Credit One vs. Capital One — what are the differences between these two credit card issuers? Although they sound alike, make no mistake that Capital One and Credit One offer very dissimilar credit cards. Capital One is a dominant issuer and suits folks with excellent, good, or average credit. Credit One is a smaller financial institution geared toward consumers with bad or no credit. To quickly navigate to what you’re interested in most, use the links below.
Capital One for Excellent Credit | Capital One for Fair/Average Credit | Credit One for Poor Credit
Capital One® — Best for Average/Good/Excellent Credit
Capital One is a Fortune 500 diversified bank with a broad offering of financial services and products to consumers and businesses. It is among the top 10 largest banks in the U.S. with respect to deposits. The bank branches are primarily located in the District of Columbia, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.
Capital One offers credit cards with many benefits:
- Online Banking Access: Allows you to easily and quickly manage your account whenever.
- Capital One Wallet App: Provides instant purchase notifications, receipt capture, digitized gift cards, and purchase details.
- 24/7 Customer Service: Available from real human beings.
- Automatic Account Alerts: Alerts via email or text keep you up to date on your account, as well as 24/7 monitoring and security alerts to inform you whenever unusual activity is detected.
- Fraud Coverage: Interactive alerts in real time via email, text, or phone whenever fraudulent use of your card is attempted, with 100 percent coverage against fraud liability.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees: Never any on international purchases.
- Travel & Auto Rental Insurance: For peace of mind when you’re away from home.
- Free Capital One Credit Tracker: Provides your credit score, a what-if simulator, and more.
- Second Look Program: Recognizes and informs you of unusual or duplicate charges.
- Digitally Enhanced Transaction Details: Allows you to keep track of all your activity.
- Extended Warranty: Additional coverage on items purchased with a Capital One Card.
3 Capital One® Credit Cards for Excellent Credit
If you have excellent credit, you might select among these three Capital One cards:
- Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
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Intro (Purchases)
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Intro (Transfers)
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Regular APR
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Annual Fee
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Credit Needed
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|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A
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N/A
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16.24% - 24.24% (Variable)
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$95
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Excellent, Good
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- $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
- Earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel
- Earn unlimited 1.25X miles on every purchase, every day
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
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Intro (Purchases)
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Intro (Transfers)
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Regular APR
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Annual Fee
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Credit Needed
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|---|---|---|---|---|
0% for 15 months
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0% for 15 months
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15.24% - 25.24% (Variable)
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$0
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Excellent, Good
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- 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
- $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
- 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
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months; 15.24%-25.24% variable APR after that
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Intro (Purchases)
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Intro (Transfers)
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Regular APR
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Annual Fee
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Credit Needed
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|---|---|---|---|---|
0% for 15 months
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0% for 15 months
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15.24% - 25.24% (Variable)
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$0
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Excellent, Good
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+ See more credit cards for excellent credit
3 Capital One® Credit Cards for Average/Fair Credit
In addition, Capital One offers similar cards for consumers with good to average credit ratings with somewhat higher interest rates.
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day
- No rotating categories or limits to how much you can earn, and cash back doesn't expire for the life of the account. It's that simple
- Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months
- Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges
- Help strengthen your credit for the future with responsible card use
- 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
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Intro (Purchases)
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Intro (Transfers)
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Regular APR
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Annual Fee
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Credit Needed
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|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A
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N/A
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26.99% (Variable)
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$39
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Average, Fair, Limited
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- No annual or hidden fees. See if you're approved in seconds
- Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months
- Help build your credit through responsible use of a card like this
- Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges
- Monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One. It's free for everyone
- Get access to your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with online banking from your desktop or smartphone, with our mobile app
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Intro (Purchases)
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Intro (Transfers)
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Regular APR
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Annual Fee
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Credit Needed
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|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A
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N/A
|
26.99% (Variable)
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$0
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Average, Fair, Limited
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- Earn 1% cash back on all your purchases. Pay on time to boost your cash back to a total of 1.25% for that month
- Earn $5 per month for 12 months on Select Streaming Subscriptions when you pay on time. *Exclusions Apply
- Enjoy no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
- You can help build your credit with responsible use of a card like this
- Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months
- $0 fraud liability if your card is ever lost or stolen
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Intro (Purchases)
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Intro (Transfers)
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Regular APR
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Annual Fee
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Credit Needed
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A
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N/A
|
26.99% (Variable)
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$0
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Average, Fair, Limited
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+ See more credit cards for average/fair credit
Credit One Bank® — Best for Poor/Limited Credit
As mentioned, Credit One cards are for consumers with poor credit. Their cards offer various features, such as zero fraud liability, automatic alerts, automatic reviews for more credit, and free credit tracking, but have low credit limits ($300 to $500).
Credit One Bank® Visa® Credit Card
This card is currently not available.
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Intro (Purchases)
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Intro (Transfers)
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Regular APR
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Annual Fee
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Credit Needed
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|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A
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N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit
This card is currently not available.
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Intro (Purchases)
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Intro (Transfers)
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Regular APR
|
Annual Fee
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Credit Needed
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|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
|
Credit One Bank® Unsecured Visa® with Cash Back Rewards
This card is currently not available.
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Intro (Purchases)
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Intro (Transfers)
|
Regular APR
|
Annual Fee
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Credit Needed
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|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A
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N/A
|
N/A
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N/A
|
N/A
|
+ See more credit cards for poor/limited credit
Credit One reports monthly to all three major credit bureaus, which is important for rebuilding your credit. Unfortunately, Credit One does not specify the individual terms for each credit card until you apply, so we’ll give a general summary:
- Purchases – , based on your creditworthiness when you open your account. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.
- Transfers – Same as purchases.
- Annual Fees – . $19 for adding an authorized user.
Note: Beware that some Credit One cards won’t have a grace period and will charge interest starting on the posting date, not the monthly payment date.
In Conclusion
These cards serve two different populations. If you have an average or higher credit rating, Capital One offers great benefits, reasonable rates, and quick payments. If you are a sub-prime borrower, the Credit One cards are a perfectly legitimate way to get back into the game. They have higher fees and tend to nickel and dime you, but they do report your activity to the credit bureaus, so over time you can raise your credit score and apply for better cards. Before you apply, be sure you know which issuer you are filling out an application for and that your credit history aligns with the card’s requirements.
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