Capital One Shopping Review: How I Saved $1,485 in Two Years

Key takeaways

What is Capital One Shopping?

Capital One Shopping is a free browser extension and mobile app that helps you save money and earn rewards while shopping online.

What we now know as Capital One Shopping used to be called Wikibuy, until Capital One acquired it from a startup in 2018. In its early days, the tool primarily focused on providing users with coupon codes. Since its transition to Capital One Shopping, it has expanded its offerings to include rewards earning, price tracking, and a universal product search engine.

Today, Capital One Shopping has millions of users with a rating of 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store (on over 960,000 reviews) and 4.8 out of 5 stars on Google Play (on over 64,000 reviews).

How much money can you save?

Capital One Shopping has proven to be extremely valuable for saving money on my online purchases. Having the browser extension on my Google Chrome automatically applies available coupon codes and earns me rewards when applicable without much extra effort on my part.

I've been using Capital One Shopping for about two years. During this time, I had a total of savings and rewards of $1,484.27 over 60 online transactions.

My coupon savings

Looking at my transaction history, some of the biggest coupon savings Capital One Shopping gave me (rounded to the nearest dollar) included:

• $213 in savings with a 40% off coupon on a $533 FragranceNet purchase in December 2023
• $93 in savings with a 20% off coupon on a $462 Staples order in November 2023
• $47 in savings with a 12.5% off coupon on a $379 Banana Republic purchase in November 2023

This means I saved $353 on three online orders alone by activating the Capital One Shopping browser extension and letting it automatically search for and apply coupons. I tested more than a dozen shopping savings platforms over extended periods, and Capital One Shopping easily takes the top spot for digging out and applying coupons.

My shopping rewards

In addition to the coupon savings, I've also racked up shopping rewards from Capital One Shopping, which I mostly redeemed for gift cards as I consider them the most versatile redemption option.

Some of the biggest rewards I earned (rounded to the nearest dollar) include:

• $36 in shopping rewards with a 12% back offer on a $299 Bose order in May 2024
• $125 in shopping rewards with a 30% back offer on a $416 Banana Republic order in November 2023
• $32 in shopping rewards with a 24% back offer on a $133 Columbia order in February 2023

Tallying up these three shopping rewards comes to $193, which is a pretty good return on a total of $848 for these three orders.

The one thing I wish Capital One Shopping offered is to receive these rewards as a deposit to my bank account or cash them out via PayPal like I can with Honey or Rakuten, two similar platforms. The gift card redemptions felt pretty limited.

My shopping experience with Capital One Shopping

One of my most recent shopping experiences with Capital One Shopping was for the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds.

I was in the market for new headphones and considering the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. Before purchasing, I noticed an email from Capital One Shopping with a reward offer — I could get 12% in rewards, up to $250, on a Bose purchase.

Since this offer was available for a limited time, I went ahead and ordered the $299 QuietComfort Earbuds through Bose. Capital One Shopping tried to apply any valid coupon codes at checkout to reduce the total cost, but it found none.

However, It did give me about $36 in shopping rewards, which reflected in my Capital One Shopping rewards balance a week later.

I was pleasantly surprised with Capital One Shopping's promptness in adding the rewards to my balance. However, this hasn't always been my experience. In some cases, rewards remained in pending status for three or even four weeks.

How does Capital One Shopping work?

Simply visit Capital One Shopping and create an account to begin using it. Depending on the device you're using, you can download its browser extension or mobile app to make it easier to access.

Capital One Shopping can help you find potential savings using the following features:

• Browser extension (which features coupons, shopping rewards, and price comparisons)
• Mobile app
• Website

For coupons, shopping rewards, and price comparison, we've found the browser extension to be a better way to find savings than the mobile app. But you can also find coupons, earn rewards, and compare prices with the mobile app.

Browser extension

Coupons

Capital One Shopping can test available coupon codes at participating online retailers with just the push of a button. When you're on a website that works with Capital One Shopping, click the "try codes" button while checking out. This will prompt Capital One Shopping to apply any codes it has found and potentially save you some money.

I like this feature because it's much faster than finding and entering coupon codes yourself. The browser extension is more convenient for finding coupons because it searches in the background, but you can also look up offers for specific items, events, etc., through the Capital One Shopping mobile app. 

Capital One Shopping rewards

Capital One Shopping partners with select online stores to offer you a percentage of your money back from any eligible online purchase you make. You receive this money back as shopping rewards, which you can redeem for gift cards to popular retailers through Capital One Shopping.

