Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business Review

The Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business card will get you up to 2X miles for every dollar you spend and can even help you achieve bigger rewards for other expenses like vehicle rentals and hotel stays booked through the Capital One Travel portal.

Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business Pros and Cons

At a glance, the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business is most notable for its consistent reward structure, with a flat rate for nearly all purchases you make.

In some cases, rewards can be increased or even multiplied by working within the Capital One partner network.

Many users also like it for the advantage of easy mile transfers. Here’s a look at some other pros and cons to using the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business:

Pros:

• 2X miles for the majority of purchases
• 5X miles for every vehicle rental and hotel booking through Capital One
• Application fee credit for TSA PreCheck and Global Entry
• Allows easy transfer of miles between select airline partners
• 20K mile welcome bonus for spending $3K in the first 90 days
• 50K-200K bonus miles for reaching additional spending goals in the first 90 days
• Zero cost employee cards
• Employee spending limits
• Free business financial management tools
• Miles earned do not expire

Cons:

• Mile transfer ratio is 2:1.75

Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business Review

• Annual Fee: There is no fee for the first year, but an annual fee of $95 applies after that.
• Regular APR: The APR is variable from 13.99% to 23.99%
• Rewards: 2X points for most purchases, select purchases earn 1.5X points and purchases booked through the online portal worth 5X points.
• Foreign Transaction Fee: No foreign transaction fees
• Balance Transfer Fee: No balance transfer fees

Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business Rewards

Earning Rewards

To earn rewards, the cardholder simply needs to make purchases using the card. For every dollar spent, the cardholder will earn between 1.5 and 5 miles.

Most standard purchases will accrue 2 miles for every dollar spent while using the card to book hotels and reserve rental cars through the Capital One Travel Center will earn 5 miles for every dollar.

However, it is worth noting that the Capital One Travel Center bookings and reservations will often preclude eligibility for hotel or rental agency rewards programs.

This means if you are a traveler who likes to earn hotel perks, you may need to consider which benefit you want to retain, either the mile multiplier or the hotel points.

Redeeming Rewards

There are several ways to redeem rewards earned with your Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business:

• Negate travel expenses that you incur by using the miles to “erase” them at the rate of 1 cent per mile
• Transfer your miles to one of the partners in the Capital One travel network
• Redeem points directly through Capital One by making any bookings or reservations through the Capital One online travel portal.

You can book your own flights, hotel rooms, and car rentals independently through whatever channels you would prefer as an alternative to using the Capital One Travel Center.

Though if you would like to use the Purchase Eraser feature from Capital One, you will need to redeem that benefit within 90 days of the affected purchase.

Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business Features and Benefits

Decent Sign-Up Bonus

Depending on how much you spend during the initial 90-day period, you have the potential to see up to 70,000 bonus miles added after qualifying.

The first reward comes after spending $3,000 and is worth 20,000 miles. There is another reward of 50,000 miles for hitting the $4,500 mark for purchases and others beyond that. If you plan on doing heavy spending, this can be a major upside.

No Annual Fees, Foreign Transaction Fees, or Balance Transfer Fees

With no annual fees, the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business is already ahead of many other similar cards, but there are more features that save businesses money.

Foreign transaction fees can catch people off guard, but the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business has zero foreign transaction fees, which can be a crucial feature for those who travel internationally often.

There are also no fees to transfer existing balances from other cards. While the 0% APR will not apply to balance transfers, transferring balances and earning miles is still a strong point.

Easily Transfer Your Miles

One of the best and easiest ways to get the maximum from your miles cards is to transfer miles from other partners.

This not only consolidates them to the Capital One travel rewards system, but it allows you to get an incredibly impressive array of travel partners that can take advantage of this situation.

Miles transfers will occur at a set 2L1.5 ratio, which is better than some but not as good as others.

Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check

Upon approval for the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business and receipt of the card, you will also get an application fee credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry travel services.

