Capital One Spark Cash for Business Review

The Capital One Spark Cash for Business is designed for entrepreneurs and companies with a diverse array of spending.

Many business cards provide generous rewards for travel or business supplies but offer little else in the way of value.

By way of contrast, this card offers an unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases, without any category limits or spending caps to hem you in. This comes with a $95 annual fee, but the fee is waived for the first year.

The Capital One Spark Cash for Business Credit Card is for businesses and businesspeople with a relatively large annual spend.

For lower spenders, there are no-fee cards with a similar cash back plan, albeit with an annual spending cap. If you want to get cash back on every business-related purchase, this is one of your better choices.

Capital One Spark Cash for Business Pros and Cons

Pros:

• High rewards rate
• No rewards category limit
• No over-limit fee or foreign transaction fee
• Rewards are easy to redeem

Cons:

• High APR
• Charges an annual fee after the first year
• Few additional perks

Capital One Spark Cash for Business Review

• Annual Fee: $95 (waived for the first year)
• Sign-Up Bonus: $500
• Interest Rate: 20.99%
• Rewards: 2% on all spending categories
• Foreign Transaction Fee: N/A

Capital One Spark Cash for Business Features & Benefits

Straightforward Rewards

Earning and redeeming rewards on the Capital One Spark Cash for Business is straightforward, painless, and transparent.

Earning Rewards

Earning rewards on the Capital One Spark Cash for Business is relatively straightforward. You don’t have to do anything special, use any special purchase code, or enter your PIN with all your transactions. Just use your card, and you’ll automatically receive 2% cash back on all of your purchases.

You’ll also receive a generous $500 sign-up bonus, provided you spend at least $4,500 in the first three months. As we’ll see, you should be spending at least this much anyway.

Redeeming Capital One Spark Cash Rewards

Redeeming your cash back rewards is as easy as earning them. Using Capital One’s app or online portal, you can request payments at any time.

These payments can come in the form of a check, a gift card, or a direct credit to your statement. Alternatively, you can set up automatic payouts when your rewards reach a certain threshold.

Payouts can be automatically disbursed in increments of $25, $50, $100, $200, $500, or $1,500. Finally, you can have rewards disbursed as credits towards most other Capital One accounts. They cannot, however, be transferred to another loyalty program.

Sizeable Sign-Up Bonus ($500)

The sign-up bonus of $500 is one of the most generous on the market. Yes, there are cards with higher bonuses, but they usually have a very high minimum spend.

For example, some Amex cards require $20,000 in spending to obtain the bonus. By comparison, the Capital One Spark Cash card requires only $4,500 in spend in the first 90 days to qualify for the bonus.

In practice, you should be spending at least that much every 90 days, to begin with. Let’s do the math. With an annual fee of $95 and a cash back rate of 2%, you need to spend at least $4,750 per year to break even.

Now, that is still a lot more than $4,500 every three months, which would work out to $18,000 per year.

However, if you’re spending less than about $20,000 per year, there are other cash back cards with more robust rewards.

The whole point of the Capital One Spark Cash for Business is that there’s no limit, so you can spend more and earn more rewards.

If anything, $4,500 every three months is the bare minimum you should be spending on this card—all of this to say that you’re looking at one heck of a sign-up bonus.

Awesome Insurance Benefits

Like many business-oriented credit cards, the Capital One Spark Cash for Business comes with a number of insurance benefits for business-related purchases.

The most robust of these is their rental vehicle insurance program, which covers rentals even if you’ve waived the rental agency’s insurance. As long as the rental was made for business purchases, you’ll be covered for any damage or theft.

One thing you should note is that this full coverage is only for business rentals. For personal vehicle rentals, the Spark Cash card only provides secondary coverage.

This means that your personal insurance policy will be charged first, and your rates will likely go up. In this case, the card will only cover damages that weren’t covered by your personal insurance.

The Capital One Spark Cash for Business will double the length of the manufacturer’s warranties for business purchases.

This comes with a couple of caveats. First, it only adds up to one year. So, if there’s a six-month or 90-day warranty, the period will be doubled.

If there’s a year-long warranty, it will still be doubled. But for any warranty longer than a year, it will only add one additional year. Second, the card will only increase coverage for warranties of three years or less.

In addition to all this, the card even covers you for purchases that have been lost or damaged within 90 days of the purchase – even if it was your fault.

Bought a new office computer and managed to break it during setup? No problem! Each cardholder is covered up to $50,000, with a per-claim limit of $10,000.

Depending on the situation, Capital One will either replace your product, have it repaired, or reimburse you for the purchase.

