The Capital One Spark Miles for Business is a business credit card that charges a $95 annual fee, which is waived for the first year. It offers a simple travel rewards program where you earn 2 miles for every dollar spent on most purchases. You can use these miles for airfare, hotel stays, car rentals, and other travel expenses. Unlike some other business travel cards, each mile you earn with Spark Miles is worth $0.01 when used for travel expenses.
This card competes with several other business travel cards, including its sibling, the Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business, which offers a less generous rewards program (1.5 miles per dollar spent) but doesn’t charge an annual fee. Other competitors outside of Capital One include the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select and the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card.
The Spark Miles card is similar to the Capital One Spark Cash for Business card. Both cards effectively offer a 2% cash back rate, but there’s a key difference: Spark Miles are typically used for travel, while Spark Cash’s earnings are redeemed for cash, which is more flexible than travel.
Now, let’s see how the Spark Miles for Business compares to another Capital One card, the Spark Cash Plus for Business. The Spark Miles for Business offers a one-time bonus of 50,000 bonus miles when you spend at least $4,500 in the first 3 months. It doesn’t offer an annual cash back bonus, and its annual fee is $95 after the first year. It offers unlimited 2x miles on most eligible purchases, except for 5x miles on eligible Capital One Travel purchases. The Spark Cash Plus for Business, on the other hand, offers a one-time cash bonus of $1,200 once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months, a $200 annual cash back bonus if you spend $200,000 or more, and an annual fee of $150. It offers unlimited 2% cash back on most eligible purchases, except for 5% cash back on eligible Capital One Travel purchases.
The Spark Miles card has some key features worth noting. It offers a strong early spend bonus, a simple travel rewards program, and enhanced functionality for business users. You can earn a one-time bonus of 50,000 bonus miles when you spend at least $4,500 in the first 3 months. Every purchase made with this card earns an unlimited 2 miles per dollar spent, with no caps or restrictions. This is equivalent to a 2% cash back earning rate when you redeem for travel. Hotel and rental car bookings made through Capital One Travel with your Spark Miles card earn 5 miles per dollar spent.
You can redeem your miles in two ways. First, you can offset travel purchases you’ve already made by using an online interface or by calling Capital One directly. Statement credits must be requested within 90 days of the purchase. If you don’t have enough miles to offset an entire purchase, you can use a minimum of 2,500 miles to partially offset it. Second, you can use your miles to directly book airfare, hotels, car rentals, and other travel purchases through Capital One’s travel portal. There’s no set redemption minimum for this method. Neither redemption method involves blackout dates, seat restrictions, or other limitations.
You can also transfer your miles to any of Capital One’s 15+ leading travel partners, at varying transfer ratios. Partners include Air Canada, Choice Hotels, and Aeromexico. While you can redeem miles for non-travel items like gift cards, cash, and general merchandise, the values for these redemptions vary widely and often amount to less than $0.01 per mile.
The $95 annual fee is waived during the first year. There is no foreign transaction fee or balance transfer fee. There is no fee for additional employee cards. Spark Miles cardholders receive quarterly and annual spending summaries, which include a detailed, itemized, and categorized look at your spending during the covered period, as well as detailed reports of employee spending, if applicable. Capital One lets you download purchase records in formats that are exportable to Quicken, Excel, and QuickBooks. These are useful for accounting and tax preparation purposes.
This card’s additional benefits include up to $100 pre-entry credit against your TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee, complimentary loss and damage coverage for car rentals charged in full, 24/7 emergency service (including ticket replacement and card replacement), and up to $3,000 in lost luggage reimbursement per trip for travel tickets (plane, train, and so on) charged in full. This card requires good to excellent credit.
The Spark Miles card has several advantages. It offers a great early spend bonus, a solid baseline miles-earning rate, and few fees. There are no blackout dates or seat restrictions on travel redemptions. However, it does have some drawbacks. It has a $95 annual fee, subpar redemptions for things other than travel, and limited travel and business benefits.
In conclusion, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business has a lot in common with the Capital One Venture Rewards, a popular travel rewards card for consumers. Like the Spark Miles for Business, the Venture Rewards earns 2 miles on every purchase, with no limitations or restrictions.
