The Spark Classic is perfect for businesses wanting to improve credit scores, plus it comes with a lot of benefits and rewards that other credit-building cards don't offer.
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| Total Rating | 3.3 |
|---|---|
| Rewards & Perks2.0 | |
| Rates & Fees3.7 | |
| Features5.0 | |
| Eligibility Requirements4.2 | |
| Customer Service4.5 | |
| User Reviews4.0 | |
Annual Fee
$0Minimum Credit Score Requirements
FairRewards Rate Range
1% - 5%Table of Contents
If you’re a business owner with mediocre credit, don’t think you’re ineligible for a business credit card. Case in point: the credit-building Spark 1% Classic from Capital One.
While the card’s universal 1% cash back is relatively low, Capital One specifically designed the Spark Classic to help users build credit. If you’re facing credit challenges, don’t be put off by this card’s overall score.
Because Capital One reports your activity to multiple credit bureaus (something not all credit cards do), you can improve your credit score — and become eligible for the best business credit cards — by consistently paying off your account.
| Annual Fee | $0 |
| Purchase APR | 29.74% (variable) |
| Welcome Offer | N/A |
| Intro Purchase APR | N/A |
| Intro Balance Transfer APR | N/A |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | $0 |
| Rewards | Unlimited 1% cash back on all purchases; 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| Featured Benefit | Zero fraud liability if your card is lost or stolen. Plus, get automatic fraud alerts via text, email, or phone call. |
| Rewards & Perks2.0 |
|---|
| Earning Rewards 0.8 |
| Rewards Redemption 5.0 |
Spark Classic features a very basic rewards scheme that’s easy to understand. No advanced calculations are necessary!
You’ll get 1% cash back on every purchase you make with this card. Many other business credit cards on the market offer better and more numerous rewards — 1% cash back is a bit paltry in comparison. Accordingly, this card earns low scores in this category.
However, because the Spark Classic is geared toward consumers with fair credit, receiving rewards of any kind is a bonus. Many credit-building cards and secured credit cards don’t offer rewards at all.
Once you’ve successfully boosted your credit by using the Spark Classic wisely, you’ll be able to graduate to credit cards that offer higher rewards rates for your spending.
Maverick Tip: All Capital One business credit cards offer enhanced rewards for travel bookings, and this card is no exception. Spark Classic offers unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, the company’s travel portal.
With the Spark Classic for Business, your cash back rewards can be redeemed as a statement credit or check.
You can also select an automatic redemption trigger option, which can be set through Capital One’s online port or by contacting the rewards center. Available options include a specific time each calendar year or when a spending threshold (such as $25, $100, or $500) has been reached.
Besides cash back, you can choose from several other redemption methods. Available options include credits for previous purchases, gift cards, and more. Note that different types of rewards might be worth a bit less (or more) than straight cash back.
Rewards you earn with the Spark Classic won’t disappear as long as your account is active. Your account may also be eligible to transfer rewards, but not all accounts/reward products are eligible for transfer. Note that you’ll lose any unredeemed rewards if you close your account.
| Rates & Fees3.7 |
|---|
| Rates 2.4 |
| Fees 5.0 |
You won’t have to deal with annual or foreign transaction fees with this card. However, keep in mind that there is a relatively high APR — plus, you won’t get a 0% introductory rate.
With an APR of 29.74% (variable), the Spark Classic has a higher interest rate than many cards on the market. Capital One markets the card toward potentially riskier applicants, so this isn’t surprising.
Maverick Tip: You won’t have to worry about the APR if you pay off your balance every month. That’s especially crucial if you’re working on improving your credit score — carrying a balance could negatively impact your score down the line.
Despite the high APR, this card has no annual fee. This is especially handy because your rewards will start making you money right away — you don’t need to offset an annual fee as you might with a different card.
While the Spark Classic isn’t a travel credit card, it still lacks foreign transaction fees. This is a staple of Capital One cards, and it could make this card worth it if you don’t qualify for a travel-specific card.
On top of no annual fee, Capital One bundles this card with no balance transfer fees. However, there is a fee for cash advances of $5 or 5% of each cash advance, whichever is higher.
Additionally, this card carries a late payment fee of up to $39.
| Features5.0 |
|---|
| Business Perks 5.0 |
| Extra Benefits 5.0 |
All Capital One business cards come with a solid set of core benefits. Spark Classic offers a solid range of coverage and includes perks aimed at travel and shopping — even though this card isn’t specifically designed for those purposes.
With the following features on offer, Spark Classic earns a perfect score in this category.
| Eligibility Requirements4.2 |
|---|
| Credit Score 4.0 |
| Requirement Disclosure 5.0 |
Capital One designed the Spark Classic for those 18 or older with fair or average credit. Per its website, Capital One considers you to have fair credit if you’ve met the following conditions:
It also means that you should probably have a credit score of at least 580 before applying.
Maverick Tip: If you don’t know your credit score, find out by visiting one of our favorite (and free!) credit score sites. You don’t need to pay to find out your credit score.
| Customer Service4.5 |
|---|
| Support Options 5.0 |
| Support Quality 4.0 |
Capital One offers a full range of customer support options for its business credit card users. You’ll get 24/7 live support and some comprehensive FAQs.
| Spark Classic from Capital One 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 |
| User Reviews4.0 |
|---|
| User Feedback 4.0 |
| Review Sites 4.0 |
For being a credit-building card with a modest rewards rate, Spark Classic earns relatively strong reviews from users. Cardholders at Wallethub give Spark Classic an average score of 3.4/5 (based on 1,200+ reviews), while users at Credit Karma give the card a 4.5/5 average score (based on 15+ reviews).
That score from Wallethub may not seem too impressive, but it’s actually in line with what most top-ranked business credit cards get.
Spark Classic is a decent starter credit card for business owners, but let’s see how it compares to a few alternatives.
If your credit score is good or excellent, you have many more attractive business credit card options to choose from. However, if you’re facing credit challenges, Spark Classic from Capital One doesn’t just help you qualify for a better business credit card in the future. It also serves as a decent credit card in its own right, even if the cash back rate is nothing to write home about.
If your credit score isn’t perfect but your business’s metrics are strong, you may also want to consider one of the best corporate credit cards instead.
You might want to apply if:
You might want to look for a different card if:
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.
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