Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus Review
Unlimited 2% cash back sounds like a great deal -- but is it worth the $150 annual fee? Find out if Spark Cash Plus, offered by Capital One, is the right credit card for your small business.
Capital One Spark Cash Plus
Total Rating | 3.9 |
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Rewards & Perks4.0 | |
Rates & Fees4.2 | |
Features4.2 | |
Eligibility Requirements2.6 | |
Customer Service3.0 | |
User Reviews2.5 |
Annual Fee
$150Minimum Recommended Credit
ExcellentRewards Rate
Unlimited 2% cash back on all purchasesPros
- Flat 2% cash-back on all purchases
- Generous welcome bonus
- Annual cash bonus
Cons
- $150 annual fee
- Requires excellent credit
Table of Contents
- What Is Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus?
- Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus Rewards & Perks
- Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus Card Features & Benefits
- Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus Rates & Fees
- Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus Eligibility
- Capital One Customer Service
- Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus User Reviews
- Is The Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus Right For You?
What Is Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus?
Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus is one of the three cash-back rewards business credit cards offered by Capital One. With an unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases, Spark Cash promises the highest rewards value, followed by Spark Cash Select at a rate of 1.5% back, and Spark Classic at 1% back.
Because of its flat rewards rate, Spark Cash Plus is a simple and easy way for businesses to save a little money without dealing with rewards tiers or point values. And, at 2% cash back, you will be able to save more money than you could with most flat-rate cash-back business cards. However, because Capital One charges a $150 annual fee, some businesses will be able to save more money with a card that doesn’t carry an annual fee, such as Spark Cash Select.
Is Capital One’s Spark Cash Plus the business credit card for you? Read on to find out! Or, if you already know you don’t have the credit score to qualify for a Spark 2% Cash Plus card, check out these top business credit cards instead.
Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus Rewards & Perks
Rewards & Perks4.0 |
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Earning Rewards 4.3 |
Rewards Redemption 3.5 |
Spark Cash Plus features an easy-to-understand reward structure with a competitive unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases. Add in a few extra perks like an early spend welcome bonus and annual bonus, and it’s easy to see why the Spark 2% Cash Plus Card gets a 4.0/5 star rating for rewards.
An Early Spend Bonus Worth $1,200
With the Spark Cash card, you’ll be rewarded with a tidy sum of $1,200 if you spend $30,000 on purchases within the first three months after opening your account. This welcome bonus is significantly smaller (and with a much steeper spending amount) than when we last updated this review.
A $150 Annual Cash Bonus
If you spend $150K or more on purchases with your Spark Cash Plus card annually, you’ll collect $150, which can be used to cover the card’s $150 annual fee.
Unlimited 2% Cash Back On All Purchases
There’s no calculus required when it comes to Spark Cash Plus’ base reward scheme: you get an unlimited 2% cash back for every purchase you make with the card. That’s it — no further math needed.
A flat 2% cash-back rate is a very generous proposal, especially considering that it’s for all purchases. Many cards do offer the same (or higher) cash-back rates; however, these cards usually require spending within specific categories to earn bonus rates. So if you spend across a wide array of categories, Spark Cash Plus’ reward scheme could be a perfect fit for your business.
Additionally, you can unlock 5% cash-back on certain travel purchases.
Redeeming Rewards
With the Spark Cash Plus card, your primary mode of redemption will be cash back. However, Capital One includes a few other ways to get rewarded for your spending. You can either choose to redeem rewards at your convenience or set your account to automatically redeem rewards on a periodic basis. Capital One also provides a way to set an automatic redemption trigger, which can be edited through the company’s online portal or by contacting the rewards center. Available options for automatic redemption include a specific time each calendar year or when a spending threshold (such as $25, $100, or $500) has been met.
Besides cash back or statement credits, Capital One enables multiple other redemption methods. Available options include credits for previous purchases, gift cards, Amazon shopping, PayPal purchases, and travel. Be aware that other kinds of rewards might be worth less (or more) than cash-back rewards.
Your rewards will not expire while your account is open, and they can be moved to other Capital One cards. Note that should you close your account, any unredeemed rewards will be trashed.
Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus Card Features & Benefits
Features4.2 |
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Business Perks 4.5 |
Extra Benefits 3.4 |
Cardholders have access to Capital One’s business benefits as well as those offered by Visa Business Benefits. Both of these benefit programs will give you fairly comprehensive coverage, resulting in a 4.2/5 star rating for features. Many included perks cover travel and shopping, even though the card isn’t specifically marketed for those purposes, as well as other helpful business perks like employee cards, fraud coverage, and more.
Free Employee Cards
A nice bonus for any business credit card, Spark Cash Plus will let you dole out free cards to your employees. Once your employees have their cards, you’ll be able to collect all the rewards from their purchases. You’ll also be able to customize spending limits for employee cards and view employee-made transactions as soon as they’re posted.
Fraud Coverage & Alerts
Capital One markets “business-grade protection” when it comes to protecting your account. You’ll be able to receive alerts (via email, text message, or phone call) if Capital One notices any fraudulent or suspicious charges on your account.
This card also includes standard $0 fraud liability coverage. With this protection, you won’t be on the hook for unauthorized charges if your card goes missing.
On top of the above security perks, you’ll also be able to lock an employee’s card should one become lost or stolen.
Account & Business Management
A Capital One card promises an array of tools that can help you manage your account. You’ll be able to pick your own monthly due date, set up automatic payments, and get an itemized year-end report summarizing your annual spending.
Other account management features include a recurring transaction list that shows monthly charges to your business credit card for repeating payments like subscriptions or bills. Capital One also records a plethora of transaction details when available. These details can include tidbits such as addresses, logos, phone numbers, and maps of merchants you’ve made purchases with.
Finally, purchase records can be downloaded into multiple formats, such as Quicken, QuickBooks, and Excel.
Purchasing Perks
There are a couple of purchase protection services bundled in with a Spark Cash Plus card: purchase security and extended warranty. You may be eligible to have an item replaced, repaired, or reimbursed within 90 days of purchase with the purchase security feature. The extended warranty program can double the length of a manufacturer’s warranty (up to one additional year).
Other Benefits
The Spark Cash Plus card comes with numerous other benefits. These include:
- 24/7 emergency card replacement
- Rental collision coverage
- Travel assistance
- Roadside assistance
- Online/mobile app account access
- Virtual card numbers
- Eno, Capital One’s 24/7 virtual assistant
Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus Rates & Fees
Rates & Fees4.2 |
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Rates 5.0 |
Fees 3.4 |
Like with any credit card, you can expect to see a few fees bundled into your agreement with Capital One’s Spark Cash Plus card. However, this card does do things a bit differently compared to other competitors on the market — you won’t collect interest with Spark Cash Plus in your wallet, but you’ll need to pay your balance off every month. The lack of APR and of foreign transaction fees results in a 4.2/5 star rating for the Spark 2% Cash Plus Card in this section.
No APR
Because Spark Cash Plus requires that your balance be paid in full at the end of every pay period (effectively making this card a charge card), you won’t have to worry about an APR. However, keep in mind that monthly late fees do exist — you will be dinged 2.99% of your outstanding balance every month you fail to pay in full.
$150 Annual Fee
Spark Cash Plus’ annual fee of $150 will impact the amount you save with this card. Annual fees are never a fun part of credit cards, but if you spend enough every year, the annual fee becomes worth the upfront cost.
To recoup the cost of the annual fee, you will have to spend at least $7,500 per year*. It’s also worth noting that if you hit the $150,000 annual spend mark, the $150 cash bonus will be enough to cover the cost of the annual fee.
*How we got these numbers: You must spend at least $7,500 per year to recoup the cost of the annual fee: $150 / 2% cash back = $7,500. You must spend at least $30,000 to earn more cash back from Spark Cash Plus than Spark Cash Select: for Spark Cash Plus: $30,001 × 2% cash back rate – $150 annual fee = $450.02 cash back; for Spark Cash Select: $30,001 × 1.5% cash back rate = $450.015 cash back.
