Capital One offers several popular and unique credit cards in Canada. Whether you are looking for a credit card to build your credit, cash back credit cards, low interest rate credit cards, or a card that offers travel insurance benefits, there’s a Capital One credit card option for you.
Even better is that three of Capital One’s credit cards have no annual fees.
While the credit cards offered by this issuer are way more popular in the U.S., their diverse card offerings have also gained ground in Canada, especially among those looking to repair their credit.
This Capital One review covers the credit cards they offer in Canada, how to sign up, how to contact Capital One and more.
Capital One Credit Cards in Canada
Capital One offers five credit cards in Canada. A sixth card provided in partnership with Costco is no longer available as of March 2022.
Capital One line of credit cards can be divided into two general categories:
Capital One Guaranteed Credit Cards
These cards are guaranteed for approval, and they are useful if you want to establish or rebuild credit.
- Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard
- Capital One Low-Rate Guaranteed Mastercard
- Capital One Guaranteed Secured Mastercard
Capital One Rewards Credit Cards
These no-fee credit cards offer travel rewards or cash back on your purchases and include:
- Capital One Aspire Travel Platinum Mastercard
- Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard
1. Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard
This guaranteed approval credit card has a $59 annual fee and is handy when you need to do something about your credit profile.
A bad or poor credit score often means you cannot qualify for credit or loans, and when you do, it’s at prohibitively high-interest rates.
There are two versions of the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard – a Gold version that is unsecured and a ‘secured’ option that is discussed later.
Applicants who do not qualify for the Guaranteed Mastercard (Gold Card) due to their poor credit history are considered for the Secured Guaranteed Mastercard.
The Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard offers:
- Free price protection within 60 days of item purchase (up to $500 per year)
- Purchase protection for up to 120 days
- Extended warranty for up to one extra year
- Travel accident insurance (up to $250,000)
- Car rental insurance for up to 31 consecutive days
- Baggage delay insurance (up to $100 per day for up to 3 days)
- 24/7 travel assistance
The annual interest rate on this card is 19.80% for purchases and balance transfers; and 21.9% for cash advances. It has no minimum income requirement.
2. Capital One Low Rate Guaranteed Mastercard
Low-rate credit cards are rare in Canada. The Capital One Low Rate Mastercard offers a 14.9% rate on purchases and balance transfers and 21.9% for cash advances.
Cardholders enjoy purchase protection, price protection, travel accident insurance, car rental insurance, baggage delay, and travel assistance.
If you carry a balance and have a less-than-stellar credit score, this card can save you money in interest fees over time.
Its 14.9% purchase annual interest rate is at least a 5% savings compared to the regular 19.99% charged by regular credit cards.
Note that this card has a $79 annual fee, which is somewhat high compared to some cards on our list of the best low rate credit cards in Canada.
If your application for the Low Rate Guaranteed Mastercard is not approved, you are automatically considered for the Guaranteed Secured Mastercard instead.
3. Capital One Guaranteed Secured Mastercard
This secured credit card is similar to the Guaranteed Mastercard, except that you are required to provide a security deposit. If you have no credit history or are looking to repair your credit, this card can help.
To qualify, you must provide collateral of $75 or $300. When you close your account in good standing, the security fund is returned to you. You can increase your credit limit for this account by up to $2,500.
The Capital One Guaranteed Secured Mastercard has a $59 annual fee and a purchase interest rate of 19.8% (21.9% for cash advances). This card does not offer any perks or rewards.
4. Capital One Aspire Travel Platinum Mastercard
This no-fee card is one of Capital One’s rewards card offerings. It offers users 1 reward mile per $1 spent on any purchase.
100 miles are equivalent to $1 in travel miles or 1 mile=1 cent for a 1% earn rate. There is no limit to how many miles you can earn.
The Capital One Aspire Travel Platinum Mastercard offers free price protection, purchase security, and extended warranty benefits. You also enjoy travel accident insurance (up to $250,000), car rental, and delayed baggage insurance benefits.
It has a 19.80% interest rate for purchases and 21.9% for cash advances.
5. Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard
Similar to its counterpart, the Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard offers a 1% reward rate. For this card, you earn 1% cash back on all purchases, and you can redeem your cash back as either a cheque or as a statement credit.
There is no limit to how much cash back you can earn within a year.
This card offers Capital One’s standard suite of insurance coverages, including price and purchase protection, extended warranty, travel accident insurance (up to $250,000), delayed baggage, car rental insurance, and 24/7 travel assistance.
