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If you’re a student with a credit score in the “average” range (which is usually considered to be between 580 and 680), the Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is quite simply one of the best cards on the market for you. This card is nearly identical to the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card, except it’s available to those with average credit and you have to be a university student to get one.
The regular Savor card is undeniably one of the best $0 annual fee credit cards on the market, offering cashback rewards as high as 8% in some cases. Unfortunately, it’s available only to consumers with excellent credit.
However, if you’re a currently enrolled student, you can get the Savor Rewards for Students card (which has all the same benefits as the regular Savor card) even if you have average credit and then continue to use your Savor Student card after you graduate.
Plus, on top of earning stellar cashback rewards, the Savor Student card is a great card to build your credit with. This card reports to all three major credit bureaus, and you’ll be automatically considered for a higher line of credit in as few as six months. So, you can use this card to raise your credit score and eventually qualify for even better cards, all while raking in tons of cash back rewards.
| Pros | Cons |
| No annual fee | Available to actively enrolled students only |
| Available for customers with average credit | |
| Excellent cashback rewards categories | |
| No foreign transaction fee |
Capital One Savor Rewards for Students Credit Card Spending Bonuses
As previously mentioned, most aspects of the Savor Student card are identical to the regular Savor card, including its spending bonuses. Both the Savor and the Savor Student cards offer some of the best cashback rewards for no-annual-fee cards on the market.
The Savor Student card earns the following bonuses:
- 8% cash back on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5% cash back on purchases through Capital One Travel
- 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores (excluding superstores, such as Walmart and Target)
- 1% cash back on everything else
These cashback rewards are particularly great for students, considering that students tend to spend most of their money on food and entertainment. You can earn 8% cash back for booking tickets to concerts, sporting events or other entertainment through Capital One Entertainment. Plus, if you need to book a hotel for spring break, you can earn 5% cash back when doing so through Capital One Travel.
Where this card really shines is in its ability to earn 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores. For most students, their biggest expense is on food. So, the ability to earn 3% cash back whether you’re eating out with friends or picking up groceries to bring home is extremely lucrative.
Plus, earning 3% cash back on popular streaming services, such as Netflix, Spotify and Hulu (which are things that pretty much everyone nowadays pays for), is a great added bonus. Aside from that, you can rest assured that you’ll earn 1% cash back on any purchase that doesn’t fit into one of the aforementioned bonus categories.
Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card Benefits
The main draw of the Savor Student card is definitely its outstanding cashback rewards. However, there are some other benefits that come with this card that are certainly noteworthy. It’s worth learning about these benefits so that you can use them to the fullest if you’re approved for the Capital One Savor Student card.
No Annual Fee
The Savor Student card from Capital One doesn’t charge an annual fee, meaning you don’t have to worry about earning enough cash back to make this card worth it. Every cent of cash back that you earn with the Savo Student card will be pure, no-strings-attached savings.
No Foreign Transaction Fees
One benefit that all Capital One cards have in common is they don’t charge foreign transaction fees. Capital One markets its products toward people who like to travel often, so the bank will never penalize you for making a transaction outside of your home country. You can travel anywhere in the world and use your Capital One card just like you would at home.
$0 Fraud Liability
Another feature that comes standard with Capital One cards is $0 fraud liability protection. This feature protects you from being responsible for fraudulent charges in the event that your card is lost or stolen.
If Capital One notices some suspicious activity on your card, you’ll be notified by text, email and phone. Then, you can report your card as lost or stolen, confirm whether or not you made certain transactions, report transactions as fraudulent and receive a full reimbursement for any fraudulent charges made on your account.
With the $0 fraud liability protection feature, you can rest assured that you’re not going to be on the hook if someone steals your card and racks up a bunch of charges.
Available for Students with Average Credit
While the regular version of the Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card from Capital One is available only to consumers with excellent credit, the Savor Student card is available to students with little credit history and a credit score in the “average” range, which is generally considered to be between 580 and 680.
In terms of cards that are available to people in the “average” credit range, the Savor for Students credit card is about as good as it gets. The regular Savor card is one of the best no-annual-fee cards available in any credit range, and the Savor Student offers pretty much all of the same benefits while being available to those with “average” credit.
Unfortunately, this card is available to actively enrolled students only. However, once you graduate, you can continue to use your Savor Student card even if your credit score remains in the “average” range.
Welcome Bonus
As if the ongoing benefits of the Savor Student card weren’t enough to capture your interest, this card also offers a welcome bonus. Not all $0 fee credit cards offer welcome bonuses, and it’s rare to find a no-annual-fee card available for those with average credit that also offers a welcome bonus.
On top of that, the welcome bonus offered by the Savor Student card is extremely easy to earn compared to most other offers. While most welcome bonus offers require you to spend several thousand dollars to earn them, you’ll probably earn the Savor Student card’s welcome bonus in the first day or two after you receive your card.
Automatic Credit Line Reviews
If you’re new to the world of credit and want to improve your credit score, the Savor for Students card is a great ally in doing so. After you receive your Savor Student card, you’ll automatically be considered for a higher line of credit in as few as six months. Of course, to qualify for a higher line of credit, you’ll need to make all of your payments on time over the course of those six months.
