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Capital One Spark Business Credit Cards
5 min read
Capital One Spark is Capital One’s line of small business credit cards. For Capital One’s personal cards go to this page.
There are five Spark cards in total. Four are designed for business owners with excellent credit, with a fifth designed for people with fair or average credit. Although some of them are made for excellent credit, you may still be approved if your credit falls within the “good” range, depending on other factors.
| Card | Annual Fee | Credit Level | Rewards | Intro APR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business (Review) | $95, $0 first year | Excellent |
|
None |
| Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business (Review) | $0 | Excellent |
|
0% intro APR on purchases for 9 months (then 14.74% - 22.74% (Variable)) |
| Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business (Review) | $95, $0 first year | Excellent |
|
None |
| Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business (Review) | $0 | Excellent |
|
0% intro APR on purchases for 9 months (then 14.74% - 22.74% (Variable)) |
| Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business (Review) | $0 | Fair or Average |
|
None |
All these cards report to three different business credit bureaus: Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Small Business Financial Exchange. They also report activity to the three regular consumer bureaus.
These cards do not have foreign transaction fees.
Unlimited employee cards are available on all these cards for free. Spending on employee cards earn rewards, and you can set individual credit limits on each card.
These cards all earn an unlimited amount of cash back (or “miles”) at a fixed rate on all your business expenses. Some other business card back cards have an annual cap on certain bonus categories. You may find it beneficial to get more than one business credit card to maximize rewards. You could spend on a different business card that earns more in certain categories, then use one of these Capital One Spark cards for all other purchases when you’d earn less with another card.
Capital One recently introduced a set of airline partners, to which you can transfer the miles you earn with the Spark Miles and Spark Miles Select cards. This could potentially give you more than 1 cent per mile, a better value than the normal redemption methods.
Spark Classic (Fair Credit)
The Spark Classic is designed for people with fair or average credit. It’s a good offer for that credit level considering it has no annual fee and earns an unlimited 1% cash back on all purchases.
Spark Cash & Spark Miles (Excellent Credit)
For business owners with excellent credit, there are four different options: two different Spark Cash cards and two different Spark Miles cards. Within each family, there’s a rewards card with no annual fee, and a second card that earns more rewards and has an annual fee.
The Cash cards earn cash back, while the Miles cards earn miles. These “miles” can be redeemed for travel purchases at a rate of 1¢ each, or they can be transferred to a variety of airline loyalty programs where they might be worth more than that.
Based on our research, the only reason to get a Spark Miles card over a Spark Cash card is if you want to transfer your rewards to a partner airline program, or if you like the 5X categories.
Spark Cash cards
The main differences between these cards are the amount of cash back they earn and the annual fees:
- Spark Cash: 2% cash back; $95 annual fee after the first year
- Spark Cash Select: 1.5% cash back; no annual fee
The Spark Cash cards are a great deal, since you can earn an unlimited amount of cash back no matter how much you spend on the cards. The main difference between these card is the amount of cash back each earns. To help with cash flow, the Spark Cash Select also offers a 9-month 0% introductory APR on purchases before the regular 14.74% - 22.74% (Variable) ARP starts, which the Spark Cash does not have.
Based on the annual fee and cash back potential, we’ve calculated that if your small business spends more than $19,000 per year, you’ll earn more rewards value with the Spark Cash than the Spark Cash Select. This table shows the amount of cash back you’ll earn with each card (after the annual fee) at several levels of spending:
| Amount Spent Annually | Cash Back Earned, Spark Cash | Cash Back Earned, Spark Cash Select |
|---|---|---|
| $2,500 | -$45 | $37.50 |
| $4,750 | $0 | $71.25 |
| $10,000 | $105 | $150 |
| $19,000 | $285 | $285 |
| $25,000 | $405 | $375 |
| $50,000 | $905 | $750 |
| $100,000 | $1,905 | $1,500 |
Spark Miles cards
The main differences between these cards are the annual fee and how many “miles” they earn:
- Spark Miles: 5X miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel; 2X miles per dollar for other purchases; $95 annual fee after the first year
- Spark Miles Select: 5X miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel; 1.5X miles per dollar for other purchases; no annual fee
These “miles” can be redeemed for travel purchases at 1¢ each, or transferred to a partner airline loyalty program, which could provide a better value. So, the Spark Miles cards provide the same or greater cash back value than the Spark Cash cards, but with different redemption options. If you travel often and want to turn your rewards into airline miles, you may prefer the Spark Miles or Spark Miles Select over the equivalent Spark Cash card.
The same $19,000 spending threshold that applies to the Spark Miles vs. the Spark Miles Select also applies to the Spark Cash cards, provided you can redeem all your rewards for travel purchases. The Spark Miles Select comes with a 9-month 0% introductory APR on purchases before the regular 14.74% - 22.74% (Variable) APR kicks in, while the Spark Miles doesn’t.
For mile transfers, most of the transfer rates are 2:1.5 (2 Capital One miles for 1.5 partner miles), although some partners have a lesser rate.
| Airline Partner | Transfer Rate |
|---|---|
| Aeromexico Club Premier | 2:1.5 |
| Air Canada Aeroplan |
2:1.5 |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue |
2:1.5 |
| Alitalia MilleMiglia |
2:1.5 |
| Avianca LifeMiles |
2:1.5 |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles |
2:1.5 |
| Emirates Skywards |
2:1 |
| Etihad Guest |
2:1.5 |
| EVA Infinity MileageLands |
2:1.5 |
| Finnair Plus |
2:1.5 |
| Hainan Fortune Wings Club |
2:1.5 |
| JetBlue TrueBlue |
2:1 |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer |
2:1.5 |
| Singapore KrisFlyer |
2:1 |
Capital One Business Card Features
Benefits
All Capital One business cards come with a certain set of benefits, provided by Capital One. They also come with more benefits and protections provided by either Visa or Mastercard.
The benefits provided by Capital One are:
- No foreign transaction fees: No extra charges for transactions made outside the U.S. or in foreign currency
- Experienced Business Customer Service Representatives: Specially trained to help with your business needs.
- Employee cards: Get free employee cards to manage spending and maximize your reward potential.
- Spending Summaries: Quarterly and year-end summaries of purchases.
- Connect to Quickbooks®: Transfer your spending data to Quickbooks, Quicken, or Excel.
- Shopping Protections: Including Purchase Security and Extended Warranties.
- Travel Protections: You’ll get an Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, along with Travel and Emergency Assistance Services.
- Fraud Protection: Real-time coverage of fraud attempts to help protect your account.
- Account Alerts: Personalized email or text reminders to help you stay on top of all account activity.
- Personalized Payment Due Date: Pick your own monthly due date.
Capital One will also provide a link to the Guide to Benefits that comes with each of their cards, a very handy resource.
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