What counts as “entertainment” on the Capital One Savor cards?

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Published on August 08, 2024 | 6 min read

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The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card is no longer taking new applicants as of July 2024, although existing cardholders can still use the card. Those interested in the Savor Card could consider the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card instead.

Key takeaways

The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is an excellent choice for those looking for entertainment and dining perks on a card with good rewards rates.
What Capital One includes as 'entertainment' spending is pretty broad, so cardholders will likely get good use out of the cash back rate.
Even though Capital One leaves this category pretty open, whether your purchase counts in the entertainment category will ultimately depend on how the merchant classifies their product.

There are a number of rewards cards that offer cash back for each dollar spent, but they don’t all work in the same way. Some cash back credit cards let you earn a flat rate of rewards regardless of what you buy, while others have rotating rewards categories that change each quarter. From there, you’ll also find cash back cards that offer tiered rewards for different types of purchases.

The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is a popular cash back credit card that falls in the latter category. This card, along with the discontinued Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card*, offers bonus rewards for dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and grocery store purchases, but the cards vary on annual fees and rewards rates. We break down what counts as entertainment to Capital One, as well as how to maximize your card earnings.

What counts toward the Capital One SavorOne card’s entertainment categories?

While grocery store purchases and dining are pretty straightforward bonus categories, it’s easy to wonder what counts as “entertainment” with the Capital One SavorOne. Fortunately, Capital One spells out exactly which purchases count as entertainment in the FAQs of its website.

Ticket purchases that count as entertainment with the Capital One SavorOne card include:

Movie theaters
Theatrical promoters
Sports promoters (professional and semi-professional live events)
Amusement parks
Tourist attractions
Aquariums and zoos
Dance halls
Bowling alleys
Pool halls
Record stores

Purchases that do not count as entertainment with Capital One include:

Golf courses
Collegiate sporting events
Purchases with non-industry entertainment merchant codes (like cable, digital streaming and membership services)

Do popular streaming services count as entertainment?

Purchases from popular streaming services do not count as entertainment purchases. Instead, “popular streaming services” qualifies for cash back as its own category. Some eligible music and video streaming services that could qualify for cash back include:

Netflix
Hulu
Disney+
Max (formerly HBO Max)
Apple.com, iTunes and Apple Music
Peacock
Spotify
ESPN+
FuboTV
Bandcamp
DirecTV
Sirius XM
Sling TV
Starz Entertainment
Tidal

Purchases from popular streaming services that do not qualify for cash back include:

Prime Video
AT&T TV
Verizon Fios On Demand
Audiobook subscription services
Fitness programming

How to earn entertainment rewards (and more) from home

If you don’t go out much, you may be wondering how you can maximize the bonus categories on these cards. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to take advantage of SavorOne entertainment rewards from the comfort of your home. Here are just a few:

Use the Capital One Entertainment portal for any occasional outings: The SavorOne card offers 8 percent cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases. If you’re planning to buy concert tickets or seats to a sporting event for next year or beyond, the SavorOne can help you rack up cash back fast in this category. Even if you don’t go out much, the portal is a good place to find events for special occasions.
Use the SavorOne for takeout and delivery: The SavorOne also offers rewards on dining purchases, even if you’re not dining in. So, if you’re ordering takeout and picking it up from your favorite restaurant, you can earn bonus rewards on those purchases, too.
Charge your streaming service purchases to your SavorOne: By using your SavorOne card for all eligible streaming purchases, you can earn cash back while binging your favorite shows or listening to your favorite artists.

A closer look at the Capital One SavorOne

At this point, you’re probably wondering whether the SavorOne card’s entertainment, popular streaming services and dining categories will provide enough value for you to sign up for the card. The SavorOne card is a good choice for those who spend a lot on dining and entertainment, but you might find more use out of a card with more benefits and perks — so long as you’re okay with potentially paying an annual fee, too.

Let’s take a look at the SavorOne card’s benefits and rewards rates details when compared to a card that’s considered a more premium option for foodies, such as the The American Express® Gold Card.

American Express Gold Card vs. Capital One SavorOne details

	American Express Gold Card	Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
Welcome bonus	Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases in your first 6 months from account opening. Plus, receive 20% back in statement credits (up to $100 back) on eligible purchases made at restaurants worldwide within the first 6 months from account opening (offer ends Nov. 6, 2024)	Earn a $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on qualifying purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
Rewards rate	4X points on restaurant purchases worldwide on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year (then 1X points) and U.S. supermarket purchases on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year (then 1X points) 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or via Amex Travel 2X points on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases via Amex Travel 1X points on all other purchases	8 percent cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases 5 percent cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 3 percent cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming subscriptions and grocery store purchases (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target) 1 percent on all other purchases
Highlighted benefits	Up to $120 in annual dining credits (up to $10 in monthly statement credits) for purchases with select companies (enrollment required) Up to $120 annual credits for Uber Cash (in $10 monthly Uber Cash statement credits) toward Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S. Up to $100 in credits each calendar year for Resy restaurants in the U.S. and other eligible Resy purchases (up to $50 semi-annually; enrollment required) Up to $84 in credits each year for Dunkin’ purchases (up to $7 monthly statement credits) when you pay at Dunkin’ (enrollment required)	No foreign transaction fees Travel accident insurance 24-hour travel assistance services Exclusive access and cardholder perks via Capital One Entertainment Exclusive reservations and ticket access via Capital One Dining
Annual fee	$325	$0

As you can see, you typically can get much more value from a foodie-centric rewards credit card with an annual fee like the Amex Gold as opposed to a foodie-centric cash back card without one — but that’s only if you can take advantage of the perks enough to justify the fee. If you’re fine with having less statement credits and more streamlined rewards in the form of cash back, then the no-annual-fee Capital One SavorOne is likely better for you.

Maximizing your Capital One SavorOne card

To get the most out of your SavorOne card, you’ll want to use your credit card for all purchases that qualify for bonus rewards. This includes qualifying dining and entertainment purchases as outlined by Capital One. However, it’s worth noting that some merchants may use a category code other than “entertainment.” In this case, any purchases made with these merchants would not qualify as entertainment purchases with Capital One. For example, some amusement parks may use the category code “merchandise” instead of “entertainment” for online tickets.

Also, the card lets you earn 3 percent cash back on grocery store purchases (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target), making this a good card for essentials. You may also be able to boost your rewards haul if you take advantage of the 8 percent cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases.

All of this category spending should make it easy to hit the $500 minimum spending requirement and earn the card’s welcome bonus of $200. Just don’t forget that you’ll have to spend the $500 within 3 months from account opening to earn it.

Lastly, to keep your cash back rewards from getting canceled out by mounting interest, you should also pay your credit card balance in full each month.

Keep in mind: If you have the now-discontinued Capital One Savor Cash Rewards, you’ll need to earn at least $95 in cash back to offset the card’s annual fee. For example, spending just $3,167 a year on grocery store purchases or $1,188 through Capital One Entertainment would cancel out the amount you spend on your annual fee.

The bottom line

If you want to maximize the entertainment category with the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards card, it’s smart to stay informed about which types of entertainment purchases count. Fortunately, this is a broad rewards category, so it’s easy for consumers to receive cash back on entertainment. Plus, SavorOne cardholders can earn rewards on popular streaming services, dining and other categories.

Once you feel like you’re getting the most out of this card and its entertainment category, consider pairing it with another Capital One credit card to boost your Capital One rewards even further.

*Information about the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate. Card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.