Its annual interest rate is 19.8% for purchases and balance transfers; and 21.9% for cash advances.
Capital One Costco Mastercard
*The Capital One Costco Card has been replaced by the CIBC Costco Mastercard and is no longer available.
Learn about the new CIBC Costco Mastercard.
The no-fee Capital One Costco credit card used to offer:
- 3% cash back on restaurants
- 2% cash back on gas purchases
- Up to 1% cash back on all other purchases
For the 1% cash back category, you earn 0.50% on your first $3,000 in purchases and 1% after that.
You can earn a better cash back rate on general grocery purchases using a no-fee cash back card such as the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card (Costco excluded) or Neo Financial Mastercard (includes Costco).
How To Sign Up For a Capital One Credit Card
To apply for a Capital One credit card, you must be at least the age of the majority in your province or territory, i.e. 18 or 19 years old.
For the guaranteed credit cards, you must meet other conditions and should:
- Not have applied for a Capital One account more than once in the last 30 days
- Not have an existing Capital One account or a pending application for one
- Not have a Capital One account that is not in good standing in the last year
- Provide security funds (applicable to the secured Guaranteed card only)
You can apply online at Capitalone.ca. If you are applying for the Capital One Costco Mastercard, you must have a current Costco membership and can apply for the card through Capital One or Costco.
To check the status of your credit card application, call 1-877-277-5901.
About Capital One
Capital One Bank is one of America’s largest banks, with over 755 branches. It was founded there in 1994. The bank also operates in Canada and the United Kingdom.
Capital One Canada has been offering financial products in Canada for over 20 years and has offices in Toronto, Montreal, and Kitchener-Waterloo.
The company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “COF” and is included in the S&P 500 Index.
Capital One’s customers can manage their accounts via a web interface (capitalone.ca) or the Capital One mobile app available on iPhone and Android devices.
Capital One Canada Contact
You can reach Capital One Canada for routine account inquiries at 1-800-481-3239 (toll-free in Canada or the U.S.) or 1-804-934-2010 (outside Canada or the U.S.).
General correspondence can be mailed to their Ontario office at P. O. Box 503, Stn. D, Scarborough, ON M1R 5L1. If you prefer to make payments by cheque or money order, mail it to P. O. Box 521, Stn. D, Scarborough, ON M1R 5S4.
Alternatives To Capital One Credit Cards in Canada
While Capital One Canada credit cards are good, alternatives exist, and some of them may be more attractive in terms of rewards or rates depending on your needs.
Here are some alternative credit cards to consider:
1. Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card: This card offers unlimited 2% cash back rewards in up to three categories of spending, including grocery (excludes Costco), restaurants, recurring bill payments, gas, entertainment, and more.
You earn 0.50% on all other purchases. The Tangerine Money-Back card also provides a low 1.95% balance transfer rate for six months, purchase protection, and extended warranty benefits.
Income requirement: $12,000. This is one of the best no-fee credit cards in Canada.
Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card
Rewards: Earn up to 2% unlimited cash back in up to 3 spending categories and 0.50% on all other purchases.
Welcome offer: Get an extra 10% cash back on up to $1,000 in spending in the first 2 months ($100 value); 1.95% balance transfer rate for 6 months.
Interest rates: 19.95% for purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances.
Annual fee: $0
2. Neo Credit: The Neo Credit card offers up to 5% unlimited cash back at over 12,000 partner stores. It has no annual fees.
Income requirement: None. Get more details in this Neo Card review.
Neo Credit card
Rewards: Average of 5% cash back at 12,000+ partners and a guaranteed minimum of 0.50% cash back across all purchases
Welcome offer: Get up to 15% cash back on your first-time purchases, plus a $25 welcome cash bonus.
Interest rates: 19.99% – 29.99% on purchases; 22.99% – 31.99% for cash advances.
Annual fee: $0
Capital One Credit Card FAQs
Capital One offers five credit cards in Canada that focus on building your credit or earning rewards.
You can visit Capital One’s website and click the “Apply Now” button. Complete and submit the application form online. To confirm the status of your credit card application, you can call them at 1-877-277-5901 and select option 3. If you are applying for the Capital One Costco Mastercard, you can also apply for it at any Costco Wholesale warehouse.
You can pay your Capital One Mastercard balance through your online banking or by filling out a pre-authorized debit (PAD) authorization form to enable automatic pre-authorized debit payments. These payment options are also applicable to the Capital One Costco Mastercard.
Capital One no longer offers the Costco Mastercard, as it was replaced by a CIBC-Costco branded card in 2022.
