Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business: Should You Get It For Your Business?
Excellent credit card for businesses that spend less than $11,800 annually on their credit card.
The Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business is best described as a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. The card provides a solid 1.5% cash back rate that can cover all types of business expenses. While some cards can give you cash back reaching 5%, those typically specialize in a select few categories, like office supply stores or shipping. If you need a card with more flexibility and simplicity, the Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business is a good choice. Note that if your company charges over $19,000 to their credit each year, the 2% Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business is the better choice, even with its annual fee.
How Does The Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business Compare?
Review: Is The Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business Right For Your Company?
The Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business is an excellent no-annual-fee small business credit card. Cardholders get a solid 1.5% cash back on all purchases. This makes it an excellent choice for companies that have very diverse spending patterns that don’t fit a single particular mold. Most small business credit cards, like the Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card or the SimplyCash® Plus Business Credit Card from American Express, give their best rewards to a select few purchase categories, like office supplies, dining, travel, etc. When you charge all other things to these cards, you typically get no more than 1% back. If you are interested in a simple, fixed-rate rewards program this is a good way to go.
Rewards are based on average small business expenditures as reported by Shoeboxed.
Businesses that send over $19,000 annually will get better rewards out of the Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business and its 2% cash back rate. Though it charges an annual fee, the extra boost in rewards overcomes that, provided you meet the spending threshold. Don’t be scared away by the presence of the fee, since in the end your net returns may be better. For example, if you were to spend $15,000 within one year, your rewards with the Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business would amount to $15k x 1.5% = $225. The Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business, on the other hand, would get you $15k x 2% = $300. Even if you subtract away the $95 annual fee out of those rewards (the fee is waived year 1), the Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business still comes out on top. The net rewards work out to $380 - $95 = $285.
The Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business also comes with a slew of features that small business owners may find useful. These can include things like spending summaries, free employee credit cards and, in some cases, a relationship manager. We break these out in more detail below.
Bottom Line: The Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business is a good option for business owners spending below $19,000 annually, who want a simple no-annual-fee cash back credit card.
The Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business awards 1.5% cash back on all purchases, no matter the category. Cash advances and balance transfers do not earn any rewards. The cash back can be redeemed in the form of statement credit or a check. You can set up automatic redemptions that kick-in at certain times of the year or when you meet certain reward thresholds ($25, $50, $100 or $200). The card also currently comes with a $200 sign-up bonus, for which you can qualify for after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months.
The Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business comes with free employee cards. If you are a small business owner with employees who need to make purchases on the go, this is a useful feature. As the main accountholder, you have full control over the purchases they make and can freeze cards if you notice any unauthorized purchases are made. All of the purchases also fall under a single bill, which makes expensing business purchases that much easier.
Certain accounts can also be assigned a relationship manager to the account. There are no explicit requirements for who can be assigned this type of feature. It depends on things like your purchase volume, credit limit, the age of your account and the average size of your transactions. This manager can help resolve any issues you may be having with your account, or even offer up special perks and benefits. They can also serve as a middleman between you and the underwriters for the bank. For example, one New York City small business had their credit limit increased with the help of the relationship manager, without having to go through a hard-pull on their credit file. Note that the benefits of having a relationship manager will not always be the same, so your experiences may vary depending on who is assigned to your account.
Finally, all Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business users have access to annual spending reports that can be viewed as a PDF document or downloaded as a spreadsheet. This can be very beneficial come tax time. If your firm uses an accountant, this type of feature is probably less valuable. However, smaller firms with just a few employees can certainly take advantage of the convenience this provides. It saves time from having to chase down receipts.
How Does the Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business Compare to Other Credit Cards?
Before you make a call about whether a card is good for you, it’s helpful to see it against the backdrop of other options. Here are some popular business credit cards you should also consider, and how they stack up against the Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business.
The Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business is the better choice for businesses that charge at least $19,000 annually to their credit card. The card awards 2% cash back, as opposed to the 1.5% you get with the Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business. The trade-off for this elevated rewards rate is the introduction of an annual fee. While there is no annual fee during the first year, you will have to pay $95 each year after that. The fee isn’t necessarily bad. Going from 1.5% cash back to 2% pays for itself, if you meet that minimum $19,000 annual threshold. The Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business also has a significantly better bonus. Consumers who manage to spend at least $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months are awarded $500.
Note: There are two other Spark credit cards – the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business and the Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business. These cards award miles instead of cash back. The miles can be redeemed as travel statement credit, and not cash back. Therefore the cash back Spark cards will always be superior, since they offer you greater flexibility.
The Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card can be especially beneficial for businesses that have a lot of small office expenses. Cardholders earn 5% back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year at office supply stores, cellular phones & landlines, as well as internet and cable services. Additionally, you’ll get 2% back on a separate $25k spent in combined purchases each year at gas stations and restaurants. The card has no annual fee, so if these purchases line up better with the types of business expenses you tend to have, it will be the better card to get.
If you’re more interested in luxury rather than saving money on your purchases, this is the card to get. The Business Platinum® Card from American Express is the polar opposite of the Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business and is intended for a very different type of user. The card comes with many luxury travel perks, including airport lounges, $200 airline travel credit, and elite status with certain hotel chains. All these benefits cause the card to have an extremely high annual fee of $595 (See Rates & Fees). If you want more details on this card's benefits to figure out if they are worth the hefty fee, we suggest heading over to our detailed review.