Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card Review: Earn Cash Back as You Build Credit
Rating as of Aug. 1, 2022 based on a review of services March 9, 2023.
- Poor
The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card is an ideal choice for anyone looking to bump up their credit score with responsible card use while earning cash back with every purchase.
-
Earn 1.5% cash back
-
No annual fee
-
Put down a refundable $200 security deposit to get a $200 initial credit line
- No annual or hidden fees, and you can earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day. See if you're approved in seconds
- Put down a refundable $200 security deposit to get a $200 initial credit line
- Building your credit? Using a card like this responsibly could help
- Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges
- You could earn back your security deposit as a statement credit when you use your card responsibly, like making payments on time
- Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months with no additional deposit needed
- 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
- Monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One. It's free for everyone
- Enjoy up to 6 months of complimentary Uber One membership statement credits through 11/14/2024
Disclosure – Capital One is an advertising partner of MoneyUnder30.
Looking to build or repair your credit while earning rewards? You’re in the right place.
One of the most effective ways to improve your credit is to use a secured credit card. Secured cards let you “secure” a small line of credit by putting down a deposit with the bank. Then, as you make on-time payments, the bank will report your responsible activity to the credit bureaus. When your credit builds enough, you can qualify for an unsecured card and you’ll get your deposit back. Bingo, bango!
It’s exceedingly rare for a secured card to come with cash back rewards, but the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card is a glorious exception.
Key Facts/Overview
- Best for – Earning rewards while building credit
- Intro offer – None
- Cash back – 1.5% on all purchases
- Intro APR – N/A
- Regular APR – 29.74% (Variable).
- Annual fee – $0.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Earn cash back while you build credit — 1.5% cash back on all purchases is simply unheard of for a secured credit card.
- No annual fee — Not all secured cards waive the annual fee, but this one does.
- Generous suite of rewards card perks — You’ll get all the protections of a regular Capital One rewards card, like $0 Fraud Liability, CreditWise, and more.
- Automatic credit line reviews — You can automatically be considered for a higher credit line within six months with no additional deposit.
- Friendly nods to credit builders — Little things like a soft pull during pre-approval and a card without “Secured” emblazoned on it make life a little easier for credit builders.
Cons
- Punishing late payment fee — Miss a payment? That’s a paddlin’ — you’ll be hit with a late fee as high as $40.
- High APR — Interest charges will add up if you make only the minimum payment on your balance rather than paying it off in full.
- May be a while before you get your deposit back — Your deposit is refundable, but only when your account is deemed eligible for unsecuring. Therefore, having your deposit withheld until *shrug* is a drawback.
In-Depth Analysis
Deposit and Line of Credit
The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card requires a minimum security deposit of $200 to get an initial $200 credit line.
Capital One will perform an automatic credit line review after just six months, at which point you can be granted a higher credit line without an additional deposit.
Rewards
I’m thrilled to finally include a rewards section in a review of a secured credit card because I’ve long felt that anyone rebuilding their credit the right way deserves cash back like everyone else.
The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card includes 1.5% cash back on all purchases, just like an excellent-credit rewards card. For example, for every $1,000 spent, you’ll get $15 cash back.
Perks
Capital One treats secured cardholders like their regular cardholders from day one. You’ll get the full suite of Capital One cardholder perks, such as:
- 24/7 Customer Service
- $0 Fraud Liability
- CreditWise for monitoring your credit
- Emergency Card Replacement
APR
As expected, the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card has a pretty high APR right out of the gate: 29.74% (Variable). No intro period, no balance transfer incentive, nada.
They do, at least, offer a subtle “grace period” of sorts — your payment due date is 25 days after your billing cycle ends (but pretend you didn’t read that and set up Autopay!).
Read more: How Grace Periods Work
Annual Fee
The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card charges no annual fee, which isn’t always the case with secured cards. Some charge $40 or more, so kudos to Capital One there.
Other Fees
The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card’s miscellaneous fees are pretty typical for a credit card:
- Balance transfer fee – $0 at this Transfer APR
- Cash advance fee – 3% of the amount of the cash advance, but not less than $3
- Late payment fee – Up to $40
The only “gotcha” fee, I suppose, is the sheer size of Capital One’s late payment fee. So you’ll definitely, 100% want to set up Autopay!
Read more: Automatic Payments Explained — Everything You Need to Know about AutoPay
Other Unique Benefits
The cherry on top of this secured card sundae is how Capital One hasn’t put the word “Secured” anywhere on it. This is a kind gesture to anyone who doesn’t want to broadcast to the dinner table that they’re building (or rebuilding) their credit. They’ll also pre-approve you with a soft pull, which should bring a sigh of relief!
Read more: Soft Pull vs. Hard Pull — How Each Affects Your Credit
Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card Compared
Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
Best for Secured card with rewards Rebuilding credit No credit
Credit required Limited 500+ None
Minimum deposit $200 $49 $200
APR 29.74% (Variable) 29.74% (Variable) 21.89% (Variable)
Annual fee $0 $0 $35
Rewards 1.5% cash back on all purchases None None
Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card
The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card is clearly designed to help folks with poor credit get back on track to rebuilding their credit with responsible use.
First, it charges no annual fee — uncommon among secured cards — and second, you can secure an initial line of credit of $200 for a deposit as small as $49. All things considered, this is an excellent all-rounder for repairing credit.
Check out our full review of the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card.
OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
Maybe your issue isn’t that you have poor credit, but no credit. As an immigrant or a student you simply don’t have enough credit history for a rewards card and need a starter card to prove you’re financially responsibility.
If so, the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card may be the perfect fit! The card may charge a small annual fee, but it makes up for it with low APR, a wide range of deposit options, and no credit requirement at all.
Check out our full review of the Opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card here.
Should You Get the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card?
The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card is a perfect fit if you’re looking to bump up your credit score while earning cash back, and you’re confident that you’ll be able to pay off your balance in full and on time.
It’s not an ideal card if you’re seeking low interest, or if you’re prone to missing payments on your balance.
How to Apply for the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card?
Head here and fill out the form (personal info, contact info, financial info) to see if you’ll be pre-approved for the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card. Since pre-approval is a soft pull there’s no harm in it — but before you click “Apply Now”, be sure you fully understand the card’s terms and conditions.
After filling out the app and getting approved, you’ll submit a deposit — make sure you won’t need that money anytime soon, since you’ll need to cancel your account or qualify for being unsecured to get it back.
Finally, don’t forget to set up Autopay!
Summary
If you’re looking improve your credit score, and wouldn’t mind earning some nice cash back while you do it, the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card is an easy choice.
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.Read more:
About the author
