Capital One Spark Miles for Business Benefits & Review for 2024

The Capital One Spark Miles for Business earns the most travel rewards of the six flat-rate Spark business rewards cards. 

You earn 2x miles on purchases and redeem your miles for travel statement credits or transfer to participating airlines and hotels.

Here is everything you need to know about the Capital One Spark Miles.

Who is the Capital One Spark Miles for Business For?

The Capital One Spark Miles is for small businesses that want to earn 2x miles on every purchase instead of finding a tiered rewards card with bonus categories matching your most significant monthly expenses. 

You will also need to be okay with only redeeming your purchase rewards for award travel as cash and gift cards have a low redemption value.

You must also decide if the $95 annual fee ($0 for the first year) is worth the rewards. Other small business cards can earn 1.5% back without charging a yearly fee.

Featured Capital One Spark Miles for Business Benefits

Here are some of the leading reasons to get the Capital One Spark Miles.

50,000 Bonus Miles

You can earn a signup bonus of 50,000 miles after spending $4,500 in the first 3 months. 

This bonus offer is worth $500 in travel statement credits. However, your bonus can be potentially worth more if you transfer directly to the Capital One airline and hotel partners for a higher redemption value.

Earn Unlimited 2x Miles

Each purchase earns unlimited 2x miles, although travel purchases through Capital One earn more. 

If most of your purchases classify as a non-bonus category for a tiered rewards card, you can earn more miles with the Spark Miles. Instead of only earning 1 point per $1, you automatically get double the rewards.

Capital One Travel Purchases Earn 5x Miles

Each Capital One Travel booking earns 5x miles instead of the standard 2 points per $1. 

This booking portal can help you reserve flights, hotels, and rental cars.

Free Global Entry or TSA PreCheck

You can receive a $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. This benefit covers one fee every four years.

Introductory $0 Annual Fee

The annual fee is $0 for the first year and then $95. Unfortunately, few cards still waive the annual fee for the first year.

Other Capital One Spark Miles for Business Features

These additional benefits add extra value to your travel and business purchases.

No Foreign Transaction Fee

You won’t pay a foreign transaction fee on international purchases.

Rental Car Damage Coverage

Most car rentals are eligible for secondary rental car collision and theft coverage. Decline the rental car agency’s collision damage waiver to receive this benefit.

Travel and Roadside Assistance

You can request travel and roadside assistance for ticket replacement, towing, legal and medical services. It’s free to call for help but you will pay a fee to the third-party service providers.

Free Employee Cards

Additional employee cards are complimentary. In addition, you can set spending controls and export transaction histories into accounting software for easy bookkeeping.

Small Business Discounts

Capital One partners with Spring to offer discounts to a variety of business software and travel solutions.

Virtual Card Numbers

You can pay for online purchases using a virtual card number instead of your physical card details. This feature can minimize the negative consequences of a compromised card number. 

If a thief obtains your virtual number, you can continue using your regular Spark Business card.

Extended Warranty Protection

Qualifying purchases can get up to one year of extended warranty protection when an original warranty is three years or less.

Redeeming Rewards

You have several ways to redeem your purchase rewards for award travel.

Travel Statement Credits

The easiest redemption option is redeeming your miles for travel statement credits. You charge the purchase to your card and redeem your current points balance within 90 days of the purchase date.

Most travel purchases qualify including flights, hotels, and car rentals. Plus, there isn’t a redemption minimum.

While you pay cash upfront for the purchase, you earn points that you can redeem. Redeeming points directly for travel rewards means you forfeit earning points on that purchase.

Each point is worth 1 cent for travel statement credits.

Upcoming Trips

You can also redeem points for 1 cent each on Capital One Travel. Consider this option if you don’t want to pay out of pocket for a travel expense.

Miles Transfers

Capital One also has over 15 participating airlines and hotels. This option can help you get the best redemption value when each mile is worth more than 1 cent. 

However, the transfer ratio for most travel partners is 2:1.5. For example, 2 Capital One miles become 1.5 airline miles. Some airline and hotel partners offer a 1:1 transfer rate.

Most business cards offering point transfers offer a 1:1 transfer ratio for each partner so you’re more likely to redeem each point for more than 1 cent each. 

Many of the Capital One partner airlines are international carriers. The lone exception is JetBlue. 

