Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card review: Flat-rate rewards for fair credit

Unlike the QuicksilverOne, the Upgrade Visa* does not charge an annual fee. Its regular  APR could also be significantly lower than the rate you’ll get on the QuicksilverOne, depending on your credit score. If you qualify for a lower APR with the Upgrade Visa, you could save more on interest over time if you carry a balance. 

It’s also important to note that while the rewards rates for these two cards are the same, how you earn those rewards is different. The QuicksilverOne earns 1.5 percent unlimited flat-rate cash back on purchases, while the Upgrade Visa card earns 1.5 percent unlimited cash back on card purchases every time you make a payment. You can also earn 5 percent cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel with the QuicksilverOne, adding to its value for those who book travel often and want to cash in on elevated rates by using the Capital One Travel portal.

Both options are unsecured, so you won’t need to tie up funds into a security deposit. However, you must pay the non-refundable $39 annual fee on the QuicksilverOne each year (See Rates & Fees).  If affordability is top-of-mind and your credit is in a good spot to get approval for a reasonable APR, the Upgrade Visa may be the more cost-effective option.

The Mission Lane Cash Back Visa Credit Card is top choice for cardholders with fair credit, as you can earn flat-rate cash back on all purchases along with an elevated rate for qualifying purchases. Plus, Mission Lane will consider you for a credit limit increase after seven months if your account is in good standing. Along with no required security deposit, this card can be a good fit for credit builders.

The Mission Lane Cash Back Visa also has an APR range that is lower than the QuicksilverOne’s variable APR, so you could potentially have lower interest — plus no annual fee. However, even though the QuicksilverOne has an annual fee (See Rates & Fees), you’re eligible for a credit limit review after six months, which is shorter than the Mission Lane Cash Back Visa’s seven-month credit limit review. Also, the Mission Lane Cash Back Visa has a low starting credit limit, so it could be more difficult for you to keep your credit utilization ratio low than with the QuicksilverOne.

Notably, if you need to pay off debt, you may want to consider a balance transfer credit card with an intro APR period. The Discover it® Secured Card has no annual fee, flat-rate cash back at gas stations and restaurants and a balance transfer intro APR offer for a short period. Not only that, this card has an outstanding welcome offer, as Discover will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year. You can earn rewards with both cards, but having the Discover it® Secured Card in your wallet along with the QuicksilverOne can give you a higher earning potential.

You could also consider another credit card for fair credit that has no annual fee or rewards program, like the Capital One Platinum Credit Card (See Rates & Fees). You can earn flat-rate rewards with the QuicksilverOne Card and a supplemental credit-building boost with the Platinum Card when you pair them. Opening a second card like this one increases your available credit — potentially making it easier to maintain a low credit utilization — and if you’re approved for a higher credit limit with the QuicksilverOne after meeting the requirement, this would be increased even further.

Read more: Capital One Platinum vs. Capital One QuicksilverOne

Newcomers to credit cards should especially consider the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Card, as it is designed for people who are just starting out with credit cards and want to build their credit score and earn rewards. It's also a great way to move from a beginner card to something more advanced once you’ve gotten your score and credit profile to where you want it to be.

This card is an excellent choice for people with fair credit who are working on improving spotty credit histories. You not only have the chance for a higher credit limit with consistent on-time payments, which will in return benefit your debt-to-credit ratio, but can use CreditWise to keep track of your progress when using the card, all while earning flat-rate rewards on new purchases.

A credit-building card’s cost has a large influence on its overall score. This is because cards in this category tend to be much pricier than traditional credit cards designed for people with a good or better credit score. 

We compare a card’s total cost, including any annual fees, account activation fees, monthly fees and more against the total cost of other cards in the credit-building category and assign each card a score based on its affordability. We also factor rewards-earning potential into our assessment of a credit-building card’s total cost, subtracting expected earnings from the sum of its fees. 

To get a sense of a credit-building card’s rewards-earning potential, we estimate its average annual rewards rate and average annual earnings based on the most popular spending categories (as covered in the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer spending report). 

However, we use a slightly lower spending assumption ($300 per month or $3,600 per year) to estimate average earnings, assuming credit-builders will start out with a lower credit limit, will want to keep credit utilization low and will focus primarily on small purchases they can easily pay off.

A card’s APR is also a major factor in its credit-building score. Each card’s average APR is compared against the average APR of other cards in the category, and the cards with lower-than-average APRs receive a higher rating. 

Though high APRs are hard to avoid when you’re just starting out or working on your score, credit-builders should strive for as low an APR as possible since they’re likely to either be new to managing cards or trying to establish better financial habits and avoid falling into debt.

Along with a credit-building card’s cost, our rating system takes into account how easy the card makes it to build credit. To assess this, we evaluate its credit limit potential and minimum deposit requirement.

Unsecured cards with a high starting credit limit and secured cards that let you put down a large deposit and get a matching high credit limit will score the highest according to our “Ease of building credit” rubric and are more likely to appear on our list. 

This is because a high credit limit can make it much easier to keep your credit utilization low, a primary credit-building factor that makes up 30 percent of your FICO credit score. 

Secured cards have a slight advantage in this category since the maximum credit limit on a secured card tends to be much higher than the typical starting credit limit on an unsecured card that’s available with a bad or fair credit score. However, unsecured credit-building cards have the upper hand in another key aspect of building credit: accessibility. 

Cards that carry no or a low deposit requirement can also receive a high score according to our “Ease of building credit” rubric since these cards offer a lower barrier to entry than secured cards that require you to put up hundreds of dollars in an upfront deposit. 

Indeed, some users may prefer to pay a non-refundable $50 annual fee while they work on their credit score than tie up hundreds in a refundable security deposit.

We also evaluate a credit-building card’s benefits based on how useful they are for someone looking to build a positive credit history or save money on everyday spending. 

We consider the inclusion of a rewards program and access to your credit score or a credit monitoring service of prime importance, along with the ability to prequalify for the card with only a soft credit pull and a clear path to increase your credit limit or graduate to an unsecured or full-fledged rewards card.

Cards that include these benefits are likely to score higher according to our credit-building card scoring rubric.

The recommended credit score to apply for the Capital One QuicksilverOne is fair to good, which ranges from 580 to 740 on the FICO scale.

The minimum starting credit limit for the QuicksilverOne is $300, but Capital One will consider your creditworthiness when determining your credit limit. You could increase your limit over time with responsible card use, like paying your bill on time and in full.

No, the QuicksilverOne is not a secured card, so you will not be required to put down a security deposit. There is, however, a $39 annual fee with this card. (See Rates & Fees)

You could be eligible for an increase on your credit limit in as little as six months with responsible card use.

Once you have increased your credit score with responsible habits, you can contact your issuer to discuss upgrading to another card like the Capital One Quicksilver.