These rewards can amount to a pretty good sum of money, as I've earned hundreds of dollars in rewards over the past two years of using Capital One Shopping. My only complaint is that I can't redeem these rewards for actual cash via PayPal or bank deposits.  Again, you can also find rewards through the app, but the browser extension is generally faster and easier.

Price comparison tool

Many online shoppers use Amazon.com to browse for everything from apparel to groceries to electronics and more. Capital One Shopping automatically searches for lower prices on other websites when you select a product and its options. If it doesn't find a better deal than Amazon, it informs you.

You typically receive the search results within 10 to 15 seconds, and you can click on the Capital One Shopping pop-up to see additional information. Pop-ups are a feature of the browser extension, so you'll need to have this enabled to use this particular feature.

Mobile app

The Capital One Shopping app is available on the App Store and Google Play. The main difference between the app and the browser extension is that you need to shop through the app to find savings, while the browser extension allows you to shop at supported merchants directly without having to go through the Capital One Shopping website.

While I was able to find coupons and personalized deals with the app, it doesn't really have as many features as the browser extension. For example, it wasn't so easy to apply coupons with the app, while the browser extension applies coupons almost seamlessly. 

That's why I didn't find the Capital One Shopping mobile app that useful. Even though I managed to locate some deals and view the potential rewards I can earn, I preferred to go to my laptop to get these deals using the Capital One Shopping browser extension.

Website

You can also use the Capital One Shopping website on its own, without the extension enabled, to check and compare prices for thousands of products. The platform has its own search engine, which makes it easy to view prices across multiple sites. You can use it without even signing up for a Capital One Shopping account.

For example, when I searched for "KitchenAid mixer," it displayed 16 stores with coupons or rewards and over 13,254 product results.

The downside I found to the search engine is that you can't see what site the products are from until you click through to the next page. For example, I didn't know the KitchenAid mixer I was looking at was from eBay until I clicked through to the next page.

Tips for maximizing your savings

• Use it: This one is obvious enough, but I still forget to do it from time to time. Before you put an order in, make sure to check whether Capital One Shopping has any coupons to apply or offers to receive.
• Check for elevated rewards rates: I noticed that I sometimes receive higher rewards rates in Capital One Shopping emails or through my personalized deals on the platform's homepage compared to what I get directly on the retailer's website.

• Use the price comparison tool: When shopping on Amazon and other supported websites, you can instantly see if there are better prices elsewhere.

• Use the universal product search: You can search pretty much any product you want on Capital One Shopping's website, and it'll show you the best deals it finds across thousands of supported retail websites.

• Remember, it's not just for buying things: I've used Capital One Shopping to save or earn rewards on hotel bookings, car rentals, event tickets, and more.

What I like about Capital One Shopping

• Simple coupon discovery: Capital One Shopping makes it easy to find and apply coupons when available while I shop online. It takes the hassle out of searching for these coupons on various websites.
• Rewards potential: Activating Capital One Shopping before placing online orders with participating merchants to potentially earn rewards on your purchase and maximize your savings.
• Price comparison: The price comparison feature reduces the amount of work I need to do to find a great price for an item since it automatically compares prices between supported merchants.
• Versatile methods to find deals: In addition to the convenient pop-up that Capital One Shopping displays for potential savings, it also allows for active deal hunting. To find deals for specific products, I searched for specific products on the Capital One Shopping website and explored the curated list of personalized offers.
• Ease of use: The browser extension is user-friendly and works seamlessly in the background, making it easy to save money without much extra effort.

The main drawbacks

• Limited reward redemption: One drawback I found is that Capital One Shopping only allows redeeming rewards for gift cards. Although it offers gift cards from many popular merchants, it doesn't offer cash payouts. Other similar platforms, like Rakuten or Honey, offer cash payouts.
• Rewards can take a while to process: While some rewards reflected on my balance in under a week, some other rewards took three or four weeks to process. This is slower than Rakuten but on bar with Honey and a few other competitors.
• Limited mobile app functionality: I didn't like the Capital One Shopping mobile app much, and it appears this is a common sentiment among its users. Various user reviews point out that the app is slow and that it lags or crashes a bit too often.  

Who can use Capital One Shopping?

Anyone who has a compatible browser can get the Capital One Shopping browser extension. However, you must be 18 years or older to enroll and use Capital One Shopping's services.

You can create a free Capital One Shopping account with your name and email address or sign in with a Google or Facebook account. 

The Capital One Shopping extension is available on the following web browsers:

Google Chrome Firefox

Microsoft Edge Safari

Capital One Shopping also offers a mobile app for Android and iOS.

