Why the Capital One Spark Cash Plus is an easy-to-use card for businesses
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The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is an easy-to-use business credit card that offers straightforward rewards — an unlimited 2 percent cash back on all purchases. It’s also a charge card, which means cardholders have to pay their balance in full each month, and there’s no APR or preset spending limit. This card’s spending bonuses, flat cash back, unlimited spending and attractive perks make this an easy card for business owners to use.
Read on to find out more about what makes this card a great choice and whether its offerings will meet your business’s needs.
Why you should get the Capital One Spark Cash Plus
Generous welcome bonus
The Capital One Spark Cash Plus offers a two-tier welcome bonus, the first of which should be easily attainable for a wide variety of cardholders. You can earn up to a $1,000 cash bonus — $500 once you spend $5,000 in the first three months of holding the card, plus another $500 once you spend $50,000 in the first six months.
This welcome bonus is one of the top selling points of this card, and it’s one of the most generous welcome bonuses currently offered for a business card. However, it may be harder for smaller businesses to earn the second tier of the bonus since it requires spending at least $50,000 in the first six months (or $8,333 per month).
Additionally, if you spend at least $200,000 per year, you’ll be eligible to earn a $200 cash bonus each year. While this bonus may be unattainable for smaller businesses, it should be easier to achieve for larger businesses.
Unlimited, flat cash back on all purchases
If you tend to spend in less common shopping categories or want to avoid the hassle of keeping track of bonus spending categories like restaurants or gas, the Spark Cash Plus card offers a high cash back rate on all general spending: You’ll earn 2 percent cash back on all purchases. As a bonus, you’ll also earn 5 percent cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
There’s also no spending cap on rewards, a feature that is common on cards with higher earning rates. So, if you don’t want to worry about spending limits, and if you’re looking to earn easy, straightforward rewards on all of your spending, this card is a good alternative to consider.
While this card does come with an annual fee of $150, the unlimited 2 percent cash back on all purchases will cover the fee if you spend at least $7,500 per year. That should be an easy spending amount for businesses of any size to reach.
No preset spending limit
Because this is a charge card rather than a credit card, it’s best suited for business owners who have a positive cash flow and are fully confident they’ll be able to pay on time every month. A charge card may also be an attractive choice if you want to make sure you’re not going to accrue debt or face interest charges.
However, keep in mind that the late fee for missing monthly payments is 2.99 percent. This fee will be applied to the unpaid portion of your minimum payment. But be mindful not to miss any payments, though. Doing so puts your account at risk of being closed.
Travel benefits
This card is an easy choice for business owners who travel infrequently for business but still want some travel-related perks. For instance, this card comes with no foreign transaction fees, making this card a great choice for traveling abroad. You’ll also get access to roadside assistance and Capital One’s travel portal.
Business perks
The Spark Cash Plus also comes with a number business-related perks that can help streamline business operations and improve security, such as:
- Free employee cards
- Customized spending limits for employee cards and access to transaction history in real time
- Year-end, itemized summary reports to make budgeting and tax filing easier
- Quick access to purchase records, which can be downloaded into programs like QuickBooks and Excel
- Virtual card payments for safer online payments
- Payment flexibility, allowing you to choose a monthly due date that works best for you
How the Capital One Spark Cash Plus compares to other Capital One Spark cards
The Spark Cash Plus card is a part of the Capital One Spark card family. Here’s how some of the Spark cards compare to one another:
| Cards | Welcome bonus | Rewards rate | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital One Spark Cash Plus | Up to a $1,000 cash bonus — $500 once you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months after account opening and $500 once you spend $50,000 in the first 6 months |
|
$150 |
| Capital One Spark Cash Select – 0% Intro APR for 12 Months | N/A |
|
$0 |
| Capital One Spark Cash Select – $500 Cash Bonus | $500 bonus when you spend $4,500 within 3 months of account opening |
|
$0 |
| Capital One Spark Miles for Business | 50,000 miles after spending $4,500 within 3 months of account opening |
|
$95 ($0 for the first year) |
| Capital One Spark 1.5X Miles Select | 20,000 miles after spending $3,000 within 3 months of account opening |
|
$0 |
If you want a credit card instead of a charge card, the Capital One Spark Cash Select – 0% Intro APR for 12 Months is a good option to consider. In addition to no annual fee, this card offers 1.5 percent cash back on all purchases and 5 percent cash back on hotel stays and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Though the cash back rate is lower than the Spark Cash Plus, it’s a better choice if you don’t want to pay an annual fee. It also has a 0 percent intro APR offer on purchases for the first 12 months (20.74 percent to 28.74 percent variable APR thereafter).
Capital One also offers a variation of the Spark Cash Select called the Capital One Spark Cash Select – $500 Cash Bonus. This option, as the name suggests, comes with a $500 cash bonus when you spend $4,500 within the first three months. However, there’s no introductory APR offer with this card and it comes with a 17.99 percent to 23.99 percent variable APR.
For business owners who’d prefer to receive rewards in the form of Capital One miles, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business* is another option to consider. You can earn 50,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,500 within the first three months of holding the card, and you’ll earn an unlimited 2X miles on all purchases. This card also has a 25.24 percent variable APR and a $95 annual fee ($0 the first year). It’s also worth noting that this card allows you to transfer miles to Capital One’s airline and hotel partners.
Alternatively, Capital One offers a sister version of this card, the Capital One Spark 1.5X Miles Select, which doesn’t charge an annual fee. You can earn 20,000 bonus miles once you spend $3,000 within the first three months. You’ll also receive a 0 percent intro APR on purchases for the first nine months (then a variable APR of 16.99 percent to 26.99 percent). Though the rewards are smaller, this card is geared toward people who spend less. But you’ll still get one big perk that’s uncommon with no-annual-fee cards — the ability to transfer miles to travel partners.
The bottom line
The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is an easy-to-use card for business owners. It offers flat cash back on all purchases, no preset spending limit and numerous card perks. For larger businesses, the spending bonuses should be easy to attain, too.
However, before you choose a business card, make sure to take a look at other top business cards to make sure you choose the right card for your business needs and spending style.
*The information about the Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.
