The Capital One Spark Miles is great for travel—and has no annual fee for employees
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The Capital One Spark Miles credit card was designed for business owners who are always on the go. If your business tends to spend a lot on travel—particularly, hotels and car rentals—but your other expenses are all over the map, this card can help you stack up rewards and redeem them for stuff you'll actually use. And for a limited time, this card offers a supercharged sign-up bonus worth up to $2,000—a win for any business.
We’ve chosen the Capital One Spark Miles card as one of the best cards to strike a balance between offering both travel and business perks. It's ideal if your business doesn't want to commit to a particular airline or hotel and can take advantage of the card's travel features. Plus, employee cards come with tracking features, customized spending limits and no annual fee. The Capital One Spark Miles card allows you to choose travel deals based on what's best for your business, no matter where that takes you.
Learn more about the Capital One Spark Miles
Annual Fee: $95, waived for the first year; $0 for employee cards
Introductory APR: N/A
Regular APR: 20.99% (variable)
Miles: 5x miles on hotel and rental car bookings through Capital One Travel; 2x miles on every other purchase
Balance Transfer Fee: None
Balance Transfer APR: 20.99% (variable)
Foreign Transaction Fees: None
Sign-up bonus: 50,000 bonus miles after spending $4,500 within the first three months of account opening
Who should get the Capital One Spark Miles?
This card is a clear winner for business owners who prize travel perks. However, you need excellent credit to qualify for the card. Generally, that means your credit score is in the mid-700s or above and you've established a strong credit history with a record of making on-time payments.
What miles can you get with the Capital One Spark Miles?
No matter what you're purchasing with the card, you'll earn a solid rewards rate: 5x miles on all hotel and rental car bookings through the Capital One Travel portal and an unlimited 2x miles on all other purchases. That's hard to beat on most business rewards cards, which typically offer a meager rate on everyday purchases and set a dollar limit on how much you can earn in the bonus categories.
However, as with any rewards card, earning all those miles won't mean much until you redeem them. It may seem unheard-of to leave miles on the table, but according to a 2017 survey by Bankrate.com, about 31% of credit card holders have never redeemed their card rewards. That could leave your ROI at zilch. But with the Capital One Spark Miles card, there are four easy ways to redeem your miles:
Use Purchase Eraser. With this feature, you can request a statement credit for just about any travel purchase you've already made, from airfare and hotel stays to bus tickets and cruise lines.
Book new travel reservations. You can also use your miles to book a new flight, car rental or hotel at CapitalOne.com.
Transfer the miles to a travel partner. Found a great deal with one of Capital One's 15 partner airlines? You can transfer miles to those partners, which include international carriers like Air France KLM and domestic carriers like JetBlue, too.
Get nontravel rewards. With your miles, you can also purchase gift cards or request a check or account credit.
More: Learn more about the Capital One Spark Miles
What perks can you get with the Capital One Spark Miles?
The perks you get with the Spark Miles card can help take some of the annoyances out of the travel experience. Getting through airport security is a breeze, thanks to the up to $100 voucher for a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application, and cardholders can rest easy knowing they're protected with lost luggage reimbursement, travel accident insurance and travel emergency assistance. You won't pay foreign transaction fees while abroad, and primary insurance coverage comes standard on car rentals for all your eligible business trips.
Capital One also helps you get down to business with its suite of tools and resources for business owners. Download your purchase records to Quicken, Quickbooks, or Excel to make your accounting process seamless, and enjoy purchase protection and an extended warranty. Make sure you also check out Spring, a hub where you can tap into a community of business owners, use prenegotiated discounts on things like computers and background checks, and access tools such as invoice templates.
What drawbacks does the Capital One Spark Miles have?
There are a couple of caveats you should consider before signing up for this card.
First off, the Capital One Spark Miles comes with an annual fee, which is $0 in the first year and $95 thereafter (although employee cards are always free). That means you'll need to figure out if you use the card's rewards and perks enough to justify paying that fee after the first year.
Additionally, the bonus category does come with a limitation. You'll only earn 5 miles per dollar spent on purchases made through the Capital One Travel portal. From time to time, you may find better deals outside of the portal and will have to choose between earning the bonus rewards rate or taking advantage of the better deal and earning a lower rewards rate.
How does the Capital One Spark Miles rate in our rankings?
We see the Capital One Spark Miles card as an excellent pick for business owners—but every enterprise has different needs. If you're looking for a more flexible rewards program or you're willing to pony up a higher annual fee, then check out our list of the best business credit cards. And if you consider yourself part of the gig economy instead, look to our list of best credit cards for freelancers.
Things to know about all business credit cards
Most business credit cards require the business owner to make a personal guarantee. That means you'll personally foot the bill if your business can't pay for it. This limits the risk a card issuer takes on when it extends a line of credit. The Capital One Spark Miles card asks for a personal guarantee, so be sure you understand this responsibility before applying for the card.
Additionally, APRs and credit limits vary based on your individual credit. Credit limits and interest rates for each card are determined based on each cardholder's personal situation, so we didn't consider those factors when evaluating these cards. But if you pay off your card in full every month, you won't have to worry about interest.
Keep this in mind, too: Banks have final say on who they accept for a credit card. Card issuers decide who they will approve using criteria including, but not always limited to, an individual's credit score when evaluating each applicant.
So, should you get the Capital One Spark Miles?
If your business requires a lot of travel and you plan to use the Capital One Travel portal to book most of your hotels and car rentals, then this card is a no-brainer. The 5x miles in the bonus category is highly generous, and the double miles on all other purchases is a solid rate, too. With a suite of business resources alongside travel perks and a sign-up bonus, the Spark Miles is a solid all-around business credit card.
Learn more about the Capital One Spark Miles
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This article originally appeared on Reviewed: Capital One Spark Miles review: Business-friendly travel perks