Capital One Shopping reviews and ratings

The App Store: 4.9 out of 5 rating	Google Play: 4.7 out of 5 rating
5 out of 5 "The best deals, the best coupon hunter, and sometimes the deals are 30% back! The cards you redeem points for would suit any living person who shops! So they are equal to cash as far as convenience for me." - Lucidkitty	5 out of 5 "Pretty nice app if you remember to use it. You can save a pretty good amount of money if you make out a list and then check each item on the app. I'm not talking just groceries, but, everything you buy." - Steffi Danielle Robie
3 out of 5 "If you're the person that only orders things to purchase from your home, it's a good desktop software. I just question their business model since they don't invest properly in mobile tech." - c.moff	5 out of 5 "The app/desktop plugin have worked flawlessly since initiation and the automation is amazing as it saves the headache of hunting for discount codes." - Jared Wilson
2 out of 5 "I have had this app for a while but have experienced several issues in using Apple iPhones." - RewindingKarma	3 out of 5 "I'm torn on this app. I've located coupon codes that I couldn't find otherwise and I've made a decent amount on rewards for gift cards. But the app is laggy and I've had to deal with the app not recording purchases." - David Powser

Capital One Shopping alternatives

Capital One Shopping has been an excellent addition to my online shopping experience. However, it doesn't offer redeeming your rewards for cash via PayPal and some users report that its mobile app lags and can be slow.

Alternative shopping savings platforms such as Honey and Rakuten support PayPal payouts, while Fetch has a solid mobile app for iOS and Android. Better yet, you can download and use more than one platform to look for the best offers among them.

	Capital One Shopping	Rakuten	Fetch	Honey
Online vs. in-store	Online and in-store	Online and in-store	Online and in-store	Online only
Type of app	Mobile app (iOS and Android devices) and browser extension	Mobile app (iOS and Android devices) and browser extension	Mobile app (iOS and Android devices)	Mobile app (iOS and Android devices) and browser extension
Redemption options	Gift cards	Cash out with PayPal or mailed check	Gift cards	Gift cards or cash out with PayPal
Minimum cash out	$0.01 minimum of Shopping Credits	$5.01 minimum	3,000 points (equal to a $3 gift card) minimum	1,000 Honey Gold (equal to a $10 gift card) minimum
Rewards expiration	Capital One Shopping Credits don't expire	Rewards expire after 12 months of inactivity	Points expire if your account has been inactive for 90 days	Rewards expire after 12 months of inactivity
Best for...	Those who shop online and in-store	Those who shop online and in-store and want cash back	Those who shop online and in-store and can keep their receipts	Dedicated online shoppers
	Visit Capital One Shopping	Visit Rakuten or read our review	Read our Fetch review	Read our Honey review

Rakuten

Rakuten is another browser extension and mobile app that helps you compare prices and automatically apply coupon codes at checkout. 

Unlike Capital One Shopping, you can redeem Rakuten rewards actual cash via PayPal or paper checks. However, Rakuten only sends payouts once every quarter, four times a year, so you can't receive them outside these payout windows. 

Visit Rakuten or learn more in our full Rakuten review.

Fetch

Fetch is different from Capital One Shopping, Honey, and Rakuten. With Fetch, you scan receipt barcodes from your purchases in the Fetch app, which is available for iPhone and Android.

You can earn Fetch Rewards on various types of receipts, so it's easy to load up on rewards from everyday purchases. You can redeem rewards for gift cards from popular retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Starbucks.

Learn more in our full Fetch review.

Honey

Honey is comparable to Capital One Shopping. Both services search for and apply available coupon codes automatically at online checkout. Honey offers a free Honey Gold loyalty program that helps you earn rewards when shopping at participating retailers. 

Honey only works online and can't be used in-store. It also requires a minimum of 1,000 Honey Gold points before you can cash out. But on the plus side, Honey allows you to redeem your points for cash back via PayPal as well as gift cards.

Learn more in our full Honey review.

FAQs

Bottom line

Capital One Shopping has earned a long-term place in my online shopping routine. While it's not perfect, the browser extension consistently saves me money in two main ways — by automatically applying any available coupon codes at checkout, and through its shopping rewards program.

That's how I've racked up over $1,400 in combined coupon savings and rewards value from Capital One Shopping over the past two years. What really seals the deal is how low effort it is to use. Once installed, the extension just runs in the background, scanning for potential discounts and rewards opportunities.

However, having to redeem rewards for gift cards instead of cash is a bit limiting, and I do wish the rewards posted faster consistently. Rakuten has been the quickest platform for adding rewards to my balance and it also allows me to cash out via PayPal. But it only pays out once per quarter.