Capital One Spark Cash Select Review – 1.5% Cash Back

Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit is a popular business cash back credit card with no annual fee and a simple rewards program that earns an unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase.

Like many other business credit cards, it offers some useful benefits for business owners, such as free employee cards and spending reports. It’s not as generous as the Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card, which delivers 2% cash back on every purchase and has a wider array of benefits.

But Spark Cash Plus has a $150 annual fee, whereas Spark Cash Select has no annual fee. So Spark Cash Select is ideal for lighter-spending business owners averse to credit card annual fees.

What Is the Capital One Spark Cash Select Card?

Spark Cash Select applicants can choose from two distinct products:

• Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit, which delivers an early spend bonus worth $750 after you spend $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
• Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit, which offers an interest-free (0% APR) period on purchases for 12 months after account opening — then regular APR applies, currently 21.24% to 29.24% (variable).

Learning more about and applying for the Spark Cash Select card is easy. Simply choose your preferred product from the two above and use the link to reach the application page. Expect the process to take about 10 minutes and require basic information like your legal business name, taxpayer identification number, and SSNs for all business owners (more details below).

Spark Cash Select competes with a host of other business rewards cards, including Chase Ink Business Cash, Chase Ink Business Preferred® ($95 annual fee), and Capital One’s own Spark Cash Plus for Business (with an increased 2% cash back rate in exchange for a $95 annual fee).

Key Features of Capital One Spark Cash Select

These are the key features of the Spark Cash Select cards. Other than the early spend bonus and intro APR offers, most apply to both cards.

Early Spend Bonus (Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit)

The Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit delivers a $750 cash bonus after you spend at least $6,000 in purchases within 3 months of opening the account.

Introductory APR (Spark Cash Select for Good Credit)

The Spark Cash Select for Good Credit offers 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from account opening. Thereafter, variable regular APR applies (currently 21.24% to 29.24% (variable), depending on your creditworthiness and prevailing rates).

Cash Back Rewards and Redemption (Both Cards)

Spark Cash Select earns a flat 1.5% cash back on every $1 spent, every day, with no caps or restrictions. There’s just one exception: Eligible hotel and car rental bookings earn unlimited 5% cash back when made through Capital One Travel.

Accumulated cash back can be redeemed in any amount for statement credits and paper checks. You can also set up automatic redemption, which clears your cash back account in the manner of your choosing (statement credit or check) once you reach a predefined redemption threshold: $25, $50, $100, or $200.

Additionally, you can redeem your cash back for gift cards and charitable donations, though doing so may diminish the value of your cash back and may entail a minimum redemption threshold.

Important Fees (Both Cards)

There is no annual fee, foreign transaction fee, or fee for employee cards.

Quarterly and Year-End Reports (Both Cards)

At the end of every quarter and year, Capital One sends you a detailed summary of your spending during the period, including categorized line items that simplify budgeting, accounting, and tax preparation. Spending on employee cards, if any, is included in this report as well.

Downloadable Purchase Records (Both Cards)

Capital One offers downloadable purchase reports that can easily be exported to accounting software such as QuickBooks, Excel, and Quicken – another benefit for accounting and tax preparation.

Additional Benefits (Both Cards)

Spark Cash Select has a number of general benefits, including a complimentary auto rental collision damage waiver when you charge the full amount of the rental to your card, and 24/7 emergency travel assistance services, including ticket replacement and lost card replacement.

You can also generate virtual card numbers at will on your Spark Cash Select account, protecting your account information from untrustworthy vendors and payment systems with lax security practices.

Credit Required (Both Cards)

Spark Cash Select requires good to excellent credit. A few credit history imperfections probably won’t disqualify you from consideration, but serious blemishes are likely to be a problem.

Advantages of Capital One Spark Cash Select

Here’s what Spark Cash Select has going for it.

• No Annual Fee. Capital One Spark Cash Select for Business doesn’t charge an annual fee. This is a definite perk for frugal business owners who don’t spend enough to offset an annual fee. Some competing cards, such as Chase Ink Business Preferred® and American Express Business Green Rewards, do carry annual fees.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees. This card also does not charge foreign transaction fees. If you travel abroad regularly or do business in other countries, this is a big perk. Amex’s Blue Business Plus and Blue Business Cash both charge 2.7% for foreign transactions.
• Nice Early Spend Bonus on the Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit. To be eligible to receive the $750 early spend bonus on the Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit, you must spend $6,000 on the card within 3 months. Fortunately, that’s doable for many business owners.
• Good Intro APR Promotion on Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit. It’s not amazing by consumer credit card standards, but Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit has a very good intro APR promotion for a no-annual-fee business card. Use it well and you could enjoy up to 12 months with no interest payments on eligible purchases.
• Rewards Can Be Redeemed in Any Amount. You can redeem your cash back rewards in any amount. This is great if you spend intermittently with this card and don’t want to wait until you hit a redemption threshold. Some other cards set minimum redemption requirements.
• No Spending Caps or Rotating/Tiered Spending Categories. Spark Cash Select’s cash back rewards system couldn’t be simpler – an unlimited 1.5% back on all purchases, no matter what. If you can’t be bothered with rotating or tiered spending categories, this is a welcome relief. Many competing cards, including options offered by Chase and American Express, have much more complex rewards schemes.

Disadvantages of Capital One Spark Cash Select

Consider these disadvantages before applying for Spark Cash Select.

• Rewards Capped at 1.5% Rate for Most Purchases. Capital One Spark Cash Select’s cash back earning rate is capped at 1.5%, with the exception of eligible Capital One Travel spending. That’s a decent baseline, but it can’t compete with higher rates available from cards with favored spending categories. For instance, Chase Ink Business Cash and Chase Ink Business Preferred® earn up to 3% cash back in select spending categories (such as telecommunications and office supplies) up to respective $25,000 and $150,000 annual caps. If you have heavy spending needs and expect to break through these caps, it may be more advantageous to stick with Spark Cash Select. If you have more modest spending needs in specific categories, look to cards that favor those categories, since you probably won’t exceed the caps on a regular basis.
• Limited Business Benefits. Aside from the quarterly spending reports and exportable purchase records, this card doesn’t have many benefits designed specifically for business owners. Other business credit cards are much more generous on this point. For instance, American Express business cards include discounts up to 5% (or an equivalent Membership Rewards point-earning rate) with select partner merchants, including FedEx.
• Noncash Redemptions Are Not Ideal. If you want to redeem your cash back for something other than a statement credit or paper check, you can opt for a gift card or charitable donation. However, gift card redemptions may cut the value of your accumulated cash back – by as much as half, in some cases – and their terms are subject to change without notice.
• Can’t Redeem for Merchandise. You can’t redeem your cash back rewards for merchandise. That’s a bummer if you want the flexibility to spend your cash without taking it out of your Capital One account. Many of American Express’s business cards fit into Amex’s Membership Rewards program, which is basically an online shopping mall with reasonable deals on a wide range of general merchandise, transportation, experiences, and more.

How the Capital One Spark Cash Select Card Stacks Up

Not sure either version of the Capital One Spark Cash Select Card is right for you? Consider its grown-up cousin, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card. Here’s how they compare.

Final Word

Aside from the name and a handful of perks that aren’t available on Capital One consumer credit cards, Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit and Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit cards don’t much look like business credit cards. In fact, these cards’ basic parameters are nearly identical to Capital One Quicksilver, the issuer’s flagship consumer cash back card.

However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you want to earn the same cash back rate on every single purchase you make for your business, without paying a hefty fee each year, a Spark Cash Select card deserves a place in your wallet. Depending on your non-business spending needs, you might want to get a Quicksilver card to keep it company.