Credit Cards

Capital One Spark Cash Plus Review

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Capital One Spark Cash Plus

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is a great cashback card offering 2% cashback on all purchases and if you carry Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One Venture X Business you can merge that cashback into Capital One Miles and garner the ability to transfer into partners.

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Capital One Spark Cash Plus

4.8
4.8/5

Unlimited 2% cashback – high bonus, but requires a lot of spend quickly.

Welcome Offer

  • Earn a one-time cash bonus of $2,000 once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months

Annual Fee

$150

Points Earned

Cash Back, but may be possible to combine with Capital One Miles

 

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus earns unlimited 2% cashback and is technically considered a “cashback card” 

However

Anedotally, and this is an unpublished data point, if you carry a card that earns Capital One Miles like the Capital One Venture X or Capital One Venture Rewards you can combine the cashback into Miles and transfer them into partners. 

Either which way, you’d put this card to use on purchases that have no other category bonus so you’re guaranteed a 2x on every purchase

  • Earn a one-time cash bonus of $2,000 once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months
  • Earn an additional $2,000 cash bonus for every $500K spent during the first year. You can earn this bonus multiple times over the course of year 1!
  • Earn unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase, everywhere-with no limits or category restrictions
  • No preset spending limit,
  • Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • $150 annual fee – Spend $150,000 annually and Capital One will refund this fee every year
  • Spark Cash Plus has no APR because your balance is due in full every month

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists what the highest offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

Capital One keeping straight forward – unlimited 2% cashback

You heard it right. No limit. Get 2% cashback.

You said cashback or miles – what do you mean?

Fantastic question. If you carry a Capital One Spark Miles for Business, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, the Capital One Venture X Business, or Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card that earns Capital One Miles you can actually convert the cashback, or Capital One Miles, you earn into miles and then transfer them into partner programs.

So $1000 cashback = 100k Capital One Miles.

Note that you can’t convert the other away around – if you earned 75k miles off your Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card you can’t turn that into $750 cashback.

Transfer 100k Capital One Miles to Aeroplan to fly Lufthansa First Class

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Capital One Spark Cash Plus

4.8
4.8/5

Unlimited 2% cashback – high bonus, but requires a lot of spend quickly.

Welcome Offer

  • Earn a one-time cash bonus of $2,000 once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months

Annual Fee

$150

Points Earned

Cash Back, but may be possible to combine with Capital One Miles

 

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus earns unlimited 2% cashback and is technically considered a “cashback card” 

However

Anedotally, and this is an unpublished data point, if you carry a card that earns Capital One Miles like the Capital One Venture X or Capital One Venture Rewards you can combine the cashback into Miles and transfer them into partners. 

Either which way, you’d put this card to use on purchases that have no other category bonus so you’re guaranteed a 2x on every purchase

  • Earn a one-time cash bonus of $2,000 once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months
  • Earn an additional $2,000 cash bonus for every $500K spent during the first year. You can earn this bonus multiple times over the course of year 1!
  • Earn unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase, everywhere-with no limits or category restrictions
  • No preset spending limit,
  • Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • $150 annual fee – Spend $150,000 annually and Capital One will refund this fee every year
  • Spark Cash Plus has no APR because your balance is due in full every month

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists what the highest offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

15+ Capital One Transfer Partners

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  • The following partners are now 1:1
    • Aeromexico Club Premier
    • Air Canada Aeroplan
    • Avianca LifeMiles
    • Air France Flying Blue
    • British Airways Executive Club
    • Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
    • Choice Privileges
    • Etihad Guest
    • Emirates
    • Finnair Plus
    • Qantas Frequent Flyer
    • Singapore Airlines
    • TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
    • Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles
    • Virgin Red
    • Wyndham Rewards
  • Accor transfer 2:1
  • EVA transfers 2:1.5

You can transfer to Avianca LifeMiles to fly NYC to London for just 45k miles

a seats with monitors and a couple people in the background

 

But I don’t have a small business. You may, and not know it. Keep reading.

If you have a side hustle, earn money from the gig economy, or even now what people are referring to as the creator economy…the odds are strongly in your favor that you qualify for a small business credit card.   So many people earn money that isn’t W2 income, but they haven’t established formal LLCs or S-corps that have EIN ( Employer Identification Number), and they aren’t taking advantage of what that income opens the door to….but they can still apply and get approved for small business credit cards.

If you’re earning income on a 1099, you’re good to go. Some examples of those are…

  • Online Coaches, tutors, etc
  • Uber and Lyft drivers (assuming they still get 1099s whenever you’re reading this).
  • DoorDash, GrubHub and Postmates
  • Social Media income ( TikTok, Instagram, YouTube )
  • Cater Waiters
  • Personal Trainers
  • Dog Walkers
  • Freelance graphic designers and web designers
  • Singers, artists, dancers, models, etc
  • Virtual Assistants
  • Ebay, Amazon and Facebook resellers

Do Capital One Business credit cards affect my 5/24 number. Yes and no

According to MilesTalk – The Capital One Spark Cash Plus does not report to your personal credit, but the brother in law Capital One Spark Miles for Business does. So…for this deal, you don’t have to worry about it affecting your personal report.

a row of seats with monitors and a tv in the middle of the aisle
Air France Business Class A350

This is a charge card not a credit card

The full balance is due every month.

My Business doesn’t spend $30k in 3 months. Keep reading.

Are there expenses that your business pays that it isn’t putting on a credit card ? Like taxes, rent, club dues, educational services, etc? These expenses could be a way for your business to hit a minimum spend requirement and earn a large welcome bonus.

Services like Plastiq allow you to pay those bills through them for a fee – Plastiq is ordinarily 2.5%

Even though you’re paying an additional fee, the total cost of doing so could end up being far less than the value of the rewards you earn. Make sure you crunch the numbers and make a decision with the most information.

Overall

Capital One has changed its presence significantly, and certainly piqued this blogger’s interest in their entire program. Transfer partners is a must these days, and Capital One has changed with the times. Having a welcome bonus that is absolutely monstrous is akin to when the Count of Monte Cristo threw a lavish party to announce his arrival on the scene. Who is that Count? He looks so familiar, but feels so fresh and new and attractive. I must put him in my wallet, and years after its big splashy party…he’s back splashing again.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


4.8
4.8/5
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott.

Welcome Offer

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
    • The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 10% Anniversary Bonus
    • Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
  • $95 Annual Fee

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

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