Capital One Credit Cards

To activate a Capital One credit card online, go to Capital One’s activation page and log in (create an account, if necessary). Then, enter the 3-digit security code on the back of the card when prompted. Through the mobile app, sign in with the same information as your online account. Tap your profile, then “Account Settings,” then “Activate Credit Card.” Enter the 3-digit security code when prompted to activate the card. The card will be available to use for purchases immediately after.

You can easily check for Capital One pre-approval online. The process should take you minutes at most. All you have to do is put in some basic personal info, let them know what kind of cards you’re looking for, and click “See Your Card Offers.” Capital One will then show you which of their cards you seem to be a good fit for, based on a preliminary look at your credit (which doesn’t hurt your score at all). Pre-approval doesn’t mean guaranteed approval, but it’s about as close as you can get. Most people who are pre-approved get approved.

You may also receive a pre-approval offer by mail sometime. In that case, all you have to do is plug the “Reservation Number” and “Access Code” here to get access to the card application, which will be flagged as pre-approved when Capital One reviews it.

If you don’t have an offer yet, don’t worry. Checking online is quick and easy.

Here’s how to check for Capital One pre-approval online:

1. Go to Capital One’s pre-approval page.
2. Enter your name, date of birth, Social Security number and address.
3. Select the type of card that appeals to you most: travel rewards, cash back, low interest or not sure.
4. Rate your credit level: excellent, average or rebuilding.
5. Check the box that indicates you know this isn’t a credit card application.
6. Click “See Your Card Offers.”

After a few seconds, you should see any cards that Capital One thinks you’d likely get approved for. You’ll be able to apply for any of them right away, if you wish. Capital One offers credit cards to people of all credit levels, from Capital One Secured for damaged credit, to Platinum and QuicksilverOne for limited credit, to Venture for good and excellent credit. So the odds are good that you’ll come away with at least one Capital One pre-approved credit card offer.

To check the status of your Capital One credit card application, simply call 1-877-277-5901. Press “3” when you hear the menu, then say “application status.” You will be asked to enter your phone number so Capital One can find your records. You may also be required to enter your Social Security number to confirm your identity. Once you do so, you will receive a status update.

There is no Capital One foreign transaction fee. Or, in other words, the Capital One foreign transaction fee is 0%. That goes for every single Capital One credit card and debit card, too from travel rewards cards like Venture to cash back cards like Quicksilver. Want proof? The Capital One website says: “Capital One does not charge a fee for using your credit card for foreign currency transactions.”

That means you won’t pay extra just for shopping at foreign merchants, whether you’re traveling abroad or buying things online from merchants in other countries. Typically, a foreign transaction fee will cost you an extra 1%-3% of the purchase amount. Capital One, Discover, USAA and PenFed are the only major credit card companies that don’t charge foreign fees on any of their cards.

Even though there are no Capital One credit card foreign transaction fees, there’s still one thing you need to watch out for: Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). Capital One doesn’t impose this on you, but they can’t protect you from it, either, unfortunately. Dynamic currency conversion is when a merchant charges you in U.S. dollars rather than the local currency and uses an unfair exchange rate to inflate the price. You should always tell merchants to charge you in the local currency. And if you see on your receipt that they didn’t, you should ask them to void the transaction and do it over.

As long as you avoid DCC, you won’t have to worry about extra charges when using a Capital One credit card abroad, thanks to your $0 Capital One foreign transaction fee.

There is no Capital One member fee because you don’t have to pay just to be a customer. And there are no member dues or anything like that because Capital One is a bank, not a cooperative like a credit union. But there are some Capital One member fees for specific credit cards. For example, Capital One Venture does not have a membership fee the first year your account is open but charges $95 per year after that. 

Capital One credit card membership fees can be charged as annual fees or monthly fees (annual fee divided by 12). Whether you’re charged by year or by month depends on how you apply. If you apply online, it will be set up for annual and you’d have to call customer service after approval to ask to switch to monthly. If you apply by phone, you can choose to have a monthly fee right from the start, if you want.

Not every Capital One card has a membership fee, and those that do charge such a fee differ in the price.

