Review: Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard

Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard

The Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard is a tremendously accessible card designed for people who are looking to build or rebuild their credit.

What makes this card so accessible is that it has no annual fee and no minimum income requirement, and, most critically, it offers guaranteed approval!

Additionally, it’s important to note that while you won’t earn any rewards with this card like you can with other no-annual-fee credit card options, you can think of the ability to build/rebuild your credit as a considerable reward in its own right.

Key Information

• Annual fee: $0
• Minimum income requirements: N/A
• Helps build/rebuild your credit score
• Offers cardholders product protection and travel insurance
• Annual interest rate of 29.9% (21.9% in Quebec) on purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances

Advantages to the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard

Guaranteed approval

The first and most notable advantage to the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard is that it offers guaranteed approval.

This combined with the $0 annual fee and lack of minimum income requirements makes the card an accessible choice for just about everyone.

To take advantage of the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard’s guaranteed approval, you must meet the following four conditions:

• You are at least the age of majority in your province or territory of residence.
• You’re authorize to have credit.
• You don’t have any pending applications.
• Your account is in good standing.

Capital One also lets you confirm that you’ll be approved without doing a credit check, so you can know your status before filing an actual application.

To see if you’re pre-approved, simply go to the Capital One website and enter the requested information.

Plus, if for some reason you’re not approved for the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard, you can also explore whether you’re instead eligible for a secured version of the card that is available in the Capital One Guaranteed Secured Mastercard.

Travel insurance

Despite having no annual fee, the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard still offers a handful of travel-focused insurance offerings for cardholders who enjoy taking their adventures on the road and around the world.

To help you save money on your next trip, the card comes with the following coverage:

• common carrier travel accident insurance
• baggage delay insurance
• car rental collision/damage waiver insurance

Purchase protection

In addition to the travel insurance coverages mentioned above, the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard also gives you added peace of mind on retail purchases thanks to its purchase protection benefits.

With purchase protection, you’re covered against loss, damage, and theft anywhere in the world for 120 days from the date of purchase when you pay for an eligible item with your card.

The card also lets you double the length of an eligible item’s original manufacturer’s warranty with its extended warranty coverage. This perk gives you up to a two-year warranty when you buy an eligible item with your Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard.

Mastercard benefits

As a Mastercard product, the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard can be used at Costco, letting you build your credit while stocking up on groceries and household goods.

Additionally, you’ll also have Mastercard Global Services available to help you with an emergency card replacement, emergency cash advance, and more if your card is lost or stolen.

Cardholders also enjoy the Mastercard’s Zero Liability feature, which means that you don’t have to pay for any unauthorized purchases that show up on your card.

Extra features and benefits

With the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard, you will also have access to Capital One’s easy-to-navigate app where you can set custom alerts to remind about upcoming bill payments or to let you know that you’re nearing your credit limit.

The app will also let you know about unexpected changes and charges like a monthly bill getting way more expensive or a charge showing up twice.

Additionally, Capital One helps you keep track of your credit score for free with its Credit Keeper feature, further supporting your financial goals.

Our Review of the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard

The Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard is great card for anyone looking to build or rebuild their credit score, and who also wants the near-certainty that they’re guaranteed to be approve for the card.

With no annual fee and no minimum income requirement, the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard is wonderfully accessible and won’t cost you anything month after month, helping you build your financial confidence without burden.

It’s also nice that Capital One offers a secured version of the same card (Capital One Guaranteed Secured Mastercard) to support applicants who don’t qualify for the non-secured version.

Now, it’s worth noting again that this credit card doesn’t offer anything in terms of rewards, but given the card’s guaranteed approval and ability to help build up your credit score, it’s still a solid choice for those focused on improving their credit scores.

Plus, despite having no annual fee, the card does give you some travel insurance coverage and purchase protection benefits to round out its offerings.

Bottom Line

The Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard is a strong choice for anyone just starting out on their credit journey, and especially for those looking to rebuild their credit score.

Thanks to its guaranteed approval, no annual fee, and no minimum income requirement, the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard lets you apply with confidence and then carry this confidence into your financial habits.

Whether you’re a student or young adult, a newcomer to Canada, or anyone looking to boost your credit score and build credit history, this is definitely a card worth consider.

FAQs

How do I pay my Capital One credit card?

When you’re ready to pay your Capital One credit card, simply follow these steps:

1) Sign into your bank’s website or app

2) Navigate to “Bill Payment”

3) Add your Capital One card as a “new payee.” For this, you’ll use your Capital One credit card’s 16-digit numbers the account number.

4) Follow your specific bank’s instructions to complete the set-up.

5) You can now pay your Capital One credit through your bank’s online site or app.

How do I increase my credit limit with Capital One?

You can increase your Capital One credit limit by either 1) requesting an increase through the app or the website, or 2) contacting Capital One’s customer service team by phone.

In most cases, the amount that you’re able to increase your limit by will depend on a number of factors, including your income, your payment history, and your current limit.

What can I do if I’m not approved for the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard?

If you’re not approved for the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard, you may want to consider looking at the Capital One Guaranteed Secured Mastercard as an alternative.

This option is nearly identical to the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard except that it requires you to provide security funds in order to access the card.

Will the Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard help me build credit faster than a secured card from another issuer?

The Capital One Guaranteed Mastercard reports your activity to both Equifax and TransUnion every month, which is the same cadence as Home Trust, Neo and most other Canadian credit-builder issuers. So the speed at which your score improves depends almost entirely on your behaviour — keeping utilization below 30%, paying the full balance every month and never missing a due date — rather than on the specific issuer. Most users see their score climb 50 to 100 points within 6 to 12 months of disciplined use, regardless of which guaranteed-approval card they pick.