Capital One Spark Cash Plus review: Is the boosted buying power worth a higher fee?

Starting a business isn’t cheap, and it's not organized by bonus categories. The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is a great card for everyday business owners who don’t want to spend money on different products and services to maximize a tiered rewards system. A flat-rate card like the Spark Cash Plus can simplify your business spending without sacrificing too much in rewards value.

Rewards rate: A generous flat rate for all purchases

Your and your employees’ cards will earn unlimited 2% cash back on almost all your business purchases with no spending caps or bonus categories to juggle. You’ll also get 5% cash back when you book a hotel or rental car through Capital One Business Travel.

The only expenses that Capital One counts as ineligible for rewards are products you return, cash equivalent transactions and account costs like cash advances and checks for accessing your account.

Redemptions: Simple, flexible cash back options

Few issuers simplify rewards redemption like Capital One. Busy business owners can set their cash back to automatically redeem once their balance reaches a certain threshold ($25, $50, $200, $500 or $1,500) or at a selected time each calendar year. Although a direct bank account deposit is not included in the card’s redemption choices, you can receive your rewards as:

• A statement credit
• A check
• A gift card
• Checkout payments through Amazon.com and PayPal
• Travel bookings through Capital One Business Travel

Many cardholders can find a way to make the Spark Cash Plus work for them, but you can also convert your Spark Cash Plus cash back into Capital One Miles if you have a Capital One business travel card. 

Credit limit: No preset spending limit

Businesses that prefer a flexible line of credit will find the Spark Cash Plus a suitable choice. Your card is designed to be paid in full. However, you have the option to carry over a portion of your balance with interest if needed. Pay at least the minimum payment amount by your payment due date, otherwise you'll be charged a 2.99% late fee

This doesn’t mean you have unlimited spending, however. The amount you can spend will depend on your spending behavior, habits, payment history and credit score. If you’re a responsible borrower, Capital One will work with you by giving you access to the credit limit that works for your business.

The Spark Cash Plus carries a lot of value for big spenders, but if you’re not spending at a pace that’s equal to the card’s welcome offer spending requirement, it might not be the right pick for you. This is especially true considering there are cards with the same flat rewards rate that don’t require an annual fee and high credit score requirements.

Welcome offer: Great value but only for big spenders

Although this card carries a very valuable welcome offer, it comes with a huge spending requirement. You can earn a one-time cash bonus of $2,000 once you spend $30,000 in the first three months. You can also earn an additional $2,000 cash bonus for every $500,000 spent in the first year, which can be earned multiple times. While valuable, this is a big spending requirement, especially considering the short timeframe. If you have a big purchase coming up or your business spends significantly, now is a great time to apply if you think you can responsibly meet the spending requirements.

Annual fee: High fee for average rewards

This card’s annual fee is relatively high, especially considering you can find this card’s rewards rate on other card options with no annual fee.

Flat-rate rewards credit cards are a great way to scoop up extra rewards on purchases that fall outside of tiered categories, but unless you spend a substantial amount each year, they earn rewards quite slowly. For instance, you won’t break even on rewards earnings with this card until you spend more than $7,500 on general purchases for your business. With the bonus category, that figure lowers to $3,000 to help offset the annual fee cost. This might not seem like a high spending requirement based on your business, but the card won't be worth it unless you spend at least this amount each year on business purchases or travel.

Rewards: Tiered rewards may fit your business better

The Spark Cash Plus is a good pick for the cardholder who values simplicity. However, at this credit level, you might want to think more critically about maximizing your rewards. A strong, tiered rewards card could net you more cash back or rewards without much more leg work. Depending on where you spend the majority of your money, you might be able to earn more cash back with another card than with the Spark Cash Plus. 

Credit card expert and Bankrate contributor Holly D. Johnson interviewed several cardholders for their firsthand experience with the Capital One Spark Cash and how it’s helped them manage their small businesses. Several business owners chose it over rival cards due to its flexible spending limit and straightforward, but lucrative, rewards program.

“If one month I need to spend $3,000 and the next month spend $15,000, I can do it without stressing [over having] enough available credit. When I can worry about one less thing, I am a happy man.”

— Max Marvelous, money coach

“I found several [cards] that offered lucrative cash back amounts, but only up to a few thousand dollars — then you get something like 1% cash back or no rewards at all on your purchases. The Spark Cash Plus gives me 2% back on everything with no limitations. I like that simplicity.”

— Jeffrey Gabriel, co-founder of Saw.com

“I signed up specifically for the 2% cash back. The 2% cash back gives us a little boost on our profit margins, which helps us offer more competitive pricing… We pay off our balance every month and use our rewards to help offset that balance.”

— Jeff Neal, operations manager at Critter Depot

Few business cards offer 2% cash back on all other purchases, and even fewer offer extensive purchasing power like the Spark Cash Plus. However, these alternative picks may be a better value if your business calls for large purchases or a lower annual fee.

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus flexes a unique edge over other business cards by carrying one of the best flat cash back rates and sign-up bonuses on the market. Its boosted buying power and sign-up bonus are a step up from its no-annual-fee counterparts and its predecessor, the Spark Cash for Business.

Considering the Spark Cash Plus card’s benefits outside the above features are strikingly similar to its no-annual-fee cash back business cards, the fee may be hard to justify for some cardholders — unless your business spends enough to nab the annual fee refund. 

Few business cards offer such a high cash back rate on all purchases and a streamlined rewards experience, so this card can have remarkable stand-alone value for small business owners with big expenses.

* 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.

Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring business credit cards, including each card’s rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, APR, fees, perks and more.

We analyzed over 50 of the most popular business credit cards and scored each based on how its key features stacked up compared to those of other cards in its category.

Here are some of the key factors that gave this card its score: