Head-to-Head

Spark Cash Plus

$150-fee NPSL charge card — unlimited 2% cash back, 5% on Capital One Business Travel, refundable fee at $150k spend

VS

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

Low-fee Delta cobrand for occasional business flyers — 2X Delta / dining / capped U.S. shipping & advertising, free bags, no FTF, $0 year-1 annual fee then $150

Annual Fee
$150 ($150 statement credit if ≥ $150...
$0 intro year 1, then $150 (first yea...
Base Earn
Unlimited 2% cash back on net purchas...
1 SkyMile per $1 eligible purchases
Intro APR
Not offered
Not offered
Rating
8.7/10
8.3/10

Costs & Pricing

MetricSpark Cash PlusDelta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
Annual fee$150 ($150 statement credit if ≥ $150,000 net purchases by membership anniversary)$0 intro year 1, then $150 (first year of Card Membership only)
Employee card fee$0 (free employee and virtual cards)$0 (CMA: Annual Fee for Additional Cards: None)
Purchase APRNot printed as revolving purchase APR; Pay Over Time variable APR ~25.74% (review sites, mid-2026) if balance carried19.49%–28.49% variable (Prime + 12.74% to Prime + 21.74%); placement by creditworthiness at account opening. APRs accurate as of 09/02/2026. No 0% intro.
Intro APR (purchases)Not offeredNot offered
Foreign transaction fee$0$0
Late payment fee2.99% late fee if minimum payment not paid by due dateUp to $39 (will not exceed Minimum Payment Due)

Rewards & Value

MetricSpark Cash PlusDelta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
Base earn rateUnlimited 2% cash back on net purchases (no category caps)1 SkyMile per $1 eligible purchases
Welcome bonus$2,000 cash after $30,000 spend in first 3 months; +$2,000 for every $500,000 in year one (repeatable)Conflict across official pages. Delta business-cards page: limited-time 90,000 bonus miles after $6,000 eligible purchases in the first 6 months — offer ends November 4, 2026. Amex product page (same period): evergreen-style 60,000 after $4,000 in the first 6 months with no end date. Treat 90k/$6k through 11/4/2026 as the live limited-time public offer; 60k/$4k as the fallback. Apply-flow T&Cs win.
Redemption value1¢ per 1¢ cash back on statement credit/checkPay with Miles = 1.0¢ ($50 off per 5,000 miles on delta.com). Award travel is dynamic; TakeOff 15 improves award pricing ~15% on Delta-operated flights only (not partner-operated, not taxes/fees). Do not assume transfer-partner value — this card does not transfer.
Transfer partnersNo native transfer partners; cash may convert to Capital One miles ($1 = 100 miles) if linked to miles-earning Cap One cardNone. Currency is Delta SkyMiles, not Membership Rewards. No transfer-out to other airlines. Miles do not expire under Delta’s published policy; Delta may still deactivate an account and remove miles.

Credit & Eligibility

MetricSpark Cash PlusDelta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
Personal guaranteeRequired in practice (issuer-typical for Cap One business cards; not quoted on product page)Required in substance. CMA: Basic Card Member and Company remain jointly and severally liable for all charges. Quote the live application before publishing a legal excerpt.
Credit checkHard pull on submit; pre-approval advertised as no impact to personal creditKnow if you're approved with no impact on your personal credit score until acceptance. Business credit may be impacted on submit. Accepting the card may impact personal credit. Treated as a hard pull on accept in industry practice; Amex does not print “hard pull” on the marketing page.
Employee cardsFree; spend limits, lock/unlock, account manager role; primary remains liable$0 additional-card fee. Spend controls / alerts marketed; Account Manager role can add cards, pay, review transactions. Hard cap on number not disclosed on this product page — do not invent 99 unless the application states it.
Product typeHybrid charge card / NPSL business card (designed pay-in-full; Pay Over Time optional)Revolving small-business credit card (published purchase APR, ADB interest, minimum-payment rule). Not a charge card. Not a corporate / net-terms spend platform.

Pros & Cons

Spark Cash Plus

Pros

  • Uncapped 2% cash back on all net purchases
  • NPSL capacity plus free employee and virtual cards
  • $150 annual fee refunded at $150,000 net spend by anniversary
  • Large year-1 bonuses — $2,000 at $30k/3 mo plus $2,000 per $500k spent
  • $0 foreign transaction fee; 5% on Capital One Business Travel hotels/VR/cars

Cons

  • $150 fee is real if spend stays below $150k/year
  • Pay-in-full design — 2.99% late fee and Pay Over Time interest if you carry
  • Bonus hurdles favor very high spenders ($30k/3 mo, $500k increments)
  • No 0% intro APR and no balance transfers
  • Bonus often blocked for existing/previous Capital One Business cardholders

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

Pros

  • $0 year-1 fee then $150 — lowest annual fee in the Delta business lineup
  • 1st checked bag free worldwide + 2nd bag free domestic (2026 add) can offset the AF in a few team trips
  • 2X on uncapped restaurants plus capped U.S. shipping and U.S. digital/TV/radio ads
  • $0 foreign-transaction fee and $0 employee cards (employee spend feeds the $10k flight-credit threshold)
  • TakeOff 15 reduces Delta-metal award cost 15%

Cons

  • Ongoing $150 AF with credits that are conditional, portal-locked, or enrollment-gated after renewal
  • Miles are Delta-only — no Membership Rewards transfers
  • No lounge, no GE/PreCheck credit, thinner insurance than Platinum/Reserve Business
  • No 0% intro APR; carrying a balance is expensive (19.49%–28.49% as of 09/02/2026)
  • Personal guarantee / joint and several liability; advertising 2X is MCC-narrow (media providers, not any marketing vendor)

Verdict

Spark Cash Plus

Capital One Spark Cash Plus is the go-to for businesses with serious spend who can pay in full. Uncapped 2%, NPSL flexibility, free employee/virtual cards, and a refundable $150 fee at $150k make it a premium flat-rate engine — especially with the live $2,000 welcome bonus and limited $500 travel credit (through Sep 7, 2026). Poor fit for 0% financing seekers, lounge hunters, or businesses under $150k annual card spend.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

This is the low-fee Delta business cobrand — not personal Delta Gold (supermarkets 2X), not Platinum/Reserve Business, and not Amex Business Gold (MR). Confirm the live apply-flow welcome (90k/$6k through 11/4/2026 on Delta vs 60k/$4k still on Amex’s product URL). Skip it if you will not fly Delta, want transferable points, need 0% float, or refuse a PG.