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Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Card Review

Capital One® Aspire Cash® Platinum Mastercard® review

Christine Smonk

Mar 21, 2025

While we adhere to strict editorial guidelines, partners on this page may provide us earnings.

Overall rating

First year value

$216

Get this card if you:

  • want a no-fuss cash back credit card
  • don't want confusing rewards or an annual fee

Scores by category

Cash Back 3.0

No Annual Fee 2.7

Rewards 2.3

Highlights

$216

First year value

Interest Rates

21.9%

Purchase APR

21.9%

Balance transfer APR

21.9%

Cash advance APR

Eligibility

Very Good

Recommended credit score

Quick overview of the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard

No-fee cards that offer cash back are a dime a dozen, and the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard is no exception. It offers a run of the mill 1% back for every $1 spent on all purchases, which can be redeemed as either statement credits or as a gift card. 

One defining feature is the insurance – this card has six different types. Hardly a given for a no-fee card. But is it enough to warrant your consideration?

Who’s the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard for?

The Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard is best for existing Capital One customers who prefer to keep their financial products within a single institution.

The 1% back for every $1 spent feature and limited perks are probably not appealing enough to attract new customers. Several other comparable cards are better contenders for your go-to no-fee credit card (we’ll talk about these below). 

In fact, I’ve personally held a credit card from nearly all of Canada’s financial institutions – except Capital One. The reason is simple: They haven’t created a product that’s interesting enough to tempt me yet.

Pros

Pros

  • Cash Back Rewards: Earn cash back on every purchase.

  • No Annual Fee: Enjoy the benefits without an annual fee.

  • Purchase Protection: Includes coverage for eligible purchases.

  • Extended Warranty: Extends the manufacturer's warranty on eligible items.

  • No Rewards Cap: No limits on the amount of cash rewards you earn.

  • Flexible reward redemption: Redeem rewards as often as you would like with no expiration.

  • Travel Perks: Enjoy 24/7 travel assistance, travel accident insurance, and baggage delay benefits.

Cons

Cons

  • Standard Interest Rates: The interest rates for purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances may be higher than some other cards.

  • Foreign Transaction Fee: A fee is charged for transactions in foreign currencies.

Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard welcome bonus

The Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard does not currently offer a welcome bonus for new accounts.

How to earn cash back with the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard

The Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard earns basic rewards on purchases:

  • Earn 1% back for every $1 spent

How to redeem cash back

Redeeming cash back with the Capital One Aspire Card is fairly straightforward: $1 in rewards for every $100 on all purchases.

This is one of the areas the Capital One Aspire Cash Back Platinum Mastercard gets a bit funky. You can redeem your cash back online or through the app, any time without restrictions, and with no expiration date for your cash back. You have the option of redeeming your cash back as either a statement credit, or as one of twenty different gift cards. Not bad (certainly better than an annual statement credit), but I prefer the flexibility of actual cash paid out directly into my account.

Reward don’t expire with Capital One.

Key benefits of the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard

The main benefit is the no-fee 1% cash back on absolutely every purchase. It’s also accessible whenever you want it (although limited to a statement credit or gift card). In a world with complicated reward programs, I appreciated this straightforward benefit. 

The Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard also comes with pretty great insurance for a no-fee card, which I’ll lay out in the chart below.

Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard insurance coverage

The Aspire Cash Platinum Card is unique for a Capital One credit card in that it provides 6 different types of insurance coverage:

Protection
Coverage
Purchase protection
120 days
Extended warranty
1 year
Travel accident insurance
$250,000
Baggage delay
$300
Rental car insurance
$75,000
Price protection
$500

Extra benefits of the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard

There’s not much in the way of extra perks, but you can add an additional user to your card for free to maximize your cash back, which is nice.

What people have to say about the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard

There are many discussions online about which no-fee, 1% cash card is the best. Let’s take a look at what reddit users are saying about this Capital One card. 

“Based on a cursory glance at the features, it doesn't look like a bad card. I personally use the Tangerine Mastercard.”

/u/Dividend__Investor

I couldn't agree more with the sensibly named /u/Dividend__Investor. There’s nothing bad about the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard, but there are better cards out there, including the aforementioned Tangerine, which is the cash back card you can find in my wallet.

How the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard compares

$484

First Year Value

$0

Annual Value

Learn More

For me, the Tangerine Money-Back Credit card is hard to beat in any no-fee cash back comparison. You earn 2% cash back on two categories of your choice (hello groceries and dining!) and 0.5% on everything else. 

With a little tinkering, you could earn more than a stock 1% on everything. Add on the fact that your cash back is paid out monthly, the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard poses little competition. 

