Capital One Quicksilver Student vs Capital One Spark Cash Select
Side-by-side comparison
| Capital One Quicksilver Student | Capital One Spark Cash Select | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | No annual fee | No annual fee |
| Welcome offer | $50 cash bonus | $750 cash back |
| Advertising | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Shipping | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Office supplies | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Phone & internet | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Travel | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Everything else | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Est. yearly rewards* | $675 | $675 |
| Points type | Pools with Capital One → transferable | Pools with Capital One → transferable |
| Network | Visa | Mastercard |
*Estimated yearly rewards on typical household spending, every point valued at a flat 1 cent. Verified June 2026. See your own numbers in the calculator.
The verdict
On a typical year of business spending, the Capital One Quicksilver Student earns about $675 a year in rewards and the Capital One Spark Cash Select about $675, valuing every point at a flat 1 cent. The Capital One Quicksilver Student has no annual fee, so its rewards are all profit. The Capital One Spark Cash Select has no annual fee, so its rewards are all profit. These two are about as close as cards get: both pay a flat 1.5x on everything, neither charges an annual fee, and on that spending they finish within a few dollars of each other. The choice is not really about the rewards rate. Both earn transferable points rather than flat cash, so the deciding factor is whose transfer partners reach the airlines and hotels you would actually book. On the sign-up bonus, the Capital One Spark Cash Select currently has the larger welcome offer. A welcome bonus is a one-time event, so weigh it apart from the ongoing rewards.