Capital One Savor Card review: Big rewards on fun and food

The Capital One Savor Credit Card offers elevated cash-back rewards for spending at restaurants, grocery stores, and on entertainment. However, there’s a $95 annual fee to carry the card.

About the Capital One Savor Card

The Capital One Savor Card can be lucrative for earning cash back if your monthly spending includes frequent food and entertainment purchases. For foodies, the card earns unlimited 4% cash back on dining purchases. Whether you’re at a sit-down restaurant, running through the drive-thru for a quick bite, ordering delivery or enjoying lattes at your favorite coffee shop, you’ll earn cash back at this elevated rate. And when you’re eating at home, you can still enjoy generous rewards, because the Savor Card earns 3% cash back at grocery stores. 

This card is also a top choice for entertainment spending. It earns unlimited 4% cash back on select streaming services and qualified entertainment purchases. Entertainment options can include movie and concert tickets, zoos and aquariums, amusement parks and other tourist and entertainment attractions. All other spending on the card earns 1% cash back.

The Capital One Savor Card carries a $95 annual fee, which can impact the card’s value. You’ll need to spend considerable money to earn enough cash-back rewards to outweigh the annual fee. Other food-focused credit cards may offer similar reward structures without an annual cost. 

Capital One Savor Card basics

• Annual fee: $95.
• Welcome bonus: $300 cash bonus after spending $3,000 on purchases within three months from account opening.
• Rewards: 8% cash back on purchases through Capital One Entertainment, 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 4% cash back on dining, entertainment, and popular streaming services, 3% cash back at grocery stores, 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• Regular APR: 20.24%, 25.24% or 28.24% variable.
• Introductory purchase or balance transfer APR: None.
• Other benefits and perks: Travel accident insurance, complimentary concierge service, 24-hour travel assistance services, extended warranty protection, virtual card numbers, card lock, credit monitoring via CreditWise.
• Foreign transaction fees: None.
• Does the issuer offer a preapproval tool? Yes.
• Recommended credit score: Good to excellent. 

Capital One Savor Card other details

Capital One Savor Card rewards

Instead of flat-rate cash back or earning in rotating categories, the Capital One Savor Card earns cash back in specific entertainment and food-related spending categories. The card earns an unlimited 4% cash back on dining, entertainment, and popular streaming services, 3% cash back at grocery stores, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. 

In addition to these bonus spending categories, cardholders can also earn elevated cash back on spending through Capital One. The card earns 8% cash back on purchases through the Capital One Entertainment platform and 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. 

The Capital One Savor features a comparable welcome bonus to other cash-back cards: a $300 bonus after spending $3,000 on purchases within three months from account opening. 

You can redeem cash-back rewards earned with the Savor Card in a few ways:  

• A statement credit or a check.
• Credits for previous purchases.
• Gift cards. 
• Checking out with PayPal.
• Amazon.com purchases.

There are no minimum redemption limits when redeeming cash-back rewards. Cardholders can set up automatic redemption preferences, such as a specific time annually or when they meet a specific threshold. 

There’s no cap on the amount of cash back you can earn with the Savor Card. Cash back rewards earned with the Savor never expire as long as your account stays open. 

Capital One Savor Card rewards potential

Using government data and other publicly available information, we estimate that a household in the U.S. that would be in the market for this card has an annual income of $84,352 and $25,087 in expenses they are likely to be able to charge to a credit card.

Of the possible card spending, our sample household spends an estimated $3,526 on dining, $1,387 on entertainment, and $564 on streaming services, for a total of $5,477 in spending in those categories. At 4% cash back, you would earn $219.08. A U.S. household spending $4,942 on groceries annually would earn an additional $148.26 at 3% cash back. The remaining $14,668 in card spending earns 1% cash back, or $146.68. The total potential cash back for the year would be $514.02. 

Other factors influencing the value of cash-back rewards earned with the Capital One Savor Card include the card’s $95 annual fee and welcome bonus, assuming you meet the spending requirement necessary to earn the bonus. 

Capital One Savor Card APR details

The ongoing APR on the Savor card is 20.24% – 28.24% variable, based on your creditworthiness. 

Capital One Savor Card pros

• Competitive cash-back rates: The Savor Card earns high rates in popular categories like dining, groceries, entertainment and streaming services. 
• Travel protections: The card includes several travel perks, including travel accident insurance, concierge service, and 24/7 travel assistance. 
• No foreign transaction fees: You won’t pay extra charges when using your card outside of the U.S., making it a great option for international travelers. 
• Free credit score: Cardholders have free access to CreditWise, Capital One’s credit monitoring service. Through Creditwise, you can check your credit score and report and receive alerts for any report changes.

Capital One Savor Card cons

• A $95 annual fee: You need to spend considerable money on the card to earn enough rewards to outweigh the fee. 
• Modest travel perks: Cash-back cards generally don’t come with luxury travel perks such as travel credits, priority boarding or TSA Precheck or Global Entry application fee reimbursement. 
• No intro APR offer: The card doesn’t offer an introductory 0% APR offer on purchases or balance transfers. 

How the Capital One Savor Card compares to other cash-back cards

Capital One Savor Card vs. Chase Freedom Unlimited®

The Chase Freedom Unlimited Card is an option to consider if you want to get rewarded for dining and grocery purchases. The card earns 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% cash back on eligible dining and drugstores and 1.5% on all other purchases. You can also pair the Chase Freedom Unlimited® with select Ultimate Rewards-earning cards and combine your points for even greater value.

Unlike the Savor Card, the Freedom Unlimited Card has no annual fee, so all cash-back earnings stay in your pocket. For individuals looking to transfer a balance, the card also offers a 0% intro APR for the first 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 20.24% to 28.99%. An intro transfer fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, applies in the first 60 days. After that, a fee of either $5 or 5% of each transfer applies.

Capital One Savor Card vs. Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card * The information for the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

If you tend to spend in the categories offering elevated rewards on the Savor Card but can’t stomach paying an annual fee, the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card might be a better fit. The card carries no annual fee and earns an unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores. All other spending earns 1%. The SavorOne Card comes with the same travel perks and other card benefits as the Savor Card and a $200 cash bonus after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. 

Capital One Savor Card vs. Citi Premier® Card * The information for the Citi Premier® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Cash-back cards may not always offer as many redemption options as cards that earn flexible rewards. If you’re seeking choices beyond just earning cash back, look to a card like the Citi Premier Card. With this card you’ll earn 3 ThankYou® points per $1 at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. Plus, through June 30, 2024, earn 10 ThankYou points per $1 spent on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel portal. The card features a generous welcome bonus offer and an assortment of redemption options, including travel, at the same $95 annual fee as the Savor Card. 

Should you get the Capital One Savor Card?

If your monthly budget includes significant spending on food and entertainment, the Capital One Savor Card might be just the ticket for earning cash back. And, while it’s not necessarily categorized as a travel rewards card, the Savor Card comes with some basic travel benefits and protections that make it a worthy option for your wallet for moderate travelers. The Capital One Savor Card is a solid choice for international travelers too, charging no foreign transaction fees. 

Remember that paying an annual fee can reduce the card’s value. Unless you spend enough in bonus categories to earn cash back beyond the $95 fee each year, it may not be worth it to get. Other credit cards reward dining and entertainment purchases that don’t charge an annual fee. It’s also missing an introductory APR offer, so you’ll need to look elsewhere if you want to finance a large purchase or pay off existing card debt without interest fees. 

Capital One Savor card summary