Capital One World MasterCard Credit Card

Capital One credit card review: World MasterCard

THE Captial One World Mastercard is mis-named - there are no travel benefits here - but a great reward scheme and excellent credit rate monitoring services from Equifax combine to give it a more worldly edge than your average credit card.

Unfortunately, the card does charge a £18 annual fee but, as long as you do use the card, it's a small pain which is likely to be offset by the £10 bonus paid every January along with your cash back.

That cash back is paid at a rate of 1% on all purchases - with no upper limit on the amount you can earn - should help to soften the blow even more.

Unlimited cashback is almost unheard of these days so the Capital One World Mastercard is much better for big spenders who'll only be able to earn a limited amount with cards with a ceiling on earnings, even when they give back a higher percentage ( the American Express Platinum credit card is a good example).

As you might expect from all this largess, however, the Capital One World Mastercard is very much a credit card for those with excellent credit histories.

You'll need to a long and near-spotless record, own your home and have an income of over £20,000 per annum to make an instant decision application.

In all, the Captial One World Mastercard gives back big (as long as you're a big spender) with the added bonus of Capital One extras.

Interest Rates and Fees
		Notes..
Typical APR	19.9% APR (variable)	The typical APR is the rate most people are offered.
Balance Transfers	17.26% p.a.
Balance Transfer Fee	None
Cash Withdrawal Rate	25.94% p.a. (variable)
Cash Withdrawal Fee	3% (£3 minimum)
Annual Fee	£18	-
Foreign Transaction Fee	2.75%	This fee will be charged if you make a purchase or cash withdrawal in a foreign currency.

Rewards
		Notes..
Reward #1	1% Cash Back	Earn 1% cash back on all your purchase spending. There are no cash back limits.
Reward #2	£10 yearly bonus	Get a £10 yearly cash back bonus every year. Paid in January.

Cardholder Services & Extras
Online Account Management		You can manage your Capital One World MasterCard credit card account online. Optional Paperless statements.
Internet Fraud Guarantee		100% Internet fraud guarantee if your card is used without your knowledge.
Fraud Monitoring		Active Fraud Protection Capital One will monitor your account for any unusual activity and alert you straight away.
Identity Protection		Identity Theft Assistance Help and guidance on how to prevent identity theft, as well as your own named advisor to help with your case from start to finish if you ever experience identity theft.
Credit Report Access		Identity Alerts If your credit report changes, for example if someone applies for your credit using your name or if any key changes are made to your Equifax credit report you will be alerted. 2 Free Credit Reports a Year Free access to your Equifax credit report two times each year.
MasterCard SecureCode		An extra layer of security when shopping online. Register and set up a password-protected identity-check when you shop online with participating online retailers.
Purchase Protection Insurance		Up to £1,000 per claim, up to £20,000 in any 12 month period Most items bought with the Capital One World MasterCard credit card will be covered against loss, damage or theft for 100 days after purchase (restricted to the UK only and any stolen purchases must be reported to the police within 24 hours). - Does not cover delivered items. - Exclusions apply.
Purchase Delivery Insurance		The 'Purchase Protection Insurance' policy does not include delivered items.
Comprehensive Travel Insurance
Travel Accident Insurance
Travel Inconvenience Insurance
Assistance Abroad
Emergency Card Replacement
Other Extras	- Up to 3 additional cardholders free.
Optional Extras	These are extras that you can choose, but you will have to pay for them. - Payment protection.

Payments & Payment Details
		Notes..
Credit Limit	£4000 minimum, £7500 maximum	Credit limit is subject to status.
Interest Free Period	Up to 45 days	For purchases where the balance is paid in full every month. There is no interest free period on balance transfers or cash withdrawals, subject to any interest free period that may apply.
Minimum Monthly Payment	1% (£5 minimum)	The minimum monthly payment will be the greater of: - 1% of the outstanding balance, plus all interest applied in that month, plus all default sums incurred in that month, plus one twelfth of any annual fee, OR - £5
Allocation of Payments	Fees, Charges & Expenses » Interest » Insurance Premiums » Promotional Balances (lowest rate balances first) » Standard Rate Balances (balance transfers, then purchases, then cash withdrawals).	-
Default Charges	£12	This is how much you will be charged for late payments, returned payments and if you go over your credit limit.
Copy of Statement Fee	£3	This is the fee you will be charged for duplicate statements.

Card Details
		Notes..
Online Application	Yes: Instant Decision	Get a decision in 60 seconds when you apply online.
Card Type	Platinum	World MasterCard
Payment Company	MasterCard	The company who provides the payment technology and infrastructure to allow you to use this credit card. Retailers and ATM machines displaying the 'MasterCard' logo will accept this credit card.
Card Issuer	Capital One	The bank who issues this credit card. Capital One Card Services P.O. Box 5283 Nottingham NG2 9HD
Card Advertiser	Capital One	The company who advertises and promotes this credit card.

Review Continued...

World Mastercards used to come complete with travel extras: in this incarnation - the Capital One World mastercard - the name stays but the travel rewards have been replaced with cash back.

Cash back without limits

The Captial One World Mastercard comes with a relatively small cash back rate of 1% but its big draw is that there's no upper limit on that.

As long as you pay back the credit card in full within the monthly interest free period, to avoid paying in interest what you should be getting in rewards, you'll earn as you spend.

The credit card has a high credit limit of between £4000 and £7,500, depending on the applicant, so big spending on the plastic shouldn't be a problem.

The Capital One World mastercard credit card then pays all your cash back to your account in January, a nice New Year gift if we ever heard one.

As with all cash back credit cards, though, check out the excluded transactions before you spend.

Other things you do with the Captial One World Mastercard - such as cash withdrawals (including cashback at the till, buying foreign currency and gambling purchases) and balance transfers made to the account - won't accrue cash back and will incur higher interest rates too.

Equifax reports

To apply for the Capital One World mastercard you'll need to have a near-spotless credit history (see below) still, it's always good to stay on top of what credit reference agencies are saying about you so the two free reports a year from Equifax won't go amiss.

They could also be useful for identifying and deleting any fraudulent activity in your history. For example, people applying for credit in your name.

Purchase protection

Capital One are also one of the UK credit card market's most on the ball providers when it comes to extra protection.

Anything you buy with card in the UK (again, the card proves itself mis-named) up to a value of £1,000 is protected against loss, damage and theft for up to 100 days after the transaction.

There's a upper limit on claims of £20,000 (or, to put it another way, 20 full-value claims) per year.

Applications

There's an online application for the capital one world mastercard with an instant decision.

You'll need an excellent credit history to apply (e.g. no, or very few, missed repayments) and, every unusually, Capital One ask that you be a a home owner.

Your annual income should be more than £20,000 p.a. and any other credit card balances should equal less than £10,000 in total.

In all, with the promise of big cash rewards as well as some less tangible ones like security the Capital One World mastercard delivers for big spenders.

Apply Online for Capital One World MasterCard credit card »