Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business (Review) – Unlimited 1.5x Miles
Learn more about this card and find out how you can apply here.
Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business is a business credit card with no annual fee and a straightforward travel rewards program that accrues miles on every purchase. Miles can then be redeemed for virtually any type of travel purchase, including airfare, hotel stays, and car rentals. Unlike many brand-specific business travel cards, such as Gold Delta SkyMiles Business, Spark Miles Select assigns a fixed value to miles redeemed for travel expenses: $0.01 per mile.
Spark Miles Select is comparable to numerous other business travel cards, including stablemate Capital One Spark Miles, CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select, and American Express Business Platinum. It’s worth noting that many competing cards carry annual fees ranging from less than $100 to more than $400.
Capital One Spark Miles Select is also very similar to Capital One Spark Cash Select. Since miles always have a fixed value of $0.01 apiece on travel expenses, this card effectively earns a 1.5% cash back rate when you redeem for travel. The principal difference is that miles are typically redeemed for travel, whereas the Spark Cash Select’s cash back earnings are redeemed for cash.
When you spend at least $3,000 within 3 months of opening your account, you get 20,000 bonus miles. That’s worth $200 at redemption.
All purchases earn an unlimited 1.5 miles per $1 spent with no caps or restrictions. Since miles are worth $0.01 apiece at redemption, this equates to a 1.5% cash back rate on all purchases.
You can redeem accumulated miles for travel in one of two ways.
First, you can use Capital One’s Purchase Eraser tool (available online and by calling Capital One’s customer service hotline) to offset travel purchases you’ve already made. Purchase Eraser basically functions as a statement credit and can be used for up to 90 days from the purchase date. If you don’t have enough miles to offset an entire purchase, you can use whatever miles you do have, subject to a 2,500-mile minimum.
Second, you can use your miles to book airfare, hotels, car rentals, and other travel purchases directly through Capital One’s travel portal. If you redeem in this manner, there’s no set redemption minimum to worry about. Neither redemption method comes with blackout dates or seat restrictions.
You can also redeem miles for non-travel items, including cash, gift cards, merchandise, and general statement credits. However, values for non-travel redemptions vary widely and are subject to change.
This card has a 0% APR on purchases for 9 months.
There is no annual fee, foreign transaction fee, balance transfer fee, or fee for additional employee cards. The late payment fee is $39, and the cash advance fee is the greater of $10 or 3%.
At the end of every quarter, and again at the end of the year, you receive a categorized, itemized summary of your spending during the period. This includes detailed reports on employee card spending, if applicable.
You can easily download purchase records in formats compatible with Quicken, Excel, and QuickBooks, simplifying business accounting and tax preparation.
Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business comes with some other noteworthy benefits, including 24/7 emergency travel assistance (with lost card replacement), complimentary collision and theft protection on car rentals paid for in full with the card, and fraud detection.
This card requires good to excellent credit. A minor ding or two probably won’t disqualify your application, but more serious credit issues certainly will.
Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business doesn’t have the highest mile-earning rate or juiciest fringe benefit package. Beyond the rewards program, it’s actually a pretty bare-bones card.
However, if you’re not overly loyal to a particular hotel or airline brand, it’s hard to go wrong here. Even if you also have a branded rewards card in your wallet, you’re likely to be grateful for your Spark Miles Select card when it comes time to book your next holiday or peak-season flight.
Learn more about this card and find out how you can apply here.
Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business is ideal for budget-conscious, moderate-spending business owners who don’t want to deal with confusing travel loyalty programs – which often have blackout dates and other restrictions – and aren’t enamored with any particular hotel or airline brand. It’s also very useful for business owners who need to transfer high-interest balances without paying through the nose. It’s not great for people seeking more generous rewards programs, nor those who value luxury perks and priority service while traveling.
This card’s minimal fees, simple rewards, solid early spend bonus, and lack of blackout dates and seat restrictions are all good benefits.
Its relatively low maximum earning rate, the difficulty it poses in getting good value on non-travel redemptions, and its limited travel benefits are drawbacks. Also, it’s worth noting that this card has the same effective rate of return as Spark Cash Select for Business, but basically forces you to redeem for travel – in other words, it’s a cash back card masquerading as a travel card.
Still, it’s a fine card for travelers who aren’t brand loyal.
Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Categories: Capital One, Credit and Debt, Credit Cards, Reviews, Small Business
Brian Martucci writes about frugal living, entrepreneurship, and innovative ideas. When he’s not interviewing small business owners or investigating time- and money-saving strategies for Money Crashers readers, he’s probably out exploring a new trail or sampling a novel cuisine. Find him on Twitter @Brian_Martucci.
Comments Disclosure: The below responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
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