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- Capital One Spark Miles Select Review
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Offer status
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The Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business card is a great no-annual-fee option with a long list of benefits and an excellent rewards rate. However, there's also an area where this card is notably lacking compared to similar credit cards. In this Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business review, you'll get a complete look at what the card does well and where it could improve.
Great for: Unlimited miles with no annual fee
Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.
What We Like About The Card
A competitive business travel card that's a fit for a one-card wallet. The unlimited rewards program, sign-up bonus, and 0% intro APR offer are a rare combination of valuable perks in this category.
Rewards
Unlimited 1.5x miles
Annual Fee
$0
Intro APR
Purchases: 0%, for 9 months
Balance Transfers: N/A
Ongoing APR
13.99% - 23.99%, variable
Welcome Bonus
20,000 miles for spending $3,000 within 3 months
Highlights
- Earn unlimited 1.5X miles per dollar on every purchase, everywhere, no limits or category restrictions, and miles won't expire for the life of the account
- Earn a one-time bonus of 20,000 miles – equal to $200 in travel – once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening
- Earn 5X miles on hotel and rental car bookings through Capital One Travel℠ using a Spark Miles Select card
- Save on interest with 0% intro APR on purchases for 9 months; 13.99% - 23.99% variable APR after that
- No annual fee
- Transfer your miles to 10+ leading travel loyalty programs like JetBlue™, Air Canada, and Emirates™
- Redeem your miles instantly for any travel-related purchases, from flights and hotels to ride-sharing services
- Free employee cards which also earn unlimited 1.5X miles from their purchases
Full Capital One Spark Miles Select review
Top perks
5 miles per $1 on hotel and rental car bookings with Capital One Travel℠: If you or your employees do much business travel, you can earn a lot of points on those hotel and rental car expenses.
Unlimited 1.5 miles per $1: Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business earns a flat rate of 1.5 miles per $1 on all purchases, besides those hotel and car rental bookings we just covered. That rate is equal to many of the top no-annual-fee cards. Each mile is worth $0.01 when redeemed towards cash travel purchases, and you can also transfer Capital One miles to its travel partners.
No annual fee: This card doesn't have an annual fee, making it a great way to keep costs down.
20,000-point sign-up bonus: You'll receive this bonus, which can be worth $200 towards travel, after you spend $3,000 within three months of opening your account. The ratio between the bonus amount and the spending minimum isn't great on this card, as $3,000 is a lot to spend for a $200 bonus. Still, it's hard to argue with free money.
0% intro APR: You get a 0% intro APR on purchases for nine months. If you have any pressing business expenses you'll need to pay off gradually, this card will save you money on interest.
No foreign transaction fees: You won't pay an extra fee for foreign transactions that you charge to this card.
Free employee cards: If you need to ensure that your employees can make purchases on behalf of the business, you can issue them their own cards free of charge. You can also set spending limits on employee cards. which is a helpful security feature we like to see in the best business credit cards.
What could be improved
Travel redemption options: Transfers to travel partners can potentially provide good value, but Capital One's transfer options are lacking. It doesn't offer transfers to any of the major domestic airlines and the transfer ratio isn't the best. Depending on the travel partner, you'll receive one or 1.5 miles for every 2 Spark® miles you spend.
If you redeem miles at a fixed rate, you can use them to book travel through Capital One or apply them as a statement credit towards previous travel purchases on your bill. This isn't a bad option, but it's essentially just a more limited form of cash back.
Suggested credit score
You should have an excellent credit score, which means a FICO® Score of 720 or higher, when applying for the c-offer-name-capital-one-spark-miles-select-for-business-end-sc. It's possible to get this card with a lower credit score, but you're rolling the dice on whether you'll be approved or denied.
Alternatives to consider
- If you want more ways to use your points: The Chase Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card has one of the most impressive business card travel rewards programs, letting you either redeem points at a fixed rate or transfer them to over a dozen airline and hotel partners. It's also easy to earn points as the card offers a huge sign-up bonus and 3 points per $1 spent in several spending categories (up to a $150,000 spending cap).
- If you want to earn more miles: You could opt for the Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business, which earns 5 miles per $1 on hotel and car rentals booked through Capital One and 2 miles per $1 on all other purchases. You'd have to pay a $95 annual fee for those additional miles, although it's waived the first year. Comparing the miles that the two cards earn, the Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business would be the better deal for business owners who spend at least $19,000 per year.
As of Jan. 05, 2021
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Chase Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card |
Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business |
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Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5 stars
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. |
Rating image, 5.0 out of 5 stars.
5.0 stars
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. |
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Credit Rating Requirement: |
Credit Rating Requirement: |
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Welcome Bonus: 100,000 points after spending $15,000 within 3 months |
Welcome Bonus: 50,000 bonus miles after spending $4,500 within 3 months |
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Rewards Program: 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories, 1 point per $1 on all else. Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Chase. |
Rewards Program: 5x miles on hotel and car rentals booked through Capital One, 2x miles on all else, transfer miles to 10+ travel loyalty programs |
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Intro APR: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
Intro APR: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
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Regular APR: 15.99% - 20.99%, variable |
Regular APR: 20.99%, variable |
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Annual Fee: $95 |
Annual Fee: $0 intro for first year; $95 after that |
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The information related to Chase Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card has been collected by The Ascent and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer. Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business is temporarily unavailable on The Ascent. All information was collected independently from the issuer. Some items may be out of date.
This card is right for you if:
- You want a no-annual-fee business card that earns travel points.
- Your business makes frequent hotel and/or rental car bookings.
- You have expenses to finance that you'll be able to repay within nine months.
The Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business is an excellent choice if you want a travel rewards card that doesn't charge an annual fee for your business. You'll earn a good rate on all your purchases and you won't pay any foreign transaction fees.
The card is even better for businesses with high hotel or rental car spending, because you'll be earning 5 miles per $1 spent on those. Even among cards with annual fees, there aren't many that earn 5 miles per $1 on any purchases.
With the 0% intro APR offer, this card can also help with short-term business financing. But before you use it for that, calculate how long it will take you to pay off those expenses in full. If it's going to be much longer than nine months, you should probably shop around for personal loans or business loans instead.
About the Author
Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. He writes for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, and his work has appeared in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.
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