By raising your credit limit, you’ll actually be lowering your credit utilization ratio (which is essentially how much of your total available credit that’s being used). Maintaining a low credit utilization ratio is vital to improving your credit score, which means that a higher line of credit could help you raise your credit score significantly.
Plus, having a higher line of credit is nice to have in the case of an emergency. For instance, if unexpected medical bills come up, having the ability to borrow more money to cover such expenses could be extremely important.
Capital One Savor Rewards for Students Credit Card Drawbacks
There aren’t many negative things to say about the Savor Student card from Capital One. When it comes to student cards, the Savor Student is the cream of the crop. The only drawback of this card is the fact that there are certain specifications you need to meet to qualify.
Available to Students Only
The Capital One Savor Student card is available to actively enrolled students at a college or a university. When you apply for the Savor Rewards for Students credit card, you’re giving Capital One permission to contact your educational institution to verify that you’re a student. So, it’s not worth it to try to fool them into thinking you’re an active student if you really aren’t. Unless an educational institution can verify that you’re currently taking classes, you won’t be approved for this card.
However, you should be aware that if you qualify for this card while you’re a student, your Savor Student card will remain active after you graduate, provided that you remain in good standing with Capital One.
So, if you currently have an average credit score and your graduation date is coming up, you’re probably going to want to sign up for this card before you finish school. That way, once you get your diploma, you can keep one of the best $0 annual fee cards on the market even though you have an average credit score.
High APR
Another potential drawback of the Savor Student card is that it has a fairly high ongoing variable APR. So, if you’re in the habit of carrying a balance from month to month, the Savor Student card can get rather expensive. Fortunately, you can avoid paying any interest whatsoever by paying your balance off in full every month.
So, if you can manage to pay off your balance every month consistently, then you should have no reservations about applying for the Savor Student card. However, if you think that you’ll be carrying a balance from month to month, then you may want to seek out a card with a lower APR.
Other Cards to Consider
The Savor Student card is undoubtedly one of the best student credit cards on the market. However, before you jump on this card, you should still browse around and see if there’s another credit card out there that’s better for your particular spending habits. Take a look at our suggestions of other cards to consider.
Discover it Student Cash Back Credit Card
Another strong contender for the best student credit card on the market is the Discover it Student Cash Back card. You can qualify for this card with an average credit score and no credit history while also earning some stellar cashback rewards. Unlike the Savor Student card, the Discover it Student Cash Back card’s spending bonuses change every quarter.
The Discover it card offers 5% cash back on up to $1,500 on everyday purchases at different places each quarter, such as Amazon.com, restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations. You’ll also earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.
If you’re willing to adjust to the changing bonus categories, you can earn a lot of cash back with this card. Plus, after the first year of being a cardholder, Discover will match the amount of cash back you earned in that year 1-to-1. So, if you earned $300 in cash back in your first cardmember year, they’ll gift you another $300 in cash back.
However, for most people, spending habits don’t tend to vary much from month to month or quarter to quarter. So, having a card with consistent bonus categories (such as the Savor Student card) may be preferable to a card with changing bonus categories.
Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students
If you’re interested in saving up for some traveling after you graduate, then the Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students might be worth considering. With this card, you’ll earn 1.5X points on all purchases everywhere. These points can then be redeemed through the Bank of America Travel Center for flights and hotels. Plus, there are no blackout dates or restrictions, and your points will never expire as long as your card is active.
This card also comes with notable benefits, including a generous welcome bonus, no foreign transaction fees, no annual fee, an easy-to-use mobile banking app, an 18-month 0% introductory APR period and 0% APR on balance transfers made within the first 60 days after account opening.
While the Bank of America Travel Rewards Student Card isn’t a bad option for college students who want to get familiar with earning and spending credit card points, the rewards offered by this card just can’t compete with the Savor Student card. Because the Bank of America card offers just 1.5X points, the Savor Student card is still the superior option.
The Bottom Line
All in all, for students with credit scores in the “average” range (which typically includes credit scores between 580 and 680), there really isn’t a better card than the Capital One Savor Student credit card. Even if you have an “excellent” credit score, you probably still want to have this card in your wallet. The Savor Student card (as well as the regular Savor card) offers some of the best cashback rewards of any card on the market and some other valuable benefits to sweeten the deal.
Additionally, with the Savor Student card, you’ll earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores (excluding superstores, such as Walmart and Target). And since food is often the largest expense for active students, these bonus categories can earn you a ton of cash back. On top of that, you can earn 8% cash back through Capital One Entertainment and 5% cash back through Capital One Travel.
To make things easy, if you’re a student and you have an “average” credit score, the Capital One Savor Student card is probably the best option available to you. If you have a credit score in the “excellent” range, then you can qualify for some premium credit cards with amazing perks (such as the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card). However, you may still want to have the Savor Student card in your wallet. The cashback rewards offered by this card, particularly when it comes to buying food, are some of the best out of any $0 annual fee credit cards.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
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