AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Offers for the Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business are not available through this site. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers
The Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business is a straightforward miles-earning business credit card from Capital One. The card is a good starter card for small business owners looking to enter into the Capital One ecosystem and earn travel rewards from their business expenses. It also has quality business-specific perks, such as account managers and purchase records to help your bookkeeping efforts.
The card also has a quality welcome bonus and a simple earning structure that takes the guesswork out of earnings. Here's what you should know about the Spark Miles Select.
- Earn 50,000 Miles Miles once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening; worth $500 in travel if redeemed for a fixed-value, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 1.5 Miles per $1 on every purchase
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 annual fee
- 5X Miles per $1 on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 1.5 Miles per $1 on every purchase.
Page Contents
- Capital One Spark Miles Select Pros
- Capital One Spark Miles Select Cons
- Capital One Spark Miles Select Welcome Offer
- Capital One Spark Miles Select Benefits
- Capital One Spark Miles Select Earning Rates
- Redeeming Miles With the Capital One Spark Miles Select
- Application Restrictions and Strategy
- Cards That Compete With the Capital One Spark Miles Select
- Final Thoughts
Capital One Spark Miles Select Pros
- No annual fee or foreign transaction fees.
- Earn an unlimited 1.5 miles on every purchase, offering multiple uses.
- Purchase records can be downloaded in several formats, including QuickBooks and Excel
- Get itemized year-end summaries.
Capital One Spark Miles Select Cons
- Understanding how to use the card's rewards (Capital One miles) for maximum value can feel complicated.
- There aren't any travel benefits to this card, such as lounge access or annual travel credits.
Capital One Spark Miles Select Welcome Offer
New applicants for the Spark Miles Select can earn 50,000 miles once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. What's this bonus worth? Consider that AwardWallet users typically redeem Capital One miles at 2.01¢ each.
The welcome offer on this card is similar to that of several personal credit cards, requiring a fairly low spending requirement to earn the bonus. This can make unlocking the bonus easier for business owners with lower expenditures. Conversely, if your business has much higher expenses, you may do better with a higher offer on another card.
Related: Capital One Credit Card Offer History: Best-Ever Offers and When You Should Apply
Capital One Spark Miles Select Benefits
The Spark Miles Select doesn't provide any travel-specific benefits. This means you won't get access to Priority Pass or Capital One Lounges, and you won't find any monthly or annual credits to offset your expenses. Let's take a look at what the card does offer.
Account managers
Assign an account manager other than yourself to oversee payments and review transactions. This is especially useful for business owners who would like to delegate bookkeeping.
$0 fraud liability
You won't be held responsible for fraudulent transactions made with your Spark Miles Select. Capital One will issue you an emergency replacement card and a cash advance if your card is lost or stolen. You also can lock your card if you realize it's been lost or stolen or set up security alerts via text, email, or phone.
Purchase records
You can download your purchase records in multiple formats for easy bookkeeping. Formats include Quicken, QuickBooks, and Excel. You also can sync your QuickBooks Online account to simplify vendor payments.
Year-end summaries
Get an itemized report of all annual spending. This will help you at tax time to know exactly what you spent in your business throughout the year.
Virtual credit cards
Virtual credit card numbers let you keep your actual card number safe in the event of fraudulent activity online. You can request a virtual credit card number when logged into your Capital One account. A new card number is generated each time you request one.
Related: How To See Your Capital One Credit Card Number Online
Employee access
Employee cards are free and come with customizable spending limits.
Extended warranty protection
Eligible items purchased with your Spark Miles Select qualify for extended warranties past the manufacturer's warranty. Examples of covered items include appliances, televisions, and cell phones. This extended warranty coverage is provided by Mastercard.
Related: Best Credit Cards for Extended Warranty Coverage
Capital One Spark Miles Select Earning Rates
The Spark Miles Select earns an unlimited 1.5x miles on every purchase. While there are no bonus categories to keep up with, there's also no opportunity to earn more than 1.5 miles per dollar with this card. Nonetheless, being able to earn flexible Capital One miles without an annual fee is still a benefit of this card.
The simple earning rate here also provides more than the “earn 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases” you'll find with most cards, making this a strong card for everyday spending.
