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Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit Card Review

Written by Dayana Yochim
Edited by Carolyn Kimball
Fact-checked by Andrea Coombes

March 12, 2024

Why trust us? Investor.com has no financial relationship with any of the credit card providers whose products we analyze and review. Our opinions are based solely on data and our own extensive independent research — that means unbiased guidance for consumers. Rewards cards in our cashback credit card calculator are listed in descending order according to how much money they pay out annually based on the inputs.

Need some breathing room on paying off new purchases and have less-than-stellar credit? The 12-month interest-free purchase window on this card is a handy cashflow tool, and a 1.5% no-limit cashback rate on purchases sweetens the deal.

In the Capital One Spark suite of business credit cards, there are two Spark Cash Select rewards cards for businesses, each offering 1.5% unlimited cash back on all purchases for no annual fee. The biggest difference is the introductory hook: This Spark Cash Select card offers a full year of interest-free purchases (versus a $500 cash bonus and no intro APR period on its fraternal twin, the Spark 1.5% Cash Select Card). The other consideration is your credit score: If your credit is less than stellar, your chances of approval are better with this version — the other requires having excellent credit.

The basics: Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back for your business on every purchase, no limits or category restrictions. Plus, earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. 0% introductory APR for the first 12 months that the account is open. .

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dining Dining

local_gas_station Gas

monetization_on Other

card_travel Travel

phone_iphone Cell Phones

print Office Supplies

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Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit

Cashback Per Year

$...

Annual Fee

Welcome Bonus

N/A

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Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit pros and cons

thumb_up_off_alt Pros

1.5% cash back on everything, no caps, no categories
5% cashback on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
Rewards redeemable at any time for any amount
$0 annual fee
0% intro APR for 12 months
Offers basic business tools and protections
No foreign transaction fees

thumb_down_off_alt Cons

A 1.5% rewards rate is table stakes among biz rewards cards
No higher cashback tiers = limited earning potential
Offers no sign-up bonus
Punishing penalty APR (30%-plus)

Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit cashback rewards spending categories

The following table shows the cashback rewards rate per $1 spent in the six most common spending categories. The “Bonus Rate” refers to the amount you can earn in excess of the card’s standard rewards rate.

Some cashback cards limit the spending amount eligible for the bonus rate (aka the “Spend Cap”). Once you hit that cap (e.g., $1,500 spending in a particular category during a defined time period), the rewards rate on future purchases in that category reverts to the lower “Default Rate.”

Category	Default Rate	Bonus Rate	Bonus Spend Cap	Bonus Spend Period (Months)
Cell Phone	1.50%	-	-	-
Dining	1.50%	-	-	-
Gas	1.50%	-	-	-
Travel	1.50%	-	-	-
Office Supplies	1.50%	-	-	-
Other Purchases	1.50%	-	-	-

Note: The Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit card also pays 5% cashback on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel.

What we like

The 1.5% cashback rate applies to all purchases (no categories to track!) and isn’t subject to spending caps. The sky’s the limit! Well, your credit limit’s the limit, and with this card the minimum credit line is $2,000.

The 12-month 0% introductory APR on purchases provides a welcome cash-flow breather. What small business couldn’t use that? (Minimum payments still apply.)

A few credit blemishes won’t automatically tank your chances of approval as long as you haven’t been more than 30 days late on any payments in the last year, and haven’t declared bankruptcy or defaulted on a loan in the past five.

Need to stagger your accounts receivable? Capital One allows you to change your monthly due date.

Straightforward rewards redemptions allow you to redeem cash back at any time (as a statement credit or check). Rewards don’t expire as long as your account is open.

There’s also the option to set up automatic redemptions or redeem for gift cards or credits for past purchases, but minimums apply.

Virtual card numbers are available to cloak your digits.

No foreign transaction fees means no fretting when plunking down plastic for purchases outside of the U.S. Using this card for such purchases is like saving 3% — the typical foreign transaction fee on other credit cards.

Additional cards for employees are free, as with most business cards. Plus you can set customized spending limits or lock any card if it’s lost or stolen.

There is no fee for balance transfers. But after the initial 0% window closes, your regular purchase APR will apply from the day you make the transfer.

Offers standard business card tools, like the ability to download purchase records to be ingested by Quicken, QuickBooks and Excel. Plus you’ll get purchase protection, secondary rental car insurance, extended warranty protection, travel assistance and access to rotating deals offered via Visa.

What we don't like

A 1.5% rewards rate on everything could limit your cashback earning potential versus other tiered reward business credit cards, especially if you make regular high-dollar purchases on travel or office supplies — two spending categories that are more highly rewarded on other cashback corporate cards.

There’s no sign-up bonus — sorry. 😬

There’s also no introductory low APR on balance transfers.

