Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Best for: College students who want one flat cash back rate and no annual fee
- What Sets It Apart: 1.5% on every purchase with no categories to track; the same rewards after graduation
- Cost: $0 annual fee; no foreign transaction fee; 18.74% to 28.74% variable APR
- Credit Needed: Fair, which Capital One says includes students with less than 3 years of credit history
- Features: $50 bonus after $100 in purchases in 3 months; 5% on Capital One Travel bookings of hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars; cash back that never expires while the account is open
- Pros: No categories to track; no foreign transaction fee; may be available with an ITIN
- Cons: Only 1.5% on dining, entertainment, streaming, and grocery stores, where the Savor Student pays 3%; no intro APR
Get the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card if you’re a college student who wants one flat cash back rate and no annual fee. It pays 1.5% on every purchase, so there are no spending categories to track or activate.
Capital One opens it to students enrolled in college or admitted and starting within three months, and it rates the card for fair credit, which its guidelines say includes anyone with under three years of credit history. With the Journey Student retired, this card and the Savor Student are Capital One’s two student cards, and Deserve has stopped offering its EDU student card.
Key Features
- $0 annual fee; variable APR of 18.74% to 28.74%, the yearly interest rate on balances you carry
- 1.5% cash back on every purchase, plus 5% on Capital One Travel bookings of hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars, and on Capital One Entertainment tickets
- $50 bonus after you spend $100 on purchases in the first 3 months
- May be available without a Social Security number if you apply with an ITIN, a taxpayer ID the IRS issues
Pros
- One flat 1.5% rate on everyday spending, with nothing to activate
- No foreign transaction fee for a semester abroad
- Cash back never expires while the account is open and can be redeemed in any amount
- Same rewards after you graduate
Cons
- No 0% introductory APR for paying off a big purchase over several months
- No rotating 5% categories like the Discover it Student Cash Back’s, for students who will activate them each quarter
- Only 1.5% on dining, entertainment, streaming, and grocery stores, where the Savor Student pays 3% (grocery superstores like Walmart and Target excluded)
By our math, students who put less than a quarter of their spending in those four categories earn more with this card’s flat 1.5% than with the Savor Student, which pays 1% on everything else. Students who spend more than a quarter there should get the Savor Student.
Learn more about the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card or see how it compares to the best credit cards for college students.
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