Capital One Spark Miles for Business Review

If you want to earn travel rewards from your business purchases, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business can help you fly far. It’s a great option for businesses who want to earn miles for business spending without the fuss of more complicated reward programs.

It’s also a solid choice for business travelers because of its attractive travel-related benefits. Perks include an application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and no foreign transaction fees.

However, if you want to eke every mile possible out of your spending, it does have the drawback of offering few ways to earn extra miles; for one, its bonus categories are limited. Plus, unlike competitive cards from Chase and American Express, you can’t really pair it with other Capital One cards — not to mention it lacks a major U.S. airline partner. But for simple earning and redeeming, it’s hard to beat this flat-rate business rewards card from Capital One.

• Flat-rate earning structure

  The Capital One Spark Miles for Business features simple flat-rate rewards on most of your card purchases. Cardholders earn 2 Miles per $1 on every purchase, everywhere; 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. This is better than most cards that earn flat-rate rewards: For example, the Bank of America^® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard^® credit card only earns 1.5 points per dollar.

  With no categories to keep track of, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business is a great option for business owners who prefer to devote their time to their companies rather than managing credit card rewards.

• Earn valuable sign-up bonus

  You can earn a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles – equal to $500 in travel – once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. This is a sizable sign-up bonus compared to similar business travel cards, worth $500 in travel booked through Capital One. You can possibly get even more value out of it if you transfer your miles to the right loyalty program partner.

• Capital One transfer partners

  Capital One lets you transfer miles from your Capital One Spark Miles for Business to more than 15 hotel and loyalty programs, mostly at a 1:1 ratio. While miles are normally worth $0.01 apiece when you redeem them for travel statement credits, you can possibly get more value than this by finding a good deal on an award ticket or hotel booking.

  Notably, many of these partners belong to airline alliances — which means, if you’re a savvy rewards traveler, you can take advantage of alliance partners to unlock travel deals around the world.

  • Accor Live Limitless
  • Aeromexico Club Premier
  • Aeroplan
  • Air France KLM Flying Blue
  • Asia Miles
  • Avianca LifeMiles
  • British Airways Avios
  • Choice Privileges
  • Emirates Skywards

  • Etihad Guest
  • EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
  • Finnair Plus
  • Qantas Frequent Flyer
  • Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
  • TAP Miles&Go
  • Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
  • Virgin Red

• TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit

  Using trusted traveler programs like TSA PreCheck and Global Entry can help you navigate airport security lines quickly. The Capital One Spark Miles for Business comes with an application fee credit (up to $120 every four years) for TSA Precheck or Global Entry. TSA PreCheck allows you to expedite security lanes at U.S. airports, while Global Entry offers the same benefits and quicker customs screenings when returning to the U.S. from abroad.

• Annual fee

  Though Capital One Spark Miles for Business‘s annual fee is fairly modest ($0 intro for first year; $95 after that), you’ll have to calculate it into the cost of carrying the card (see rates & fees). Between the sign-up bonus and Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit, this card offers plenty of value for the first year, but its value after that depends on how you use it. Assuming you redeem your miles for travel statement credits worth $0.01 each, you’ll need to spend at least $4,750 each year to justify the annual fee.

• Capital One lacks a major U.S. airline partner

  Although Capital One partners with several airlines, it doesn’t partner with a major U.S. airline. (You can still book domestic flights through transfer partners through airline alliances, but it requires a little more work.) Not having direct domestic partners makes using your miles more challenging.

  For a better list of travel partners, you should check out the American Express^® Business Gold Card or the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card.

• No intro APR

  Unfortunately, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business doesn’t come with an introductory APR for purchases. Some business credit cards offer this unique benefit, allowing you to finance a large purchase for your business with a 0% intro APR for a limited amount of time. The Capital One Spark Miles for Business carries a very high purchase APR of 25.74% (Variable), so you’ll want to pay your balance in full each month to avoid paying interest (see rates & fees).

Capital One offers two Spark Miles credit cards with different earning rates and benefits. The Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business is a no-annual-fee card that offers a lower rewards rate of 1.5 Miles per $1 on every purchase, everywhere.

Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card

The Chase Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card is another worthy business card alternative if you want to avoid paying an annual fee. This Chase business card lets you earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase made for your business. The card earns Ultimate Rewards® points, which you can redeem for cash back or transfer to a premium card (like the Chase Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card) to gain access to 10-plus loyalty program partners, as well as a 25% redemption bonus through Chase Travel.

The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express

The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express is another great business travel credit card, earning rewards at a high flat rate. You’ll earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Terms and limitations apply.

Like the Capital One Spark Miles for Business, you can transfer points to a large variety of airline and hotel loyalty programs (including Delta Air Lines), and you won’t have to pay an annual fee for the privilege. It also comes with a modest welcome offer and an intro APR of 0% on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening (followed by a 17.99% - 25.99% Variable APR.)

However, since the 2X rate is capped at $50,000 in purchases per year, you may be best off with the Capital One Spark Miles for Business if your business spends significantly more than that.

The Capital One Spark Miles for Business is an excellent choice for business owners who want to earn no-fuss, flexible rewards for business spending. The card isn’t loaded with the travel benefits you may find with premium business cards, but it offers better perks than comparable business cards.

However, if you want to avoid paying an annual fee, or if you’re looking for a card with more bonus category options, you should check out another great travel business credit card, like The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express or Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card.