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For many credit cards, dining rewards are an afterthought. Sure, you might earn bonus points, but you still earn more points on other purchases. The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card prioritizes dining, entertainment, and select streaming service purchases. If you want to earn cash back on your daily purchases, you might want to add this credit card to your wallet.
The information for the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Capital One Savor Credit Card Review
There are two reasons why you should consider the Capital One Savor:
- Want maximum dining and entertainment rewards
- Prefer cash rewards
This card does have a $95 annual fee. Honestly, the annual fee is the biggest drawback to the Savor credit card. But, if the rewards and card benefits below are worth it for you, you will enjoy this card.
Get 4% Back on Dining, Entertainment, and Select Streaming Services
With the Savor credit card, you can earn 8%, 4%, 3%, or 1% back, depending on the purchase.
The main reason to get the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card is for dining, entertainment, and select streaming services. If you find yourself ordering in and streaming movies on weekends, you’re a prime candidate for this card.
Many people spend more on these two categories than groceries each month, so you might earn more points than you think. If you spend roughly $3,000 a year on dining (like the average American), you earn $120 a year in dining rewards.
Plus, you also earn 4% back on all entertainment purchases, great for cardholders as the country begins to open up again.
What Are Dining Rewards?
Capital One defines the following purchases as dining rewards:
- Restaurants
- Cafes
- Bars
- Lounges
- Fast Food Chains
- Bakeries
What Are Entertainment Rewards?
In a nutshell, entertainment rewards are things you do outside the home:
- Movie theaters
- Sports promoters
- Theatrical promoters
- Amusement parks
- Aquariums
- Zoos
- Dance halls
- Record stores
- Pool halls
- Bowling alleys
- Tourist attractions
Golf courses, collegiate sporting events, and non-industry entertainment merchant codes like cable, digital streaming, and membership services are not included.
This bonus category is pretty broad. If you like having fun around town, you won’t have a problem getting 4% back. Plus, you can 8% cash back on tickets at Vivid Seats (through January 2023). That can be a pretty sweet deal!
Streaming Services
The streaming services category is a Capital One Savor Card new perk added in 2021. These purchases earn an unlimited 4% back:
- Eligible music and video streaming services, including Netflix®, Hulu®, and Disney+
Some services, such as Prime Video, AT&T TV, and Verizon FIOS On Demand, are excluded, as well as audiobook subscription services and fitness programming.
Earn 3% Back on Grocery Purchases
When you’re hungry, you have two options. First, you can go to a restaurant. Second, you go to the grocery store and cook your own meal.
The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card covers both of these options with bonus points. We already know about the 4% back on dining. Now, you get 3% back at the grocery store. It’s nice to know you earn bonus cash on food purchases. Earn unlimited 3% back at:
- Supermarkets
- Meat lockers, freezer, and dairy product stores
- Specialty markets.
This excludes superstores like Walmart® and Target®. The reason why you must go to a supermarket to get 3% back is that these stores’ primary focus is selling food. Other grocery credit cards have the same policy as the Savor credit card on this topic.
Signup Bonus
As a new cardholder, you also earn a one-time $300 signup bonus after spending $3,000 in the first three months. This bonus is a bit lower than other rewards credit cards with a similar annual fee of $95.
Redeeming Your Rewards Points
Your only redemption option is cash back. Unlike many other cash back credit cards, there isn’t a redemption minimum. This means you can redeem your balance when it’s only $1.
Additional Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card Benefits
Cash rewards credit cards usually don’t have the most lavish additional card benefits. It’s a tradeoff for earning larger purchase rewards. But, you can still enjoy some of these additional card benefits.
Discount Entertainment Access
As a Capital One cardholder, you receive discount access to Capital One-sponsored events. If you visit Washington D.C., you get discount access to games and concerts in the Capital One Arena.
You can also enjoy other unique member-only experiences including:
- iHeartRadio Music Festival
- Tastemaker Chicago
- Food Network and Cooking Channel New York City Wine and Food Festival
Besides these events, you also get access to ticket presales.
Whether you want to enjoy culinary, sports, or music events, this is a fun way to earn 4% back.
Price Protection
If you buy an item and the price drops with 120 days of purchase, Capital One can refund you the difference. This is a benefit that other rewards cards have been removing. It’s something to keep in mind with your big-ticket purchases.
Extended Warranty
On select purchases, Capital One extends your purchase warranty when the original warranty ends.
No Foreign Transaction Fee
When you travel abroad, you won’t lose your bonus rewards to foreign transaction fees.
Also, you can also use Capital One’s complimentary travel concierge service. With this service, they help you research and book dining, entertainment, and travel.
Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card: Is It Worth It?
The Savor credit card is worth it if you spend a lot of money on dining and entertainment each year. After all, you have to earn enough to offset the $95 annual fee. As this is a cash reward credit card, annual fees can be harder to justify. After all, you already know how much you earn in rewards with each purchase.
With travel rewards cards, you have the potential to make your points worth more. But, the bonus rewards have to match your most common purchases.
Because the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card is a cash reward credit card with an annual fee, this card needs to be your primary credit card if you get it. If it’s not your primary card, you may be better off using another card that still earns bonus points on dining and entertainment. But, you have more flexible earning and redemption options.
Pros of the Capital One Savor
- Unlimited bonus rewards on dining, entertainment, select streaming services, and groceries
- No foreign transaction fee
- Discount access to Capital One dining, sports, and entertainment events
- No redemption minimum for cash rewards
Cons of the Capital One Savor
- $95 annual fee
- Only good if you spend a lot on dining and entertainment
Alternatives to the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
If you don’t want the Capital One Savor, you might try one of these three alternatives instead.
Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
It’s worth noting that there is the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card that doesn’t have an annual fee.
The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card earns an unlimited:
- 10% Cash Back on purchases made through Uber & Uber Eats, plus complimentary Uber One membership statement credits through 11/14/2024
- 8% Cash Back on Capital One Entertainment purchases
- 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply)
- 3% Cash Back on dining and at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®)
- 3% Cash Back on popular streaming services and entertainment
- 1% Cash Back on all other purchases
There is a $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fee.
New Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card cardholders can earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
Learn more: Cash Back Credit Cards
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card earns 2x miles on every purchase.
However, earn 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
Like the Savor credit card, it has a $95 annual fee. You might prefer this card if you want to earn travel rewards.
Additionally, you get up to a $100 fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck which helps take the bite out of the $95 annual fee. You can either redeem your miles for travel statement credits or future award travel.
Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel, with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
Summary
As explained, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card is a good choice if you are looking to earn cash rewards for large or frequent dining, entertainment, and grocery purchases. However, if you are looking for more than cash rewards or don’t spend enough to earn much back, perhaps you might consider alternatives.