First-year winner
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
$301 Year 1 edge
$1,488 vs $1,187
Compare Cards
Stack up the better credit card
Compare two cards side by side with your real spend, credits, fees, and rewards.
Card A
Card B
Monthly spend
Start with spending categories
Monthly Total
$2,430/mo
Reward assumptions
Credits & benefits
Count the credits and perks you actually expect to use. Credit rows start with conservative default values; edit them for your own merchant, timing, or travel friction.
Card A
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
Counted benefits
$0
Credits
None
Cash-like credits counted in the model
Perks
None
Optional user-valued benefits
Perk
Capital One Travel Booking Tools
Price Protection · No listed cash value
Capital One Travel includes booking features such as price monitoring, change-support workflows, and issuer-managed travel booking features.
Perk
Capital One Entertainment Access
Other · No listed cash value
Eligible cardholders can access event inventory and experiences through the Capital One Entertainment platform.
Perk
Employee Cards and Virtual Cards
Other · No listed cash value
Capital One business cards are geared toward teams, with employee-card support and account tools for business spend management.
Perk
No Annual Fee
Other · No listed cash value
You can keep the card long term without paying a recurring annual fee.
Card B
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
Counted benefits
$0
Credits
None
Cash-like credits counted in the model
Perks
None
Optional user-valued benefits
Perk
Capital One Travel Booking Tools
Price Protection · No listed cash value
Capital One Travel includes booking features such as price monitoring, change-support workflows, and issuer-managed travel booking features.
Perk
Capital One Entertainment Access
Other · No listed cash value
Eligible cardholders can access event inventory and experiences through the Capital One Entertainment platform.
Perk
Employee Cards and Virtual Cards
Other · No listed cash value
Capital One business cards are geared toward teams, with employee-card support and account tools for business spend management.
Perk
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Other · No listed cash value
Eligible international purchases do not incur an added foreign transaction surcharge.
Verdict
Capital One Spark 2% Cash wins year 1 and long term.
Winner after year 1
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
$51 ongoing edge
$488 vs $437
Long-term breakeven: the higher-reward option needs roughly $19,000 per year in this spend mix to overcome the fee and benefit gap.
Capital One
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
Year One
$1,187
Welcome offer + annual rewards + counted benefits - fee
After Year 1
$437
Annual rewards + counted benefits - fee
Annual Rewards
$437
1.50% effective return
Welcome Offer
$750
Current listed first-year bonus value
Credits + Perks
None
$0 credits + $0 perks
Bonus Spend
$6,000
3 mo window · $2,000/mo pace · Doable
Why it wins
- • Still delivers meaningful first-year upside from the welcome offer.
- • Stays usable for international purchases.
Watch for
- • No major red flag surfaced from the current math.
Capital One
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
Year One
$1,488
Welcome offer + annual rewards + counted benefits - fee
After Year 1
$488
Annual rewards + counted benefits - fee
Annual Rewards
$583
2.00% effective return
Welcome Offer
$1,000
Current listed first-year bonus value
Credits + Perks
None
$0 credits + $0 perks
Bonus Spend
$10,000
3 mo window · $3,333/mo pace · Stretch
Why it wins
- • Comes with a particularly strong welcome offer.
- • Stays usable for international purchases.
Watch for
- • The annual fee is harder to justify if you do not use the credits and perks consistently.
- • The listed welcome-offer threshold looks aggressive for your monthly spend capacity.
Spend Mix Math
Where the value actually comes from
Category returns are based on the spend mix you entered, your point-value assumption, and the benefits you chose to count.
Dining
1.5%
$5,400
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
$81
1.50%
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
$108
2.00%
Groceries
1.5%
$7,800
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
$117
1.50%
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
$156
2.00%
Travel
1.5%
$3,000
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
$45
1.50%
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
$60
2.00%
Gas
1.5%
$1,920
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
$29
1.50%
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
$38
2.00%
General
1.5%
$11,040
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
$166
1.50%
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
$221
2.00%
Total annual spend
$29,160 across this mix
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select$437
Capital One Spark 2% Cash$583
Raw Breakdown
Full side-by-side details
Use the spec table below when you want the literal field-by-field differences in rewards, benefits, transfer partners, fees, and approval profile.
| Metric | Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select | Capital One Spark 2% Cash |
|---|---|---|
| Costs | ||
| Annual fee | Free | $95 |
| Foreign transaction fee | None | None |
| Rewards | ||
| Travel rewards | 5% 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel. | 5% 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel. |
| All rewards | 1.5% | 2% |
| Offer | ||
| Welcome offer | $750 cash bonus Spend $6,000 in 3 mo | $1,000 cash bonus Spend $10,000 in 3 mo |
| Benefits | ||
| Estimated benefits | 4 listed | 4 listed |
| Benefit highlights | Capital One Travel Booking Tools · Capital One Entertainment Access · Employee Cards and Virtual Cards · +1 more | Capital One Travel Booking Tools · Capital One Entertainment Access · Employee Cards and Virtual Cards · +1 more |
| Profile | ||
| Credit needed | Good | Good |
| Network | — | — |
| Reward type | Cashback | Cashback |
Costs
Annual fee
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
Free
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
$95
Foreign transaction fee
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
None
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
None
Rewards
Travel rewards
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
5%
5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel.
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
5%
5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel.
All rewards
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
1.5%
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
2%
Offer
Welcome offer
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
$750 cash bonus
Spend $6,000 in 3 mo
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
$1,000 cash bonus
Spend $10,000 in 3 mo
Benefits
Estimated benefits
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
4 listed
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
4 listed
Benefit highlights
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
Capital One Travel Booking Tools · Capital One Entertainment Access · Employee Cards and Virtual Cards · +1 more
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
Capital One Travel Booking Tools · Capital One Entertainment Access · Employee Cards and Virtual Cards · +1 more
Profile
Credit needed
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
Good
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
Good
Network
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
—
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
—
Reward type
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
Cashback
Capital One Spark 2% Cash
Cashback