Capital One Spark Cash Plus credit card boasts a competitive 2% cash back earning rate with extra benefits such as roadside assistance, extended warranty protection and free employee cards – but is it worth its $150 annual fee?
This business credit card is a charge card and requires full monthly payment, yet its advantages – such as an outstanding welcome offer and generous spending bonus – make it worth your while.
1. No annual fee
Capital One Spark Cash Plus card carries an annual fee of $150; however, the fee will be waived in its first year when spending at least $150,000 – rewarding high-volume business spending and helping small-business owners offset its initial cost. Before making your decision based on anticipated spending patterns and overall card value.
As well, qualifying requires excellent credit – which may be difficult if you’re just getting started or don’t have much of a business history yet. Luckily, WalletHub allows users to check their credit score free of charge so you can assess where you stand.
As it’s not a corporate credit card, the Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus falls under personal guarantee requirements, which means you are legally responsible for paying any balance due on this card if it becomes overdue – potentially having serious repercussions for both your business and personal credit scores.
Spark Cash Plus doesn’t offer the ability to finance purchases over time, which is a feature found on many small business cards. Instead, as it is a charge card you will incur late fees if your balance remains outstanding by your due date. In addition, no extra perks such as cell phone insurance or enhanced travel benefits such as trip cancellation coverage and rental car rental car insurance exist; though its 2% across-the-board flat reward rate makes up for these shortcomings; nonetheless its useful tools such as exportable purchase reports ready to export into Excel or Quicken can add significant value for most businesses – which may help ensure on due date payment!
2. No foreign transaction fee
If your business conducts frequent international transactions, the absence of a foreign transaction fee can be invaluable. Most business credit cards impose this charge, which reduces rewards value over time. Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card does not assess foreign transaction fees – making your rewards go even further!
This card does not impose a limit on the total purchases you can make, which is another common feature among business credit cards. This enables you to maximize rewards while decreasing risk of exceeding credit limit and incurring fees.
While this card offers an impressive welcome bonus and rewards rate, as well as a $150 annual fee (see Rates and Fees), it may not suit your business due to certain restrictions and limitations. These may include no cellphone insurance benefits available and inability to finance purchases month-by-month; instead you will need to pay your entire balance by its due date each month or face being subjected to an additional 2.99% late fee charge on any unpaid portion of your bill.
Spark Cash Plus does not provide rewards on specific categories of spending such as telecom and office supplies, nor travel benefits such as trip cancellation and interruption coverage. Therefore, this card may not be the ideal option for businesses that spend heavily in these categories and prefer credit cards with higher rewards rates and flexible spending limits. Additional important features on the Spark Cash Plus card include downloadable purchase records as well as the capability of easily monitoring recurring transactions and subscriptions.
3. Purchase protection
An annual fee of $150 is reasonable for a 2% cash back charge card that offers a high-spend welcome bonus and additional perks, making this card an outstanding value proposition. But you must pay your balance off each month on time or else face a 2.99% late fee; to maximize spending with this business credit card and reach its high-spend bonus threshold within three months, and avoid incurring this late fee penalty charge.
Capital One Travel offers unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases made with their card, and an extra 5% on hotels and rental car bookings booked through them. In addition, a welcome bonus of $1,200 after 3 months makes for one of the largest sign-up bonuses among cards offering 2% cash-back rewards; even some business credit cards offering 4% rewards offer lower minimum spend requirements than this card!
Other features designed to benefit businesses include free employee cards, quarterly and year-end summaries, downloadable purchase records, Card Lock to protect you when losing or misplacing a card, virtual account numbering and roadside assistance. Furthermore, its generous and flexible redemption option lets you stretch rewards towards merchandise, gift cards or services.
Capital One Spark Cash Plus’s flexible rewards, redemption options and business management tools may make it an attractive choice for small businesses. Its high-spend bonus, fee waiver and additional perks may make this card appealing for high-volume spenders; however, you should carefully consider its annual fee and anticipated spending patterns before applying. There may be better cards out there that reward spending as well.
4. Extended warranty protection
Spark Cash Plus’ extended warranty protection feature extends the original manufacturer warranty by up to an additional year when purchased using this card, making it a useful feature for business owners seeking extra coverage on high-value purchases.
The Spark Cash Plus card also comes equipped with various other benefits, including an attractive welcome offer of up to $1,200 in rewards after spending $30,000 within three months – you’ll also get back your annual fee every time you spend at least $150,000 with it – making this card ideal for small businesses looking for rewards and benefits at competitive rates; but making the most of its potential requires responsible spending habits and sound budget management practices.
Capital One Spark Cash Plus for Business may be hard to top as an ideal business credit card option, but before applying it is crucial to evaluate both its requirements and your financial circumstances. Full monthly payments must be made, while any late or missed payment costs your company 2.99% of unpaid balance (See Rates and Fees). As this card requires full payments it might not be suitable as financing source; but most business cards do not suit this use case either way.
The card is ideal for business owners who can comfortably pay their balance off each month in full, and who require a flexible credit limit that adjusts according to their spending and purchasing behavior. If you are an aggressive spender, other options might be more suitable, including Ink Business Preferred which offers up to 5% cash back at office supply stores and internet, cable and phone services (up to $25,000 spent annually – after that 1% cash back is earned). You could also earn more valuable welcome bonuses and take advantage of other features like primary car rental insurance and trip interruption coverage coverage.
5. Business tools
Capital One Spark Cash Plus card’s generous welcome bonus and suite of business tools help offset its $150 annual fee for high-volume spenders, but this card may not be suitable for everyone; being a charge card, it requires paying your balance off in full each billing cycle.
Capital One Travel offers an unbeatably generous 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel – more than many cards offer, adding up to significant savings over time. In contrast to cards which require you to track bonus categories or limits, your cash back rewards are available any time without any restrictions or requirements.
One benefit is zero fraud liability and the ability to download purchase records in multiple formats for easier expense tracking by small businesses. Furthermore, this card comes equipped with additional protections such as extended warranty and purchase protection, making it even more valuable to companies purchasing products with an extended manufacturer’s warranty period.
Capital One Spark Cash Plus can be an appealing option for small businesses that meet its minimum spending requirement and pay their balance off in full each month without needing the flexibility of 0% interest or introductory APR periods. And its flexible redemption options and generous welcome bonus may further increase its appeal when combined with other business-oriented features – the Chase Ink Business Unlimited Card provides similar appeal with lower annual fees and similar cash-back rates.