Capital One Spark Cash Plus review
Small business owners can earn a generous welcome bonus and an annual cash-back bonus just by buying what you need for your business.
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Capital One Spark Cash Plus
- Rewards
- 2% Cash Back on every purchase. 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
- Welcome Bonus
- $2,000 Cash Back once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months. Earn an additional $2,000 cash bonus for every $500K spent during the first year
- Annual Fee
- $150
Key Features
- Earn a one-time cash bonus of $2,000 once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months
- Earn an additional $2,000 cash bonus for every $500K spent during the first year. You can earn this bonus multiple times over the course of year 1!
- Earn unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase, everywhere-with no limits or category restrictions
- Enjoy purchasing power that adapts to your business. The Spark Cash Plus card has no preset spending limit, so it can adapt to your needs based on your spending behavior, payment history, credit profile and other factors
- Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while you earn rewards from their transactions with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- $150 annual fee - Spend $150,000 annually and Capital One will refund this fee every year
- Spark Cash Plus has no APR because your balance is due in full every month
- For businesses that need large spending capacity and want to maximize cash back
Editor Analysis:
- Cardholders can earn a one-time cash bonus of $2,000 once you spend $30,000 in the first three months, plus earn an additional $2,000 cash bonus for every $500,000 spent during the first year.
- Get your annual_fees annual fee refunded every year you spend at least $150,000 with the card.
- With no preset spending limit, you get purchasing power that adapts to your spending needs.
- A look at the spend requirements to earn the bonuses offers a clue that the occasional business spender probably isn't going to be able to max out the perks here. Another small business card might be better for you. See Rates and Fees
CardName rewards
CardName offers a straightforward rewards program that makes it easy for a business of any size to accumulate significant cash back… and that welcome offer is extreme in the best possible way.
Let’s start with the basic program, which is simple. You earn 2% cash back on every purchase you make using your card. There is no limit on the amount of cash back you can earn, there are no spending caps to worry about. Additionally, cardholders can earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
Since there is no pre-set spending limit (more on that below) and you are able to obtain additional cards for your employees, the cash back could certainly accumulate quickly each month.
Now, about that welcome offer: earn a one-time cash bonus of $2,000 once you spend $30,000 in the first three months, plus earn an additional $2,000 cash bonus for every $500,000 spent during the first year.
As an extra ongoing bonus, get your AnnualFees annual fee refunded every year you spend at least $150,000 with the card. (See Rates and Fees)
Even without the welcome bonus, you’d still stand to come out well ahead in any given year with spending like that.
CardName benefits
CardName offers a business extensive spending flexibility thank to no pre-set spending limit to curtail your plans and goals. Rather, your spending limit can give you purchasing power that adapts to your spending needs.
Speaking of "no limit," as we mentioned earlier, remember that there’s no limit on the amount of rewards you can earn, so your 2% cash back can track right along with your spending no matter how you’re doing it.
It should be noted that CardName operates as a "charge card" and not a traditional "credit card."
What does that mean?
With a credit card, you can carry over a balance, month-to-month, without penalty and are charged an interest rate (APR) on your unpaid balance. With a charge card, on the other hand, you are expected to pay off your full balance every month. In the case of CardName, if you fail to pay your full balance by your payment date, you are charged a late fee on the balance. (See Rates and Fees)
This may sound inconvenient but it’s actually a strong benefit for any business, especially a small business that is counting every penny. Having to pay your balance each month encourages responsible spending habits, accurate budgeting and accountability with employees who are authorized to charge to the account.
When it comes to additional benefits, the CardName card offers no foreign transaction fees, employee cards at no cost with unlimited 2% cash back from their purchases, and a host of additional money-saving and efficiency benefits that busy business owners will no doubt appreciate. (See Rates and Fees)
Potential downsides of the CardName card
CardName is a solid card, but, as with any card, there are always some potential drawbacks to consider.
First, there is a AnnualFees annual fee to keep in mind. As with any business card with an annual fee, don’t get it if you don’t plan to use it. There is no point spending money every year for a card sitting unused in a drawer. There are other business credit cards in the marketplace with no annual fee, if you are simply looking for a "break glass in case of emergency" card.
