Capital One SavorOne Rewards Card Review

Written by Dayana Yochim
Edited by Carolyn Kimball
Fact-checked by Andrea Coombes

November 22, 2023

The SavorOne Rewards card will be palatable to foodies (restaurantgoers and home chefs) who want to avoid a card with an annual fee. But if you're willing to pony up $95 a year for Capital One's other Savor Card, you can earn 4% cashback on dining, entertainment and streaming services instead of the 3% this card pays.

The 3% unlimited cash back with the SavorOne Rewards card from Capital One can help you justify ordering apps, wine, dessert, extra dessert and a digestif while dining out. The same rewards rate applies to groceries and entertainment if you decide to make it a night in. Some of the card's limitations may leave a bad aftertaste, though.

The basics: Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores, plus 1% on all other purchases. Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus when you spend $500 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers.

Capital One SavorOne Rewards pros and cons

Capital One SavorOne 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.”

Note: In addition to the rewards categories illustrated above, the Capital One SavorOne Rewards card also pays 5% on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel, 3% unlimited cashback on qualified streaming services purchases, as well as elevated cashback rates on travel and entertainment purchases made through Capital One.

What we like

The $200 one-time cash bonus is an easy way to fatten up your return. Just spend $500 on the card within the first three months.

Drinks on you (for a while)! The 15-month 0% APR period on purchases (not balance transfers) will make you popular during cocktail hour.

Entertainment purchases made with the SavorOne Rewards card are rewarded at a 3% rate and include purchases at zoos, dance halls, movie theaters, video rental locations (still a thing?), record stores (OK hipster), amusement parks, bowling alleys, pro and semi-pro live sporting events, and concerts/theaters.

5% cashback rate on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel is an incentive to get out of the house.

No foreign transaction fees to prevent you from presenting your card to Parisian garçons.

Pays a chonky 8% cash back when you buy tickets to events (concerts, sports, the theater [or The Theatre]) via ticket seller Vivid Seats.

Multiple redemption options (for any amount) in addition to a statement credit or check, include using your rewards cash to shop at Amazon.com or places that take PayPal.

What we don't like

Evidently Prime Video, Verizon FIOS On Demand, audiobook subscription services and fitness programming don’t count as “popular streaming services," and therefore are not eligible for 3% cashback rewards. You'll have to settle for 1% cashback on those.

Sorry, golfers and college sports fans: Your greens fees, club membership and courtside tickets don’t qualify as “entertainment” purchases.

1% cashback on everything else? Well, it’s something. But not all that.

All that good stuff above is better with the SavorOne's cousin, the Savor Card — as in 4% unlimited cashback on dining, entertainment and streaming services; a $300 Welcome Bonus — if you’re willing to pay the $95 annual fee.

The bottom line

Is the Capital One SavorOne 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 SavorOne Rewards fine print

Craving more? Feast on the Capital One SavorOne Rewards card’s finer points and fine print.

Does the Capital One SavorOne Rewards charge an annual fee?

No, there is no annual fee for the Capital One SavorOne Rewards.

Does the Capital One SavorOne Rewards offer a welcome bonus?

Yes, the Capital One SavorOne Rewards has a welcome bonus of $200.

How much cashback can I earn with the Capital One SavorOne Rewards?

The average American that spends $1000 per month will earn $234.72 in cash back per year using the Capital One SavorOne 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 SavorOne Rewards depends entirely on your unique spending habits.

Find out exactly how much you’ll rake in with the Capital One SavorOne 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

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

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

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.