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Many business credit cards offer generous rewards programs, but they charge high annual fees or make their programs complicated to navigate. If you don't want to track bonus points on rotating categories or deal with annual limits on the cash back your company can earn, the Capital One Spark Cash Select might be the card you're looking for.
Even better, this card comes in two different versions so you can pick the one that's the best fit for you. You can choose from the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit and the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit.
This Capital One Spark Cash Select review will explain the differences between these two cards and help you decide if one of them is the card your business has been looking for.
Flat 1.5% Cash Back & 0% Intro APR
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Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit
Current Offer
Introductory APR on purchases
Annual Fee
$0
Rewards Rate
unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases on all cards attached to the account; plus 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
Flat 1.5% cash back & no annual fee
Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit
Current Offer
Earn a $750 cash bonus after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months
Annual Fee
$0
Rewards Rate
unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases on all cards attached to the account; plus 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
Who should get this card?
Are you hoping to avoid paying an annual fee for a bunch of cardholder perks you probably won't use? Or do you want an effortless credit card rewards program you don't have to think about? Do you want to get added protection for every purchase you make?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, consider submitting a credit card application for the Capital One Spark Cash Select. This card comes in two different versions so you can choose either a welcome bonus or an intro APR depending on the needs of your business.
You can also get free cards for your staff to earn rewards faster and redeem your cash back anytime you want with no limits or expiration dates.
And if all that wasn't enough, purchase protection ensures you can get eligible items repaired or replaced within 90 days of buying if something goes wrong — and eligible items purchased with your card will have the manufacturer's warranty doubled.
To get all these features, however, you'll need to make sure you're creditworthy, as this isn't a business credit card for people with no credit.
Card basics
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Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit |
Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit |
|
| Card Type | Business | Business |
| Card Issuer | Capital One | Capital One |
| Annual Fee | $0 | $0 |
| Welcome Bonus | None | Earn a $750 cash bonus after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months |
| Recommended Credit Score | Good | Excellent |
| Intro APR | 0% intro APR on purchases for first 12 months, then 21.24%, 26.24% or 29.24% (variable) APR | None |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | None | None |
| Learn How to Apply | Learn How to Apply |
Top card benefits
- Decent early spend bonus: If you choose the version with the bonus, then you can earn a $750 cash bonus after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months. Though not the highest bonus on the market, it’s a nice perk that should be relatively easy for most business owners to earn.
- Easy-to-follow rewards structure: Get a straightforward unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases on all cards attached to the account; plus 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. There are no limits and no rotating bonus categories to worry about.
- 0% intro APR on purchases: If you choose the version with the intro APR, then you’ll enjoy a 0% interest rate on new purchases during the first first 12 months after opening the card (then 21.24%, 26.24% or 29.24% (variable)), making this version of the Capital One Spark Cash Select an ideal choice if your company needs to pay off big buys over time.
- No annual fee: Unlike many other business cards, there's no annual fee for becoming a card holder with either version of this card.
- Free employee cards: Whichever one of these two business cards you choose, you can get credit cards for every member of your staff and earn rewards from all the purchases they make.
- Capital One Entertainment: Receive special access to music, sporting, and dining events through the Capital One Entertainment portal. You have the option to use your rewards, your card, or a combination of the two to pay for tickets.
Earning and redeeming
One of the best things about the Capital One Spark Cash Select is that the rewards program is incredibly simple. So you don't have to think about strategizing at all to get the most bang for your buck from this card.
Best ways to earn
Capital One's Spark Cash Select cards simply provide unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases on all cards attached to the account; plus 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel cash back on every purchase. There's limited opportunity to earn bonus rewards, but you also don't need to worry about activating bonus categories.
To maximize the rewards you earn, simply use your card for as many business purchases as you can. And don't forget to take advantage of the option to get free cards for all your employees so they can charge their purchases and help you earn rewards faster. Also when booking hotels or rental cars, use this card to book through Capital One Travel and earn 5% cash back.
However, be careful not to rack up too big of a bill. If your account balance isn’t paid off before the intro APR expires, you’ll start paying interest fees — which would eat into all that cash back you earned.
Maximizing your redemptions
Redeeming your rewards is also very simple with Capital One's Spark Cash Select. You can access the cash back you earn as a statement credit or a check. You can redeem any time you want with no minimums, so you can put cash back right into your business.
If you want to make the redemption process even more effortless, you have the option to set up preferences for automatic redemption. You can choose to redeem your cash back at a specific time each calendar year. Or you can opt to automatically redeem once you've hit a specific rewards threshold, such as $50, $500, or $1,500. When you set up automatic redemption, you don't ever have to think about requesting cash back.
Capital One also allows you to redeem for credits for previous purchases or gift cards. But since you don't get any extra value for your cash back by taking advantage of these options, it's usually simpler to just get a check or statement credit.
FAQs
Does Capital One cash back expire?
Capital One Cash back never expires, so you don't need to worry about losing the rewards you've earned with your Spark Cash Select card.
How does cash back work with Capital One?
Capital One makes it easy to earn cash back with the Spark Cash Select since you simply get up to 5% cash back on every purchase. However, balance transfers and cash advances don't count as purchases, so you won't get any cash back when you complete these transactions with your card.
You can redeem cash back for a statement credit or request a check. And you can redeem manually anytime you want with no minimum redemption limit. You can also set up automatic redemption once you hit a specific threshold — starting at $25 and increasing from there — or at a specific time in the calendar year.
What is considered excellent credit?
The Capital One Spark Cash Select requires you to have an excellent credit score. Capital One doesn't specify a specific minimum score in order to successfully apply for this card. A FICO score of 749-799 is considered "very good" and a score over 800 is considered "exceptional."
Numerical credit scores are provided as guidelines only and are not a guarantee of approval.
How do I redeem my Capital One Spark rewards?
To redeem your rewards, log into your Capital One account and navigate to the “Redeem Rewards” page. From there, you can select the amount you want to redeem and how you’d like the rewards delivered to you.
If you don't want to manually redeem rewards each time, you can also log into your account and set up automatic redemption.
Other cards to consider
Not sure that the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit or the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit is right for you? There are a few other business cards to consider:
The Capital One Spark Cash Plus offers many of the same card features as the Spark Cash Select, including purchase protection and extended manufacturer warranties. This card charges a $150 annual fee after the first year, but it offers 2% cash back on every purchase, every day; plus 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, on the other hand, offers the same unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase as the Capital One Spark Cash Select does and also charges a $0 annual fee. The new cardmember sign-up bonus is more generous on this Ink card, though, as you can earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
You also get a 0% intro APR period for 12 months (then 18.49% - 24.49% Variable APR) on the Ink Business Unlimited — longer than the one offered by Capital One.
Flat 1.5% cash back & no annual fee
Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit
Why We Like It
Earn a $750 cash bonus after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months
See how these cards compare:
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Capital One Spark Cash Plus
- Earn $1,200 after spending $30,000 in the first 3 months
- 2% unlimited cash back on every purchase, every day
- Charge card with no preset spending limits
- $150 cash bonus every year you spend $150,000 or more
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Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
- Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase
- Intro APR on purchases
- No annual fee