The Complete Capital One Credit Card Tier List
If you’re aiming to maximize your credit card rewards and benefits, then the wide variety of options from Capital One can be both enticing and overwhelming. Finding the right card for your personal needs is crucial; if you use the wrong cards for your spending habits and goals, you can set your earnings back substantially and make a difference in your quality of life. Luckily, for both avid travelers and cashback aficionados, Capital One likely has a suitable card for everyone. While Capital One cards skew slightly more towards those who are new to credit cards, there are still a variety of offerings that can fit no matter your goals.
To help simplify your decision-making process, we have created a comprehensive “tier list” ranking every personal Capital One credit card against each other. This guide will assess each card across multiple criteria, including reward rates, annual fees, sign-up offers, and additional perks. Hopefully, this tier list provides you with the knowledge necessary to make an informed decision about which Capital One cards may benefit you the most, and luckily, whether you prioritize travel rewards, cashback, or specific card perks, there will be a Capital One card worth considering for your wallet.
For those who are not familiar with tier lists, they are a distinct way of visually ranking a large variety of items at once. For this tier list, each Capital One credit card will get one of the following rankings:
S (Super) – One of the best credit cards you get can
A (Very good) - A great card with minimal downsides for the average user
B (Okay) - A decent card, but there may be better options available
C (Not Great) - A mediocre card, but it may be useful for certain situations
F (Bad) - Stay away from this card for (almost) all circumstances
For this list, we’re going to focus exclusively on personal credit cards (as opposed to business cards), as trying to explore both business and personal cards together does not give an accurate comparison for most people.
With that background out of the way, let’s jump into the tier list! We show the full card tier list at the end of the article.
The Ultimate Capital One Credit Card Tier List
1. Venture X Rewards
We’re starting off strongly with the Venture X, the golden poster child of the Capital One credit card lineup and the most luxurious card offered by the bank. Not only does this card have the most impressive benefits out of any Capital One card—such as a $300 annual travel credit, 10,000 C1 mile card anniversary gift, and $120 TSA Precheck/Global Entry—but it also has the largest annual fee at $395.
Overall, the Venture X is currently one of the best credit cards on the market. However, this is only true if you actively make use of the $300 travel credit the card offers, as this effectively reduces the annual fee of just $95. Plus, with the addition of the substantial sign-up bonus of 75,000 C1 Miles after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of having the card, 2x points on every dollar spent, and the anniversary point bonus, it is extremely easy to get positive value out of holding this card every year regardless of your spending.
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For those reasons, it is easy for us to put this card at the very top of the tier list, in S tier.
Summary: The ultimate Capital One travel card
Venture X Tier : S
2. Venture Rewards
The middle level of the Capital One Venture series, the Venture Rewards card occupies a strange middle ground in the Capital One ecosystem. It has the same basics as the more popular Venture X—2x points on all purchases and $120 TSA Precheck credit—but without the key benefits that make the Venture X so attractive (travel credit, anniversary point bonus, etc.).
Granted, the Venture Rewards does have a substantially lower annual fee at just $95, but we can guarantee that the majority of cardholders could get more value out of the higher Venture X or even the cheaper VentureOne. While it can still be valuable compared to having no card, for the aforementioned reasons, we’re going to put this card in C tier. Frankly, there isn’t much use to this card outside of the sign-on bonus or if you don’t think you will use the Venture X’s travel credit.
Summary: The middle Venture option with proportionally less value for money
Venture Rewards Tier : B
3. VentureOne Rewards
Now, onto the final of the three Venture cards, the VentureOne Rewards is the most accessible of the options we’ve discussed so far. While this card provides limited value for its cardholders, it also has no annual fee. If you do not have good enough credit for the Venture X or you are new to having credit cards, this can be a good alternative option to get you started on the Venture line, but that is where the benefits end. This is effectively a worse version of the Chase Freedom Unlimited, another free card that offers 1.5x per point instead of 1.25x per point.
Suggested Article: Which Capital One Venture Card is Best?
Therefore, since this card does not offer much value beyond the basics, we are putting this card in C tier.
