Capital One Spark Classic Review

What Is Spark Classic From Capital One?

If you’re a business owner with mediocre credit, don’t think you’re ineligible for a business credit card. Case in point: the credit-building Spark Classic from Capital One.

While the card’s universal 1% cash back is relatively low, Capital One specifically designed the Spark 1% Classic to help users build credit. If you’re facing credit challenges, don’t be put off by this card’s middling 2.9/5 overall score.

Because Capital One reports your activity to multiple credit bureaus (something not all credit cards do), you can improve your credit score — and become eligible for the best business credit cards — by consistently paying off your account.

Capital One Spark Classic: Quick Facts

Rewards & Perks

Spark Classic features a very basic rewards scheme that’s easy to understand. No advanced calculations are necessary!

Unlimited 1% Cash Back On All Purchases

You’ll get 1% cash back on every purchase you make with this card. Many other business credit cards on the market offer better and more numerous rewards — 1% cash back is a bit paltry in comparison. Accordingly, this card earns low scores in this category.

However, because the Spark Classic is geared toward consumers with fair credit, receiving rewards of any kind is a bonus. Many credit-building cards and secured credit cards don’t offer rewards at all.

Once you’ve successfully boosted your credit by using the Spark 1% Classic wisely, you’ll be able to graduate to credit cards that offer higher rewards rates for your spending.

Redeeming Rewards

With the Spark 1% Classic, you’ll probably want to redeem your rewards for cash back. Your cash back can be redeemed as a statement credit or check.

You can also select an automatic redemption trigger option, which can be set through Capital One’s online port or by contacting the rewards center. Available options include a specific time each calendar year or when a spending threshold (such as $25, $100, or $500) has been reached.

Besides cash back, you can choose from several other redemption methods. Available options include credits for previous purchases, gift cards, and more. Note that different types of rewards might be worth a bit less (or more) than straight cash back.

Rewards you earn with the Spark Classic won’t disappear as long as your account is active. Your account may also be eligible to transfer rewards, but not all accounts/reward products are eligible for transfer. Note that you’ll lose any unredeemed rewards if you close your account.

Rates & Fees

You won’t have to deal with annual or foreign transaction fees with this card. However, keep in mind that there is a relatively high APR — plus, you won’t get a 0% introductory rate.

A Higher-Than-Average APR

With an APR of 30.74% (variable), the Spark Classic has a higher interest rate than many cards on the market. Capital One markets the card toward potentially riskier applicants, so this isn’t surprising.

No Annual Fee

Despite the high APR, this card has no annual fee. This is especially handy because your rewards will start making you money right away — you don’t need to offset an annual fee as you might with a different card.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

While the Spark Classic isn’t a travel credit card, it still lacks foreign transaction fees. This is a staple of Capital One cards, and it could make this card worth it if you don’t qualify for a travel-specific card.

Other Fees

On top of no annual fee, Capital One bundles this card with no balance transfer fees. However, there is a fee for cash advances of $5 or 5% of each cash advance, whichever is higher.

Additionally, this card carries a late payment fee of up to $39.

Features

All Capital One business cards come with a solid set of core benefits. Spark Classic offers a solid range of coverage and includes perks aimed at travel and shopping — even though this card isn’t specifically designed for those purposes.

With the following features on offer, Spark Classic earns a perfect score in this category.

Eligibility Requirements

Capital One designed the Spark Classic for those 18 or older with fair or average credit. Per its website, Capital One considers you to have fair credit if you’ve met the following conditions:

• Defaulted on a loan in the past five years, OR
• Have limited credit history of three years or less

It also means that you should probably have a credit score of at least 580 before applying.

Customer Service

Capital One offers a full range of customer support options for its business credit card users. You’ll get 24/7 live support and some comprehensive FAQs.

Capital One Spark Classic Reviews

For being a credit-building card with a modest rewards rate, Spark Classic earns relatively strong reviews from users. Cardholders at Wallethub give Spark Classic an average score of 3.4/5 (1,214 reviews), while users at Credit Karma give the card a 4.5/5 average score (just 15 reviews).

That score from Wallethub may not seem too impressive, but it’s actually in line with what most top-ranked business credit cards get.

How Does Spark Classic From Capital One Compare To The Alternatives?

Spark Classic is a decent starter credit card for business owners, but let’s see how it compares to a few alternatives.

Final Verdict: Is Spark Classic From Capital One Right For You?

If your credit score is good or excellent, you have many more attractive business credit card options to choose from. However, if you’re facing credit challenges, Spark Classic from Capital One can not only help you qualify for a better business credit card in the future — it will also serve as a decent credit card in its own right, even if the cash back rate is nothing to write home about.

I should note that if your credit score is less than good but your business’s metrics are strong, you may want to consider one of the best corporate credit cards instead.

You might want to apply if:

• You have fair or average credit and are looking to boost your credit score
• You can pay off your balance every month (avoiding Spark Classic’s high APR)
• You have employees who may need a credit card
• Your business requires travel outside of the United States regularly

You might want to look for a different card if:

• You have good-to-excellent credit and are eligible for cards with better rewards
• You will be unable to pay off the card’s monthly balance regularly and won’t avoid the card’s high APR (failing to pay your balance consistently could also drop your credit score)

Credit Card Review Methodology

We spend hours researching and evaluating each credit card that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate our ratings.

When rating credit cards and credit card issuers, we use an 18-point rubric that looks at rewards and perks, rates and fees, features, eligibility requirements, customer service, and user reviews. We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating.

• Rewards & Perks: 40% of the total star rating
• Rates & Fees: 30% of the total star rating
• Features: 15% of the total star rating
• Eligibility Requirements: 5% of the total star rating
• Customer Service: 5% of the total star rating
• User Reviews: 5% of the total star rating

Each section is further broken down into granular, weighted subsections, in which we examine specific attributes like APR, introductory offers, cash back and travel rewards, credit score requirements and disclosures, foreign transaction fees, and the availability of employee cards.

Read more about how we rate business credit cards.