5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel; 1X miles per dollar otherwise.
5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel; 1X miles per dollar otherwise.
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
The Spark Cash Select credit card is ideal for small business owners that want a cash back card with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.
It’s a very simple card. You won’t find transferable points nor a rich suite of card benefits here, but that’s the tradeoff to avoid any sort of annual fee. You still get free employee cards.
Small business owners earn 1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases, plus 5% when you book hotels and rental cars through the Capital One Travel Portal.
If you also have a Capital One credit card that earns Capital One miles like a Capital One Spark Miles for Business card, or a personal Venture X, Venture, or VentureOne credit card, you can transfer your cash from the Capital One Spark Cash Select to those cards, making them Capital One Miles – transferable to airline and hotel partners. $10 = 1,000 Miles.
Unlike the Spark Cash Plus, the Spark Cash Select will report to your personal credit profile.
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
With over 3,800 branches, Bank of America is a retail banking giant. It offers its Unlimited Cash Rewards Credit Card to customers who are looking to earn strong rates of cash back on all purchases, but don’t want to pay an annual fee.
This card offers 1.5% cash back per dollar spent on all purchases, with no limits. This is very competitive for a card with no annual fee. This high rate of return comes at the expense of bonus categories, as this card doesn’t have any, like other cards do for things like travel and dining purchases.
Cash back rewards can be deposited into a Bank of America savings account, redeemed as a statement credit, or applied to an eligible Merrill account.
And unlike a Bank of America Travel Rewards card, you don’t get any statement credits towards baggage fees, or the purchase of vacation packages, just cash rewards.
However, Bank of America Preferred Rewards members can earn a 25%, 50% or 75% bonus on their rewards, depending on which tier they are in. And these are simple cash rewards, so you don’t have to redeem points to be rewarded.
Many cardholders will find this simple formula better than earning bonuses on some purchases, but a mere 1% on other purchases.
And your cash back rewards never expire so long as your account remains open and in good standing.
But what makes this card exceptional is the ability for Bank of America Preferred Rewards customers to earn as much as 2.625% cash back. That’s what you’ll get if you’re in one of the higher tiers of their program and earn a 75% bonus on your rewards earned. Others will earn a 25% or 50% bonus, which is still enough to take this card from competitive to remarkable.
Otherwise, this simple card is also one that’s light on benefits. There’s very little to no travel insurance or purchase protection policies, but you do get a free credit score, which most cards offer these days. One notable benefit is Bank of America’s Museums on Us program, which offers free access to hundreds of museums on the first full weekend of the month. This unique benefit can offer significant value to families, parents and other museum lovers.
There’s no annual fee for this card, but there is a 3% foreign transaction fee imposed on purchases processed outside of the United States. That leaves this card as a solid choice for those looking for a competitive, but basic cash back card rather than a travel rewards credit card.
However, if you also happen to be a Bank of America Premier Rewards member, then using this could be the most rewarding card that you could ever use.