Finding a business credit card that works well with your financial goals can support the growth of your business in many ways – from organizing your finances to earning rewards and getting more capital.
Capital One Spark Cash Plus and American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card are among the top choices for business credit cards. Spark Cash Plus is a payment card, meaning you pay off the balance in full each month, while Blue Business Cash is like a traditional business card.
Both offer benefits that can be extremely valuable to business owners. However, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus has some attractive features, giving it a slight edge in this particular matchup.
Spark Cash Plus offers unlimited cash back, while the Blue Business Cash Card rewards rate has an annual spending cap, after which you earn 1 percent. If you want to learn more, you can take a deep dive into the features of each card and how they stack up against each other.
Main details
| Welcome bonus | Up to $1,000 cash bonus; $500 after spending $5,000 in the first three months, plus another $500 after spending $50,000 in the first six months | Earn a $250 statement credit after making $3,000 in purchases on your card in the first three months. |
| Annual bonus | Annual cash bonus of $200 after spending at least $200,000 each year | nothing else |
| Prize amount |
|
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| Introductory APR discount | nothing else | 0% introductory APR on purchases for 12 months |
| Variable APR | nothing else | 14.74% to 22.74% |
| Annual fee | 150 dollars | $0 |
Highlights of Capital One Spark Cash Plus from American Express Blue Business Cash
Here, we look at some of the key features of each card to help you decide which one is best for your business needs.
Welcome Bonus Winner: Capital One Spark Money Plus
SparkCash Plus comes out as the clear welcome bonus winner as you can earn up to $1,000 with this card. After you spend $5,000 in the first three months, you’ll get $500 and $500 in the first six months once you spend an additional $500.
Blue Business Cash only offers a $250 statement credit after you make 3,000 purchases on your card in the first three months — a quarter of what you can earn with Spark Cash Plus.
If you want to get SparkCash Plus and can meet the spending criteria, you can see that the $1,000 welcome bonus covers up to six years of annual payments.
Annual Payout Winner: Amex Blue Business Cash
As mentioned above, Spark Cash Plus has an annual fee of $150. In contrast, the Amex Blue Business Cash is a business credit card with no annual fees, which is a relatively low-risk option, especially for new or growing businesses. If you feel this Amex card isn’t right for you after trying it out, you can always switch to another Amex business credit card without worrying about annual fee “breakage costs.”
Prize Amount Winner: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
The Capital One Spark Cash Plus offers unlimited 2 percent cash back on all purchases, while the Amex Blue Business Cash has an annual $50,000 cap with a 2 percent cashback rate. Once you spend more than that, you only earn 1 percent. Additionally, Capital One Spark Cash Plus offers a $200 annual bonus if you spend at least $200,000 on the card annually, while Blue Business Cash has no bonus.
Foreign Exchange Fee Winner: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
The Amex Blue Business Cash Card levies a 2.7 percent foreign transaction fee on international purchases. Capital One Spark Cash Plus doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, which makes it ideal when you travel frequently or do business internationally.
Introductory APR Winner: Amex Blue Business Cash
If you have a big business purchase on the horizon, Amex Blue Business Cash can help you get financing over time. The card offers a 12-month 0 percent introductory APR on purchases. After that, you’ll be charged an ongoing APR that varies from 14.74 percent to 22.74 percent. However, this option is not available with the Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card.
Which card earns more?
Example of Capital One Spark Cash Plus from American Express Blue Business Cash
Both cards offer the same amount of cash back if you don’t expect to spend more than $50,000 a year. But SparkCash Plus has the potential to earn even more thanks to its particularly high welcome bonus and annual bonus.