Redeeming Miles With the Capital One Spark Miles Select
Capital One miles can be redeemed in several ways, the most valuable being travel purchases. But since this card's main features are business-related and the earning rate is on the lower side, travel may not be your top priority. Here are the ways to redeem miles earned with the Spark Miles Select.
Gift cards
You can redeem your miles for gift cards. This is a clever way to use those miles for business expenses that can be paid for with a gift card, such as office supply stores.
Cash back
You can redeem Capital One miles for cash back in the form of a statement credit. However, as already mentioned above, this provides a fraction of the value available with miles transfers (discussed below).
Capital One Travel portal
Redeem your miles directly in the Capital One Travel portal for airfare, hotels, and rental cars. The portal has price prediction to help you pick the perfect time to buy your airline tickets and freeze the price of a ticket for up to 14 days. If the price goes up during the freeze, Capital One will pay up to $500 of the difference.
Transfer to travel partners
To get the most value out of your miles, transfer them to Capital One's travel partners. Out of 19 different transfer partners, 16 are airlines — including Air Canada Aeroplan and British Airways Executive Club — and three are hotel partners.
It's worth noting that you can also earn rewards on Captial One cash back and business cards like the Spark Cash cards, and combine those with miles earned on the Spark Miles or Venture cards to transfer to travel partners.
Related: Capital One's 4 Most Valuable Transfer Partners
For example, you could redeem 55,000 miles for this ANA flight between Seattle and Tokyo. The average cost of this flight is over $5,000, proving just how valuable it can be to use your miles with transfer partners — rather than other redemption options. You're getting over 9¢ per mile in value with this particular redemption.
Application Restrictions and Strategy
Capital One is one of the stricter credit card issuers when it comes to application requirements for personal credit cards. However, these limits don't seem to apply to small business cards.
However, you'll only be approved for one Capital One card every six months. It's also worth noting that this card will likely report to your personal credit report.
Lastly, note that these vague terms are attached to the application page:
“Existing or previous Accountholders may not be eligible for this one-time bonus.”
If you've had this card in the past, you may be ineligible for the bonus. Emphasis on “may.” We haven't seen data points for Capital One denying bonuses specifically for this reason, but the door is open for that to happen.
Cards That Compete With the Capital One Spark Miles Select
- 2X miles per dollar on every purchase, everywhere, no limits or category restrictions
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
(Terms Apply)
- Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Terms and limitations apply.
- 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year
- 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year
- 1% cash back on all other card purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn
- If you want to earn Capital One miles at a faster pace, check out the Capital One Spark Miles for Business. Earn 2X miles on every purchase and 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. The card has a $0 introductory fee for the first year; $95 after that. This is a great business card if you want to earn even more Capital One miles to use for travel. You'll also get up to $120 as a statement credit to reimburse your application fee to Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (available once every four years). Learn more in our Capital One Spark Miles review.
- If you want higher earnings on a card with no annual fee, the The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express offers 2x on the first $50,000 of annual purchases; after that, you'll earn 1x. The card has no annual fee (Rates & Fees) and earns American Express Membership Rewards that you can use with 21 airline and hotel partners. It also lacks extensive benefits, like the Spark Miles Select. Our Blue Business Plus review has further details.
- If you want a no-annual-fee business card with bonus earning categories, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card might be right for you. You'll earn 5% cash back at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet and cable TV services and 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year. Other purchases, plus those past the $25,000 spending cap in bonus categories, will earn 1% cash back. You can redeem rewards for cash or in the travel portal. If you have a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can combine your cash back from this card with points on your other card to access Chase's 14 airline and hotel partners. Our Chase Ink Cash review has additional details.
Related: The Best Business Credit Card Offers This Month
Final Thoughts
The Spark Miles Select is a practical starter business credit card. With no annual fee and an easy earning structure, you'll be on your way to making your business expenses work for you. And with numerous redemption options, you have no lack of choice in how to use your rewards. You won't get top-flight benefits on this card, but the rewards you'll earn can provide considerable value.
- Earn 50,000 Miles Miles once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening; worth $500 in travel if redeemed for a fixed-value, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 1.5 Miles per $1 on every purchase
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 annual fee
- 5X Miles per $1 on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 1.5 Miles per $1 on every purchase.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.