Your best redemption options will be for international flights. However, you can book domestic flights with an alliance partner.

One instance is transferring your miles to Air Canada Aeroplan to fly with United Airlines in the Star Alliance network.

Non-Travel Redemptions

It’s possible to redeem your miles for cash and gift cards. However, the redemption value can be 0.8 cents or less. 

Card Fees

These are the most common Capital One Spark Miles for Business fees:

• Annual Fee: $95 ($0 for the first year)
• Additional Employee Cards: $0
• Foreign Transaction Fee: 0%
• Purchase APR: 20.99%
• Late Payment: Up to $39

Capital One Spark Miles Compared to Similar Cards

Here are several other cards you might choose instead of the Capital One Spark Miles for Business. These cards may have a lower annual fee or better rewards options.

Capital One Spark Miles Select:

Consider the Capital One Spark Miles Select if you don’t want an annual fee but want to earn Spark miles. This card earns 1.5x miles on purchases and has the same redemption options as the Spark 2x Miles.

Two tradeoffs are not having the Global Entry/TSA PreCheck travel credit and a smaller signup bonus.

Chase Ink Business Unlimited:

The Chase Ink Business Unlimited has no annual fee and earns 1.5% back on purchases. 

Your points are worth 1 cent each for booking future travel, cash rewards, and gift cards. Unfortunately, this card doesn’t offer point transfers to airlines and hotels.

You can also earn a higher signup bonus of 75,000 Ultimate Rewards worth $750 in cash or travel rewards. The spending requirement is $7,500 in the first 3 months.

This card also has a 3% foreign transaction fee.

Chase Ink Business Preferred:

The Chase Ink Business Preferred can be an excellent option if you want a tiered rewards credit card and valuable travel redemption options.

You earn up to 3x Ultimate Rewards in your first $150,000 in combined purchases for these purchase categories:

• Travel
• Shipping
• Advertising on search engines and social media
• Internet, cable, and phone services

All remaining purchases earn 1 point per $1.

Each point is worth 1.25 cents each when booking upcoming travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards and 1 cent for cash redemptions. 

You can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio to over 12 airlines and hotels. The transfer options include several domestic carriers including United Airlines and Southwest Airlines.

While this card doesn’t offer free Global Entry or TSA PreCheck like the Spark 2x Miles. However, you get valuable travel insurance benefits and primary rental car coverage.

The annual fee is $95 and there is no foreign transaction fee.

American Express Blue Business Plus Card:

The American Express Blue Business Plus Card earns 2x Membership Rewards on the first $50,000 in annual purchases. All remaining purchases earn 1x points until your next card anniversary.

You can transfer your points at a 1:1 ratio to many airlines and hotels, book award flights through AmexTravel, or exchange them for gift cards.

There is no annual fee but the foreign transaction fee is 2.7%.

Consider this card if you want to get 2% back on purchases without paying an annual fee. Similar cards only award up to 1.5% back. 

Capital One Spark Cash Select:

The Capital One Spark Cash Select offers 1.5% back and doesn’t charge an annual fee or foreign transaction fee. Cash rewards are your most valuable redemption option at 1 cent per point.

This card may also be easier to qualify for as there is a “good credit” version if you have a shorter credit history or recent negative marks.

Capital One Spark Cash Plus:

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus can be your best option if you want a card with no preset spending limit. Its annual fee is $150 with no foreign transaction fee.

Your purchases earn unlimited 2% back. Your recent purchase trends and payment history determine your monthly spending power.

You can redeem your purchase rewards for cash statement credits and erasing recent purchases. Unfortunately, this card doesn’t offer mile transfers as the Spark Miles products do.

While you won’t get free Global Entry/TSA PreCheck, you can receive an annual $200 cash bonus after $200,000 in annual purchases.

The Vacationer’s Final Thoughts

The best reason to apply for the Capital One Spark Miles is to earn unlimited 2x miles on purchases instead of 1.5x miles like most flat-rate business rewards cards offer.

The travel statement credits and mile transfers allow you to redeem your points if you regularly travel. 

However, the $95 annual fee and the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck benefit may not be worth the ways you can earn and redeem Spark Miles.

Other business cards offering mile transfers can have a more relevant network of travel partners. You may also appreciate products that let you redeem your points for travel or cash for the same redemption value if you travel infrequently.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.