Capital One Platinum Credit Card
- Best for: Fair-credit borrowers who want a no-fee, no-deposit card to build credit and who pay in full each month
- What Sets It Apart: No annual fee or deposit; automatic credit line increase reviews as soon as 6 months in
- Cost: $0 annual fee; 29.24% variable APR; no foreign transaction fee
- Features: Credit line set at approval, with no published minimum; reported to the credit bureaus; pre-approval check with no credit score impact
- Pros: No deposit; no annual fee; credit line increase requests use a soft inquiry
- Cons: No rewards; high APR on carried balances; no published starting credit line
Open the Capital One Platinum Credit Card if you have fair credit and want to build it without an annual fee or a security deposit. It pays no rewards, so if you’d charge more than $2,600 a year, pick Capital One’s QuicksilverOne, whose 1.5% cash back more than covers its $39 annual fee.
Capital One offers the Platinum to people with fair credit, which FICO defines as a score of 580 to 669, though you need no credit score to apply. It also checks income, and if you list no assets, your monthly income must be at least $425 more than your rent or mortgage payment, or $215 more for students.
Key Features
- $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fee
- 29.24% variable annual percentage rate (APR) on purchases, transfers, and cash advances
- Credit line set from your application and ability to pay, with no published minimum
- Automatic credit line increase reviews, starting as soon as 6 months in
- Account reported to the credit bureaus, so on-time payments help build your credit
Pros
- No security deposit tying up your cash
- No annual fee, unlike bad-credit cards that charge fees
- Credit line increase requests that use a soft inquiry, so they won’t hurt your score
- Pre-approval check before you apply, with no credit score impact
Cons
- No rewards, while Capital One’s Quicksilver Secured, also for fair credit, pays 1.5% cash back with no annual fee but takes a $200 deposit
- A 29.24% APR on any balance you carry past the due date
- No published starting credit line, so you learn your limit only after approval
- Cash advances cost $5 or 5% of the advance, whichever is more, plus interest from the day you take one
The Platinum suits fair-credit borrowers who want a no-fee card to build credit with and who pay the full statement balance each month, which avoids interest on purchases. Applicants Capital One declines can apply for the deposit-backed Platinum Secured, and borrowers who’d charge more than $2,600 a year come out ahead with the QuicksilverOne, whose 1.5% cash back on that spending tops its $39 fee.
Learn more about the Capital One Platinum Credit Card or see how it compares to the best credit cards for bad credit.
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