coverage, roadside assistance, and ID theft protection.

This isn’t a lot compared to Visa Signature cards, which have more benefits like roadside dispatch, rental car insurance, emergency cash, and extra perks at luxury hotels.

While the perks aren’t a deal-breaker, there are cash back cards with better perks available.

Best Cards to Pair with the Savor

Even though you can earn bonus cash back on groceries, dining, and entertainment with the Savor card, those might not be your biggest spending categories. Pairing your card with other Capital One cards can improve your cash back strategy and get you more rewards.

I often turn my Savor card rewards into Capital One miles because I have the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and can transfer them at a 1:1 ratio. But if you only travel sometimes and want something simpler, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a great starting option.

How the Savor Card Compares to Other Cash Back Cards

The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards card is a solid option compared to other popular cards like the Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card and the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card. All three cards have no annual fee and offer good rewards, but they each have their own pros and cons.

Is the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Card Right for You?

The Savor Cash Rewards card is a popular and strong card that’s considered one of the best cash back cards. It has a little bit of everything and is a great choice if you:

• Love food and want to earn rewards on dining.
• Want just one credit card that can do a lot.
• Have or are thinking about getting a Capital One travel rewards card.
• Have a big purchase coming up and can take advantage of the sign-up bonus and intro APR.

Other Options to Consider

There are many good rewards cards out there, so if the Savor Cash card isn’t right for you, here are a few other options:

• Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

How We Rate Credit Cards

We rate credit cards using a system that scores each card’s estimated rewards, annual earnings, welcome bonus, APR, fees, perks, and more compared to other cards in the same category.

Each card feature is weighted based on how important it is to people looking for that type of card. These features are then scored based on how they compare to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these scores, each card gets an overall rating of 1-5 stars (5 is the highest, 1 is the lowest).

We looked at over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to see how they stacked up in terms of value, cost, and benefits. Here are some of the main things that affected this card’s overall score and our review:

• Rewards value
• Rates and fees
• Flexibility
• Perks

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.

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