Capital One vs American Express (Amex)

While Capital One and American Express both have high customer ratings and customer satisfaction, it will be more important to address your financial situation and credit needs when deciding between the two companies. 

Credit score

Capital One has credit card options for borrowers of all credit levels, while American Express generally requires good, if not excellent credit (700+) for approval on many of its credit cards.

Based on credit factors alone, we would recommend Capital One because there is a higher likelihood of approval, no matter your credit score. However, if you have excellent credit and are looking for generous and prestigious rewards programs, we would be quick to recommend American Express.

Rewards

American Express is well-known for its rewards options, including cash back, travel, and business rewards. If you have excellent credit and will be able to maximize on rewards through your spending and use of a card, American Express would likely be the best choice for you.

However, it is important to note that American Express cards generally carry a higher annual fee than you might see with other card issuers.

Capital One offers a range of rewards credit cards with options to earn cash back, points, or miles. You can filter your credit card search by your credit level (rebuilding, fair, good, or excellent) to see which rewards cards are available to you; many cards have a low annual fee or no fee at all.

Fees

In general, Capital One will have lower fees than American Express. Here is a breakdown of fees you can expect with either company:

Of the Capital One cards that carry an annual fee, this fee is low in comparison to American Express. However, American Express offers much more generous rewards.

Both companies charge a similar late payment fee, but American Express does charge up to $40 for late payments.

Capital One credit cards do not have a foreign transaction fee, and there are many American Express cards that don’t charge this fee either.

Credit cards vs. charge cards

One important distinction between Capital One and American Express is that some cards offered by American Express aren’t credit cards, but are charge cards.

A charge card is similar to a credit card in function, but a charge card doesn’t have a spending limit and cardholders are generally expected to pay their bill in full each month. Although charge cards don’t have a set spending limit, that doesn’t mean that they offer unlimited spending.

Thus, if you are looking at American Express card options, make sure you read rates and terms carefully to know which type of card you are applying for.

Capital One doesn’t offer charge cards.

Top-rated credit cards

The Capital One® Venture® Rewards card and American Express® Gold card are top-ranked rewards cards in the credit card industry. Here’s how they compare:

_{*Note: Variable APR ranges are subject to change frequently.}

Based on annual fees alone, Capital One might seem like the better choice since $250 might seem like a steep fee. But, the rewards and benefits you get with the American Express Gold card can make the steep annual fee worth it.

However, if you anticipate that you won’t take full advantage of the benefits, by spending upwards of $10,000 on the card annually, it might be more advantageous for you to choose the Capital One Venture Rewards card and save more on the annual fee.