Capital One Platinum Credit Card Review

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The Capital One Platinum Credit Card is a good option for customers who have average credit and want a $0 annual fee card. Typically, those with an average credit score receive lower credit limits. However, with the Capital One Platinum Card, you could earn a higher credit limit after paying your balance on time for as little as six months. 

So, if you currently have average credit and you’re trying to raise your credit score, signing up for the Platinum Mastercard from Capital One might be a good idea for you. Increasing your credit limit with this card can help your credit utilization ratio and ultimately raise your credit score. 

Additionally, the Capital One Platinum Card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, which is nice for those who travel abroad often. Unfortunately, this card doesn’t offer any rewards (while some other no-fee cards do). So, the Capital One Platinum Card is pretty much best for building credit only.

Pros	Cons
$0 annual fee	High APR
Available with average credit	No rewards
Ability to raise your credit limit after six  months of on-time payments
No foreign transaction fees

Capital One Platinum Credit Card Benefits

Since the Capital One Platinum Card doesn’t charge an annual fee and is available to consumers with average credit, it comes as no surprise that it’s a pretty lackluster card in the way of benefits. Still, there are a few things to like about this card. 

Automatic Credit Line Reviews

Probably the most important feature of the Capital One Platinum Card is the fact that you’ll be automatically reviewed for a higher line of credit in as little as six months after approval. However, you’ll need to make all of your payments on time during those six months if you want to qualify for a higher line of credit. 

If your credit limit gets raised, it can indirectly lead to your credit score going up, too. That’s because having a higher credit limit can lower your credit utilization ratio, which is the amount of your total credit limit (across all cards) that you’ve used. Thus, having more available credit will lower your utilization ratio, which leads to a higher credit score. 

So, if you have average credit and want to raise your credit score quickly, signing up for the Platinum Mastercard from Capital One might be a good option. 

No Foreign Transaction Fees

One nice benefit that’s uniform across all Capital One cards is the fact that the bank doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. Capital One markets their cards toward people who live to travel, so this is a solid card for those who travel abroad often. 

$0 Fraud Liability

If you have the Capital One Platinum card, you’re covered by $0 fraud liability protection. If your card is lost or stolen, you’ll never be responsible for any unauthorized charges. If Capital One notices any suspicious transactions on your account, the bank will notify you via text, email and phone to ensure that your account hasn’t been compromised.

Avoid Penalty APR for Late Payments  

If you ever fail to meet your payment on the Capital One Platinum Card, Capital One won’t raise your APR. You may still have to pay a late fee of up to $40, but your APR will stay the same (unlike with some other similar cards), which could save you a lot of money. 

Of course, the Capital One Platinum Card is meant to help people build credit. For this reason, you should strive to never make any late payments because that will have a significant negative effect on your credit score. Still, it’s nice to know that your APR won’t be affected if you do make a late payment. 

Capital One Platinum Credit Card Drawbacks

The Capital One Platinum Card is a basic credit card with no attractive perks or rewards, which is pretty much what you can expect from a card with no annual fee that’s available to consumers with average credit. 

Still, there are some aspects of the Capital One Platinum card that don’t stack up against the competition.

High APR

If you carry a balance from month to month on the Capital One Platinum Card, it’s going to get expensive.

If you trust yourself to pay off your balance in full every month, then you won’t have to worry about the Platinum Card’s high APR. But, if you tend to carry a balance from month to month, you may want to seek out a card with a lower interest rate. 

No Rewards

Some credit cards on the market don’t charge an annual fee but still offer rewards, but these are typically reserved for people with good or excellent credit. If you have average or fair credit, you probably won’t be able to get a card that offers lucrative rewards, and the Capital One Platinum Card is no exception. 

However, even if you have average credit, you still can get approved for certain cards with annual fees that offer rewards. Depending on how much you spend, sometimes the rewards offered by these cards can offset the annual fee. We’ll discuss some cards that fit that description later in this article. 

No Reduced Introductory Rates

Oftentimes, credit card companies will offer introductory APRs to try to entice new customers to sign up for their cards. For instance, a card might come with 0% APR for the first 12 months. Unfortunately, the Capital One Platinum Card comes with no such reduced introductory APR.

Other Cards to Consider

For those who have average credit and don’t want to pay an annual fee, the Capital One Platinum Credit Card is definitely a solid option. However, you may want to consider other cards before signing up for the Platinum Card from Capital One. 

Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card

Petal is a credit card company that many people aren’t aware exists. However, the Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card is one of the best cards for people with average credit. This card has no annual fee and offers between 1% and 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Finding a $0 fee card available to people with average credit that offers any rewards at all is rare, which makes the Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card an enticing option. 

Also, like the Capital One Platinum Card, the Petal 2 Card doesn’t charge any foreign transaction fees, and you can have your credit limit raised within as little as six months of on-time payments. However, one major drawback of the Petal 2 Card is that it doesn’t allow balance transfers. 

In our opinion, the ability to earn cash back while building credit and raising your credit makes the Petal 2 card a superior option to the Capital One Platinum Card. 

Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card

If you’re planning on spending more than $2,600 annually on your new card, you’re probably better off going with the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card, which is similar to the Platinum Card in many ways. It’s available to those with average credit; it has no foreign transaction fees; you’ll be automatically considered for a higher line of credit after six months; and it comes with $0 fraud liability protection. 

However, the QuicksilverOne Card and the Platinum Card differ in two main ways.The QuicksilverOne Card has an annual fee of $39, but it also offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases and 5% cash back on purchases through Capital One Travel. So, if you spend $2,600 in a year with the QuicksilverOne card (at a rate of 1.5% cash back), you’ll earn $39 cash back and offset the annual fee. If you spend any more than that, you’ll come out on top. 

Additionally, the ability to earn 5% cash back on purchases through Capital One Travel can be valuable if you book flights, hotels or rental cars often. If you spend $780 through Capital One Travel in a single year, you’ll earn $39 cash back, thus offsetting the QuicksilverOne card’s annual fee. 

The Bottom Line 

Overall, if you have average credit and you’re looking for a no-annual-fee card to build your credit score with, the Capital One Platinum Credit Card isn’t a bad option. It doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees (which is good for people who travel abroad often). It comes with $0 fraud liability, and you’ll be considered for a higher line of credit in as little as six months. 

However, before you sign up for the Platinum Mastercard from Capital One, you may want to consider some of the other options. The Petal 2 Visa Credit Card is another no-annual-fee card that’s available to consumers with average credit. However, unlike the Capital One Platinum Card, the Petal 2 Card offers cashback rewards (between 1% and 1.5% on all purchases). 

You may also want to look into the Capital One QuicksilverOne Card if you plan on spending over $2,600 yearly on your new card. Although this card charges an annual fee of $39, it also offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases and 5% cash back on purchases through Capital One Travel. So, if you spend more than $2,600 yearly, you’ll earn more than $39 in cash back, thus offsetting the annual fee. 

Still, the Capital One Platinum Card is a basic beginner card for those who want to build credit. If you just want a card that doesn’t have an annual fee, is easy to understand and won’t charge any hidden fees, the Platinum Card is a solid choice.