Capital One is the premier credit card company and the Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business card is the premier business credit card.
For those of you who just started a business or who have a thriving business, the Capital One® Spark® Cash For Business card is great because it offers 2% cash back on all purchases. This way, you don't have to think about when to best spend your card on various rotating categories. 2% cash back is 0.5% higher than the most popular business and personal cash back cards too.
What's more, for a limited time, earn a $500 cash bonus when you spend $4,500 in the first 3 months.
Capital One® Spark® Cash For Business Review
Besides the incredible 2% cash back on all purchases and $2,000 introductory cash-back offer, here are some other great features of the Capital One® Spark® Cash For Business card:
- Quarterly and year-end summaries: Itemized reports are provided quarterly and yearly for your business, allowing you to stress less in regard to planning, budgeting and taxes.
- Visa SavingsEdge: You can save up to 15% at select merchants.
- Downloadable purchase records: Don’t worry about figuring out how to transfer purchase records to your given accounting program — they can easily be downloaded to Quicken, QuickBooks and Excel.
- Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection: With over 900 hotels, the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection allows you to access exclusive benefits and bookings.
- Roadside dispatch: Don’t worry if your car is stuck; you’ll receive 24/7 towing and locksmith referral services in the U.S. and Canada.
- Auto rental collision damage waiver: You may be covered for theft or collision when you rent an eligible car with your card.
- Travel and emergency assistance: Access 24/7 emergency service when traveling. Services include ticket replacement, legal or medical referrals and more.
- Visa Signature Concierge service: Receive 24/7 access to representatives that will assist you in booking travel, events, reservations and more.
- Lost luggage reimbursement: Your checked or carry-on luggage is covered up to $3,000 if lost or stolen, as long as you charge your entire ticket to your card.
- Travel accident insurance: Charge your travel fare to your card and receive coverage for accidental death or dismemberment, at no extra cost.
- Fine Wine & Food: Great for a business excursion or client meeting; receive access to special dining and wine experiences.
- Various discounts: When making purchases on your card, you can receive discounts at retailers, and special access to popular sporting events, premiere golf benefits and more.
With all these card benefits, business owners would be crazy not to own a business rewards credit card. However, the Capital One Spark Cash for Business does come with an annual fee of $0 intro for first year; $95 after that. But a $95 annual fee is nothing given you're getting huge sign-up bonuses in the first six months and 2% cash back on everything.
If you've already got a business that's been operating for at least a year and generating $25,000 or more in revenue, you'll be getting $500 – $1,000 a year in annual rewards.
That said, if you just hate paying an annual fee, you can check out the Chase Ink Business Unlimited credit card. You get 1.5% cash back on all purchases (versus 2% for Spark Cash), and a $500 sign-up bonus after you spend just $3,000 after three months. I own this card as well.
Maximize Your Capital One® Spark® Cash For Business Card
The best way to maximize the use of your Spark Cash card is to focus all your business transactions on your card. Not only will focusing your business spending on the card help you keep track of all your business expenses when it's time to do your monthly or quarterly income statement, you also get 2% cash back on all spending.
When traveling abroad, use this card since there is no foreign transaction fee. This allows you to save on the 3 – 5 percent fee most other cards have.
Finally, make sure to meet the requirements for the Cash Bonus. At the very least, earn a $500 cash bonus when you spend $4,500 in the first 3 months. This should be easy to do for your small business.
As an online business owner, below is an example of an online business income statement I once faced. Having an online business is the best because the demand curve is unlimited and the business is highly scaleable.
In the below income statement, I'll put $5,150 a month on my Capital One® Spark® Cash For Business card. Over the year, I'll earn $1,236 in cash back to use as statement credit or whatever I choose.
Cash Back Redemption Is Easy
With 2% cash back for your business on every purchase, everywhere, you'll accumulate lots of free money in no time. Getting cash rewards is the most responsible way to go because cash can be used for anything. You can also use your cash back for statement credit to pay down your monthly credit card bill.
You can set up automatic redemption either at a set time each calendar year or when a specific threshold ($25, $50, $100 or $200) has been reached. Other redemption options include statement credit and gift cards. However, rates for these redemption options may vary and are subject to change without notice. Make sure to double check.
Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business
You might also want to consider the Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business given it has no annual fee versus a $0 introductory annual fee and $95 after that for the Capital One® Spark Cash for Business card.
However, the Spark Cash Select card only offers 1.5% cash back on every purchase versus 2% for the Spark Cash card. Further, you only get $200 in free cash for signing up (versus $500) after spending $3,000 within the first three months.
| Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business | Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $0 intro for first year; $95 after that | $0 |
| Purchase Intro Rate | N/A | 0% on purchases for 9 months |
| Balance Transfer Intro Rate | N/A | N/A |
| Balance Transfer Fee | None | N/A |
| Rewards | 2% Cash Back for your business on every purchase, everywhere | 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase |
| Sign Up Bonus | Earn a $500 cash bonus when you spend $4,500 in the first 3 months of your account opening. | One-time $200 cash bonus once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | None | None |
Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business Is A Good Card
The Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business is a great card for business owners who want a simple, 2% cash back on all purchases. The 2% cash back level is 0.5% higher than most other personal cash back and business cash back credit cards.
With up to $3,000 in free cash back for new cardholders, the Capital One® Spark Cash For Business card offers the highest absolute dollar amount for a sign-up bonus today.
As a business owner since 2009, it's a no-brainer to have one or two cash rewards business credit cards. Each year, my business accumulates over $2,000 in cash back rewards to pay for annual off-sites to Hawaii. Once we're there, we expense all our lodging, food, and team building activities on our business rewards credit card as well.
Pay Off Your Debt Faster
If you don’t have enough cash, getting a personal loan from Credible is a good place to start. If you have expensive credit card debt, consider consolidating your debt into a lower interest-rate personal loan.
Credible has the most comprehensive marketplace for personal loans. Lenders compete for your business so you can get the best rate. Get personalized prequalified personal loan rates in just two minutes after you fill out an application.
Prequalified rates are based on the information you provide and a soft credit inquiry. Receiving prequalified rates does not guarantee that the Lender will extend you an offer of credit. You are not yet approved for a loan or a specific rate. All credit decisions, including loan approval, if any, are determined by Lenders, in their sole discretion. Rates and terms are subject to change without notice. Rates from Lenders may differ from prequalified rates due to factors which may include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in your personal credit circumstances; (ii) additional information in your hard credit pull and/or additional information you provide (or are unable to provide) to the Lender during the underwriting process; and/or (iii) changes in APRs (e.g., an increase in the rate index between the time of prequalification and the time of application or loan closing. (Or, if the loan option is a variable rate loan, then the interest rate index used to set the APR is subject to increases or decreases at any time). Lenders reserve the right to change or withdraw the prequalified rates at any time.
About the Author:
Sam worked in investment banking for 13 years at GS and CS. He received his undergraduate degree in Economics from The College of William & Mary and got his MBA from UC Berkeley. In 2012, Sam was able to retire at the age of 34 largely due to his investments that now generate roughly $250,000 a year in passive income. He spends most of his time playing tennis, racking up cash back rewards, and taking care of his family.
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