Save money on online purchases with Capital One Shopping (formerly Wikibuy)

Capital One Shopping compensates us when you get the Capital One Shopping extension using the links we provided.

Online shopping has always been a great tool for those who want to compare prices on their purchases and find a great deal.

And now, with more people staying inside and avoiding in-person shopping due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is a regular –even daily – activity. If you find yourself hitting the add-to-cart button more these days, it is important to make sure you are still getting a good value on your purchases.

Enter Capital One Shopping (formerly Wikibuy) – a solution for online shopping designed to help users get the products they want for a great price. Capital One Shopping combines price comparison, automatic promo codes and price watches to form a complete online shopping solution.

What is Capital One Shopping?

Capital One Shopping is a tool for online shopping, aggregating coupons, promo codes and deals available across the web into one, simple interface. By browsing the Capital One Shopping site or adding its browser extension, you can find competitive prices when you shop.

Capital One Shopping works with thousands of online retailers, so you can likely use it wherever you shop. The service works behind the scenes to help ensure you get a good deal when you shop online, automatically applying available coupon codes, showing you sites with a better deal and monitoring price points on your favorite products.

See related: How to stack rewards to save big on purchases

How Capital One Shopping works

There are a couple of ways to get started using Capital One Shopping: You can add the extension to your preferred browser or mobile app to create an account.

After you get the extension or the app, you’ll be prompted to create an account and fill out basic information including your email address and whether or not you have Amazon Prime membership.

Capital One Shopping coupons

On the Capital One Shopping website, you can browse trending coupons and deals to direct your online shopping. But in most cases, it is best to employ coupons simply by adding the browser extension and shopping as usual.

As you shop, you can click on the Capital One extension in your browser to view all the available coupon codes it has found for that particular website.

Then, when you go to check out, you can prompt Capital One Shopping to apply all the codes it found across the web.

While the extension is reliable for finding as many codes to test as possible, it doesn’t mean you’ll always save on your purchases. In many cases, the codes Capital One Shopping tests won’t apply to your order.

Capital One Shopping price comparison

In addition to coupon codes, you can use Capital One Shopping to compare the price of an item across several different sellers. Just try searching for your product directly on the Capital One Shopping site to see a full list of retailers and price points.

On Amazon, this Capital One Shopping feature is built right into the site. When you are looking at a product, you can hover over the Capital One Shopping icon to get a quick view of alternate prices and see if you are getting a good deal. (You can also add products to your Capital One Shopping watchlist directly from an Amazon product page, but more on that later.)

See related: How to maximize your cash back on Amazon.com

Capital One Shopping local offers

On select sites, Capital One Shopping offers users another way to save. With Capital One Shopping local offers, you can earn credits on select purchases.

These offers span both brick and mortar stores in your zip code and online purchases. To take full advantage of these offers, you’ll need to link your credit and debit cards to your Capital One Shopping account. Then, you’ll automatically receive Capital One Shopping credits when you make a qualifying purchase.

See related: A guide to card-linked offer programs: A simple way to earn more rewards

As for items bought online, the Capital One Shopping extension will notify you when you can earn Capital One Shopping credits on a purchase.

Once you’ve racked up some credits, you can redeem them for gift cards from a selection of partner merchants.

Capital One Shopping watchlists

If you’re a savvy online shopper, you probably already know that prices on your favorite products fluctuate regularly, as sales pop up with various online merchants. Luckily, Capital One Shopping has taken some of the work away from scanning the web for deals.

With watchlists, you can add your favorite products and have Capital One Shopping automatically monitor for price drops. When the app finds you a good price, you’ll get a notification to buy.

You can add a product to your watchlist directly on the Capital One Shopping site or from an Amazon product page. You can also filter notifications down so Capital One Shopping will only email you for particularly good deals.

How much can Capital One Shopping save you?

When browsing Capital One Shopping deals for this article, the biggest savings we found on a product was about $46 – but the shipping would take over a month instead of one day. But for the most part, coupon codes or buying on a different site will only save you a few bucks here and there.

Nevertheless, frequent online shoppers can rack up plenty of savings by using the feature regularly. Even if only a few products qualify for a coupon code, it’s still more money in your pocket.

Plus, since the service is so easy to use, you aren’t wasting any time hunting for a deal that only saves you a few cents.

Capital One Shopping vs. Honey

Capital One Shopping is a valuable service for online shoppers, but it is not the only one of its kind. Honey is a similar browser extension, designed to automatically scan and apply coupons and promo codes when you shop online. Here’s a quick overview of traits the two sites share – and what sets them apart.

Similarities

Honey and Capital One Shopping operate similarly. Honey also compares prices across the web, automatically applying coupons that can save you money.

Like Capital One Shopping, Honey comes with a local offers program known as Honey Gold. But unlike Capital One Shopping credits – which must be redeemed for select gift cards – Honey Gold can be cashed out.

Finally, Honey also offers a price monitoring service that can help you detect price changes on a product.

Differences

First off, Honey’s mobile app is a bit more limited than Capital One Shopping.

Users also report that Capital One Shopping sometimes identifies savings that Honey does not. But because it scans sites with shifting price points, Capital One Shopping occasionally flags an offer that is inaccurate.

Which should you use?

Our recommendation – both. There’s no harm in grabbing more data when it comes to finding a low price. You won’t be able to stack offers from the two brands, but you’ll boost your chances of getting a great deal.

Tips for maximizing Capital One Shopping

• Add your favorite products to a watchlist and monitor for a deal.
• Always check price comparisons before you buy a product online.
• Link your credit and debit cards to earn Capital One Shopping credits on select purchases.
• Pair Capital One Shopping deals with a card that earns rewards to maximize your savings. Check out a card that rewards online shopping to start.

See related: Make the most of an online shopping bonus category

Final thoughts

Capital One Shopping is a great tool for online shoppers, assisting users with getting maximum savings on their purchases. By taking a few minutes to add the browser extension and explore the website, you can save time spent combing through promotions.