Only earns 5% when booked via Capital One Travel; else 1%
Only earns 5% when booked via Capital One Travel; else 1%
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
Unlike the Capital One Savor card (now discontinued for new applicants, anyway), which offers 4% back dining but the same 3% back on dining, at grocery stores, and on entertainment purchases and popular streaming services) but charges a $95 annual fee, the Savor, despite 1% less in cash back, will be a better choice until you reach a high level of spend such that the annual fee is offset.
Plus, don’t forget that you’ll earn cash rewards (8%) on Capital One Entertainment Purchases and 5% cash rewards on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
Early on in this review, I mentioned a “secret” way to convert your Savor cash back into Capital One miles (See our complete guide to Capital One Miles).
If you also have a Capital One Venture X, Venture, VentureOne, or Spark Miles for Business card, you can freely convert your Savor cash back into miles by transferring the cash back to any of those cards. It transfers 1:1, meaning that $10 = 1,000 miles.
Here’s a list of Capital One Miles transfer partners should you transfer your Savor cash rewards over to one of the aforementioned cards (to be clear, you cannot transfer to any of these partners with this card alone; you would need a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, or Capital One Spark Miles for Business card to transfer to):
Capital One Miles | ||
---|---|---|
Transfer Ratio | Expected Transfer Time | |
Air Canada (Aeroplan) | 1:1 | Instant |
Air France / KLM Flying Blue | 1:1 | Instant |
Avianca Lifemiles | 1:1 | Instant |
Aeromexico | 1:1 | Instant |
British Airways Avios | 1:1 | TBD |
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1:1 | Nearly instant |
Choice Hotels | 1:1 | 1 day |
Emirates Skywards | 1:1 | Instant |
Etihad Guest | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
Finnair | 1:1 | Instant |
JetBlue | 5:3 | TBD |
Qantas | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
TAP Air Portugal | 1:1 | TBD |
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | 1:1 | TBD |
Wyndham Rewards Hotel Program | 1:1 | Instant |
EVA | 2:1.5 | 1-2 days |
Accor Live Limitless (ALL) Hotel Program | 2:1 | 1-2 days |
Virgin Red | 1:1 | TBD |
There’s no denying that 3% cash back on dining, grocery store, streaming services and entertainment purchases is a solid deal for a credit card without an annual fee. In fact, entertainment purchases (which include things like concerts and shows) is one of the rarest bonus categories. If you attend a lot of Broadway shows or concerts, this card can really rack them up. And should you happen to resell any tickets on StubHub, etc, this is an extra 3% in your pocket.
Plus, if you don’t mind booking hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, that’s 5% cash back as well.
Bottom line? If you are interested in cash back rather than points, this would be a good card to have in your wallet, however, I would recommend pairing it with another card for other categories. For many, a second card like a Citi Double Cash, which earns 2% on everything, could be the perfect card combo. Or, scroll down and use our own Card Combo tool to see which card would pair best with a Savor based on your own spending profile.
And remember what I said above… there are ways to convert this cash back into Capital One Miles as well.
Receive 60,000 online bonus points - a $600 value - after you make at least $4,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
The market for premium travel rewards cards is crowded, and every major card issuer has a product with an annual fee of $95, or close to it. While not a creative name for a card in this class, the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card appeals to those who want the cardholder benefits of premium card, but are happy to earn cash back rewards instead points that can be transferred to frequent flier miles or points with hotel programs.
This card earns double points on all travel and dining purchases, and 1.5 points per dollar spent everywhere else. But rather than being just travel rewards points, these points can be redeemed for one cent each as statement credits, bank deposits, gift cards or travel reservations.
So far, this is pretty similar to the no-fee Bank of America Travel Rewards card. But what makes this card “premium” are its benefits.
To start off with, you receive up to a $100 credit towards the application fees of TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, which includes PreCheck. These services are used by frequent travelers to speed themselves through the lines at the airport.
You also receive up to a $100 credit towards airline incidental fees. These are the charges for things like luggage or seat selection that everyone hates, and those who use this fee each year will completely offset this card’s $95 annual fee.
It also includes an entire range of travel insurance policies such as trip delay reimbursement, trip cancellation and interruption coverage, and lost or delayed baggage reimbursement. It even comes with emergency evacuation insurance, a feature only found on a fraction of the top credit cards with annual fees over $500.
Purchase protection and extended warranty coverage are also included.
In the end, you have a card that offers a fairly simple cash back rewards program, similar to what you would find on a no fee card. But at the same time, it has all the fee credits, travel insurance and purchase protection features you’d expect to find on a much more expensive credit card.
Anyone who travels regularly, even if not frequently, will find these benefits to be worth its modest annual fee.