Capital One® Aspire Cash® Platinum Mastercard® Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card
Annual fee:
$0 		Annual fee:
$0
Welcome bonus:
N/A 		Welcome bonus:
Rewards:
Earn 1% back for every $1 spent

Rewards:
Earn 2% cash back on two categories of your choice (e.g. groceries, recurring bills, gas, drug stores, etc.)
Earn 0.50% on all your other everyday purchases.
Get a Tangerine Savings account and add a third 2% cash back category.
Insurance:
Extended warranty, price protection, travel accident insurance, baggage delay, rental car 		Insurance:
Extended warranty, price protection
Credit needed:
Very Good 		Credit needed:
Good

BMO CashBack® Mastercard®*

3.5

Winner: Best No Annual Fee

5% cash back

Welcome Bonus

$401

First Year Value

$276

Annual Value

Welcome Bonus: Get up to 5% cash back in your first 3 months and a 0.99% introductory interest rate on Balance Transfers for 9 months with a 2% transfer fee.† Expires Jun 01, 2025

Learn More Apply Now On BMO's Secure Site

BMO Cashback Mastercard - 🏆 winner, best no fee card in the Money.ca Credit Card Awards

This BMO card is for the grocery heads out there. It offers a whopping 3% (up to a monthly max of $500) cash back on groceries, 1% on recurring bill payments and 0.50% cash back on all other purchases.. It also has flexible redemption (like the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard) but instead of a statement credit or gift card, you can get it right in your account as cash. I think the BMO takes the lead, easily.

Capital One® Aspire Cash® Platinum Mastercard® BMO CashBack Mastercard
Annual fee:
$0 		Annual fee:
0
Welcome bonus:
N/A 		Welcome bonus:
Get 5% cash back in your first 3 months*
Rewards:
Earn 1% back for every $1 spent 		Rewards:
Earn 3% (up to a monthly max of $500) cash back on groceries.
Earn 1% (up to $500 per month) on any recurring bill payments*.
0.50% cash back on all other purchases.

Insurance:
Extended warranty, price protection, travel accident insurance, baggage delay, rental car 		Insurance:
Extended warranty, price protection,
Credit needed:
Very Good 		Credit needed:
Good
Read Review Apply Now

Disclosures:

  • *Terms and conditions apply.
  • BMO is not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click on the Apply now link for the most up to date information.

$624

First Year Value

$0

Annual Value

Learn More Apply Now On Neo's Secure Site

These cards are very, very different. The Neo World Elite Mastercard costs a not-insubstantial $125 a year – meaning you’d have to drop a cool $12,500 on it at 1% cash back just to break even. But fortunately, it earns a lot more than 1% – 5% on groceries, 4% on recurring expenses, 3% on gas and 1% on everything else to be precise. 

I think if you don’t mind coughing up an annual fee, the earning potential on the Neo is higher than on the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard.

Capital One® Aspire Cash® Platinum Mastercard® Neo World Elite Mastercard
Annual fee:
$0 		Annual fee:
125
Welcome bonus:
N/A 		Welcome bonus:
N/A
Rewards:
Earn 1% back for every $1 spent 		Rewards:
Earn 5% cashback on groceries
Earn 3% cashback on gas
Earn 4% cashback on recurring
Earn 1% cashback on everything else
Insurance:
Extended warranty, price protection, travel accident insurance, baggage delay, rental car 		Insurance:
Extended warranty, price protection, travel accident insurance, emergency medical, baggage delay, rental car, trip interruption/cancellation, hotel burglary
Credit needed:
Very Good 		Credit needed:
Good
Read Review Apply Now

Disclosures:

  • Terms and Conditions Apply

    Minimum balance in a Neo Everyday account required to earn the highest rate. Cashback earn subject to monthly maximum spend limits. Cashback may be limited and varies by perks, offer, and partner. There may be monthly limits for boosted cashback offers.
    Certain terms, conditions and exclusions apply. For more information, please refer to your benefits guide or contact Neo Financial™.

Is the Capital One Aspire Cash Platinum Mastercard worth it?

A zero dollar annual fee means it’s definitely not something you’ll financially regret per se. But there are way better cards out there to consider. The insurance offerings are pretty good though, so if that’s your only deciding factor, it may be worth a moment of your consideration. 

Eligibility requirements

  • Credit needed: Good
  • Income requirements: N/A
Christine Smonk Freelance writer

After years as a product manager at TD Bank and Ratehub.ca, Christine now expresses herself with words, especially in credit cards and personal finance.

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†Terms and Conditions apply.