Capital One Spark Cash For Business Review
- Date Established
- 1988
- Location
- McLean, Virginia
Overview
Spark Cash for Business is one of the three cash back rewards business credit cards offered by Capital One. At unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases, Spark Cash offers 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 for Business 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’ll be able to save more money than you could with most flat rate cash back business cards. However, because Capital One charges a $95 annual fee, some businesses will be able to save more money with a card that doesn’t carry an annual fee, like Spark Cash Select (read our review).
Is Capital One Spark Cash the business credit card for you? How does it compare to other popular cash back cards? Read on to find out!
Table of Contents
Spark Cash At A Glance
| Annual fee: $95 ($0 the first year) |
| Bonus offer: $500 cash if you spend at least $4,500 in the first 3 months of opening your account |
| Purchase APR: 18.74%, variable |
| Purchase intro APR: N/A |
| Balance transfer intro APR: N/A |
| Foreign transaction fee: N/A |
| Rewards & highlights: • Earn unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases • Rewards can be requested as cash back or applied as statement credits • Employee cards at no additional cost • No foreign transaction fees • Comes with Capital One and Visa business benefits |
Eligibility
You must have excellent credit to qualify for Spark Cash for Business. Capital One also requires you to meet these qualifications:
I’ve never declared bankruptcy or defaulted on a loan; I haven’t been more than 60 days late on any credit card, medical bill, or loan in the last year; I’ve had a loan or credit card for 3 years or more with a credit limit above $5,000.
Rewards & Fees
With unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases, Spark Cash has a simple and appealing rewards structure. You won’t have to worry about spending money in the right categories or applying points correctly to maximize your savings. Businesses that spend at least $4,500 in the first three months of opening their accounts receive an additional one-time bonus incentive: $500 cash back.
Spark Cash’s annual fee of $95 will impact the amount you can save from this card, however. To make up for the cost of the annual fee, you will have to spend at least $4,750 per year. That said, business owners will be able to earn more from Spark Cash Select (Capital One’s business credit card with a lower rewards rate but no annual fee) if they spend less than $19,000 per year. After $19,000, cardholders will be able to earn more from this credit card, despite the fee. However, the annual fee is waived the first year.
Redeeming Rewards
Rewards can be redeemed for cash back in the form of a statement credit or a check. You can either choose to redeem your rewards at your convenience or set your account to automatically redeem rewards on a periodic basis. In addition to cash back or statement credits, money accrued can be used for other rewards, like gift cards. 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.
Benefits
Cardholders have access to Capital One’s business benefits, as well as the benefits offered by Visa Business Benefits. Although Spark Cash is not a travel card, it offers plenty of travel and shopping benefits, including:
- Extended warranty protection
- Price protection
- Access to Visa SavingsEdge (15% off on some purchases from participating merchants)
- Auto rental collision damage waiver
- Travel and emergency assistance
- Lost luggage reimbursement
- Travel accident insurance
Like all Capital One business cards, Spark Cash does not carry foreign transaction fees.
Spark Cash vs. Spark Cash Select
Both Capital One Spark cash back cards are easy, hand-off ways for businesses to earn cash rewards. But which should you use?
Spark Cash offers unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases but carries an annual fee of $95. Spark Cash Select offers unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases, but it doesn’t carry an annual fee. Otherwise, both cards are similar — you need excellent credit to qualify, the benefits are the same, and the APRs are in the high teens or low 20’s.
The one you should apply for depends on how much you’re planning on using the card each year. As a rule of thumb, you should apply for Spark Cash if you plan on spending over $19,000 per year (about $1,580 per month), and Spark Cash Select if you’re planning on spending less. Because Spark Cash Select carries no annual fee, you can start earning cash back right off the bat. However, although the annual fee will deduct from your savings in the short term, businesses that plan to utilize the card often will find the higher cash back rewards from Spark Cash to offer more savings overall.
Note that Capital One waives the annual fee for Spark Cash the first year, so the $19,000 standard does not apply. Head over to our Spark Cash Select Review for the full story on Capital One’s other cash back card.
Spark Cash vs. Chase Ink Business Cash
Ink Business Cash offers 5% and 2% cash back on purchases in some categories. Because of the high rewards rate on some purchases, and the fact that it doesn’t carry an annual fee, some businesses might be able to save more money via Chase’s cash back card.
Cardholders earn 5% cash back on purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone purchases, 2% back at gas stations and restaurants, and 1% back on all other purchases. Overall, this card might net you higher earnings, especially if you spend a lot in the 5% cash back category.
Although Ink Cash doesn’t carry an annual fee, it offers a similar signup bonus as Spark Cash: business owners who spend at least $3,000 in the first three months of opening their account will earn a $500 cash bonus. Head over to our full Chase Ink Business Cash Review for all the details.
Spark Cash vs. American Express SimplyCash Plus
Despite the name, SimplyCash Plus rewards are not as simple as Spark Cash. However, with a savings of 5% cash back on some purchases, this might still be a credit card some businesses owners will want to consider.
The Amex credit card offers 5% cash back on purchases from office supply stores and on wireless telephone purchases, 3% back on a category of your choosing (out of eight possible categories), and 1% back on all other purchases. Because of the high rates of cash back, some businesses might be able to save more money from SimplyCash Plus.
The Amex card also doesn’t carry an annual fee. Interested in learning more? Head over to our full American Express SimplyCash Plus Review.
Final Verdict
Credit cards with flat rewards rates are a simple and easy way to save some money for your business. At 2% cash back, Spark Cash for Business is one of the highest flat rate rewards values that we’ve seen. Naturally, some businesses might be able to save more money on another business card, like Chase Ink Cash or Amex SimplyCash Plus (depending on how much you spend on your card and where you apply those purchases), but Spark Cash is a very good card for merchants who want to keep things simple.
Bianca Crouse
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Organization Name: Nates Cell Phone Repair
First let me say that we was approved for 15K for our small business. We had this card for several years and I have paid it off several times. I always paid more that was required to keep cash flow. I had to go out of town and forgot to set up a payment one time. The next day I got a email saying that I forgot to make a payment on my card which was one day late. I made the payment the right away, I thought all was good. Several months late I go into the account because I did not see my balance changing. I discovered that Capital One changed my APR from 18% to 31% for 12 months for missing that one payment that was one day late. They will punish you for missing one payment, I tried talking with them to fix this issue and they would not move on this. So I can say I paid the 9K I owned to them and will never use Capital One again. The best card out there for small business is Chase they will work with you and understand that things happen. All small businesses beware of what is in your wallet, because Capital One is out of my WALLET.