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Finding a credit card when you have fair credit is tough. But the right card can help you build credit and start qualifying for better borrowing options. If your credit score is between 580–670, you might consider the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® as your next credit card.
Quick Review
The Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® is a standard credit card for fair credit. It doesn’t offer much, as it comes without rewards, but it’s a good option for building credit and borrowing money on a straightforward credit card.
The biggest perk of the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® is that it comes without an annual fee, making it a low-cost and accessible option. Like all Capital One cards, it also doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee and offers credit-building resources to borrowers.
Among its credit tools, Capital One helps you monitor your credit score through CreditWise, which gives you free credit scores and assesses any changes in your credit.
Considering the credit monitoring and lack of annual fee, the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® is a low-risk credit-building option if you have fair credit. However, it has a high APR and doesn’t offer rewards, so keep looking if you want to earn cash back or are likely to carry a balance.
Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® Important Details
Basic Card Details
- Annual fee: $0
- APR: 28.49% (variable)
- Rewards: N/A
- Grace period: 25 days
Additional Information
- You may be considered for an increased credit limit as early as 6 months after account opening
- Get credit score monitoring for your TransUnion and Experian reports through CreditWise
- No liability for fraudulent charges made to your account
- Pay online using virtual card numbers through Eno®, Capital One’s virtual assistant
Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® Feature Breakdown
Learn more about the rates, fee, perks, and borrowing terms on the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard®.
Fees
- Annual fee: $0
- Balance transfer fee: 3% of transaction amount for balances transferred at promotional APR; none for balances transferred at regular transfer APR
- Cash advance fee: $10 or 3% (whichever is greater)
- Foreign transfer fee: None
- Late payment fee: Up to $40
Interest Rates
- Purchase APR: 28.49% (variable)
- Balance transfer APR: 28.49% (variable)
- Cash advance APR: 26.99% (variable)
- Penalty APR: None
Rewards
Unfortunately, the biggest drawback of the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® is that it doesn’t offer rewards. Rewards are usually available on credit cards for good to excellent credit, and rare to find on cards for fair credit and lower.
However, there are still rewards cards available in this credit score range, so keep looking if you have your heart set on earning cash back.
Cash Advance
You can take out cash advances with the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard®. Credit card cash advances are a way to get money out of a credit card, such as from an ATM. While this is a good method for getting funds out in an emergency, it’s not a recommended practice. The Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® has a cash advance fee of $10 or 3% of the transaction (whichever is greater) and a cash advance APR of 26.99%.
Given the fees and high APR, cash advances can be incredibly expensive on the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard®.
Balance Transfers
The terms and conditions for the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® state that balances transferred at the regular transfer APR or 28.49% (variable) will not be charged a balance transfer fee. However, balances transferred at a promotional APR will incur a fee of 3% of the transfer amount.
Capital One doesn’t specify a promotional APR period on the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard®, so whether or not you could be offered a lower transfer APR is unclear. However, we don’t recommend using this card for balance transfers at the current APR, as it’s comparatively high and will lead to expensive interest charges.
Authorized User
You can add an authorized user to your Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® for free. They’ll receive their own card with their name on it, but you’ll still be responsible for paying the credit card’s balance.
Benefits
The Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® card offers the following benefits:
- Automatic consideration for an increased credit line in as few as 6 months with consistent on-time payments
- $0 liability for fraudulent charges made with your card
- Use extra caution when shopping online by using virtual card numbers supplied through Capital One’s virtual assistant, Eno®
- CreditWise®, which monitors your TransUnion and Experian credit reports and updates you on any changes, as well as notifying you if your Social Security number or other personal information ends up on the dark web.
- Capital One Shopping, a Firefox browser extension that searches for coupon codes for you to apply at checkout.
It’s worth noting that CreditWise® checks your credit reports using soft inquiry, which means its checks don’t affect your credit scores.
Credit Reporting
Credit reporting is an important part of building up your credit, as the information voluntarily reported to the bureaus helps update your credit report. Luckily, Capital One reports monthly to the credit bureaus, which can help you build your way to good credit.
Application & Approval
Capital One specifies that fair credit borrowers are eligible for the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard®. They further define fair credit as:
- Having defaulted on a loan in the past 5 years
- Having limited credit history
- Having had your own line of credit for less than 3 years (including authorized users and new immigrants to the US)
Before you submit an application for the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard®, go through the pre-approval process. The pre-approval process will help you determine whether you qualify for the card without hurting your credit through a hard inquiry.
Customer Service
If you have further questions about the credit card, contact Capital One’s customer service team at: (877) 383-4802
Should You Get the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard®?
FinanceJar verdict
If you need a basic credit card to help build credit, the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® is worth consideration. While it doesn’t offer anything in the way of cashback rewards, Capital One hosts useful resources for credit builders, which can help you make your way to better cards in the future.
Who is this card for?
- Borrowers with fair credit: Having fair credit is tricky when you’re trying to open a new credit card. While “fair” doesn’t sound so bad, fair credit actually discounts you from qualifying for most credit cards. If you need an easy and reliable borrowing option, the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® is a good way to go. Use the card to build up to a good credit score, then ask to upgrade to a better card or start applying for more lucrative options.
- International travelers: If you frequently go abroad and need a credit card to use in your travelers, the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® is a great choice, as is any Capital One card. With no foreign transaction fees, you can save a lot of money you’d otherwise be charged on many credit cards.
Comparable Cards
To help you decide whether the Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® is the right credit card for you, see how it compares to similar cards for fair credit.
