Why the CapitalOne Savor Is the Perfect Partner for Your Venture X
We previously reviewed the CapitalOne Venture X Card and shared why it’s an excellent starting point for anyone diving into the world of transferable points and miles. While the Venture X is a powerhouse in terms of redeeming travel rewards, we briefly mentioned a secret weapon for supercharging your earnings: the CapitalOne Savor Rewards Card.
Today, we’re digging deeper. The Savor card is easily one of the most-used cards in our wallets, earning us more rewards on a daily basis than almost any other card we own.
The Evolution of the Savor Lineup
Over the last two years, CapitalOne has revamped its Savor lineup. Previously, the family consisted of a $95 annual fee Savor Cash card (offering 4% back on dining, entertainment, streaming, and 3% on groceries) and a Savor One card with no annual fee (offering 3% back on dining, entertainment, streaming and groceries). Both cards offered 1% on all other purchases.
In July 2024, CapitalOne simplified things—though the names can still be a bit confusing:
- The Discontinued Savor Cash Card: The $95 annual fee version is no longer open to new applicants. If you already have it, you can keep using it.
- The New “Savor Cash Rewards”: CapitalOne took the old fee-free Savor One and renamed it simply the Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card. This card has no annual fee and is the primary option for those with good to excellent credit.
- The Savor for Fair Credit: In 2025, CapitalOne introduced a version of the Savor for those with fair credit, and brought back the SavorOne name. It offers the same 3% categories but carries a $39 annual fee.
Savor Card Benefits at a Glance
Category | Savor Rewards (Good-Excellent Credit) | SavorOne Rewards (Fair Credit) |
Annual Fee | $0 | $39 |
Dining & Grocery | 3% Cash Back | 3% Cash Back |
Entertainment & Streaming | 3% Cash Back | 3% Cash Back |
Capital One Travel (Hotels/Cars through the Capital One Portal) | 5% Cash Back | 5% Cash Back |
Capital One Entertainment (through the Capital One Portal) | 8% Cash Back | 8% Cash Back |
All Other Purchases | 1% Cash Back | 1% Cash Back |
Foreign Transaction Fee | None | None |
Sign-up Bonus | $200 (after $500 spend) | N/A |
Pro Tip: Use the CapitalOne Pre-Approval tool to see which version you qualify for without a hard “ding” to your credit score.
The Master Strategy: Converting Cash to Miles
While the Savor is marketed as a cashback card, the real magic happens when you pair it with a Venture card (like the Venture X).
You can convert your Savor cashback into Venture miles at a 1:1 ratio. For example, $10.00 in cashback becomes 1,000 Venture miles. Since Venture miles can be transferred to high-value airline and hotel partners, this “one-way street” conversion effectively turns your 3% dining/grocery spend into 3x airline miles before any other bonuses or transfers.
Maximizing with a “Player Two”
If you have a spouse or partner, you can maximize this strategy together. By adding your partner as an Authorized User (no fee) they can also earn on their spend to increase the rewards you earn. You can also make them an Account Manager so they can see both accounts in their Capital One app and easily move rewards from the Savor to any Venture miles account.
Some Notes on the Savor:
- 3% on grocery does not apply to your discount chains like Target and Walmart.
- While we highly recommend moving your cashback to miles to get the best redemption via travel partners with Venture cards, there are many other uses for your cashback if you aren’t a big traveler.
- Cashback and miles can be redeemed via CapitalOne entertainment to help pay for tickets to various forms on entertainment. While not the best use of points, we have previously used some of our cashback earned via the Savor Card to purchase tickets to a comedy show or sporting event via VividSeats.
- CapitalOne Entertainment also will occasionally offer card holder exclusives. These exclusives can be a much better deal than your regular redemption rates. One of the favorites are exclusives to MLB games. These are often great seats for only 5,000 miles per seat. They usually only release 4 per game, and they can go quickly. If you are interested, be on the lookout and grab them quickly!
Local Perks and Insider Tips
If you’re live in the D.C. area, the CapitalOne cards offer some unique perks at the CapitalOne Arena:
- Cardholders have a dedicated entrance and have 15 minutes early access
- 10% off ticket sales when using the link on the CapitalOne arena site to the Fevo site with your CapitalOne credit card
- 10% off suite rentals
- 10% off concessions
- 20% off merchandise sales
Final Thoughts
From our understanding, CapitalOne is less likely to approve individuals with many open credit card accounts, therefore, we generally suggest the CapitalOne cards being one of the first cards you apply for when starting to collect points and miles to help earn your travels. The Savor Cash Rewards card is an easy card to recommend due it’s great selection of bonus categories and no annual fee. Visit the CapitalOne Website for more information about the card.
Do you have a question about how the Savor card fits into your strategy? Leave us a comment below!
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