Capital One Quicksilver Rewards Card Review
Written by Dayana Yochim
Edited by Carolyn Kimball
Fact-checked by Andrea Coombes
Why trust us? Investor.com has no financial relationship with any of the credit card providers whose products we analyze and review. Our opinions are based solely on data and our own extensive independent research — that means unbiased guidance for consumers. Rewards cards in our cashback credit card calculator are listed in descending order according to how much money they pay out annually based on the inputs.
It’s not saying much, but at least the Capital One Quicksilver Rewards card imposes no spending cap on the 1.5% cash back rate.
This super basic 1.5% cashback card requires zero forethought — okayfine if you just can’t be bothered to track rewards categories, pay attention to spending caps, or shop for an even slightly better card. Honestly, put in a little effort and you can get a lot more in return elsewhere.
Also worth noting, this version of the Quicksilver card requires "excellent" credit. If that's a stretch, Cap One offers a Quicksilver Rewards Card for Good Credit.
The basics: Flat 1.5% unlimited cashback on every purchase and 5% cashback on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers. 3% balance-transfer fee waived on amounts transferred within the first 15 months. Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus once you spend $500 within three months from account opening.
Capital One Quicksilver Rewards
Capital One Quicksilver Rewards pros and cons
Pros
- Unlimited 1.5% cash back on all the things
- 5% cashback on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Easy-to-nab $200 signup bonus
- $0 annual fee
- 15-month 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers
- 3% balance-transfer fee waived on money moved within first 15 months
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- No rewards bonus categories = limited cashback potential
- 1.5% cashback rate is the starting point for many cards
- Requires “excellent” credit for not-so-excellent rewards
Capital One Quicksilver Rewards cashback rewards spending categories
The following table shows the cashback rewards rate per $1 spent in the six most common spending categories. The “Bonus Rate” refers to the amount you can earn in excess of the card’s standard rewards rate.
Some cashback cards limit the spending amount eligible for the bonus rate (a.k.a. the “Spend Cap”). Once you hit that cap (e.g. $1,500 spending in a particular category during a defined time period), the rewards rate on future purchases in that category reverts to the lower “Default Rate.”
| Category | Default Rate | Bonus Rate | Bonus Spend Cap | Bonus Spend Period (Months) |
| Gas | 1.50% | - | - | - |
| Travel | 1.50% | - | - | - |
| Dining | 1.50% | - | - | - |
| Entertainment | 1.50% | - | - | - |
| Pharmacy | 1.50% | - | - | - |
| Groceries | 1.50% | - | - | - |
| Other Purchases | 1.50% | - | - | - |
What we like
Toss aside those spending shackles. There’s no cap on the cashback rewards you can earn with the Capital One Quicksilver card. Everything qualifies for the 1.5% rewards rate.
Got wanderlust? You'll earn 5% cashback on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
You’ve got three months to spend just $500 to earn the one-time $200 cash bonus. One trip to Best Buy with a teenager oughta do it.
Redemption options include the usual suspects — statement credit, check — as well as gift cards, though the redemption rate may be lower or higher on that last one. And some rewards are transferable between Capital One accounts.
Includes complimentary concierge service, 24-7 travel assistance and travel accident insurance.
Comes with CreditWise alerts to changes in your TransUnion and Experian credit reporting files.
What we don't like
Approval for the Quicksilver card requires having “excellent credit.” If a lender is going to require “excellent credit” to qualify for a card, we'd like to see excellent reward rates — as in higher than 1.5%.
There are no bonus rewards categories. Reality check: The best you’ll do is get $15 back for each $1,000 in spending. A buck fifty per $100 happy hour tab. You get the bleak picture.
The bottom line
Is the Capital One Quicksilver Rewards the best rewards card for your wallet? The answer depends entirely on your spending patterns. Let the numbers speak for themselves: Use the investor.com Cashback Credit Card Calculator to see which credit card pays back the highest rewards based on how much you spend each month.
Capital One Quicksilver Rewards fine print
Here’s what you need to know about the terms and conditions for the Capital One Quicksilver card, courtesy of Capital One’s legal eagles.
Does the Capital One Quicksilver Rewards charge an annual fee?
No, there is no annual fee for the Capital One Quicksilver Rewards.
Trivia time!
Roughly 14% of the consumer cashback cards we track in our database charge an annual fee. The average annual fee is $72.60, while the median is $95.
