Capital One Spark Cash Select review: $500 cash-back welcome offer or 0% intro APR with no annual fee

The Capital One Spark Cash Select* is a good choice for small business owners looking for a straightforward cash-back card with no annual fee.

Capital One offers two versions of the card: If you need flexible financing, or if your credit score isn't in the excellent range, consider the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit*. If you have an excellent credit score and want to score a $750 welcome bonus, the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit* may be the better choice.

Select reviewed the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit*, analyzing its welcome bonus, return on spend and more to help you decide if it's the best card for you.

• Welcome bonus
• Benefits and perks
• How to redeem cash back
• Rates and fees
• Card comparison
• Who is this card best for
• Bottom line

These two cards are starkly different in their welcome bonus offerings.

The Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit* does not have a welcome bonus offer.

The Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit* offers new cardholders the chance to earn a $750 cash bonus when you spend $6,000 in the first 3 months

Both cards offer nearly identical benefits. With either card, you can earn:

• 1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases

In addition, both of the Capital One Spark Cash Select* cards come with:

• Free employee cards
• No foreign transaction fees
• Extended warranty- Automatically extends the original manufacturer's warranty on eligible purchases made with this card
• Roadside assistance- Take advantage of 24 hour toll-free dispatch to help with services like towing, fuel delivery and more (fees apply)
• $0 fraud liability

There is one big difference in the perks offered between these two cards. If you sign up for the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit*, you can take advantage of a 0% introductory APR offer for the first 12 months of card membership. After the intro APR is over, it's 21.24% - 29.24% variable APR.

Redeeming Capital One cash back is extremely simple.

In your Capital One customer portal, you will see your accrued cash back, and you will be given two options to redeem it:

• Credit it directly to your credit card account
• Have a check mailed directly to you

You can redeem it at any time, and there is no minimum to redeem it.

Neither card has an annual fee or any foreign transaction fees.

If you plan on carrying a balance month to month, you may want to consider the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit* as it comes with a 0% introductory APR offer.

The Capital One Spark Cash Select* is a solid choice for business owners who want further spending power to invest in their business. However, it isn't the only credit card to consider for your business expenses. Below, we look at comparable small business credit cards, so you can decide what's best for your wallet:

Capital One Spark Cash Select* vs. Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is an excellent choice for small business owners, as they can earn up to 5% cash back on eligible purchases.

As you use the Ink Business card, you can earn:

• 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year.

• 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year.

• 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases, with no limit to the amount you can earn.

The card also comes with a lucrative welcome offer: New cardholders can earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening.

Even if you earn just 1% cash back on the $6,000 required to earn the full welcome bonus, your cash-back total would be $600. By comparison, with the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit*, you would only earn $567.50 from the welcome bonus and the 1.5% cash back on the $4,500 initial spend.

However, the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit* does offer spending flexibility that the Ink Business Cash Credit Card. New cardholders can get 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months, 18.49% - 24.49% variable APR.

If you're deciding between the two cards, be sure to analyze your business' financial priorities. If spend flexibility is the most important, it may be best to select the Capital One card. If your business can use the additional cash back to reinvest into the business, the Ink Business Cash Credit Card could be a better fit.

Read the full Select review of the Chase Ink Business cards here.

Capital One Spark Cash Select* vs. Capital One Spark Cash Plus Credit Card*

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus Credit Card* is the step-up from the Spark Cash Select cards.

With the Cash Plus card, you can earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases. However, the card works much differently than the Cash Select cards.

This card doesn't have a preset spending limit, so it can adapt to your needs based on your spending behavior, payment history and credit profile, giving cardholders more spending flexibility without having to worry about exceeding their credit limit. The downside to this feature is that the statement balance is due in full each month.

In addition, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus Credit Card* has a $150 annual fee.

If you're debating between the two options, be sure to closely analyze your spending needs. If you're consistently making large purchases, the flexibility of the Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus* may be the best card. However, if you want to score a $500 welcome bonus or have financing flexibility of a 0% intro APR card, the Capital One Spark Cash Select cards may be a better fit.

The Capital One Spark Cash Select* is best for small business owners looking for simplicity. Regardless of whether you decide you prefer the $500 welcome offer that comes with Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit* or the 0% intro APR feature that comes with the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit*, the rewards make the card easy to use since there aren't spending categories to track.

Additionally, the card is great for business owners who regularly travel overseas as the card does not have foreign transaction fees.

The Capital One Spark Cash Select* is a great business credit card if you want a card with no annual fee, an easy-to-use flat-rate card so you can earn cash back to reinvest in your business.

However, if you travel regularly for work, consider a travel rewards credit card. While it requires a bit more work, the rewards you earn can be much more valuable than the cash back as it can help small business owners save on hotel or airline costs.

To determine which credit cards offer the best value, Select analyzed 234 of the most popular credit cards available in the U.S. We compared each card on a range of features, including rewards, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, balance transfer fee and foreign transaction fees, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available. We also considered additional perks, the application process and how easy it is for the consumer to redeem points.

Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company's data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.

Esri's data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases include items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses.

Select used this budget to estimate how much the average consumer would save over the course of a year, two years and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases. All rewards total estimations are net the annual fee.

While the five-year estimates we've included are derived from a budget similar to the average American's spending, you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your shopping habits.

* Information for this card not reviewed by or provided by Capital One.