Annual Fee

Welcome Bonus

Base Earn Rate

Top Earn Categories

Network

Key Benefits

Pros

• +Effective $95 annual fee after $300 travel credit and 10,000 anniversary miles (~$100 value)
• +10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• +Access to premium Capital One Lounges in Dallas, Denver, and Washington D.C.
• +Priority Pass Select membership with 1,300+ lounges worldwide
• +Free authorized users (until Feb 2026, then $125/year for lounge access)

• +Automatic 5% cash back on top spending category with no activation required
• +No annual fee makes it easy to keep long-term for credit history
• +10 eligible bonus categories including dining, gas, groceries, streaming, and transit
• +0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months
• +Pairs with Strata Premier to unlock ThankYou Points transfer partners

Cons

• −$395 annual fee requires maximizing credits to get value
• −10X earning rate requires booking through Capital One Travel portal
• −Guest lounge access changing to $35/guest at Priority Pass after Feb 2026
• −No airline transfer bonuses unlike some competitors
• −Travel credits only work for Capital One Travel bookings

• −$500 monthly cap limits value for high spenders (max $25/month in bonus rewards)
• −3% foreign transaction fee makes it poor for international travel
• −Cannot manually select bonus category - algorithm chooses based on spend
• −Only one Custom Cash card allowed per person
• −48-month restriction on welcome bonus if you've had one before

Annual Fee

Welcome Bonus

Base Earn Rate

Top Earn Categories

Network

Key Benefits

Pros

• +Effective $95 annual fee after $300 travel credit and 10,000 anniversary miles (~$100 value)
• +10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• +Access to premium Capital One Lounges in Dallas, Denver, and Washington D.C.
• +Priority Pass Select membership with 1,300+ lounges worldwide
• +Free authorized users (until Feb 2026, then $125/year for lounge access)

• +Automatic 5% cash back on top spending category with no activation required
• +No annual fee makes it easy to keep long-term for credit history
• +10 eligible bonus categories including dining, gas, groceries, streaming, and transit
• +0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months
• +Pairs with Strata Premier to unlock ThankYou Points transfer partners

Cons

• −$395 annual fee requires maximizing credits to get value
• −10X earning rate requires booking through Capital One Travel portal
• −Guest lounge access changing to $35/guest at Priority Pass after Feb 2026
• −No airline transfer bonuses unlike some competitors
• −Travel credits only work for Capital One Travel bookings

• −$500 monthly cap limits value for high spenders (max $25/month in bonus rewards)
• −3% foreign transaction fee makes it poor for international travel
• −Cannot manually select bonus category - algorithm chooses based on spend
• −Only one Custom Cash card allowed per person
• −48-month restriction on welcome bonus if you've had one before

Annual Fee

Welcome Bonus

Base Earn Rate

Top Earn Categories

Network

Key Benefits

Pros

• +Effective $95 annual fee after $300 travel credit and 10,000 anniversary miles (~$100 value)
• +10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• +Access to premium Capital One Lounges in Dallas, Denver, and Washington D.C.
• +Priority Pass Select membership with 1,300+ lounges worldwide
• +Free authorized users (until Feb 2026, then $125/year for lounge access)

• +Automatic 5% cash back on top spending category with no activation required
• +No annual fee makes it easy to keep long-term for credit history
• +10 eligible bonus categories including dining, gas, groceries, streaming, and transit
• +0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months
• +Pairs with Strata Premier to unlock ThankYou Points transfer partners

Cons

• −$395 annual fee requires maximizing credits to get value
• −10X earning rate requires booking through Capital One Travel portal
• −Guest lounge access changing to $35/guest at Priority Pass after Feb 2026
• −No airline transfer bonuses unlike some competitors
• −Travel credits only work for Capital One Travel bookings

• −$500 monthly cap limits value for high spenders (max $25/month in bonus rewards)
• −3% foreign transaction fee makes it poor for international travel
• −Cannot manually select bonus category - algorithm chooses based on spend
• −Only one Custom Cash card allowed per person
• −48-month restriction on welcome bonus if you've had one before