Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card: Is It Worth It?

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.

• Annual fee: $0
• Intro purchase APR: N/A
• Regular purchase APR: 19.74% - 29.74% (Variable)
• Intro balance transfer: N/A
• Regular BT APR: 19.74% - 29.74% (Variable)
• Foreign transaction fee: None
• Sign-up bonus: Earn $50 Cash Back when you spend $100 in the first three months
• Rewards: 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
• Other benefits: Price protection, extended warranty, rental car coverage, roadside assistance
• Recommended credit: Fair / Good

• 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.

  The length of your credit history accounts for 15% of your credit score, so getting a starter card that you want to keep after you graduate could be a great foundation for your credit.

• 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.

  The Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is an unsecured credit card, which means you don’t have to make a $200 (or more) security deposit to get it.

• 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.

  Learn more about building credit with a credit card

• 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.

  • $0 fraud liability: You won’t be responsible for unauthorized charges.
  • Price Protection: If you find a lower price on a new item within 120 days of purchase you may be reimbursed for the difference.
  • Extended Warranty: Automatically doubles the original manufacturer’s/store’s warranty on eligible purchases.
  • MasterRental® Coverage: Use your card to rent an eligible vehicle and you may be covered for physical damage and theft of the vehicle.
  • Master RoadAssist® Service: Take advantage of 24-hour toll-free dispatch to help with services like towing, fuel delivery and more (fees apply).

• 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.

  See: 6 ways to build credit without a credit card

• 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.

  If you’re trying to build your credit score, you want to charge only what you can pay for each month. Also, your credit line probably won’t be very high, and you want to keep your credit utilization ratio to 30% or less. This means, for example, if you have a credit limit of $1,000, you shouldn’t use more than $300. If you need to charge a large purchase, try to make a payment as soon as possible to bring your balance back below 30%.
  Discover the best balance transfer credit cards and best credit cards with 0% APR

• 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.

Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card vs. Discover it^® Student Cash Back

Like the Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card (see rates & fees), the Discover it^® Student Cash Back has a $0 annual fee and cash back rewards. However, if you’re willing to work for your rewards, you can get a higher cash back rate on Discover’s categories: 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.

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.

Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card vs. Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card

If you don’t spend heavily on entertainment or dining, or live on campus with a meal plan, the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card rewards structure may be better. It’s a $0 annual fee card that lets you earn 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply) (see rates & fees).

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).

Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card vs. Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students

Like the other student credit cards, the Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students offers a $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. It comes with a large sign-up bonus and flat-rate rewards that could help you fund an upcoming trip.

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.