If you look at different levels of spending in the first year you own the card, even at $50,000 in annual spending, the Spark Cash Plus wins. Although you need to factor in the annual fee, the card still has the potential to earn $600 more in rewards compared to the Amex Business Blue Cash.
| Annual cost | 50,000 dollars | 125,000 dollars | 200,000 dollars | 50,000 dollars | 125,000 dollars | 200,000 dollars |
| Prize amount | 1,000 dollars | 2,500 dollars | 4,000 dollars | 1,000 dollars | 1,750 dollars | 2,500 dollars |
| Welcome bonus | 1,000 dollars | 1,000 dollars | 1,000 dollars | 250 dollars | 250 dollars | 250 dollars |
| Annual bonus | – | – | 200 dollars | – | – | – |
| Annual fee | – 150 dollars | – 150 dollars | – 150 dollars | – | – | – |
| Total | 1,850 dollars | 3,350 dollars | 5,050 dollars | 1,250 dollars | 2,000 dollars | 2,750 dollars |
When you factor in the annual spend, the difference in rewards becomes even more pronounced, with Capital One Spark earning $2,300 more than Blue Business Cash after earning $200,000 in annual spend. That $50,000 in 2 percent cash back from Blue Business cash back really limits how much business owners can earn compared to Spark Cash Plus.
But what happens after the first year when there are no welcome bonuses at all? You can see below that, at the $50,000 level, the annual fee puts Capital One Spark Plus Cash behind Blue Business Cash in single rewards. But when it comes to spending, Spark Cash Plus wins again.
| Annual cost | 50,000 dollars | 125,000 dollars | 200,000 dollars | 50,000 dollars | 125,000 dollars | 200,000 dollars |
| Prize amount | 1,000 dollars | 2,500 dollars | 4,000 dollars | 1,000 dollars | 1,750 dollars | 2,500 dollars |
| Welcome bonus | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Annual bonus | – | – | 200 dollars | – | – | – |
| Annual fee | – 150 dollars | – 150 dollars | – 150 dollars | – | – | – |
| Total | 850 dollars | 2,350 dollars | 4,050 dollars | 1,000 dollars | 1,750 dollars | 2,500 dollars |
Why should you get Capital One Spark Cash Plus?
From the generous welcome bonus, potential annual bonus, unlimited cashback and lack of foreign transaction fees, there are still more features and benefits that make this card popular among business owners.
Additional benefits
Capital One Spark Cash Plus benefits include account and business management features that can be useful for businesses, including:
- Payment flexibility: a choice of payment date that works for you
- Flexible credit limit: A credit limit that suits your needs
- Record keeping: Year-end summary reports and purchase records for accounting purposes
- Employee Access: Free employee cards, as well as customized access and spending limits
- Fraud and Security Alerts: Notifications of unusual account activity
- Virtual card numbers: payments without revealing your card number
Recovery options
Another is the additional redemption options of this card. Capital One recently announced that additional cards, including Spark Cash Plus, will be available through the Capital One Travel Portal. This means you can redeem rewards at a 1:1 ratio or one percent of points through the portal.
Additionally, once your Capital One Spark Rewards balance reaches a certain threshold ($25, $50, $200, $500 or $1,500) or on a selected anniversary date, you can redeem your rewards as follows.
- Statement credit
- Check
- Credit on early purchases
- Gift cards
- View payments through Amazon.com and PayPal
Recommended credit score
Good to excellent credit or a FICO credit score between 670 and 850 increases your chances of being approved for this card.
Why Should You Get American Express Blue Business Cash?
If you spend less than $50,000 a year and are picky about redemption options (discussed below), this card may be right for your business. But for a card with no annual fee, it’s still good enough for business owners looking to get into a low-risk business credit card account.
Additional benefits
In addition to offering zero interest on purchases, Amex Blue Business Cash Card benefits include:
- Standard Amex Benefits: Car rental coverage, extended warranty and purchase protection
- Access to exclusive offers: More rewards through Amex Offers
Recovery options
With Blue Business Cash, you can get cash back as an automatic statement credit up to two billing cycles after the fact.
Recommended credit score
Similar to the Spark Cash Plus, having good to good credit increases your chances of getting approved for this card.
Bottom line
Capital One Spark Cash Plus and American Express Blue Business Cash are big contenders in the business card space, both offering rewards and flexible credit limits — but the similarities stop there. If you plan to spend more than $50,000 a year, Capital One Spark Cash Plus gives you the opportunity to earn more flexible rewards.
Even with the $150 annual fee, the extra bells and whistles that come with Spark Cash Plus can make it well worth it. If you’re just starting out and plan to spend less than $50,000 a year, the no-annual-fee Amex Blue Business Cash is a respectable option. But don’t be surprised if you find yourself growing this card.
