QuicksilverOne from Capital One: The best travel credit card for those with fair credit

QuicksilverOne from Capital One: Overview

APR

• Intro: None
• Purchase: 30.74% Variable
• Balance transfer: 30.74% Variable (plus 3% of the amount of your transfer during a promotional APR) 
• Cash advance: 30.74% (plus $3 or 3% of the amount of your cash advance, whichever is greater)

Annual fee: $39

Foreign transaction fee: $0

Late payment: Up to $40

The Capital One QuicksilverOne Card is a solid cash back credit card for those who want to guarantee themselves a good return for all spending. You’ll receive between 1.5% and 5% on all purchases. Beware of the $39 annual fee, however as this will eat into your yearly earnings.

Many credit cards charge a fee (often around 3%) for any expenses processed outside the U.S. The Capital One QuicksilverOne Card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, so it’s a smart companion to take on international trips.

One unique point about the Capital One QuicksilverOne Card: It doesn’t charge a fee for balance transfers unless you make your transfer during a promotional APR window (which the card currently doesn’t offer). Most other credit cards charge between 3% and 5% of your transferred balance.

QuicksilverOne from Capital One: Rewards

The Capital One QuicksilverOne Card presents a perfectly acceptable return rate for all purchases. You’ll get:

• 5% back for rental cars and hotels reserved through Capital One Travel
• 1.5% back for all other eligible purchases

This card’s 5% earning rate for select travel booked through Capital One Travel makes accessible a powerful bonus category for frequent travelers with less-than-perfect credit. And its 1.5% return for all other purchases is a good baseline when it comes to cash back credit cards. You shouldn’t settle for a lower return—unless a card offers valuable ongoing benefits that complement your lifestyle.

Does QuicksilverOne from Capital One offer a new customer bonus?

The Capital One QuicksilverOne Card doesn’t currently offer a welcome bonus to new cardmembers.

How to redeem QuicksilverOne from Capital One rewards

Cash back

You can cash out the rewards you earn from your Capital One QuicksilverOne Card as a statement credit to your account or a mailed check. These are the best ways for an average user to redeem rewards.

Gift cards/merchandise

Alternatively, you can either:

• Use your rewards for gift cards at popular merchants
• Link your card to your Amazon and PayPal accounts and redeem them to lower the price of your online purchases at checkout

Both of these options are a bad idea. When you redeem your rewards to offset the price of items, you’re not earning cash back. You’re much better off simply purchasing your gift cards or Amazon cart with the Capital One QuicksilverOne Card and then requesting a statement credit to effectively “erase” that transaction.

Transfer to airline and hotel partners

The Capital One QuicksilverOne Card doesn’t itself have the power to convert its rewards into airline miles and hotel points. But if you also hold a Capital One miles-earning credit card, you can do it. This includes the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.

If you’ve got one of these cards, you can move the rewards you earn from the Capital One QuicksilverOne Card to your Capital One miles-earning credit card (similar to moving funds from a savings account to a checking account), magically turning your cash back into Capital One miles at a rate of 1 mile per cent.

From there, you can secure free airfare and hotel stays thanks to Capital One’s healthy collection of travel partners. For example, you could transfer 20,000 miles to Avianca for a one-way economy flight from the East Coast to Europe on United Airlines. Or, you could transfer 9,000 miles to British Airways for a one-way economy flight to Cancun on American Airlines. 

And while you’ll pay nominal fees for both of these flights, you’re likely to get at least 2 cents per mile when using your rewards in this way—and potentially a lot more.

Additional benefits

The Capital One QuicksilverOne Card fancies itself a travel credit card—as you may have deduced from the card’s waived foreign transaction fees and 5% bonus category for select travel purchases. Further targeting the traveler demographic, the card also offers up to six months of statement credits to offset the cost of Uber One membership (ends Nov. 14, 2024). Uber One otherwise costs $9.99 per month, giving you a value of nearly $60.

You’ll also get:

• Automatic credit line reviews: If you exhibit positive credit habits, you’ll be considered for a credit line review in as little as six months. This can dramatically improve your credit utilization, which can lead to a better credit score (if you keep your balance low and pay your bills on time).
• Access to Capital One Travel: Capital One Travel is Capital One’s proprietary online travel agency that lets you book airfare, hotel stays, and rental cars. It’s got solid perks like price prediction, price drop protection, and more.
• CreditWise: You’ll get free access to your credit score, as well as helpful credit monitoring tools. If you’ve opened this card with the intent to build your blemished credit, these perks can be a big help.
• Card Lock: If you’ve lost your card (or if you think it’s been stolen), you can immediately turn off your card’s spending power from within the Capital One app.

Is the QuicksilverOne from Capital One right for you?

The Capital One QuicksilverOne Card offers one of the healthier cash back returns among credit card options for those with fair credit. But because the card incurs a $39 annual fee, you likely won’t make a profit until after you’ve achieved thousands of dollars in spending each year. It’s worth investigating no annual fee credit cards with a less generous earning rate, as you may ultimately receive a higher yearly profit.

Credit cards similar to QuicksilverOne from Capital One

Again, the Capital One QuicksilverOne Card is for those with fair credit. According to FICO, that describes someone with a credit score of at least 580.

Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card vs. QuicksilverOne from Capital One

The Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card isn’t just one of the best cash back credit cards for those with little to no credit history; it can trade blows with any cash back card on the market. You’ll earn:

• 10% cash back on eligible Uber and Uber Eats purchases (ends Nov. 14, 2024)
• 8% cash back on purchases made through Capital One Entertainment
• 5% cash back on hotels and car rentals reserved through Capital One Travel
• 3% cash back on dining, qualifying entertainment purchases, popular streaming services, and grocery store purchases
• 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases

And similar to the Capital One QuicksilverOne Card, the card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. Plus, you’ll get a statement credit to reimburse your monthly Uber One membership through Nov. 14, 2024.

The catch with this card is that you must be currently enrolled—or formally admitted and planning to enroll within three months—at an accredited university, community college, or similar higher education institution.

Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa® vs. QuicksilverOne from Capital One

Even those with fair credit will likely still qualify for the Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa®. It earns a flat 1.5% back when you pay off your purchases (that’s right—you won’t earn rewards until you’ve paid your bill). It also currently offers a $200 bonus when you:

• Open the card along with a Rewards Checking Plus account
• Make three debit card transactions within 60 days of account opening

The Upgrade Credit Card is a mix between a personal loan and a revolving line of credit. After a month of spending on the card, Upgrade will effectively turn your account balance into a personal loan with a fixed monthly payment and a term length between 12 and 60 months. It’s a quirky idea, but great for those that tend to run up a balance and take forever to pay it off. The Upgrade Credit Card forces you to make meaningful payments on your debt to potentially save you thousands of dollars in interest payments.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Capital One QuicksilverOne Card worth it?

The Capital One QuicksilverOne Card charges a $39 annual fee. With a 1.5% cash back floor, it can absolutely be worth it for many situations—but do the math to see if you wouldn’t be better served by a no annual fee cash back credit card.

Is the Capital One QuicksilverOne Card hard to get?

The Capital One QuicksilverOne Card is not hard to get. If you’ve got a fair credit score (580+), you should qualify for this card—unless Capital One doesn’t approve of some other element of your credit profile.

Does Capital One automatically increase your credit limit?

Capital One will automatically evaluate you for a credit limit increase after just six months of holding the Capital One QuicksilverOne Card. If you’ve exhibited healthy credit habits (such as paying your bills on time and keeping a low balance), you may be eligible for a bump.

Please note that card details are accurate as of the publish date, but are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the issuer. Please contact the card issuer to verify rates, fees, and benefits before applying.

Fortune Recommends™ credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.