Costs & Pricing

Metric	Spark 1.5% Cash Select	Brex Card
Annual fee	$0	$0 published for the card. Software is separate: Essentials $0/user/mo; Premium $12/user/mo; Enterprise/Smart Card custom. Do not treat Premium as a card AF unless the company elects that plan.
Employee card fee	$0	$0; unlimited physical + virtual cards advertised
Purchase APR	16.74%–26.74% variable after intro (based on creditworthiness)	N/A — charge card, pay in full. Marketing “0%” is charge-card float (daily ~1 business day after clear, or ~30-day monthly statement), not an intro APR.
Intro APR (purchases)	0% for 9 months, then 16.74%–26.74% variable	Not offered
Foreign transaction fee	$0	Marketing: no FTF. Official: FX rate markup of up to 3% on conversions (Mastercard wholesale, adjusted daily). Local-currency cards can avoid conversion on local spend.
Late payment fee	Not disclosed on public product page (aggregators: up to $39; cash-back hub footnote mentions 2.99% — unresolved)	2.99% of delinquent balance or $38, whichever is higher, assessed once per statement that is 30 days past due (Card Program Terms, Apr 7, 2026)

Rewards & Value

Metric	Spark 1.5% Cash Select	Brex Card
Base earn rate	Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase (no category restrictions)	1x on everything else under Exclusive (1 point per $1 USD spend with a U.S.-based merchant). All customers enrolled in Exclusive unless the contract says otherwise. No published category caps. Non-Exclusive / second-card path may be flat 1x — source conflict with 2026 reviews; confirm on the live contract.
Welcome bonus	$750 cash after $6,000 purchases in first 3 months	$1,000 USD statement credit after ≥$4,000 Qualifying Spend within 30 days of activation. Apply, be approved, and activate (first purchase) Sep 1–30, 2026 (legal offer revised Aug 10, 2026). Re-check Oct 1. Review sites still print 10,000 points after $3,000 in 3 months — not found as a current dated legal page.
Redemption value	Face-value cash (statement credit or check); any amount; does not expire while account is open	Brex Travel portal: 1 point = 1¢. Cash to Brex business account or statement credit: 1 point = 0.6¢ (admin must claim). Headline 7x rideshare is 4.2% cash only if Exclusive + cash path. Do not use 1¢ for cash.
Transfer partners	Cash itself does not transfer. If you also hold a Capital One miles card, cash can convert at 1¢ = 1 mile (widely documented; not on the Select product page).	Emirates Skywards, Avianca LifeMiles, Singapore KrisFlyer, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Aeromexico Club Premier, Cathay Asia Miles, Qantas Frequent Flyer at ~1,500:1,000. Crypto (BTC/ETH) appeared in older guides at 0.6¢ — not on the current official redeem page.

Credit & Eligibility

Metric	Spark 1.5% Cash Select	Brex Card
Personal guarantee	Not quoted on product page; market practice = required for Capital One small-business revolving cards	Not required in Brex marketing. Card Program Terms assign liability to the Company. Confirm the live issuer agreement at approval (Emigrant vs Fifth Third vs other).
Credit check	Hard pull on apply (commonly all three bureaus). Pre-approval advertised as no impact to personal score.	Brex states SSN is for identity verification and is not used to underwrite or pull personal credit. No advertised personal hard pull.
Employee cards	Free; custom spend limits; card lock; account-manager role (primary remains liable)	One employee card (physical or virtual) per user plus unlimited purchasing/virtual cards. Spend limits, merchant locks, policies, Apple/Google/Samsung Pay. Company liable. Auto-reissue on expiry.
Product type	Revolving business credit card (fixed credit line)	Corporate / commercial charge card plus spend-management platform (pay-in-full daily or monthly; not revolving; no published purchase APR)

Pros & Cons

Spark 1.5% Cash Select

Pros

• $0 annual fee; unlimited 1.5% cash back with no category tracking
• Live $750 / $6,000 / 3-month welcome bonus
• 9-month 0% intro APR on purchases
• $0 foreign-transaction fee; free employee cards that earn the same rate
• Cash back never expires while the account is open; redeem any amount

Cons

• 1.5% trails 2% flats and category-heavy Ink/Amex products at scale
• 5% travel only inside Capital One Business Travel; no lounge/GE credits
• Balance transfers not available
• Revolving Spark cards commonly report to personal credit
• Excellent-credit bar; full Schumer (late fee, penalty APR) not on the public product page

Brex Card

Pros

• No personal guarantee and no advertised personal credit pull; company is the obligor
• $0 card annual fee and unlimited employee/virtual cards on Essentials
• Exclusive category points with no published earn cap; Brex Travel portal at 1¢/pt
• Native expense controls, virtual/vendor cards, and accounting integrations
• Local-currency cards in 50+ countries (plan-dependent); business-bureau reporting without personal-credit reporting (per Brex)

Cons

• Charge card: no revolving APR, no 0% working-capital window; late fee 2.99% or $38 after 30 days past due, plus possible 10% workout fee
• Sole props ineligible; funded startups commonly ~$50k cash; commercial revenue floors are messy
• “No FTF” marketing vs up to 3% FX markup
• Cash redemption 0.6¢/pt; airline transfers 1,500:1,000; Exclusive/contract multipliers are easy to misread
• Dynamic limits can fall with cash; Capital One ownership may change terms

Verdict

Spark 1.5% Cash Select

Spark Cash Select is the clean no-fee 1.5% Capital One option — plus a $750 bonus and 9 months of 0% on purchases. It is not Spark Cash Plus (NPSL, $150) and not Classic (fair credit, 1%). Best as a simple daily driver or year-1 0% tool; once annual spend is high enough that a 2% flat or category card wins, move the volume.

Brex Card

Brex is a charge-card ops platform owned by Capital One as of April 7, 2026 — not Spark, not Ramp’s Visa SKU, and not a revolving bank card. Pick it for no-PG underwriting and policy tooling. Do not assume 1¢ cash, a guaranteed 7x, or true $0 FX. Sole props, revolvers, and simple 1.5–2% cash shoppers should use a traditional PG card or Ramp if the cash bar fits. The Sep 2026 $1,000 / $4,000 / 30-day credit expires Sep 30 — re-check Oct 1.