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Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards vs Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit 2024

investor.com

Written by investor.com

December 18, 2023

In head-to-head competition, which of these rewards credit cards wins out? Here’s what each has to offer and how they fare when put to the ultimate test — the cash back you’ll earn for using them.

Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards
Choose how you earn rewards. Earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice, 2% cash back on dining and 1% cash back on all other purchases. You’ll earn 2% and 3% cash back on up to $50,000 in combined purchases in those categories each calendar year, then 1% thereafter. 0% introductory APR on purchases for the first nine billing cycles. Special offer: Get a $300 statement credit after you make at least $3,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening.

Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit
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. .

Credit Card Calculator
Monthly Spend
Spend Categories expand_more
Clear All
dining Dining
local_gas_station Gas
monetization_on Other
card_travel Travel
phone_iphone Cell Phones
print Office Supplies

Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards

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Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Logo
Cashback Per Year
$...
Annual Fee
$0
Welcome Bonus
$300

Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit

Read review
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit Logo
Cashback Per Year
$...
Annual Fee
$0
Welcome Bonus
N/A
Want to compare more cards? Use our full calculator.

Which credit card earns more cashback overall?

Based on identical spending inputs, you’ll earn $433.44 cashback per year with Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards and $464.40 with Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit. For context, the average annual rewards payout from the business rewards credit cards in the investor.com database is $181.73.

The annual rewards payout assumes you charge $2,580 each month spread across the following spending categories: Cell Phones ($516), Dining ($516), Gas ($258), Office Supplies ($387), Travel ($387), and Other ($516). The dollar amounts for each category are based on average small-business spending data (how much business spend proportionally in each category) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and other sources. We encourage you to use our business card rewards calculator to customize the amounts based on your business’s actual spending patterns.

To ensure the most accurate results possible, the rewards calculations for Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards and Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit incorporate bonus rewards rates, spending caps, default rewards rates and annual fees, where applicable.

Is the Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards good?

The flexibility to pick your 3% rewards category each month is cool. But the rewards gravy train slows down to 1% after you hit the bonus spending cap, making it a bummer for businesses that put more than $50,000 a year on plastic.

thumb_up Likes

  • Customizable 3% cashback category
  • 2% rewards on three-martini lunches (and other dining)
  • Offers rewards booster with a B of A biz checking account
  • $300 sign-up bonus
  • 0% intro APR on purchases for nine months
  • Compatible with QuickBooks
  • $0 annual fee

thumb_down Dislikes

  • Annual spending cap on bonus tiers
  • We’re nonplussed by the 1% default cashback rate
  • Business management tools are sparse
  • 3% foreign transaction fee
  • 4% balance transfer and cash advance fees
  • No balance-transfer deal
  • Requires deeper banking/investing relationship for best rewards terms


Category Default Rate Bonus Rate Bonus Spend Cap Bonus Spend Period (Months)
Cell Phone 1.00% - - -
Dining 1.00% 2.00% $50,000 12
Gas 1.00% 3.00% $50,000 12
Travel 1.00% - - -
Office Supplies 1.00% - - -
Other Purchases 1.00% - - -

Is the Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit good?

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.

thumb_up Likes

  • 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 Dislikes

  • 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)


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% - - -

compare_arrows Compare cash back credit cards

Select and compare two credit cards head to head to see which offers the most bang for your buck.


Select Credit Cards

×
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxAmazon Business American Express Card
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxAmazon Business Prime American Express Card
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxAmerican Express Blue Business Cash
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxAmerican Express Plum Card
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxBank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxBank of America Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCapital on Tap Business Credit Card
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCapital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCapital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Good Credit
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCapital One Spark 1% Classic for Business
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCapital One Spark 2% Cash Plus
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxChase Ink Business Cash Card
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxChase Ink Business Unlimited Card
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCostco Anywhere Visa Business Card by Citi
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxTD Business Solutions Credit Card
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxTruist Business Cash Rewards Credit Card
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxU.S. Bank Business Leverage Visa Signature Card
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxU.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa Business Card

Compare

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Methodology

The results of the investor.com Credit Card Business 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:

  • Tiered rewards rates: Some business cards pay a flat cashback rate on all purchases. Others pay higher cashback rates on purchases that fall under specific spending categories. The investor.com algorithm incorporates each issuer’s unique reward’s program to determine the “Cash Back Per Year” tally.
  • Spend category inputs: Based on the rewards cards in our database, cell phones, dining, gas, office supplies, travel and "other" are the categories most often used by business credit cards that feature tiered rewards programs. We encourage you to customize the monthly spend inputs for the most accurate results.
  • Monthly spend: The default dollar amounts for each spend category in the Business Credit Card Calculator are based on average small-business spending data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and other sources. Click the arrow on the “Spend Categories” to customize the monthly spend inputs and find the business card with the highest payout rate for your small-business spending.
  • 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 office supplies 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.)



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