Does the Capital One Quicksilver Rewards offer a welcome bonus?
Yes, the Capital One Quicksilver Rewards has a welcome bonus of $200.
Fun fact
Of the more than 60 cashback credit cards in our database, 66% offer a welcome bonus. Currently, the average sign-up bonus on a new cashback card is $210.71, with the median being $200.
How much cashback can I earn with the Capital One Quicksilver Rewards?
The average American that spends $1000 per month will earn $180.00 in cash back per year using the Capital One Quicksilver Rewards. For comparison, the average annual rewards payout from the cashback credit cards in the investor.com database is $191.26, and $180 is the median.
These calculations are based on average consumer spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the reward payout rates from the providers we track. Of course, you’re so much more than an average data point (aka “consumer unit,” in BLS parlance). The amount you can earn in cashback rewards using the Capital One Quicksilver Rewards depends entirely on your unique spending habits.
Find out exactly how much you’ll rake in with the Capital One Quicksilver Rewards by tailoring the spending inputs in the calculator above.
Read next
- Best Cashback Credit Cards
- Best Business Cashback Credit Cards
- What Is Credit? (And Why It Matters)
- Best High-Yield Savings Accounts
- Find a Financial Advisor
- Our Complete Coverage of Credit Cards
Methodology
The results of the investor.com Credit Card Rewards Calculator are based on the monthly spending amounts you enter and the annual dollar value of the rewards each credit card program pays per $1 spent. Credit card companies often express this payout amount as a percentage (e.g., 1.5% of every dollar spent) or on a points basis (e.g. ,1.5 points for every dollar spent). We converted all of them to a dollar amount (“Cash Back Per Year”) to make comparing offers easier.
To calculate the amount of cash back you could earn per year, we factored in:
- Spend category inputs: The default dollar values for each “Spend Category” in the Best Cashback Credit Cards tool — gas, groceries, travel, restaurant, entertainment, pharmacy, other — are based on average American spending data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We also include additional spend categories (such as streaming services, online shopping, utilities, transit, Amazon and more) to help you see which rewards cards are most closely aligned with your actual spending patterns. We encourage you to customize the monthly spend inputs for the most accurate results.
- Tiered rewards rates: If a rewards credit card pays higher cashback rates on certain spending categories (also called “Bonus Rewards”), that difference is reflected in the total “Cash Back Per Year” tally.
- Rewards spending caps: Some cards impose category- or time-based limits (monthly, quarterly, annually) that affect the amount of rewards you can earn. For example, a card may pay 3% cash back on groceries on up to $1,000 of spending each quarter, then revert to the base/default rewards rate until the following quarter. We accounted for bonus spending caps and timeframe in the calculations.
- Default rewards rates: Purchases that exceed a spending cap are usually subject to a lower default rewards rate (e.g., 1% or 1.5%). We mathed that out too.
- Annual fees: If a rewards card charges an annual fee, we deducted that amount from the “Cash Back Per Year” total to provide a true accounting of a card’s annual rewards payout.
What’s not included in the “Cash Back Per Year” total is the cash value of any sign-up/introductory bonus. We highlight any Welcome Bonus separately. While sign-up bonuses can be the most lucrative part of getting a new cashback rewards credit card, not everyone will want or be able to do what it takes to earn the extra cash. (It usually requires spending a certain amount in a specified time period after the card is activated.)
About the Editorial Team
Dayana Yochim has been writing (articles, books, podcasts, stirring speeches) about personal finance and investing for more than two decades, focusing on bringing clarity and the occasional comedic aside to what is often a murky, humorless topic. She’s written for NerdWallet, The Motley Fool, HerMoney.com, Woman’s Day, Forbes, Newsweek and others, and been a guest expert on "Today," "Good Morning America," CNN, NPR and wherever they’ll hand her a mic.
Carolyn Kimball is Managing Editor for Reink Media Group and the lead editor for content on investor.com. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.
Andrea Coombes has 20+ years of experience helping people reach their financial goals. Her personal finance articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MarketWatch, Forbes, and other publications, and she's shared her expertise on CBS, NPR, "Marketplace," and more. She's been a financial coach and certified consumer credit counselor, and is working on becoming a Certified Financial Planner. She knows that owning pets isn't necessarily the best financial decision; her dog and two cats would argue this point.