Summary: Unless you’re new to credit cards, there are probably better options
Venture Rewards Tier : C
4. Quicksilver & QuicksilverOne
The Quicksilver and QuicksilverOne are two of the most popular Capital One credit cards, largely due to their good balance of low fees and easy reward earning.
Both of these cards offer 1.5% cash back on all purchases, essentially giving a discount on all purchases. However, there are some slight differences between the two cards: the Quicksilver has no annual fee and offers a $200 sign-up bonus once you spend $500 in the first 3 months of having the card, while the QuicksilverOne has a $39 annual fee and no sign-up bonus While this may be an odd discrepncy, the QuicksilverOne is designed for worse credit scores and therefore offers fewer bonuses.
The Quicksilver is an excellent card for those looking for easy cash-back, with a good sign-on bonus and no annual fees; therefore, we are therefore putting it in A Tier. However, with the QuicksilverOne’s limited earning and higher annual fee, we are putting it in C tier.
Summary: Popular options for easy cash-back
Quicksilver Tier : A
Quicksilver One Tier : C
5. Savor Rewards
A similar card to the Quicksilver, the Savor Rewards is another very popular card offered by Capital One. The Savor has the same sign-up bonus as the Quicksilver and also has no annual fee; however, the biggest difference between the cards is that the Savor gives 3% back on spending at grocery stores, on dining, and on select streaming services, then 1% back on everything else. Plus, this card gives you access to Capital One’s travel portal and gives 5% back on all purchases made through the portal.
The Savor Rewards is a great option to pair with the Quicksilver card, as you would get 3% back on the aforementioned categories and 1.5% back on everything else. For that reason, we put the Savor Rewards card in the A Tier.
Summary: A great card for targeted cash-back earning
Savor Rewards Tier : A
6. Platinum Mastercard
For individuals who have poor credit scores, the Platinum Mastercard from Capital One is a good option for learning about credit and starting to develop your credit history. While this card has no key benefits outside of being easy to get approved for, it is a great option for building credit, with no annual fee and helpful credit-building benefits. There is also a secured version of this card for anyone who has no credit history whatsoever.
Therefore, we’re going to put this in C Tier.
Summary: Good only for those new to credit
Savor Rewards Tier : C
7. Various Co-Branded Cards (Bass Pro Shops, REI, Kohl’s, etc.)
Capital One has an extremely broad range of co-branded credit cards designed to be used at specific stores, including Bass Pro Shops, REI, Kohl’s, BJ’s, Pottery Barn, William Sonoma, West Elm, Cabella’s, and more. While this might seem appealing if you shop at these stores frequently, most of these co-branded cards are not worth your time.
However, the only one of these cards we are not going to put in F tier is the REI card, as at least this one offers you an additional 1.5% rewards on all your spending outside the store in addition to the 5% back on REI purchases, plus a $100 REI gift card when you first get the card. While we’d still only elevate this card to C tier, we think it’s worth taking a look at if you are a major outdoor enthusiast and shop at REI frequently.
Otherwise, these cards all belong in F tier and, except for very specific circumstances, are probably not worth your time. Frankly, even if you do love any of these stores, there is significantly more value to be found in the other cards on this list for your spending.
Summary: Unless you consistently spend thousands at any of these particular stores, look elsewhere
REI Co-Branded Mastercard: C
Other Co-Branded Capital One Cards: F
Full Tier List
And with that, we have the full Capital One credit card tier list! While we believe in this tier list, we know it is certainly subjective, and we always recommend you do your own research before applying for any new credit lines. However, if you disagree with any of our ratings, make sure to leave a comment below or make your own tier list to compare against ours!
If you’re interested in more credit card tier lists, make sure to check out the complete Chase Bank credit card tier list and our American Express card tier list. And if you’re trying to learn more about the world of credit cards, make sure to check out our guides to combining Chase and American Express points, AmEx points and Capital One points, or Chase and Capital One points. Don’t forget—you can use your American Express points to book United flights and your Chase points to book Delta flights!
If you are trying to travel more, then make sure to look at our recommendations for the best Hyatt Hotels in Paris, Tokyo, London, Boston, Austin, Chicago, and NYC!
