Capital One Shopping Review: How I Save Money on Online Purchases

We all like saving money.

One way to do it without thinking is to use Capital One Shopping. I use Capital One Shopping as a browser extension and also have the app on my phone. 

Both the app and extension can help you to find better deals on things you were going to buy, and score you rewards that you can redeem later for gift cards.

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Overview of Capital One Shopping

Capital One Shopping is a free app and browser extension that helps you find coupons and promo codes — while also helping you earn rewards on your purchases. 

According to the Capital One website, Capital One Shopping offers discounts and deals at more than 30,000 online retailers and coupons at more than 100,000 stores.

Capital One Shopping says they have 10 million users, who have saved more than $2 billion in total. 

Savings come in these main ways:

1. Coupon codes. Capital One Shopping automatically tries coupon and promo codes at checkout when you shop with the browser extension activated. This automatically lowers the price of the items in your cart (as long as the codes are eligible).
2. Price comparison. When shopping online — including at Amazon — you can see price comparisons, so you’ll know whether you’re getting the best deal. 
3. Special deals. There are exclusive offers on the app, and the browser extension can help you find discounts on items you plan to buy.
4. Redeem rewards. Once you have rewards, you can redeem them for gift cards. I recently redeemed $100 in rewards for gift cards at places I frequently shop.

How Capital One Shopping Works 

There are two main ways to use Capital One Shopping: as a browser extension that you install on your computer, or as an app on your cellphone.

Note: If you have any Capital One accounts, your login information for Capital One Shopping will be different from those. 

Capital One Shopping browser extension

While I sometimes use the app on my phone, I’m more likely to shop online from my laptop with the browser extension. 

You just need to add the Capital One Shopping extension to the browser of your choice. It’s available for Chrome (how I use it), Mozilla, Microsoft Edge, and Safari. Best of all, you don’t need a Capital One account to use Capital One Shopping. 

Once the extension is added, Capital One Shopping does the heavy lifting for you. For example, I was looking for a mattress on Amazon. After clicking on the product page, Capital One Shopping showed me that I could save more than $400 by purchasing elsewhere. 

On top of those savings, I would also earn more than $38 in rewards. 

All of this happened automatically, without me having to take any extra steps! 

You just use your browser normally for online shopping, and you’ll see price comparisons, plus receive alerts for big savings using a different retailer.

Capital One Shopping mobile app

I also occasionally use the Capital One Shopping app. It’s fairly easy to search for deals based on your interests.  

You can also view exclusive deals and rewards for products and services you’re likely to use. 

For example, some of my exclusive deals relate to items I was looking at for gifts. Then, I saw I could get up to $40 in rewards for continuing my comparison of new phones and plans at Verizon. 

I still have more research to do before moving forward, but using the app alerted me to some potential deals simply for making a purchase I would have made anyway.

Redeeming Capital One Shopping Rewards

Just as seeing savings and earning rewards is simple, redeeming rewards is fairly straightforward. 

Once in your account, you can view your savings and rewards dashboard to see what’s available to you. There are a variety of gift cards, including for major retailers, that can be used online or in-store. 

After you have redeemed your rewards, your dashboard will update to reflect your new rewards balance.

You can also see which purchases resulted in rewards. I made several TripAdvisor purchases while traveling in 2023 and received rewards for them.

What I Like About Capital One Shopping

I like that Capital One Shopping is so simple to use. You just connect the browser extension or download the app, and you’re good to go. 

I also like that everything is done automatically. I don't need to search for deals or do my own comparison shopping — Capital One Shopping does it all for me.

What I Dislike About Capital One Shopping

Even though I like using Capital One Shopping, the main drawback is the limited rewards redemption. 

Rather than offering the ability to have cash rewards deposited into a bank account, Capital One Shopping only allows you to redeem your rewards for gift cards. The gift card selection is adequate, but there aren’t as many retailers as I’d like to see.

Another downside is that you can’t connect your Capital One Shopping account directly to your Capital One account. I would like to be able to combine rewards from Capital One Shopping with the cashback and miles that I earn with my Capital One credit cards, but this isn’t an option.

READ MORE: Best Cashback Credit Cards

Who Should Get Capital One Shopping?

Capital One Shopping is ideal for anyone who regularly shops online and wants to save money through price comparisons and coupons. 

If you’re looking for a fast and easy way to ensure you’re getting the best price, Capital One Shopping can be a good choice.

Who Shouldn’t Get Capital One Shopping?

Because it’s a free browser extension, you have nothing to lose by adding Capital One Shopping and seeing if it works for you. 

The main concern might be privacy. If you don’t want another extension or app tracking your purchases, Capital One Shopping might not be the right choice.

Alternatives to Capital One Shopping

Capital One Shopping vs. Honey

Like Capital One Shopping, Honey offers you a chance to get instant coupons and compare prices. Honey is easy to sign up for, via PayPal, Google, or Apple. Note, though, that PayPal owns Honey. Your rewards will come in the form of PayPal Rewards points. 

However, Honey does have more redemption options than Capital One Shopping. You can redeem rewards for cash, PayPal shopping credits, or gift cards. 

Capital One Shopping expresses your rewards in dollar amounts, while Honey expresses them in points. In general, every 1,000 points is worth $10 in rewards redemption. So, if you receive 2,500 points for a purchase made through Honey, you can redeem it for $25 in value.

Capital One Shopping vs. Rakuten

Another browser extension and app that you can use to save money is Rakuten. Both can be used to earn cashback on your purchases. 

Even though Rakuten focuses heavily on cashback, it also provides coupons and automatic promo codes. You can also connect a credit card and choose specific stores for tailored savings.

You can choose to receive your cashback via PayPal or check every three months.

Read our full review of Rakuten.

Capital One Shopping vs. Fetch

Fetch requires more work than Capital One. In most cases, you download the app, snap pictures of your receipts, and receive rewards based on your shopping. 

Rewards come as points, which can be redeemed for gift cards. You can also use points to buy entries in cash sweepstakes. 

While Fetch offers slightly more redemption options, having to upload receipts to Fetch means an extra step to access those rewards.

Read our full review of Fetch.

The Bottom Line

Overall, Capital One Shopping offers a way to save money on regular purchases. As a free browser extension and app, it’s a low-risk way to find the lowest price, earn rewards, and redeem them for gift cards you can use at various retailers.

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