Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day. Plus, earn 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply).
Welcome Bonus
N/A
Annual Fee
$39
Credit Score
Average, Fair, Limited
Regular APR
29.99% (Variable)
Capital One Platinum Credit Card
Capital One Platinum Credit Card
Welcome Bonus
N/A
Annual Fee
$0
Credit Score
Average, Fair, Limited
Regular APR
29.99% (Variable)
If you are looking to build or rebuild your credit, you might be considering one of Capital One’s credit cards. The Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card (rates & fees) is part of its Quicksilver product lineup, a family of credit cards that earn 1.5% cash-back rewards. The QuicksilverOne is offered to customers with fair credit, but carries an annual fee. The Capital One Platinum Credit Card (rates & fees) is also aimed at those with fair or better credit, carries no annual fee but doesn’t earn rewards.
Both cards offer automatic consideration for credit line increases after six months. Is one of these cards better than the other to help you improve your credit score?
Capital One Platinum Is Best For
No Annual Fee
The Capital One Platinum card has an annual fee of $0 (rates & fees) compared to the QuicksilverOne Rewards card’s annual fee of $39 (rates & fees).
While the QuicksilverOne Rewards card charges a $39 annual fee, those with better credit who qualify for the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card can get a similar card with no annual fee (rates & fees).
QuicksilverOne Is Best For
1.5% Cash-Back Rewards On Every Purchase
The QuicksilverOne card offers simple, no-frills cash-back rewards on all purchases. With the QuicksilverOne, you earn an unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase and 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply), every day. While not the highest cash-back earning rate available, 1.5% cash back is an excellent earning rate among cards designed for people who are establishing or rebuilding their credit histories.
The Capital One Platinum card offers no rewards.
Consider Either Capital One Platinum Or QuicksilverOne For
No Foreign Transaction Fees
If you are looking to travel abroad, be aware of your card’s foreign transaction fee. Many cards charge a foreign transaction fee on purchases made when traveling outside the United States and this fee can be substantial, often as much as 3% of your total purchase.
Neither the Capital One Platinum (rates & fees) nor the QuicksilverOne (rates & fees) charge foreign transaction fees, making them both a great choice for using abroad.
Pre-approval With No Impact To Credit Score
If you are looking for a card that can help you improve your credit score, both the Capital One Platinum card and the QuicksilverOne offer a valuable perk: Both cards offer you the ability to see if you are pre-approved, with no impact to your credit store.
Pre-approval isn’t a guarantee that you will be approved upon completing the full credit application. But, the pre-approval process can give you a good idea if you’ll be approved so you don’t have to acquire unnecessary credit inquiries on your credit reports while shopping for credit.
Automatic Credit Line Reviews
With both cards, you will be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as six months. An automatic review will not result in an inquiry on your credit report, so the review process won’t affect your credit score. However, if you are granted a credit line increase, your credit score is likely to increase. How much credit you have available and the proportion of your credit that you are using both affect your credit score and having a higher credit limit helps both of these metrics.
CreditWise
While you can get access to CreditWise without holding a Capital One credit card, it’s worth a mention here because CreditWise is a valuable tool if you are looking to build your credit.
CreditWise is a free tool from Capital One that allows you to monitor your credit report, view credit score, and understand how credit works. CreditWise includes a credit simulator, which can give you an idea of what impacts paying off a debt or opening a new line of credit might have on your credit score.
Consider Neither Capital One Platinum Nor QuicksilverOne For
A Rewards Card For Good Credit
If you like the QuicksilverOne’s 1.5% cash-back reward structure, you could consider the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card (rates & fees) or the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards for Good Credit* (rates & fees) product. Both of these cards offer 1.5% cash back on all purchases, everyday with no annual fee. The former offers a welcome bonus: $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
One Additional Note On Applying for QuicksilverOne
If you decide to apply for the QuicksilverOne, you should consider seeking pre-approval for the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card first.
Like the QuicksilverOne card, Capital One allows you to check if you’re pre-approved for the Quicksilver Rewards card and they mention that they may consider you for other cards if you don’t qualify. If you were to get approved for the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card, you could earn a welcome bonus: $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
Bottom Line
If you are looking to rebuild your credit, either of these cards from Capital One could be a useful tool to help you accomplish that goal. Both cards’ pre-approval processes can help you find a card that you’re likely to be approved for and automatic credit line increase consideration can help you increase your available credit, an important metric in calculating your credit score.
If you expect to spend more than $2,600 in a year, the 1.5% cash back rewards earned from the QuicksilverOne card will offset that card’s annual fee. If you expect to spend less than that, go for the Platinum Mastercard.