Here are the Capital One member fees by card:

• Capital One Platinum: $0
• Capital One SavorOne: $0
• Capital One Secured: $0
• Capital One Quicksilver: $0
• Capital One QuicksilverOne: $39 annually/$3.25 monthly
• Capital One Venture: $95 annually/$7.92 monthly ($0 the first year)
• Journey Student Rewards from Capital One: $0

As you can see, many Capital One cards don’t charge a membership fee at all. If your card is one of the few that does, the fee will be charged to your card like a normal purchase. That will happen each year after your account anniversary (or right away the first year). 

The best Capital One travel card is the Capital One Venture Rewards Card because it offers 50,000 bonus miles for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months and gives at least 2 miles per $1 on all purchases. Bookings made on hotels.com/venture yield 10 miles per $1. Capital One Venture’s initial bonus alone is worth $500 in travel, more than covering the cost of its $95 annual fee ($0 the first year). As a result, the Venture Card is more than just the best Capital One travel card; it’s one of the best travel credit cards from any issuer.

But in a sense, every Capital One credit card is a good travel card. Capital One is one of just a few credit card companies without foreign transaction fees on any of their cards. Plus, Capital One’s travel cards are special in the sense that cardholders can redeem rewards for statement credits to pay for any travel purchase charged to the account. This adds flexibility in travel booking without sacrificing any value.

Several of Capital One’s other offers do stand out above the rest, though. For example, the VentureOne Card is the best Capital One travel card with no annual fee. And the SavorOne Card’s dining and entertainment rewards are great for vacation fun. It just depends on what exactly you’re looking for.

Best Capital One Travel Cards:

• Capital One Venture Rewards – Best overall
• Capital One VentureOne Rewards – Best for no annual fee
• Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards – Best for dining
• Journey Student Rewards from Capital One – Best for students

Capital One VentureOne Rewards is the best Capital One travel card for no annual fee because it combines a $0 annual fee with a sizeable bonus: 20,000 miles for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. That’s worth $200 in travel. It also offers 1.25 miles per $1 spent on purchases (10 at hotels.com/venture). Venture One has a 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months. The card requires good credit.

When it comes to dining, the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards card is the best because it gives 3% cash back at restaurants, 2% on groceries and 1% on everything else. There’s also a $150 bonus for spending $500 in the first 3 months. SavorOne has a $0 annual fee. Plus, it has a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 9 months. SavorOne requires good credit.

Students looking for the best Capital One travel card will appreciate Journey Student Rewards. It offers 1% cash back on all purchases to students with limited or fair credit. And that increases to 1.25% if you pay your bill on time. There’s a $0 annual fee.

You’ll need good credit to take advantage of Capital One’s best travel cards. But if you currently have bad credit, you’re not out of luck. The Capital One Secured Mastercard may not have rewards, but it doesn’t have an annual fee or a foreign transaction fee, either.

There’s no need to set a Capital One travel notification, also known as a travel alert. Capital One discontinued its travel notifications in 2016.

A travel notice tells a bank that the cardholder will be away from home during a given time period. That way, charges made from places you don’t normally visit won’t trigger the fraud prevention system and cause the bank to freeze the card. Like many issuers, Capital One uses EMV chip-and-signature technology. But unlike most of them, Capital One believes chip technology has made travel notices obsolete.

Each time you make a payment with a chip card, the chip creates a unique code for the transaction that can only be used one time. That prevents account information from being stolen at the point of sale. And that’s why there’s no longer the need for a Capital One travel notice.

But chip-and-signature technology doesn’t help you if someone steals your physical card. And it’s always good to be prepared. So it’s important to know the numbers to call if you run into any problems using your card while traveling. For instance, if your card gets stolen, you can call to have it frozen and get an emergency replacement card overnighted to you. You can also get a cash advance by wire transfer in that situation.

Here’s what you need instead of a Capital One travel notification:

• Domestic customer service number: 1-877-383-4802
• International customer service number: 1-800-955-7070 (collect call)
• Card number or Social Security number: Enter your card number when you call to speak to a representative. If your card is lost or stolen, enter your Social Security number instead.

