Capital One Spark Cash review – Earn 2% everywhere and a $500 bonus

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If you’ve got a small business, you can earn $500 in cash with a single business credit card offer. That’s a nice bonus and it’s offered with the Capital One Spark Cash for Business card. You’ll even earn an unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase, so you will earn an extra $90 back just from meeting the card’s minimum spending requirement of $4,500.

There’s also a similar offer for the Capital One Spark Miles for Business card, but the miles you earn with that card can only be used for travel purchases or redeemed with Capital One transfer partners. The rewards you earn with the Spark Cash card are simpler because it’s a business cash-back credit card.

The Spark Cash card’s annual fee is also waived the first year. Let’s take a look at all the card’s details.

The information for the Capital One Spark Cash for Business and Capital One Spark Miles for Business has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Capital One Spark Cash card review

Current bonus

With the Capital One Spark Cash for Business card, you can earn a $500 cash bonus after you spend $4,500 on qualifying purchases within the first three months of account opening.

Benefits and perks

This card has a simple and straightforward 2% cash back earning rate and no foreign transaction fees. So it’s a great card for any purchase. It also comes with the following benefits.

Purchase protection

If an item you bought is lost or stolen, you can file a claim to replace, repair or reimburse eligible items within 90 days of purchase, up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per cardholder.

Warranty protection

This benefit doubles a manufacturer’s warranty up to one extra year on warranties of three years or less when you make the entire purchase with your Spark Cash card.

Rental car insurance

The Capital One Spark Cash offers primary car rental insurance for damage from collision or theft when renting for business purposes. For personal rentals, coverage is secondary, which means your other insurance pays first.

Lost luggage coverage

Your checked or carry-on luggage is covered up to $3,000 if lost or stolen when you charge your entire fare to your card.

Travel accident insurance

When you charge your entire travel fare to your Spark Cash card, you’ll receive coverage for accidental death or dismemberment.

How to redeem your cash back

Earning cash back is simple. Just make a qualifying purchase with your card and you’ll get 2% back every time. Redeeming your cash back is as easy as earning it. You can request a check or statement credit anytime, with no minimum redemption amount. You can also set up an automatic redemption for a set time each year or for when you earn a specific threshold in rewards – say, $50. Or you can use your cash back to “erase” purchases you’ve made with your card or for gift cards.

You don’t have to think about blackout dates or what qualifies for rewards. It couldn’t be simpler.

Is the Capital One Spark Cash card worth the annual fee?

Some cash-back credit cards have no annual fee, but it’s often complicated to redeem your rewards or the card doesn’t offer as high a return for each dollar spent. With this card, you’re essentially paying the annual fee (waived the first year) in exchange for the ease of redeeming your cash and 2% back.

Whether it makes sense for you to keep the card year after year will vary from person to person, because everyone has individual spending habits and will value different parts of each rewards program. But, you’ll need to spend $4,750 per year to earn $95 (the annual fee after the first year) in rewards. So if you spend more than that each year, it’s worth considering in the long term.

Who is the Capital One Spark cash card for?

This is a business credit card, but you might qualify for a business credit card and not even realize it. Freelancers and independent contractors can be eligible. If the application process is confusing, we have a guide on completing a Capital One business card application that you should check out.

Remember, Capital One will not approve more than one application per six months. So if you’ve opened another Capital One card recently, you’ll need to wait to apply for this one. If you have a credit score of 700+ and are looking for a big bonus, this one is definitely worth your consideration, just be sure that you are able to meet the card’s big minimum spending requirements.

The simplicity of not having to worry about navigating complex loyalty programs in order to make the most of your rewards can’t be overstated. Managing a growing business is hard enough without having to maximize your rewards for every purchase by juggling multiple rewards credit cards with varying bonus categories. If you like the certainty of knowing what your rewards are worth and exactly how much you’ll earn each time, this is the card for you.

Insider tip

Unlike business credit cards issued by most other banks, Capital One business cards will appear on your personal credit report. For the most part this isn’t a big deal, but it does mean that these cards will add to your Chase 5/24 count. So if you’ve got Chase credit cards you’re interested in, then you might want to wait on applying for this one.

Alternatives to the Capital One Spark Cash card

If your goal is to travel, you might consider the Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business card instead. It earns 2x Spark miles on every purchase and you can redeem them for nearly any travel-related purchase or you can transfer Capital One Spark miles to airlines. It has a similar bonus of 50,000 Capital One Spark miles after you spend $4,500 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

Having to use Spark miles only for travel may seem limiting, but you can also transfer your miles to any of the 17 airline or hotel partners. That makes the miles you earn extremely flexible. The card has the same $95 annual fee, which is also waived the first year. Our Capital One Spark Miles review has more information on how to make the most of this offer.

You should also take a look at the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card. It has the same $95 annual fee (not waived) and you can earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $15,000 in the first three months of account opening.  See our Chase Ink Business Preferred review to learn more about the card’s many benefits.

Or if you’d like to earn cash back with a no annual fee credit card, the Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card is the card for you. You can earn$750 bonus cash back after you spend $7,500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You’ll also earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases you make with the card. That’s not as much as the 2% cash back with the Capital One Spark Cash for Business, but the Ink Business Unlimited has no annual fee and a smaller spending requirement.

Bottom line

The Capital One Spark Cash for Business card offers $500 cash back after you meet the minimum spending requirements. The $95 annual fee is waived the first year and it has no foreign transaction fees, so it’s a good card to use worldwide.

This is an excellent card for small-business owners who want to earn easy rewards on their spending. Rewards are simple to redeem with no minimums to think about. If you have a lot of spending coming up, you might consider earning a bonus at the same time.

Featured photo by Wyatt Smith.