The Capital One Spark Cash for Business Review

Spend with the Spark Cash and earn 2 cents for every single dollar you spend for your business.

Updated on March 10, 2020
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Credit Card

Credit Card

Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business
5Fundera Score

Great For: Simple cash back rewards

  • Unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase with no cap
  • Earn a $500 as signup bonus if you spend $4,500 in the first 3 months
  • Annual fee waived first year
Credit Card
Welcome offerif you spend $4,500 in the first 3 monthsRewards rateon every purchase with no capsAnnual feefirst year, then $95Minimum credit
$5002% cash back0660

Quick Summary

The Capital One Spark Cash offers an unlimited 2% cash back for every dollar you spend along with a limited-time welcome offer of up to $500. After your first year with the Spark Cash, though, a $95 annual fee will set in.

Capital One Spark Cash for Business Rewards: Welcome Offer

The Capital One Spark Cash for Business will come with a one-time signing bonus that depends on how much you spend within your first months as a cardholder.

As a limited time offer, you can earn a $500 cash bonus when you spend $4,500 in the first 3 months of your account opening.

If you already spend this much on your business every month, the Spark Cash’s signing bonus could be yours with no change to your business spending habits.

Capital One Spark Cash for Business Rewards: Ongoing Offer

This is where this Capital One Spark card for business really stands out from the crowd.

With flat-rate, no-cap rewards, the Spark Cash will allow you to spend on your business knowing full well that you’re always optimizing your cash back rewards.

Every time you swipe your Capital One Spark Cash for Business, no matter where, no matter when, you’ll be earning an even 2% cash back. Capital One won’t even cap the amount of cash back you can earn every year, which is pretty rare for a business credit card, much less for ones with such a generous rewards rate.

Capital One Spark Cash for Business Annual Fee

Unfortunately, a rewards rate as generous as the Spark Cash’s can’t come for free.

That’s why its annual fee is $95.

Capital One will waive the annual fee for your first year with the Capital One Spark Cash for Business.

And when you consider how much you’ll earn on your everyday spend—which, at 2% cash back for every purchase, will be a lot—you’ll be even more convinced.

Is the Capital One Spark Cash for Business Right for You?

Get the Spark Cash if:

  • You’re looking for the simplest cash back rewards.
  • You’re looking for a generous welcome offer cash bonus.
  • You’re looking for a $0 balance transfer offer.

Skip the Spark Cash if:

  • You don’t want to pay an annual fee.
  • You want to access a 0% intro APR period.
  • You’d rather earn rewards points for your spending.

Why the Capital One Spark Cash for Business?

Flat-Rate, No-Cap Cash Back

Offering up no-cap rewards is one of the biggest draws a business credit card can boast. It’s also a pretty rare feature in a business rewards credit card.

Business credit cards, with higher spending limits, offer more opportunity to spend and, as a results, offer more opportunity to rake in the cash back. That said, even though it’s a natural move to cap the amount you can earn in cash back from a business credit card, Capital One doesn’t reign in your cash back earnings.

Simply put, the Capital One Spark Cash for Business is a rare opportunity to earn 2% cash back for every single dollar you spend on your business, no matter how many dollars you spend.

No Foreign Transaction Fee

A foreign transaction fee can take many jet-setting small business owners by surprise. In your search for a business credit card, it’s crucial to check in whether or not each of your card options comes with a foreign transaction fee.

You’ll be shocked to find that many business credit cards come with foreign transaction fees to the tune of up to 3% of every dollar you spend overseas.

Lucky for entrepreneurs who do a lot of their business spending abroad, the Capital One Spark Cash for Business isn’t one of these cards. That’s right—you won’t have to pay a fee in order to swipe with your Spark Cash during your travels.

Welcome Offer

The Capital One Spark Cash for Business isn’t just simple and pragmatic—it also boasts some pretty glamorous perks.

Not the least of which is its welcome offer. You’ll get $500 cash back if you spend $4,500 during your first three months with the card.

No Introductory Annual Fee

And the bonus will be able to cover so many years worth of the Spark Cash’s annual fee because the annual fee won’t apply to your first year with the card. Besides having no annual fee ever, having no introductory annual fee is one of the most convenient perks a business credit card can offer.

The fact that the Capital One Spark Cash for Business comes with no annual fee for your first year could provide you with a great trial period for testing out the card to see if you’re earning enough cash back to make up for its eventual annual fee.

Keep in Mind With the Capital One Spark Cash for Business

Annual Fee

One of the main reasons to hesitate on the Capital One Spark Cash for Business is its annual fee of $95 that will set in after your first year with the card.

Though the Spark Cash can more than pay for itself, that will only be a given if you reach the spending threshold to access the signing bonus.

Many small business owners simply don’t spend enough a) to access the Spark Cash’s signing bonus and b) to have the Spark Cash’s flat rate cash back balance out its annual fee.

As a result, you should definitely run the numbers for your habitual business spending to make sure that you’d recoup at least $95 a year of value with this card.

No 0% Intro APR Period

One of the best ways for small businesses to save money is getting a business credit card with a 0% intro APR period. 0% intro APR periods are exactly what they sound like—a few months at the beginning of your cardmembership in which your credit card has an APR of exactly 0%.

As long as you pay your monthly minimum on time, 0% intro APR period cards could save you and your business tons of money on avoided interest. And sometimes these intro periods can be as long as 15 months.

Unfortunately, the Capital One Spark Cash for Business doesn’t offer a 0% intro APR period of any length.

If you need to make a big ticket purchase and pay it off over time, then you might want to find a business credit card option that does offer a 0% intro APR period to its cardholders.

No Top-Earning Spending Categories

Though the flat-rate cash back rewards that come with the Capital One Spark Cash for Business are a huge perk for certain spenders, there are also a downside for others.

Namely, if your business is spending lots in typical small business expense categories—like, for instance, shipping, office supplies, or gas—you’ll be missing out on valuable top-tier rewards rates if you go with the Spark Cash for Business.

That’s because many business credit cards will offer rewards rates of up to 5% for spending within certain, small business-friendly spending categories. All in all, if you’re doing a lot of traditional business spending, you should be doing it on a card with tiered rewards.

Top Alternatives to the Capital One Spark Cash for Business

Credit Card

Credit Card

Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business

Great For: Unlimited cash back

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  • Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase with no cap
  • 0% intro APR on purchases for 9 months
  • No annual fee
Credit Card
Welcome offerif you spend $3k in first 3 monthsRewards ratebased on where you spend moneyAnnual feeMinimum credit
$200 cash back1.5% cash back0700
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The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
4.8Fundera Score

Great For: Making purchases with a 0% intro APR period

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on American Express's secure website
  • 12 month 0% intro APR period on purchases from the date of account opening
  • 2X points for the first $50K spent
  • No annual fee
Credit Card
Apply Now
on American Express's secure website
Intro apron purchases for 12 months from the date of account openingRegular aprvariableAnnual feeMinimum credit
0%18.24% – 26.24%0700
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    Sally Lauckner
    Editor-in-Chief at Fundera

    Sally Lauckner

    Sally Lauckner is the editor-in-chief of the Fundera Ledger and the editorial director at Fundera.

    Sally has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Previously she was the senior editor at SmartAsset—a Y Combinator-backed fintech startup that provides personal finance advice. There she edited articles and data reports on topics including taxes, mortgages, banking, credit cards, investing, insurance, and retirement planning. She has also held various editorial roles at AOL.com, Huffington Post, and Glamour magazine. Her work has also appeared in Marie Claire, Teen Vogue, and Cosmopolitan magazines. 

    Read Full Author Bio