You don’t need to set a Capital One travel notification to use your card abroad with peace of mind. And that’s not the only way Capital One makes travel easy. You also avoid foreign transaction fees because none of Capital One’s cards charge them.

The Capital One Purchase Eraser lets cardholders redeem miles for travel-related expenses made in the past 90 days, including airfare, hotels, and transportation. The cards with the Capital One Purchase Eraser include the Venture, VentureOne, Spark Miles Business Select and Spark Miles Business cards. To use the “Purchase Eraser,” log on to your Capital One account online or through the app. Click on your rewards miles, and then select the “Cover a Purchase” option. Your purchases that are available to be “erased” will show up, along with the number of miles required pay for each in full. You can also redeem miles to erase a portion of a purchase. Once you’ve selected the purchase(s) you want to erase, the miles will be immediately subtracted from your rewards balance. Your account will then be credited with the redemption(s) within 7 days.

The Capital One Venture and Spark Miles Business cards give 2 miles per dollar on all purchases. The Spark Miles Business Select card gives 1.5 miles per dollar, and the VentureOne card earns you 1.25 miles per dollar. Redeeming those miles for travel-related expenses gets you an exchange rate of 1 mile=1 cent. If you redeem your miles for a non-travel statement credit (not using the Purchase Eraser), they’re only worth half a cent each.

Most travel rewards credit cards are much more restrictive when it comes to redeeming miles. But Bank of America is one credit card company that allows cardholders to erase travel purchases like Capital One. After making a travel-related purchase, you can apply your Bank of America travel rewards to cover the cost of the purchase.

You can cancel a Capital One credit card online or by calling 1-800-227-4825. To cancel a Capital One card online, click “I Want To…” (near the top of the page when you sign in), then select “Close Account” from the account services menu. Over the phone, the Capital One representative will walk you through the process.

But before you cancel a Capital One credit card, there are a few things you should know. You’ll still be responsible for repaying any balance you owe. You will continue to get statements and owe monthly payments until the entire balance is paid off. You’ll also lose any rewards you haven’t redeemed when you close your account. And canceling your card will likely cause a dip in your credit score, though exactly how much depends on the age and credit limit of the account.

Plus, you’re not going to get a partial refund for a card’s annual fee. So it’s best to enjoy the benefits until shortly before your next annual fee is due to be charged.

Here’s how to cancel a Capital One credit card:

• Online: Log in to your Capital One account. Click on “More Account Services” and then “Close Account.” Capital One will ask you to confirm that you want to cancel your account.
• By phone: Call Capital One at 1-800-227-4825. Enter your full card number to be connected to a representative. Tell them you want to cancel your Capital One credit card.

If you call to cancel your Capital One credit card, the representative will likely try to get you to stay. They may even try to lure you back in you with a retention offer, like bonus rewards or a lower rate.

Capital One says that once you cancel a credit card account, there are “very few exceptions” where they can reopen it.

You can add a Capital One authorized user either online or over the phone, at 1-877-338-4802. And you can add anyone, regardless of age or relationship, as an authorized user to your Capital One credit card account. You just need their Social Security number, birth date and address.

To add a Capital One authorized user online, log into your account, click “Services,” then “Manage Authorized Users,” and finally “Add New User.” To do so by phone, call the number on the back of your Capital One card, and when prompted, say you would like to add an authorized user. After you enter your card number, a customer service representative will take the new user’s information and get them set up.

That’s how it works in general. But there are some details you should be aware of before adding an authorized user to your Capital One card.

Here are Capital One’s authorized user policies:

• You have to wait until you’re approved for a Capital One card to add a user.
• You can add as many authorized users as you would like to your account.
• Each authorized user will receive his or her own card, linked to your account.
• You can customize the spending limit of each user when you add them online. Or you can call customer service at 1-877-383-4802 and ask a representative to do it for you.
• You will be responsible for paying the charges made by any authorized user.
• You’ll still get only one statement per month, but you’ll be able to see who made each charge.
• Only the primary cardholder can add an authorized user to an account.

Adding a Capital One authorized user is a straightforward process, especially since the person you’re adding doesn’t need to apply. And it’s a great way to help someone who’s new to credit build their history, so long as both you and your authorized user behave responsibly.