Easily Add Employees

If you want to add extra cardholders, the process is quick and painless. You can assign individual cards to individual employees and set personal credit limits on each.

Best of all, employee cards are free, and they earn rewards at the same 2% rate as your primary card.

Other Benefits Provided by Spark Cash from Capital One

• Travel Accident Insurance: The Capital One Spark Cash for Business covers you for various emergency services when you’re out of the country. These include mundane coverages like ticket replacements, as well as more specific offerings like legal referrals.
• Primary Car Rental Coverage: Many business cards only provide secondary coverage on vehicle rentals. This means that if you don’t take the rental company’s insurance, your personal insurance can become involved in some accidents. The Spark Cash card provides primary coverage on business-related rentals, so your personal insurance won’t go up.
• Lost Baggage Protection: The card covers you for the cost of lost baggage, both in checked and carry-on luggage. You receive this coverage whenever you buy airline tickets with your card.
• Robust Security: You can receive email, phone, or text fraud alerts, although you can turn these off if you so desire. You also won’t be responsible for any fraudulent purchases if your card is lost or stolen.
• Accounting is Simple: Your Capital One Spark Cash card records are available online 24/7. You can download them in multiple formats, including Excel, Quickbooks, and Quicken, so they can easily be imported into your company’s accounting software. You can also use the web portal to set up automatic monthly payments and even determine your own monthly due date.
• Built for Businesses: If you’d rather delegate the task of managing your account, you can designate one of your employees as an account manager. This manager will be able to have full control over the account, so they can resolve any issues without constantly needing you to enter your password.

How Does the Capital One Spark Cash Compare to Other Business Credit Cards?

#1. Capital One Spark Cash vs Capital One Spark Cash Select

The Capital One Spark Cash Select for business is very similar to the Capital One Spark Cash for Business credit card.

It offers a similar, across-the-board cash back scheme but only pays out 1.5% instead of 2%. On the other hand, it also has no annual fee.

The sign-up bonus is also reduced. We did the math on this, and the Capital One Spark Cash Select card is a better deal if you spend less than $19,000.

If you have $19,000 or more in annual spending, the Spark Cash card’s higher rate will start to outweigh the annual fee.

#2. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a business card with a slightly lower APR than the Spark Cash.

While the maximum rate of 20.99% is the same, qualified borrowers can get rates as low as 15.99%.

A business card should be paid off at the end of every month since there are much smarter ways for a company to carry debt.

That said, a lower APR is still useful if someone in accounting screws up and makes the payment a day late.

The Ink card earns rewards in points, which can then be traded in for various perks. You earn 3 points for each dollar spent on travel and certain other business expenses, up to a limit of $150,000 per year. All other purchases earn you a reduced rate of 1 point per dollar.

#3. Brex Card for Startups

The Brex Card for Startups is a bit different than most other business cards. They don’t require a personal credit check or a security deposit. Instead, your limit is based solely on your company’s creditworthiness.

To qualify, a company must have a bank balance of at least $100,000. This card is geared towards well-funded startups, even if the founder has a spotty credit history.

Credit limits are based on your individual business but are 10 to 20 times higher than most small business cards.

All transactions earn point rewards, with 2x multipliers for software, 3x multipliers for Apple products, 3x on restaurants, 4x on Brex travel, and an impressive 7x on rideshare.

Additional rewards of 30,000 points or 50,000 points are issued if you spend $3,500 or $9,000 respectively in the first 30 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are the Rewards on the Capital One Spark Cash?

The Capital One Spark Cash card earns 2% cash back on all purchases, regardless of category.

Does the Capital One Spark Cash Have an Annual Fee?

Yes. The annual fee is $95, but it is waived for the first year.

What’s the Difference Between the Capital One Spark Cash and the Capital One Spark Cash Select?

The Capital One Spark Cash Select card pays a reduced rate of 1.5% but charges no annual fee.

Are Freelancers Eligible for the Capital One Spark Cash?

Yes. Freelancers and other sole proprietors can open an account without forming an LLC or registering a DBA. In this case, your credit limit will be determined based on your own personal creditworthiness.

Bottom Line: Capital One Spark Cash Review

The Capital One Spark Cash for Business card is worthwhile if you spend at least $19,000 a year on business expenses.

Because there’s no limit on your rewards, it becomes a better value the more you spend. Very small businesses with lower expenses will do better with a no-fee card or an annual limit and a higher cash back rate.

That said, the Capital One Spark Cash card is one of the best cash back cards for most businesses.