Also, remember that CardName is a "charge card" and not a "credit card." Don’t overlook the requirement to pay off your balance each month by the due date. You get hit with a fee for any remaining balance. (See Rates and Fees)
This card requires responsible spending habits and strong budgeting/bookkeeping. In some ways, as we mentioned earlier, the need to pay this card off each month could help you stay on track and on budget, but it also means you don’t want to get into a situation where you aren’t paying it off every month.
One last thing to think about: many small business cards are geared toward businesses of really any size, but the structure of the Spark Cash Plus rewards program – namely, the spending requirement to fully earn the bonus as well as the annual spending requirement to earn the yearly cash-back bonus – certainly targets businesses with pretty significant spending. If you’re a rideshare driver who puts a few hundred dollars worth of gas in your vehicle each month, you probably won’t fully reap the benefits this card offers and a different small business credit card is likely a better option.
How do cardholders rate the CardName?
CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results for the CardName:
| Current Scores | Past Scores | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 81.5 | 79.3 |
| Features Satisfaction | 8.1 | 8 |
| Customer Service | 7.8 | 8.1 |
| Website/App Usability | 8.5 | 8 |
| Likelihood of Continuing to Use | 8.6 | 7.8 |
| Recommend to a Friend/Colleague | 8.2 | 7.8 |
How the CardName compares to other cards
CardName vs. CardName
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CardName is another credit card alternative with similar features to the CardName card.
Both cards offer a simple cash-back rewards program. CardNames offers 2% cash back on all purchases. CardName offers 1.5% on all purchases.
The CardName has no annual fee, a plus if you are put off by the annual fee charged by CardName.
CardName is a traditional credit card, though it also features a nice introductory 0% APR on purchases for intro_apr_duration from account opening (then, RegAPR). This savings can be significant for a business operating on a tight budget or with a capital expense on the horizon.
When it comes to a welcome bonus, the CardName offers a $900 bonus when you spend at least $6,000 in the first three months after the account is opened and, as is the case with the ongoing rewards the card earns, that bonus is awarded in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Those points can be combined with points earned through other Ultimate Rewards-earning cards, and redeemed for travel, cash back and more. If you’re looking for another card to increase your Ultimate Rewards-earning potential, CardName is a better choice.
CardName vs. CardName
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CardName matches the 2% cash back on all eligible purchases offered by CardName, but only up to the first $50,000 in spent in a calendar year; after that, rewards drop to 1%. Rewards are automatically credited to your statement. (American Express is a CardRatings advertiser.)
CardName has a $0 annual fee as well as a nice introductory 0% APR period on purchases for intro_apr_duration (then, RegAPR).
The American Express card also offers the ability to spend (and earn rewards on purchases) beyond your credit limit thanks to its Expanded Buying Power feature (note that the amount you can spend above your limit isn’t unlimited; rather, it adjusts based on your use of the card, payment history, financial resources and more). See Rates and Fees
Is CardName a good card?
The key with the CardName card is fiscal discipline and enough spending to fully maximize the card’s bonus opportunities and earn plenty of rewards. If you run a tight budget and can pay your balance in full and on time each month, this can be an excellent card for your business. You can earn significant cash back, not to mention a solid welcome bonus, as well as an ongoing annual bonus which will more than make up for the annual fee.
Plus, as a charge card, CardName encourages responsible spending and accountability among those employees using the card.
Frequently asked questions
What credit score do you need for card_name_placeholder?
What is the difference between Spark Cash Plus and Select?
Our Methodology
Survey methodology: CardRatings commissioned Op4G in September 2023 to conduct surveys among 1,869 cardholders nationwide. CardRatings website analytics from Jan. 1, 2023-Aug. 31, 2023 were used to determine a selection of the most popular cards and additional cards were included to add survey breadth. Responses to each of nine questions were given on a scale of 1-10 and respondents’ scores were then averaged under broad topics. To determine the overall score, responses from questions 1-8 were summed and the answer to "How likely are you to recommend this card to a friend, coworker or family member?" was double weighted. Current Scores reflect scores from the most recent survey (2023); “Past Scores” reflect scores from the 2022 survey.
Disclaimer:The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that credit card offers change frequently. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit card prior to applying.
This content is not provided by any company mentioned in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any such company. CardRatings.com does not review every company or every offer available on the market.
See Rates and Fees for CardName
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
