HelpMeBuildCredit.com reported yesterday that Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business cards will no longer report to personal credit bureaus. We were able to confirm through a Capital One spokesperson that for new Spark Cash customers starting 10/20, Capital One will no longer report to personal credit bureaus as long as an account remains in good standing. That is great news for those looking to stay under 5/24 while picking up new cards.
One of the advantages of applying for business credit cards is that, in many cases, those accounts are not reported to personal credit bureaus. This is useful because it means that your use of the cards will not count against your utilization percentage and will not add to the 5/24 count that Chase uses in its credit card approval process.
Unfortunately, Capital One business cards have long been an exception to the rule: unlike most banks, Capital One has long reported its business cards to personal credit bureaus.
The change here only applies to Spark Cash cardholders and only to new card holders as of 10/20 whose accounts remain in good standing.
Still, that’s a useful tidbit of knowledge to keep in mind as Capital One occasionally offers excellent increased bonuses and in the case of the Spark Cash card this would make an increased bonus all the more appealing.
This news will likely mean a change to Greg’s theoretical plan for a beginner with a business since it would suddenly be worth considering the Spark Cash for a beginner, particularly in times when we see an increased welcome bonus.
Keep in mind that Capital One can be tough on approvals. Many readers who have opened a lot of credit cards have reported being unable to get approved for Capital One cards. It’s also worth noting that Capital One pulls reports from all three credit bureaus, so you’ll take three hard pulls whether approved or declined. Still, for those with a relatively thin profile, it can be worth a gamble. My wife had a fair number of cards already when she was approved for a Capital One Spark Cash card, so it isn’t impossible to get approved even if very unpredictable. This new development may certainly make it worth a shot though for more people.
See current Spark Cash Business bonus information here:
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
$750 Cash Back ⓘ Affiliate Earn a $750 cash bonus when you spend $7,500 within the first 3 months. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95 FM Mini Review: A good option for business owners who prefer simple cash back rewards. Earning rate: 2% everywhere ✦ 5% on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel Base: 2% Card Info: Visa Signature issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: No foreign transaction fees |
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Capital One seems to make a distinction between the Spark Cash Plus and Spark Cash Select. The Plus does not report to the bureaus, but the Select one does. I got the Select one last month, and so that one showed up. In all my research before applying, I saw references only to “Spark Cash” and no references to Plus/Select at all. But these are only 3rd-party reports. Do you have anything in writing from Capital One that refers only to “Spark Cash”? Can you still get in touch with that Capital One spokesperson that you referred to and ask about this Plus/Select distinction and whether it was ever advertised?
So can I hold the old spark cash card and the new one at the same time and will I receive the new sign up bonus as well?
Nick, Could you PC to the spark miles card and keep it off your report after the fact?
As of now this will not work (per cap1 executive)
There was a redditor was said they are now pulling 2 bureaus.
I don’t think that’s the case. It has long been possible (anecdotally, anyway) to get approved with two pulls if you have one bureau frozen. If you have two bureaus frozen, they won’t approve. YMMV.
What about Miles Business Card?
No, this only applies to the Spark Cash.
I just applied today and received a bunch of notifications (Experian, Mint, Capital One, etc) that there was a change to my credit report indicating a personal credit pull.
Yes, of course they will pull your personal credit reports to evaluate you for approval. What this article is about is monthly credit reporting. That matters a lot to people who want to keep their number of new personal accounts low (for example, Chase only considers applicants with less than five new personal accounts in the prior 24 months).