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Like all Capital One business cards, Spark Cash Plus does not carry foreign transaction fees. Because this means you’ll be able to spend outside the US without an associated fee, business travelers who venture overseas frequently may like the Spark Cash Plus card.
Other Fees
Because balance transfers and cash advances are not allowed on Spark Cash Plus, this card does not carry some of the other standard credit card fees. Late payments will incur the previously mentioned 2.99% fee.
Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus Eligibility
Eligibility Requirements2.6 |
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Credit Score 2.0 |
Requirement Disclosure 5.0 |
You must have excellent credit to qualify for Spark Cash Plus. Because this card is more difficult to qualify for, it gets a 2.6/5 star rating for this section. Per its website, Capital One considers those with excellent credit to meet these qualifications:
- Never declared bankruptcy or defaulted on a loan
- Not have been more than 60 days late on any credit card, medical bill, or loan in the past year
- Maintained a loan or credit card for three+ years with a credit limit above $5,000
When it comes to distilling your credit strength into a singular number, those with a score above 740 are generally considered to have excellent credit. Note that Capital One does not market a specific qualifying minimum credit score for the Spark Cash Plus card.
Not sure about your credit score? Find out what it is with one of these websites providing free credit score services.
Capital One Customer Service
Customer Service3.0 |
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Support Options 3.0 |
Support Quality 3.0 |
The best way to get ahold of Capital One support is via phone. However, there is a digital assistant app support option or a fairly built-out help center as well. While there aren’t quite as many support options as we would like to see, having used the customer support firsthand, I was always satisfied with the level of care I received.
That being said, there are plenty of mixed reviews from other customers regarding Capital One’s credit card support division. All in all, these factors lead us to give a 3.0/5 star rating for this section.
Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus User Reviews
User Reviews2.5 |
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User Feedback 2.0 |
Review Sites 2.7 |
Finding reviews specific to Capital One’s Spark 2% Cash Plus card is not easy. While there are about a dozen reviews specific to this card, there are thousands specific to Capital One in general. Capital One has an A+ rating on BBB. Reviews for the overall company are mixed with some die-hard Capital One fans and others with significant complaints against the company. The Spark 2% Cash Plus Card in particular gets 2.7/5 stars on WalletHub based on only nine reviews.
Here are some of the most common pros and cons that users list.
Negative Spark 2% Cash Plus Reviews
- Transaction approvals get tedious
- Multiple reports of legitimate transactions denied
- Annual fee
- Advertised “no spending limit” is untrue
- Excellent credit required
Positive Spark 2% Cash Plus Reviews
- Great rewards
- Pay-in-full structure
- Quick application process
Is The Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus Right For You?
Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus |
Annual Fee: $150
Purchase APR: N/A (balance due in full) |
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You might want to apply for Spark Cash Plus if…
- You make purchases in a wide array of categories.
- You’ll spend enough to qualify for the bonus offer.
- You can take advantage of the card’s perks, like free employee cards, no foreign transaction fee, or extended warranty.
You might want to look for a different card if…
- You have one or two specific spending categories that match better with a card that offers higher reward rates.
- You spend enough to offset the $150 annual fee.
- You won’t qualify for the card because you lack excellent credit.
Check out our best credit cards for bad credit or best business rewards credit cards for more options for your small business.
Credit Card Review Methodology
We spend hours researching and evaluating each credit card that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate our ratings.
When rating credit cards and credit card issuers, we use an 18-point rubric that looks at rewards and perks, rates and fees, features, eligibility requirements, customer service, and user reviews. We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating.
- Rewards & Perks: 40% of the total star rating
- Rates & Fees: 30% of the total star rating
- Features: 15% of the total star rating
- Eligibility Requirements: 5% of the total star rating
- Customer Service: 5% of the total star rating
- User Reviews: 5% of the total star rating
Each section is further broken down into granular, weighted subsections, in which we examine specific attributes like APR, introductory offers, cash back and travel rewards, credit score requirements and disclosures, foreign transaction fees, and the availability of employee cards.
Read more about how we rate business credit cards.
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