Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card review

• Rewards spending categories that are popular with students, including entertainment, Uber and UberEats spending, travel, and more.
• One of the few cards that’s good for building a credit history while still offering robust benefits.
• Available to full-time students only, so other people looking for a starter card should look elsewhere.

As you learn about credit cards, you’re likely to discover that most student credit cards offer only mediocre rewards as you begin to build your credit. But the Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card offers much more than most student credit cards. 

• Earn unlimited 3% cash back on bonus categories, including dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and purchases at grocery stores.
• Earn 10% cash back on Uber rides and Uber Eats purchases, plus get your Uber One monthly membership fee covered through November 14, 2024.
• Earn 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases.
• Earn 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
• Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• Extended warranty protection.
• $0 annual fee.
• No foreign transaction fees.

• Generous selection of 3% rewards categories, including dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and purchases as grocery stores.
• 10% cash back on Uber and Uber Eats purchases.
• Easy to earn welcome bonus.
• No foreign transaction fees.

• Welcome bonus is only $50.
• Only 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• Five points per dollar is only offered on hotel and car rental bookings through Capital One Travel.

Students who apply for the SavorOne Rewards for Students card can earn a $50 cash bonus after spending $100 on purchases within three months of opening the account.

If you have previously had a SavorOne Rewards for Students card, you may not be eligible for the welcome bonus.

The SavorOne Rewards for Students card earns cash back on every purchase. You’ll earn more cash back in the card’s bonus categories. Here are the details:

• 10% cash back on Uber and Uber Eats purchases through November 14, 2024.
• 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases.
• 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
• 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and purchases at grocery stores.
• 1% cash back on all other purchases.

You have three options to redeem your cash back rewards with the SavorOne Rewards for Students: cash back as a check or statement credit, a statement credit to cover a recent purchase, and gift cards.

When you redeem your rewards for cash, Capital One will either send you a check or apply cash back rewards to your card account as a statement credit. You can also set up automated  redemption for cash back rewards. If you choose automatic redemption, you can opt to redeem your rewards at a set time each calendar year or once you accumulate a given amount of rewards.

You can also redeem your rewards to cover a specific recent purchase. When you redeem your rewards to cover a recent purchase, you’ll get a statement credit in the amount of the purchase you select.

Finally, you can redeem your rewards for gift cards. Gift card redemptions are unlikely to yield more reward value than a cash back redemption, unless Capital One is running a sale that gives you more than the cash back value of your rewards.

SavorOne Rewards for Students offers a small set of benefits, but includes the essentials like extended warranties and no foreign transaction fees. Benefit details will be provided in the Guide to Benefits that you receive with your card.

• Extended warranty – Have the warranty coverage on eligible items you purchase using your card doubled, up to one additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.
• Travel accident insurance – When you use your card to purchase airfare, bus fare, or a train ticket, you’ll get automatic insurance against covered losses.
• No foreign transaction fees – Whether you’re traveling or studying abroad, you won’t pay foreign transaction fees when you use your Capital One card.

The Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is a great option if you’re a full time student and want to get a credit card that earns rewards. You’ll get market-leading rewards on a card with no annual fee. Plus, you can get this card even with fair credit, meaning that the card is likely within reach if you’re a student with a limited credit history. (Note that this information is not provided by Capital One and is not a preapproval.)

The Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is available exclusively to full-time students, which might be disappointing for other people working to build their credit history, considering the card’s compelling reward offerings. If you’re not a full-time student and like the Capital One SavorOne Rewards for Students reward structure, there are two other cards from Capital One that you should consider:

The SavorOne Rewards card from Capital One earns 3% rewards on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores, plus 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment. The card also has no annual fee. Unfortunately, you won’t get the 10% rewards the student card offers on Uber and Uber Eats purchases, but you can get a $200 cash welcome bonus after spending $500 on the card within three months.

If you spend more than $10,000 every year on dining, entertainment and streaming, you could consider upgrading to the Savor Rewards card. The card has a $95/year annual fee, but the additional rewards you earn will offset the card’s annual fee.

The Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card offers generous rewards, no annual fee, and an extended warranty benefit that will keep purchases like cell phones and laptops covered. For students looking for a first credit card, the Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards credit card is an excellent choice.

Editorial Disclosure: All articles are prepared by editorial staff and contributors. Opinions expressed therein are solely those of the editorial team and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including rates and fees, presented in this article is accurate as of the date of the publish. Check the lender’s website for the most current information.

This article was originally published on SFGate.com and reviewed by Lauren Williamson, who serves as Financial and Home Services Editor for the Hearst E-Commerce team. Email her at [email protected].