Capital One is a well known bank in the US. Among other big banks it offers wide range of services like 360 Checking account, Zelle payments, ATMs, kids checking account, variety of Credit Cards and useful tools like CreditWise that provide an accurate credit score. Despite having bad PR with annoying slogan “What is in your wallet?” bank has a wide range of services like checking and credit accounts.
Should you open a checking account at Capital One?
Capital One 360 checking and savings accounts have no minimum balance and no monthly maintenance fee. In fact, Capital One has a lot of valuable benefits. To deposit cash to your Capital One account, you can use bank’s own ATMs or go to a CVS pharmacy and ask to add money to your account. On Capital One Mobile app you can generate special barcode and present it to the cashier. Cashier at pharmacy will scan and make the deposit. The deposit is free and limited to $999 per month. Using the retail store to load cash is not the only way to get your account funded. There are at least 5 ways to add money to Capital One account.
What is Capital One Teen Checking account?
When you have kids they often ask when they can have their own plastic card. Teens cannot have a credit card or take a loan. We don’t want they to get into debt before they understand what they are doing. However, they can have a checking account. How old do you have to be to get a bank account? Capital One has checking account for kids that is called Teen Money. It has a debit card that looks exactly like a normal one with a security chip, contactless payments feature, and a PIN code. Parent can lock and unlock the card, setup automatic transfers.
In addition to the Capital One Kids Checking account, kids savings account pays 0.3% interest. That APY is 3 times higher than one paid by savings account of big banks like Chase, Bank Of America, and Wells Fargo.
Unlike some other debit cards for kids, teen checking account has no annual or monthly fee. Competitors of Capital One like Current Bank and Greenlight charge you a fee for every child you link to your account.
Does Capital One have Zelle?
Yes. Capital One is one of the founding banks of the peer-2-peer payment system called Zelle. Together with big banks like Chase, Wells Fargo and others the new payment system was established. If you want to know more about Capital One and Zelle read article where you can find the answer whether Capital One has integrated Zelle, what limits on transactions it has and how to cancel your Zelle payment.
Does Capital One Bank have ATMs?
Unlike other online-only banks Capital One has own ATMs where you can deposit and withdraw cash at. Through these ATMs you can deposit paper checks. You can find these ATMs in Capital One Cafes and as a standalone ones. Ask for help if there are any difficulties or you need an advice. Representatives often offer you a free coffee.
Using Capital One debit card you can withdraw money. Use the 4-digit PIN number at ATMs of a fee free networks like MoneyPass and AllPoint. You can find these ATMs in convenience stores like 7-Eleven and some retails stores like CVS, Walgreens, and Target. There are more than 70,000 machines across the US. They are often co-branded with local banks or credit unions. You can also use third party ATMs, but it will cost you a fee.
Capital One Credit Cards
Beside checking and savings account, you can open secured credit cards to build or repair credit score. If your credit score is fine then Capital One bank offers premium credit cards with generous signup bonus. You must know how to increase your chances of being approved for a Capital One Credit card.
My favorite Capital One credit card is Quicksilver. It offers $200 signup bonus after you spend only $500 within first 3 months. Here is my referral link to apply for the credit card. Capital One has pre-qualification that should give you an idea if you can be approved. This way you are not going to have a credit inquiry.
Other Capital One credit cards like SavorOne Rewards and VentureOne Rewards provide similar bonus after you spend $500. With cards for excellent credit score you have to pay annual fee and you are have to spend more money within 3 months to get the bonus.
Premium credit cards
Higher tier credit cards like Venture Rewards and Savor Rewards charge an annual fee of $95, but have higher cash back on certain categories and higher signup bonus after you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.
Luxury credit cards
Capital One has a luxury credit card called Venture X Rewards with an annual fee $395. It offers 75,000 bonus miles after your spend $4,000 on purchases within the same 3 months.
Co-branded credit cards
In my opinion co-branded credit cards of Capital One are less impressive. Stores are niche and not many people know about them. For example, have you ever heard of Cabella’s Club or Bass Pro Shops? Capital One bank offers credit cards that have benefits at these stores. That is why I doubt you’ll enjoy these cards.
Capital One is especially valuable for building your credit score. Platinum Secured card offers $200 initial credit line with security deposit as little as $49 and up to the credit limit. After 6 months if your credit score increase, then bank may raise your credit limit. The most valuable benefit, in my opinion is graduation. When your credit score improves significantly Capital One bank can convert your secured card to a regular Platinum Mastercard and return your security deposit. To be eligible for graduation, you have to never miss a payment and pay your balance in full every month.
What is Capital One CreditWise?
When you build credit score it is nice to track how it changes and what factors make effect. CreditWise helps you to track your credit score. For example, how many inquiries and how many accounts you have. Credit utilization affects credit score tremendously. You have to read my article how accurate is Capital One CreditWise credit score tracker. CreditWise is similar in accuracy to credit score trackers like Credit Journey offered by Chase and MyCredit Guide from American Express. Other banks like Bank Of America and Wells Fargo provide less reliable score because. They update the score once a month. You may have 3 new credit inquiries and spike in credit utilization, yet see excellent but outdated credit score.