Capital One® Savor® Rewards Card Review

I never really paid attention to Capital One until recently. They have some terrific cards that I’m very interested in. The Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card is definitely one of them and the other card that I can’t wait to get is the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card  which I reviewed in detail here already. 

Even though I think transferable points like Chase Ultimate Rewards and Venture miles from amazing cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture Rewards are very lucrative and offer best value; there’s something to be said about Cash Back credit cards. Especially ones that have high earning rates like the Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card. If you enjoy dining out and entertainment and rather earn cash back over points, then this card is for you for the following reasons.

Welcome Bonus:

The Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card  is currently offering a welcome bonus of $300 after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. No, this intro offer is not as high as other cards like the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card  which has a welcome bonus equivalent to $500; but it is still one of the best welcome bonuses on a personal cash back credit card.

Things to keep in mid when applying for a Capital One card:

• Capital One restricts you to having only two personal Capital One cards at a time.
• You’re also limited to one new Capital One card, personal or business, every 6 months.

Given these restrictions,  I would recommend your two Capital One cards to be the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card . This way you’re diversifying the type of points you earn – transferable and cash back. You’ll also be earning at least 2X on everything with this card combo.

Earning:

The Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card  earning categories are very useful and are high spend categories.

• 4% back on Dining and entertainment
• 2% back on grocery stores
• 1% back on everything

So what actually counts as dining purchases? Here’s what Capital One defines as dining:

Purchases at restaurants, cafes, bars, lounges, fast-food chains and bakeries.

What about the entertainment category?

Ticket purchases made at movie theaters, sports promoters (professional and semi-professional live events), theatrical promoters, amusement parks, tourist attractions, aquariums, zoos, dance halls, record stores, pool halls or bowling alleys. This excludes golf courses, collegiate sporting events and non-industry entertainment merchant codes like cable, digital streaming and membership services.

And finally, here’s Capital One’s definition of grocery purchases:

A supermarket, meat locker, freezer, dairy product store and specialty market. Excludes superstores like Walmart® and Target®

Redeeming:

This is the easy part. If you don’t like to use much of your brain power to learn and search for ways to maximize your points, then the Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card is for you. The best ways to redeem your cash back is by requesting a statement credit or a check. You can also purchase gift cards or donate to charity, but you can always use your cards to pay for these things and earn points on these purchases.

Annual Fee:

The Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card comes with a $95 annual fee that is waived for the first year. If you spend a bit of money on dining, entertainment and groceries, you’ll most likely earn enough cash back that will far outweigh the annual fee. If you like these earning categories but you don’t want to pay the annual fee, the Capital One® SavorOne® Cash Rewards Credit Card might be the right one for you. It has no annual fee, has a welcome bonus of $150 after you spend $500 in the first 3 months, earns 3% on dining and entertainment and earns 2% at grocery stores and 1% on everything else. Not bad for a no annual fee card. 

Savor Rewards Credit Card Bottom Line:

This is a fantastic card with a nice welcome bonus and high earning rates on high spend categories like dining, entertainment and groceries. All for a reasonable annual fee of $95 that is waived the first year. I see this as the perfect card for families especially because of the bonus categories.

Learn more about the Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card.