Capital One Spark BUSINESS Cards Review
Updated March 15, 2022.
The Facts
Just like Chase Ink, Capital One Spark is a series of business cards. Please keep in mind that unlike other credit card issuers, Capital One pulls all three of credit reporting agencies when you open a new account. In October 2011, with the discontinuation of Business Venture, No Hassle, or Platinum Cards, Capital One rolled out the new Spark series. In 2017, Capital One increased the annual fees on Spark Cash / Spark Miles from $59 to $95 while keeping everything else the same. In December 2018, Capital One introduced frequent flyer miles transfer feature to Spark Miles and Spark Miles Select. In August 2021, Capital One introduced Spark Cash Plus ($150 annual fee) to replace Spark Cash ($95 annual fee).
Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
Capital One Spark 1% Classic
Capital One Spark 2X Miles
Capital One Spark 1.5X Miles Select
The Math
Capital One Spark Cash Plus vs. Capital One Spark Cash Select: once your annual spending is larger than $30,000, Spark Cash with the $150 annual fee will make more sense than Spark Cash Select.
Capital One Spark Miles vs. Capital One Spark Cash Plus: In addition to the $55 difference in annual fees, Spark Miles is pretty much a business card version of Capital One Venture, and with the frequent traveler miles/points transfer feature, it offers something that is different from and could be significantly better Spark Cash Plus.
Capital One Spark Cash vs. Amex Blue Business Cash: while both offers 2% cashback, when your spending is under $50K per year, Amex Blue Business Cash is a better cashback card due to its lack of annual fees.
Capital One Spark Miles vs. Amex Blue Business Plus (BBP): while both offer 2x points on everything, BBP has an annual $50K cap to earn 2x (and 1x thereafter) but no annual fee, and Spark Miles has no cap but a $95 annual fee. Currently we value MR points and C1 Miles at the same 1.5 cents a piece. When you spend less than $50K per year BBP is better, and if you spend much more than that (e.g. $60K), Spark Miles will come out ahead even with an $95 annual fee.
The Conclusion
Spark Cash Plus is one of the best cashback business cards today, while Spark Miles could be even better with the frequent traveler miles/points transfer feature. Spark Miles is almost as good as our benchmark business card for spending Amex Blue Business Plus - you may make your decision based on your annual spending.
The Facts
Just like Chase Ink, Capital One Spark is a series of business cards. Please keep in mind that unlike other credit card issuers, Capital One pulls all three of credit reporting agencies when you open a new account. In October 2011, with the discontinuation of Business Venture, No Hassle, or Platinum Cards, Capital One rolled out the new Spark series. In 2017, Capital One increased the annual fees on Spark Cash / Spark Miles from $59 to $95 while keeping everything else the same. In December 2018, Capital One introduced frequent flyer miles transfer feature to Spark Miles and Spark Miles Select. In August 2021, Capital One introduced Spark Cash Plus ($150 annual fee) to replace Spark Cash ($95 annual fee).
Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus
- Annual Fee: $150
- Rewards: 2% cashback on everything. In addition, earn $200 annual bonus if you spend at least $200,000 in the previous membership year.
- Signup Bonus: up to $1,000 ($500 after spending $5,000 within 3 months of new account opening, and additional $500 after spending a total of $50,000 within the first 6 months). Historical best bonus: (1) up to $3,000 with $50K spending requirement in 2022; (2) up to $1,000 with $50K spending requirement in 2021 & 2022.
- Application Landing Page
- Benefits: No foreign transaction fees
- History: Spark Cash Plus was introduced in August 2021 as a charge card with a $150 annual fee. At about the same time, the very similar old Spark Cash (credit card, $95 annual fee) was discontinued.
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
- Annual Fee: none
- Rewards: 1.5% cashback on everything
- Signup Bonus: $500 after spending $4,500 within 3 months of new account opening.
- Application Landing Page
- Benefits: No foreign transaction fees
Capital One Spark 1% Classic
- Annual Fee: none
- Rewards: 1% cashback on everything
- Signup Bonus: none
- Benefits: No foreign transaction fees
Capital One Spark 2X Miles
- Annual Fee: $95, waived for the first year
- Rewards: 5x Miles on hotels & car rentals booked through Capital One Travel, and 2x Miles on everything else.
- Best Use of Capital One (C1) Miles: You may redeem your C1 Miles for travel, gift cards, charity, etc. at exactly 1 cent per mile, or for cash at 0.5 cent value. The fixed value travel rewards can be achieved by either booking future travel through Capital One's travel portal or receiving statement credit for any travel expense within the last 3 months. In addition to fixed value redemption options, you may also transfer your C1 Miles to frequent traveler miles/points mostly at 1:1 ratio. In this way, the value of Miles depends on how you redeem your frequent traveler miles/points of the specific program you choose to transfer to. Note that you can only transfer your Capital One Miles to a frequent traveler program under your name. You may share your Miles with another Capital One cardmember without being charged a fee. Please check out our featured review Marriott vs. MR vs. UR vs. TY vs. C1 vs. CR for the programs that allow points transfer to frequent traveler accounts.
- Signup Bonus: 50,000 Miles after you spend $4,500 within 3 months of new account opening. Historical best bonus: 200,000 Miles with $50K spending requirement in 2019.
- Application Landing Page
- Benefits: (1) Two free visits to Capital One Lounges per year, for the primary cardholder. $45 per visit for additional visits and guests. The current footprints are limited but future growth is expected. (2) Reimbursement for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees (up to $100). (3) No foreign transaction fees.
Capital One Spark 1.5X Miles Select
- Annual Fee: none
- Rewards: 5x Capital One Miles on hotels & car rentals booked through Capital One Travel, and 1.5x Capital One Miles on everything else.
- Signup Bonus: 20,000 Miles after spending $3,000 within 3 months of new account opening.
- Application Landing Page
- Benefits: No foreign transaction fees
The Math
Capital One Spark Cash Plus vs. Capital One Spark Cash Select: once your annual spending is larger than $30,000, Spark Cash with the $150 annual fee will make more sense than Spark Cash Select.
Capital One Spark Miles vs. Capital One Spark Cash Plus: In addition to the $55 difference in annual fees, Spark Miles is pretty much a business card version of Capital One Venture, and with the frequent traveler miles/points transfer feature, it offers something that is different from and could be significantly better Spark Cash Plus.
Capital One Spark Cash vs. Amex Blue Business Cash: while both offers 2% cashback, when your spending is under $50K per year, Amex Blue Business Cash is a better cashback card due to its lack of annual fees.
Capital One Spark Miles vs. Amex Blue Business Plus (BBP): while both offer 2x points on everything, BBP has an annual $50K cap to earn 2x (and 1x thereafter) but no annual fee, and Spark Miles has no cap but a $95 annual fee. Currently we value MR points and C1 Miles at the same 1.5 cents a piece. When you spend less than $50K per year BBP is better, and if you spend much more than that (e.g. $60K), Spark Miles will come out ahead even with an $95 annual fee.
The Conclusion
Spark Cash Plus is one of the best cashback business cards today, while Spark Miles could be even better with the frequent traveler miles/points transfer feature. Spark Miles is almost as good as our benchmark business card for spending Amex Blue Business Plus - you may make your decision based on your annual spending.