Posted by: John S Kiernan

EDITOR’S RATING 4.8 / 5 PROS

• $150 Initial Bonus
• 3% Cash Back on Dining and Entertainment
• 2% Cash Back on Grocery Stores
• $0 Annual Fee

CONS

• High Regular APR
• Average Non-Dining Rewards

The Verdict: The Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards Credit Card is the best option for saving money on what you eat, provided you have the good or excellent credit needed for approval (Capital One is a WalletHub partner). SavorOne gives you 3% cash back on entertainment and restaurants of all types, 2% back at grocery stores and 1% back on everything else, in addition to a $150 bonus for spending $500 within three months of account opening. It doesn’t charge an annual fee or a foreign transaction fee, either. In contrast, the average cash rewards card offers just over 1% back on all purchases, plus an initial bonus of about $154.

The Capital One SavorOne card also provides several other perks, which are somewhat less impressive yet still important. For example, you can simply “tap to pay” at millions of merchant locations, thanks to an RFID chip embedded in the SavorOne card. And you get 0% introductory APRs for new purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months your account is open.

In a nutshell, this Capital One credit card allows people with great credit to savor significant savings long after they finish eating. And who knows, maybe those savings will allow you to travel and sample some new cuisines. Or perhaps saving more on dining will lead to less stress eating. Money is America’s top stressor, after all.

Below, you can get a better sense of whether the Capital One SavorOne card is right for your particular needs by learning more about its strengths, weaknesses and other distinctive features. You can also see how SavorOne stacks up against other popular everyday rewards credit cards. That should make it clear why we think Capital One SavorOne is the best credit card for restaurant rewards and one of the top offers for saving on grocery stores.

The Highlights

• $150 Sign-up Bonus: All you have to do to get the SavorOne card’s $150 initial bonus is spend at least $500 during the first three months your account is open. That’s just $166.67 per month. Most people will spend that (and then some) anyway, so why not get a big discount while you’re at it? It works out to 30% back.

  The average cash back credit card with an initial bonus offers $154, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report. And most cards require you to spend much more than $500 within the first few months to qualify.

  You’ll automatically receive your Capital One SavorOne card’s initial bonus as a statement credit within two months of meeting the spending requirement.

• Great Dining Rewards: You will earn 3% cash back on entertainment and “dining establishments”, as well as 2% cash back at “grocery stores,” according to the SavorOne card’s terms and conditions. Whether a particular place qualifies depends on its merchant category code. That’s standard. But those earning rates are roughly two-to-three times higher than what the average cash rewards card brings to the table. And while several cards excel in one category or the other, few offer such a rewarding combination of earning rates at both restaurants and grocery stores.
• No Annual or Foreign Fees: If you want to use the Capital One SavorOne card solely for dining out and buying from grocery stores, that’s fine. You don’t have to spend a certain amount to earn enough rewards to make the card worthwhile because there’s no annual fee. You don’t need a different card for international spending, either, because Capital One SavorOne is a no foreign transaction fee Mastercard. That means you can use it anywhere in the world without the surcharge common among other cards.

  For context, the average credit card charges an annual fee of $18.15 and a foreign transaction fee equal to 1.50% of every transaction.

The Lowlights

• 1% Back on Most Purchases: Capital One SavorOne isn’t the best rewards card for all types of spending. In fact, if a purchase isn’t dining-related, you’re looking at an average return. More specifically, SavorOne gives you 1% cash back on most types of purchases, while the average cash rewards credit card offers 1.06% back on all purchases. So SavorOne plays its part exceptionally well, but it may not be right for the lead role as your wallet’s everyday workhorse.
• High Regular APR: The Capital One SavorOne card’s regular interest rate is advertised as a range: 16.24% - 26.24% (V). You can expect a rate toward the high end of the range if you have good credit and a lower rate if your score qualifies as excellent. You can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub to get a better idea of what APR you can expect.

  But in any case, the SavorOne card’s regular rate won’t be anything special relative to your other options. The average credit card for people with good credit has a regular APR of 20.79%, according to WalletHub’s research, while the average card for excellent credit charges 14.49%.

  Long story short, you should plan to pay your SavorOne card bill in full every month, at least after its 0% intro term ends.

Other Things to Consider

• • 0% for 15 months Months: You can avoid interest on big purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months you have the SavorOne card. That certainly isn’t a bad offer. For context, the average credit card offering 0% on new purchases gives you 10.5 months without interest. And the average 0% balance transfer card gives you more than 12 months. SavorOne also charges a 3% balance transfer fee, compared to 2.71% for the average transfer card.

    You also have to remember that 0% doesn’t mean you’re excused from paying during the intro period. You still have to make on-time minimum payments each month in the meantime.

  • Tap to Pay: The SavorOne card comes with “contactless technology,” which means you can complete a purchase by “tapping,” or hovering, it near a payment terminal enabled for contactless payments. Such terminals are still more of an exception than the norm. But they’re growing in number, and millions of merchant locations already have them. This includes major chains such as Best Buy, McDonald’s, Kohl’s and Whole Foods. You can identify a contactless-enabled payment terminal by looking for the symbol below.
  • Good Credit or Better Required: You need at least good credit for a chance of being approved for the Capital One SavorOne card. Some people might say that’s a score of 660+, but we recommend using 700 as your minimum. In other words, your approval odds won’t be very good if you don’t have a credit score of 700+. You can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub, the only site with free daily updates.

Compared to the Competition

Everyone has to eat. So it’s no surprise that many rewards credit cards emphasize dining, whether at restaurants, at home or both. And to help you make the right choice for your purchasing palate, we compared the Capital One SavorOne card to some of the most popular alternatives for saving on food.

	SponsoredCapital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards Credit Card	SponsoredCostco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi	SponsoredBlue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express	SunTrust Travel Rewards Credit Card
Annual Fee	$0	$0	$95	None 1st yr, $89 after
Rewards Bonus	$150	N/A	$250	$250
Rewards Rate	1 - 3% Cash Back	1 - 4% Cash Back	1 - 6% Cash Back	1 - 3% Cash Back
Purchase Intro APR	0% for 15 months	Not Offered	0% for 12 months	Not Offered
Transfer Intro APR	0% for 15 monthsTransfer Fee: 3%	Not Offered	0% for 12 monthsTransfer Fee: 3% (min $5)	0% for 15 monthsTransfer Fee: 3% (min $10)
Regular APR	16.24% - 26.24% (V)	17.49%* (V)	15.24% - 26.24% (V)	13.49% - 23.49% (V)
Editors’ Rating	4.8 / 5	4.7 / 5	4.7 / 5	N/A
Details, Rates & Fees	Learn More	Learn More	Learn MoreRates & FeesTerms Apply	Learn More
Winners	Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards Credit Card		Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

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