Spark 1.5% Cash Select
No-annual-fee 1.5% flat cash back with 0% intro APR and a modest welcome bonus
Costs & Pricing
Annual fee (primary): $0
Employee card fee: $0
Purchase APR: 16.74%–26.74% variable after intro (based on creditworthiness)
Intro APR (purchases): 0% for 9 months, then 16.74%–26.74% variable
Intro APR (balance transfers): Not offered (balance transfers are not available)
Foreign transaction fee: $0
Cash advance APR: 30.49% variable ($5 or 5% fee, whichever greater; no grace)
Late payment fee: Not disclosed on public product page (aggregators: up to $39; cash-back hub footnote mentions 2.99% — unresolved)
Penalty APR: Not on official public page (aggregators commonly list 32.9% variable)
Other fees: No overlimit fee (issuer policy). Cash advances accrue from day one. No public Schumer PDF for this SKU.
Rewards & Value
Bonus Categories & Promotions
- ★ 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel (off-portal hotels/incidentals earn 1.5%)
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).
Credit, Limits & Spending
Credit limit: Preset revolving credit line (not NPSL). Official min/max not disclosed.
Personal guarantee: Not quoted on product page; market practice = required for Capital One small-business revolving cards
Credit check: Hard pull on apply (commonly all three bureaus). Pre-approval advertised as no impact to personal score.
Recommended credit: Excellent (issuer guidance; review sites map ≈740+). Not a published cutoff.
Employee cards: Free; custom spend limits; card lock; account-manager role (primary remains liable)
Virtual cards: Offered for safer online payments; depth of merchant-lock/expiry controls not disclosed
Product type: Revolving business credit card (fixed credit line)
Network: Mastercard
Benefits, Protections & Tools
Travel
- ✓ 5% via Capital One Business Travel on hotels and rental cars
- ✓ Roadside assistance (service fees billed to the card)
- ✓ MasterRental CDW in Mastercard Business guide — primary for business rentals in domicile country; otherwise secondary (confirm guide maps to plastic)
Purchase Protections
- ✓ $0 fraud liability for unauthorized charges
- ✓ Extended warranty (listed on product page; Mastercard guide: up to +12 months, $10,000/claim)
- ✓ Purchase protection in Mastercard Business guide (90 days; $10,000/claim) — product page emphasizes warranty more
Business Tools
- ✓ Free employee cards, spend limits, virtual numbers, card lock
- ✓ Download to Quicken, QuickBooks, Excel; year-end summaries
- ✓ Choose due date, AutoPay, recurring-transaction list
- ✓ Accounts Payable vendor-pay marketing (fees/float not disclosed)
- ✓ Capital One Mobile + web portal
Eligibility & Application
Who can apply: U.S. small-business owners; entity-type matrix not published. Sole props routinely approved industry-wide.
Business requirements: No disclosed time-in-business or revenue floors
Issuer rules: Public bonus may be blocked for existing/previous Capital One Business cardholders. No Chase 5/24 analog. Because Select commonly reports to personal credit, it can count toward another issuer's card-count rules.
Application impact: Hard personal inquiry; pre-qualify advertised as no score impact. Commonly reported 3-bureau pull.
Best for: No annual fee Flat-rate cash back 0% intro APR No foreign transaction fee Free employee cards Excellent credit
Pros & Cons
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
Buy (no-fee 1.5% daily driver + 0% window)
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.