Two Strong No-Fee Cards
Both the Capital One Savor and Amex Blue Cash Everyday cost $0/year and earn cash back. But they cover different categories and have very different structures.
Short answer: neither card wins on its own, because their 3% categories overlap only on groceries. The Savor earns 3% on dining, groceries, streaming and entertainment with no cap. Blue Cash Everyday earns 3% on groceries, gas and online retail, each capped at $6,000 a year. In the two worked profiles below (hand-calculated, not solver output), each card beats the other by $132 a year on the spending it was built for. The Savor charges no foreign transaction fee; Blue Cash Everyday charges 2.7%. Both cost $0, so holding both is an option: see the Savor and Blue Cash Everyday card pages.
| Feature | Capital One Savor | Amex Blue Cash Everyday |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $0 | $0 |
| Dining | 3% | 1% |
| Groceries | 3% (no cap) | 3% (up to $6,000/yr) |
| Entertainment | 3% | 1% |
| Streaming | 3% | 1% |
| Gas | 1% | 3% (up to $6,000/yr) |
| Online Retail | 1% | 3% (up to $6,000/yr) |
| Hotels/Rental Cars | 5% (via Capital One Travel) | 1% |
| Base Rate | 1% | 1% |
| Foreign transaction fee | 0% | 2.7% |
Where the Savor Wins
The Savor covers more bonus categories at 3% with no spending caps:
- Dining: 3% vs 1% — this is the biggest gap. If you spend $500/month on restaurants and takeout, that’s $180/year vs $60/year.
- Entertainment: 3% in the catalog’s entertainment category vs 1%. The catalog rates movie theaters and live events separately and gives the Savor no bonus there, and it rates Capital One Entertainment tickets at 8%, so check Capital One’s terms for the venues you use.
- Streaming: 3% on Netflix, Spotify, etc. vs 1%.
- Groceries: Both earn 3%, but the Savor has no annual cap. The BCE’s 3% drops to 1% after $6,000/year ($500/month).
For someone spending $400/mo dining, $500/mo groceries, $50/mo streaming, $100/mo entertainment:
- Savor: ($400 + $500 + $50 + $100) x 12 x 3% = $378/year
- BCE: $400 x 12 x 1% + $500 x 12 x 3% + $50 x 12 x 1% + $100 x 12 x 1% = $246/year
The Savor wins by $132/year — entirely because of dining, entertainment, and streaming.
Where the BCE Wins
The BCE has exclusive 3% categories the Savor doesn’t cover:
- Gas: 3% on gas vs 1%. At $250/month, that’s $90/year vs $30/year.
- Online Retail: 3% on online shopping (up to $6,000/year) vs 1%. At $300/month, that’s $108/year vs $36/year.
For someone who drives a lot and shops online but rarely eats out:
- Spending $250/mo gas, $400/mo online shopping, $300/mo groceries, $100/mo dining:
- BCE: $250 x 12 x 3% + $400 x 12 x 3% + $300 x 12 x 3% + $100 x 12 x 1% = $354/year
- Savor: $250 x 12 x 1% + $400 x 12 x 1% + $300 x 12 x 3% + $100 x 12 x 3% = $222/year
The BCE wins by $132/year in this gas-and-online-shopping-heavy profile.
The Grocery Cap Matters
The BCE’s 3% grocery rate drops to 1% after $6,000/year ($500/month). If you spend $800/month on groceries:
- Savor: $800 x 12 x 3% = $288/year
- BCE: $500 x 12 x 3% + $300 x 12 x 1% = $216/year
The Savor’s uncapped 3% earns $72 more per year for heavy grocery spenders.
The Verdict
Choose the Savor if you spend a lot on dining, entertainment, and streaming. Its 3% on those categories has no cap and no annual fee.
Choose the BCE if gas and online shopping are your biggest categories. The 3% on gas and online retail fills gaps the Savor doesn’t cover.
Best of both: These cards complement each other well. Use the Savor for dining/entertainment/streaming/groceries and the BCE for gas and online shopping. Both are $0/year, so there’s no cost to holding both.
The modeled answer depends on your full spending profile. Run the optimizer to see which card setup scores highest under your assumptions.
Updated October 2, 2026: Blue Cash Everyday's 3% on gas stops at $6,000 a year, like its grocery and online-retail bonuses; the examples here stay under that cap.
Updated October 10, 2026: added a short answer at the top and the foreign transaction fee row (Savor 0%, Blue Cash Everyday 2.7%, from the card catalog dated September 22, 2026). The worked examples are unchanged.