The penalty APR (if you’re late or make any other untoward moves) is well north of 30%. Watch your step!

Cash advances also aren’t cheap: The amount you take out is subject to an APR above 30% APR. Plus you’ll pay a 3% fee (or $10, whichever is greater).

The bottom line

Is the Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit the best rewards card for your wallet? The answer depends entirely on your spending patterns. Let the numbers speak for themselves: Use the investor.com Cashback Credit Card Calculator to see which credit card pays back the highest rewards based on how much you spend each month.

Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit fine print

See the highlights — and the nitty gritty details — of the Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select card for good credit.

Does the Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit charge an annual fee?

No, there is no annual fee for the Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit.

tips_and_updates Trivia time!

Roughly 11% of the business cashback cards we track in our database charge an annual fee. The average annual fee is $200.

Does the Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit offer a welcome bonus?

No, the Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit card does not currently offer a welcome bonus.

tips_and_updates Fun fact

Of the business credit cards in our database, 83% offer a welcome bonus. Currently, the average sign-up bonus on a new business cashback card is $421.79, with the median being $300.

How much cash back can I earn with the Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit?

The average business that spends $2580 per month will earn $464.40 in cash back per year using the Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit. For comparison, the average annual rewards payout from the business credit cards in the investor.com database is $483.97, and $464.40 is the median.

These calculations are based on average consumer spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the reward payout rates from the providers we track. Of course, you’re so much more than an average data point (aka “consumer unit,” in BLS parlance). The amount you can earn in cashback rewards using the Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit depends entirely on your unique spending habits.

Find out exactly how much you’ll rake in with the Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit by tailoring the spending inputs in the calculator above.

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Methodology

The results of the investor.com Credit Card Rewards Calculator are based on the monthly spending amounts you enter and the annual dollar value of the rewards each credit card program pays per $1 spent. Credit card companies often express this payout amount as a percentage (e.g., 1.5% of every dollar spent) or on a points basis (e.g. ,1.5 points for every dollar spent). We converted all of them to a dollar amount (“Cash Back Per Year”) to make comparing offers easier.

To calculate the amount of cash back you could earn per year, we factored in:

Spend category inputs: The default dollar values for each “Spend Category” in the Best Cashback Credit Cards tool — gas, groceries, travel, restaurant, entertainment, pharmacy, other — are based on average American spending data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We also include additional spend categories (such as streaming services, online shopping, utilities, transit, Amazon and more) to help you see which rewards cards are most closely aligned with your actual spending patterns. We encourage you to customize the monthly spend inputs for the most accurate results.
Tiered rewards rates: If a rewards credit card pays higher cashback rates on certain spending categories (also called “Bonus Rewards”), that difference is reflected in the total “Cash Back Per Year” tally.
Rewards spending caps: Some cards impose category- or time-based limits (monthly, quarterly, annually) that affect the amount of rewards you can earn. For example, a card may pay 3% cash back on groceries on up to $1,000 of spending each quarter, then revert to the base/default rewards rate until the following quarter. We accounted for bonus spending caps and timeframe in the calculations.
Default rewards rates: Purchases that exceed a spending cap are usually subject to a lower default rewards rate (e.g., 1% or 1.5%). We mathed that out too.
Annual fees: If a rewards card charges an annual fee, we deducted that amount from the “Cash Back Per Year” total to provide a true accounting of a card’s annual rewards payout.

What’s not included in the “Cash Back Per Year” total is the cash value of any sign-up/introductory bonus. We highlight any Welcome Bonus separately. While sign-up bonuses can be the most lucrative part of getting a new cashback rewards credit card, not everyone will want or be able to do what it takes to earn the extra cash. (It usually requires spending a certain amount in a specified time period after the card is activated.)

About the Editorial Team

Dayana Yochim

Dayana Yochim has been writing (articles, books, podcasts, stirring speeches) about personal finance and investing for more than two decades, focusing on bringing clarity and the occasional comedic aside to what is often a murky, humorless topic. She’s written for NerdWallet, The Motley Fool, HerMoney.com, Woman’s Day, Forbes, Newsweek and others, and been a guest expert on "Today," "Good Morning America," CNN, NPR and wherever they’ll hand her a mic.

Carolyn Kimball

Carolyn Kimball is Managing Editor for Reink Media Group and the lead editor for content on investor.com. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.

Andrea Coombes

Andrea Coombes has 20+ years of experience helping people reach their financial goals. Her personal finance articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MarketWatch, Forbes, and other publications, and she's shared her expertise on CBS, NPR, "Marketplace," and more. She's been a financial coach and certified consumer credit counselor, and is working on becoming a Certified Financial Planner. She knows that owning pets isn't necessarily the best financial decision; her dog and two cats would argue this point.