Unlimited 2% cash back sounds like a great deal -- but is it worth the annual fee? Find out if Spark Cash Plus, offered by Capital One, is the right credit card for your small business.
WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Expert Contributor
Last updated onUpdated
REVIEWED BY
Editor & Senior Staff Writer
| Total Rating | 4.3 |
|---|---|
| Rewards & Perks5.0 | |
| Rates & Fees4.2 | |
| Features4.2 | |
| Eligibility Requirements2.6 | |
| Customer Service3.5 | |
| User Reviews2.9 | |
Annual Fee
$150Minimum Credit Score Requirements
ExcellentRewards Rate Range
2% - 5% cash backTable of Contents
Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus is one of the 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 and Spark Classic. You can also earn 5% cash back on travel purchases made through Capital One’s travel portal.
Because of its flat rewards rate, Spark Cash Plus is a simple and easy way for businesses to earn 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. Unfortunately, these perks come with a price — excellent credit is required to qualify.
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.
| Annual Fee | $150 |
| Purchase APR | None |
| Welcome Offer | $2,000 cash bonus when you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months |
| Intro Purchase APR | N/A |
| Intro Balance Transfer APR | N/A |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | $0 |
| Rewards | 2% - 5% cash back |
| Featured Benefit | Benefits programs with perks including free employee cards, fraud alerts, and rental collision insurance |
| Rewards & Perks5.0 |
|---|
| Earning Rewards 5.0 |
| Rewards Redemption 5.0 |
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 high rating for rewards.
With the Spark Cash card, you’ll be rewarded with a welcome bonus of $2,000 cash bonus when you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months.
If you spend $150K or more on purchases with your Spark Cash Plus card annually, you’ll collect $150 to cover your annual fee.
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.
Additionally, you can unlock 5% cash back on travel purchases made through Capital One’s travel portal.
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 periodically.
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.
| Rates & Fees4.2 |
|---|
| Rates 5.0 |
| Fees 3.4 |
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.
Like all Capital One business cards, Spark Cash Plus does not carry foreign transaction fees. This means you’ll be able to spend outside the US without an associated fee, making this card a solid choice for business travelers who venture overseas frequently.
This card does have an annual fee of $150. There’s also a cash advance fee of $5 or 5% (whichever is greater) and a late payment fee of 2.99% of the unpaid portion of your minimum payment.
| Features4.2 |
|---|
| 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. 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.
| Eligibility Requirements2.6 |
|---|
| Credit Score 2.0 |
| Requirement Disclosure 5.0 |
You must have excellent credit to qualify for Spark Cash Plus. Per its website, Capital One considers those with excellent credit to meet these qualifications:
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. However, 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 free credit score services.
| User Reviews2.9 |
|---|
| User Feedback 3.0 |
| Review Sites 2.9 |
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.
| Capital One Spark Cash Plus Customer Service | Availability |
|---|---|
| Phone Support | |
| Email Support | |
| Support Tickets | |
| Live Chat | |
| Dedicated Support Representative | |
| Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
| Videos & Tutorials | |
| Company Blog | |
| Social Media |
While there aren’t quite as many support options as we would like to see, having used Capital One’s 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 of this was taken into consideration for our rating.
| User Reviews2.9 |
|---|
| User Feedback 3.0 |
| Review Sites 2.9 |
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 2.9/5 stars on WalletHub based on 10+ reviews.
Here are some of the most common pros and cons that users list.
You might want to apply for Spark Cash Plus if…
You might want to look for a different card if…
Check out our best credit cards for bad credit or best business rewards credit cards for more options for your small business.
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.
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.
Featured Free Corporate Card
Ramp  |
|---|
Ramp offers a free corporate card for virtually any business. Start earning rewards with your corporate spending today. Get your free card.
Featured Free Corporate Card
Ramp |
|---|
Ramp offers a free corporate card for virtually any business. Start earning rewards with your corporate spending today. Get your free card.
Want to help shape the future of the Merchant Maverick website? Join our testing and survey community!
By providing feedback on how we can improve, you can earn gift cards and get early access to new features.
Our expert reviewers found BusinessLoans.com to have a quick and easy application process alongside excellent support and guidance for borrowers.
Start A Quick Application
Help us to improve by providing some feedback on your experience today.
The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
Our expert reviewers found BusinessLoans.com to have a quick and easy application process alongside excellent support and guidance for borrowers.
Start A Quick Application
