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Capital One’s credit cardportfolio includes a variety of no-annual-fee personal cards, each with its own rewards and benefits. TheCapital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – Product Name OnlyandCapital One Platinum Credit Card – Product Name Onlyare among the most popular, but while the two cards have a few features in common, they differ in most respects.
Read on to see what you’ll get from each card, and why one is clearly superiorifyou can get it.
We’re focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won’t be worth it if you’re paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it’s important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
Capital One Quicksilver and Platinum Welcome Bonus Offers
The contrast between these two cards is apparent from the outset due to their disparate welcome bonuses. The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – Editorial Name Only offers a Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – Intro Bonus.Plenty of credit cards come with more substantial sign-up bonuses, but the Quicksilver welcome offer is on par with what you’ll get from othertop no-annual-fee credit cards.
In comparison, the Capital One Platinum Credit Card – Editorial Name Only does not offer a welcome bonus. This is common amongcredit cards for average or fair credit, though some cards in that class still come with incentives to apply (like anintroductory 0% APRorcash back match). The lack of a welcome bonus is just one of several ways the Platinum card fails to measure up to the Quicksilver card.
Ongoing Rewards Earning
The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – Editorial Name Only has a simple, consistent rewards structure. You’ll earn 5% cash back on hotels and car rentals booked through theCapital One travel portal, plus unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases. You can redeem rewards as a statement credit to your card account (among other options) with no minimum redemption threshold. Your rewards won’t expire so long as your account remains open and in good standing, so you can save them up or cash them out as frequently as you’d like.
The Capital One Platinum Credit Card – Editorial Name Only also has a simple, consistent rewards structure: It doesn’t earn points, miles, or cash back of any kind for ongoing spending. A lack of rewards is also common among credit cards for fair credit, but not universal, as several competing card products offer cash-back rates of 1% or higher. That means with respect to your return on purchases, the Platinum card falls short of not only the Quicksilver card, but also other cards in its own class.
To illustrate the difference, consider a cardholder who charges an average of $500 per month ($6,000 annually). Assuming none of those purchases are hotels or rental cars booked through Capital One, then that $6,000 in spending on the Quicksilver card would earn $90 of rewards each year. The same spending on the Platinum card would earn $0 in rewards, and that gap in returned value would replicate every year.
Benefits and Features
Both the Capital One Quicksilver and Platinum cards offer an assortment of standard features you’ll find on most credit cards, such as zero fraud liability, contactless payment, autopay, and the ability toadd authorized users. You can opt into security alerts by phone, text, or email in the event of suspicious transactions, and lock your account instantly by phone or through the Capital One mobile app in case your card is lost or stolen.
The Quicksilver card offers several valuable benefits on top of the basics. You’ll get up to six months ofcomplimentary Uber One membership, which normally costs $9.99 per month, and provides perks like discounts and waived fees. You’ll also get extended warranty protection to cover purchases beyond what’s provided by the manufacturer, and travel accident insurance when you use your card to pay for eligible fares.
As with rewards and welcome bonuses, the Platinum card offers very little in terms of additional benefits. You’ll be automatically considered for acredit limit increasein as little as six months, which is useful if you’re approved initially for an insufficient line of credit, but provides little value otherwise.
Annual Fees and Other Costs
The fee structures of the two cards are similar, but not identical. Neither one charges an annual fee, and both arefree of foreign transaction fees, so there’s no added cost for using them in other countries.
Where the two cards differ is in their respective interest rates. The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – Editorial Name Only offers a Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – Intro APR, and a Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – Regular APR APR beyond that. In contrast, the Capital One Platinum Credit Card – Editorial Name Only has a Capital One Platinum Credit Card – Regular APR APR with no introductory rate.
The difference in interest rates between the two cards isn’t compelling, sincecarrying a balanceat the standard APR is not an attractive option in either case. If you do need to carry a balance, however, then the Quicksilver card is by far the better option thanks to its introductory 0% APR offer.
Capital One Platinum and Quicksilver Side-by-Side Comparison
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – Product Name Only
Capital One Platinum Credit Card – Product Name OnlyAnnual fee
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – Annual Fee
Capital One Platinum Credit Card – Annual Fee
Rewards rate
5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
1.5% cash back on all other purchases
N/AWelcome bonus offer
Earn a Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – Intro Bonus
Capital One Platinum Credit Card – Intro BonusCard benefits
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card, then a 15.49% – 25.49% variable APR APR
Extended warranty
Travel accident insurance***
Travel assistance services
Up to six months of complimentary Uber One membership statement credits through November 14, 2024
No foreign transaction fees
Automatic credit line reviews after the first six months
Free credit monitoring with CreditWise from Capital One
No foreign transaction fees
Recommended credit score
Good to excellent
Average, fair, and limitedReview
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card Review
Capital One Platinum Card Review
Is the Capital One Quicksilver or Platinum Right for You?
Given the disparities in welcome bonus offers, ongoing rewards, benefits, and interest rates, the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – Editorial Name Only is clearly preferable to the Capital One Platinum Credit Card – Editorial Name Only for those who qualify. However, not all applicants will qualify, so deciding between these two cards is also a question of eligibility.
Quicksilver cardholders typically havegoodcreditor better, based on Insider assumptions. Good credit is defined as aFICO scoreof 670 or above by FICO. If your credit score falls short, then it’s hard to argue the Quicksilver card is a better option even if it offers superior benefits and rewards, since you likely won’t be able to get it anyway. Applying will add ahard inquiryto your credit history with a low chance of approval. Keep in mind that credit scores are guidelines and not a guarantee of approval or denial since there are many variables considered.
Those withfaircredit are often fit for the Platinum card, based on Insider assumptions, so a FICO score between 580-669 should suffice to be considered. If your credit score is in that range, then the Platinum card is the better bet despite its lackluster features.
If you’re uncertain whether you’re eligible for either card, Capital One offers apre-approval applicationto help you estimate your chances of approval without formally applying. Pre-approval is a strong indication your application will succeed, but not a guarantee. If you don’t get pre-approval, Capital One also offerssecured versionsof both cards and astudent versionof the Quicksilver card, all of which have less stringent credit requirements.
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