Pros
- $200 initial bonus
- 1.5% cash back on all purchases
- No annual fee
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers
Cons
- Potential for a very high interest rate
- Balance transfer fee
- Requires good/excellent credit
Capital One Quicksilver Review Summary
The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card is a good credit card for people with above-average credit scores who want to earn rewards without paying for the privilege or putting too much thought into the process. Capital One Quicksilver offers a $0 annual fee, 1.5% cash back on all purchases and an initial bonus of $200 for spending $500 in the first 3 months. Plus, new applicants currently get a 0% introductory interest rates on purchases and balance transfers for up to 15 months. The card’s regular APR of 19.74% - 29.74% (V) applies after that.
Below, you can learn more about why Capital One Quicksilver is a good all-around option for people with good credit or better. And if you’re not in that group, there’s a version of the card for people with limited credit, too. It’s called the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
Transfer Fee: 3%
Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
Rewards Details
- Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day
- Enjoy up to 6 months of complimentary Uber One membership statement credits through 11/14/2024
- Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options. Terms apply
- No rotating categories or sign-ups needed to earn cash rewards; plus, cash back won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how much you can earn
Additional Info
- $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months; 19.74%-29.74% variable APR after that; 3% fee on the amounts transferred within the first 15 months
- More Details & Reviews About Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Quicksilver Review Highlights
Easily Attainable $200 Initial Bonus
Upfront incentives aren’t all that unique in and of themselves. Many credit cards offer them these days. But most require users to spend at least $3,000 in the first few months to qualify, thereby pricing out much of the applicant pool, or promoting counterproductive overspending in the name of rewards. Quicksilver, however, is a bit different, considering that you need only spend $500 during the first 3 months your account is open – roughly $167 per month – in order to reap a $200 bonus.
Yes, $200 is a considerably lower amount in absolute terms than the $400 to $500 offered by cards with four-digit initial spending requirements. But Quicksilver’s bonus structure offers a higher return on investment in percentage terms, providing a 40% yield in contrast to the 13% you’d get from a card with a $400 bonus and a $3,000 spending prerequisite.
$0 Annual Fee
Rewards earnings must always be viewed within the context of a card’s annual fee. That’s not to say cards charging annual fees should be avoided indiscriminately, but rather that you need to make sure you get what you’re paying for. With Quicksilver, you’re essentially playing with the house’s money in that you stand to reap lucrative rewards without spending any more than you would otherwise. This helps to level the playing field between Quicksilver and cards that may have higher overall earning rates but come at a cost.
1.5% Cash Back On All Purchases, With No Restrictions
As rewarding as credit card rewards can be, they also have the potential to be equally maddening, thanks to earning limits, rotating bonus categories and points or miles whose values fluctuate based on redemption method – just to name a few downsides. Quicksilver’s caveat-free 1.5% across-the-board earning rate thus represents an answer to that problem for folks who want to rake in the green without feeling as if they’re raking the leaves or performing some other equally annoying chore. And while 1.5% cash back might not seem like all that much at first glance, it’s actually about 40% more earning power than the average cash back credit card provides, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report. Plus, hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel yield 5% back.
0% Intro APRs For 15 Months
Capital One is currently running a promotion whereby new cardholders will not be charged interest on new purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months. That’s one reason to apply sooner rather than later if you wish to commingle your financing and everyday spending on a single card. The card’s regular APR of 19.74% - 29.74% (V) applies after that. There is also a balance transfer fee of 3% for amounts transferred in the first 15 months.
Capital One Quicksilver Review Lowlights
Potential For A Very High Interest Rate
The rate at which you will accrue interest on revolving balances once Quicksilver’s introductory terms conclude is a product of your credit standing and disposable income at the time you apply for the card. The strongest applicants will receive the lower ranges of the regular APR, while everyone else will be stuck accruing finance charges at an APR from the higher end of the range.
Not only does this broad range of possibilities make it hard to anticipate future financing costs, but all APR options can be above the average charged by credit cards for both good and excellent credit. As a result, this clearly isn’t the card for people who routinely carry a balance from month to month.
Other Things To Consider About Capital One Quicksilver
$0 Foreign Transaction Fee
None of Capital One’s credit cards charge foreign transaction fees. So while this is definitely a perk, it’s not one unique to Quicksilver in particular.
Requires Good (Not Excellent) Credit For Approval
You may consider this to be either an advantage or a drawback, depending on the current state of your own credit, but few cards offer terms as good as the Capital One Quicksilver Card without an excellent-credit barrier to entry. So if you have a good, but not great, credit score – find out for free on WalletHub – this offer may help you deal with any excellent-credit envy that you’ve experienced.
Capital One Quicksilver vs. The Competition
Quicksilver isn’t the only cash back card on the block. In fact, it’s not even the only Quicksilver. So, in order to help you make the right choice for your wallet, we took a look at how this offer stacks up against a crowded field of great deals.
Info | Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card | Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer | Chase Freedom Unlimited® | Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express |
---|---|---|---|---|
Annual Fee | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 intro 1st yr, $95 after |
Bonus Offer | $200 | N/A | N/A | $250 |
Rewards Rate | 1.5 - 5% Cash Back | 2% Cash Back | 1.5 - 5% Cash Back | 1 - 6% Cash Back |
Purchase Intro APR | 0% for 15 months | N/A | 0% for 15 months | 0% for 12 months |
Transfer Intro APR | 0% for 15 months Transfer Fee: 3% | 0% for 18 months Transfer Fee: 3% intro fee ($5 min) for each transfer in first 4 months, after that 5% ($5 min) for each transfer | 0% for 15 months Transfer Fee: Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater in the first 60 days (5%, min $5 after) | 0% for 12 months Transfer Fee: 3% (min $5) |
Regular APR | 19.74% - 29.74% (V) | 18.99% - 28.99% (V) | 19.74% - 28.49% (V) | 18.99% - 29.99% (V) |
Editors' Rating | 4.4 | 5 | 5 | 4.7 |
Details, Rates & Fees | Learn More | Learn More Rates & Fees | Learn More | Learn More Rates & Fees Terms Apply |
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card Review Methodology
This Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card review is based on WalletHub’s proprietary 100-point credit card rating system. By using a consistent methodology to evaluate the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card and all other cards, WalletHub’s credit card experts make it easy for people to compare their options and find the best credit cards for their needs.
The WalletHub rating system uses 16 key metrics grouped into seven categories: Fees, Rewards, Two-year Cost, Interest Rates, Approval Requirements, Special Features, and Reviews. Each metric has a maximum number of points allocated to it, based on the metric’s importance as determined by our editors. The points are added up to create an overall rating for the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card out of a maximum of 100 points, which is then converted to a 5-point scale.
Ratings for each category reflect how close Capital One Quicksilver is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star credit card, which is based on market conditions and what we believe are reasonable terms. We compare Capital One Quicksilver to that standard to give a numerical approximation of how reasonable and competitive its terms are compared to other cards.
To learn more about how WalletHub rates credit card offers, check out our full credit card review methodology.