Capital One Spark Cash Select Review
The Capital One Spark Cash Select is a simple cashback card aimed at those who don't want to pay annual fees. This is for businesses that want a straight forward rewards program and want the flexibility on redemption that only cash back can bring. We will look at the welcome offer, the earning structure, card perks and give our overall thoughts in this Capital One Spark Cash Select review.
Current Welcome Offer
The Capital One Spark Cash Select the following welcome offer:
- $500 Cash Back once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
- This card does not have an annual fee.
Application Rules
Here are the Capital One applications rules you should be aware of from our guide on all bank’s application rules.
Capital One generally will only approve you for one card every six months. This rule applies to both personal and business cards, meaning you cannot open a personal card and a business card within six months of each other.
Additionally, Capital One has a two-card maximum, regardless of personal or business. It is virtually impossible to hold more than 2 Capital One cards at a time.
Capital One Spark Cash Select Review: Earning Structure
The Capital One Spark Cash Select comes with the following earning structure:
- 5% back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
- 1.5% back on everything else uncapped
Spark Cash Select Card Benefits
Cashback cards aren't known for having many benefits. The same goes for no-annual fee cards. So it's no surprise that the Capital One Spark Cash Select‘s benefits are scarce. The few perks does have are:
- No foreign transaction fees
- No preset spending limit, which can be helpful for businesses that make larger purchases
- You can add employee cards at no additional cost
ToP Analysis
A big part of the Capital One Spark Cash Select‘s appeal is its simplicity–just set it and forget it. No need to worry about categories, limits, or assessing whether the annual fee is worth it every year. The card also offers great return for not having an annual fee by earning unlimited 1.5% cashback on everything. This card also stands out for not charging foreign transaction fees, which isn't common for cashback cards without an annual fee.
The current welcome offer is quite good for a no-annual fee cashback card. This is also a higher offer for this card than what we have seen in the past. but we've seen better return for $6,000 spend from other cards too.
Even though this is a cashback card, one major positive feature is the ability to convert the cash back into Capital One miles. By also holding a Venture or Spark miles earning card, such as the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or Capital One Spark Miles for Business, you could convert the cash back into Capital One miles at a ratio of 1 cent to 1 mile. That turns the $750 welcome offer into 75,000 Capital One miles. Here is a list Capital One transfer partners.
One common downside to a simple card like this that earns the same cashback rate on every purchase. If your business spends a lot on some specific categories, like travel, shipping, or communications services, then you might be leaving a lot of money or points on the table by not using a card that maximizes some of those categories.
Capital One Spark Cash Select Review: ToP Thoughts
The Capital One Spark Cash Select is a decent 1.5% cashback card that requires zero maintenance. With no annual fee, you don't even really need to assess whether to keep the card every 12 months. This card typically won't rank among the best business cards out there, but for those looking for simplicity, the Spark Cash Select can be a good option.
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