These services help speed you through the enhanced security present in airports now and are both quite valuable to frequent travelers.

TSA Precheck is ideal for those who largely travel domestically and has a lower application fee. Global Entry is for frequent international travelers, includes TSA PreCheck approval, and will let you forego the immigration lines when you come home.

The credit for Global Entry is $100 and $85 for TSA PreCheck. This application will need to be made every four years, but you will also receive a credit every four years.

Free Employee Cards

The Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business provides free employee cards to help simplify business operations.

Every employee card will also earn the account miles just like the primary card. Each employee card also comes with activity monitoring and customizable spending limits as well.

These cards can be assigned as you see fit, from just the executives, select management, or even all of the employees.

Travel and Roadside Assistance

The Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business card also provides several benefits and assistive programs for travelers both domestically and internationally.

When on the road, you will have access to roadside assistance should you suffer a breakdown, out of gas situation, flat tire, or need a tow.

While traveling, you can also benefit from emergency medical or legal referrals should you need them, or even emergency travel ticket replacement.

Purchase Protection

This is an uncommon benefit that many cards do not offer, but the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business offers 90 days of protection against damage and theft.

This feature only applies to physical goods and does not apply to services or digital products. The Capital One purchase protection also has an extended warranty feature, where any eligible manufacturer’s warranty automatically if it has a 3-year term or less.

How Does the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business Compare to Other Business Credit Cards?

There are several other cards out there on a similar tier as the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business, with each one having its own benefits and downsides.

Here is a look at the most popular alternatives to the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business card and how they stack up.

#1. Capital One Spark Miles vs. Capital One® Spark® Miles Select

The Capital One® Spark® Miles Select has no annual fee, while the Capital One Spark Miles has an annual fee of $95.

The Capital One® Spark® Miles Select also features a slightly lower rewards accumulation rate. Capital One Spark Miles also does not include any application fee credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.

#2. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card vs. Capital One® Spark® Miles Select

Both the Chase Ink Business Preferredand the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select are robust miles cards, but each one has a few benefits the other doesn’t.

Chase gives a 3X bonus on several categories that may be more important to the holder, and it gives a 1:1 transfer instead of a 2:1.75.

Chase gives the 25% travel redemption bonus but doesn’t offer the sign-on bonuses that Capital One does.

#3. Capital One® Spark® Miles Select vs. Brex Card

The Brex card is a little different from the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select card. Company owners with a limited or unfavorable credit history can more often get a Brex Card than a conventional credit card, provided their company is well-funded.

There is no fee for the Brex, and it offers a robust welcome bonus potential, but the rewards and redemptions are complicated.

#4. Business Platinum Card® from American Express vs. Capital One® Spark® Miles Select

The American Express Business Platinum Card is a great option for premium travel benefits, but it also comes with a nearly $600 annual fee.

The welcome bonus is much heftier than other cards, with 100,000 points gained for spending $15,000 in the first 90 days.

These are all much more significant than the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select, even with high spending, making the Business Platinum Card® from American Express a much more ideal option for businesses with high monthly spending.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Qualify for the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select?

You can fill out an application online in minutes. In many cases, you will be given an instant decision regarding approval. In some cases, there may need to be a further review, but in these cases, the decision will be made in a few business days, and the applicant notified.

What Credit Score Do You Need for the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business Credit Card?

Since applying can affect your credit score, making sure you have credit on the high side of good is recommended.

You want to make sure that your FICO score is at least 670-690, with more approvals around 700-740. On the VantageScore system, the full range would consist of 700-750.

What Are Capital One Spark Miles Worth?

The short answer is a penny. Some programs can multiply the amount you earn per dollar, but it’s always one cent each in redemption time.

Bottom Line: Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business Review

All things considered, the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business Credit Card is a great card for small to medium-sized businesses that have modest spending habits and offers some great perks.

Once you start to spend more as a growing business, however, some cards offer more miles.