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Choosing a small business credit card can be difficult. For the traveling business owner, there exists a plethora of options. The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and Capital One Spark Miles for Business are both solid choices in the mid-tier range, and they have similar annual fees. But how do the Ink Preferred and Spark Miles cards compare? Is one a clear better choice than the other?
In this post, we dive into the details of each card, highlighting the pros and cons, and determine which is the better fit for your wallet.
Page Contents
- Capital One Spark Miles vs. Chase Ink Preferred Sign-Up Bonus
- Capital One Spark Miles vs. Chase Ink Preferred Annual Fee
- When to Use Capital One Spark Miles vs. Chase Ink Preferred
- Other Capital One Spark Miles Benefits vs. Chase Ink Preferred
- Chase Travel Portal vs. Capital One Travel Portal
- Capital One Spark Miles vs. Chase Ink Preferred Points – Comparing Value
- Which Card Is Better: Capital One Spark Miles or Chase Ink Preferred?
Capital One Spark Miles vs. Chase Ink Preferred Sign-Up Bonus
When you're comparing any two cards, make sure you're comparing the current sign-up bonuses offered by each. You might read about a “best-ever” sign-up offer that has appeared previously. That's all well and good, but if the sign-up bonus is important to you, make sure you're comparing what is offered now. The current sign-up bonuses are:
- Spark Miles: Earn a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles - equal to $500 in travel once you spend $4,500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
- Ink Preferred: New Cardmember Offer! Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
As you can see, the Ink Preferred has a much more valuable offer. The 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points are worth a minimum of $1,250 when redeemed for travel, but you'll need to spend nearly twice as much to earn this bonus.
Winner: Ink Preferred
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
- Earn 100k bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
- Round-the-clock monitoring for unusual credit card purchases
- With Zero Liability you won't be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information.
- Redeem points for cash back, gift cards, travel and more - your points don't expire as long as your account is open
- Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- Purchase Protection covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.
- Member FDIC
- 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
- 1X point per $1 on all other purchases
Capital One Spark Miles vs. Chase Ink Preferred Annual Fee
The annual fee for both cards is the same at $95 per year. However, the Spark Miles card waives the fee for the first year, which provides some savings. That being said, when you weigh the value of the higher sign-up bonus against the higher fee in year one, you still come out ahead with the Ink Preferred.
But we're comparing fees. And the Chase Ink Preferred charges $95 out the gate. If you don't want to pay an initial annual fee, the Spark Miles card is the better choice. You can test out the card for 12 months before committing to the annual fee.
Winner: Spark Miles
Related: Why the Capital One Spark Miles for Business Deserves a Spot in Your Wallet
- Earn 50,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening; worth $500 in travel if redeemed for a fixed-value, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 2 Miles per $1 on every purchase, everywhere
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔® (up to $100)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 intro for first year; $95 after that
- 2X miles per dollar on every purchase, everywhere, no limits or category restrictions
- 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
When to Use Capital One Spark Miles vs. Chase Ink Preferred
The earning rate for the Spark Miles is straightforward and ideal for those who value simplicity: Earn 2X miles on every purchase and 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
If you plan to book travel through Capital One Travel, the 5X return is quite good. However, assuming you won't use this option regularly, the card effectively earns 2X miles on all purchases. It's a solid return, but there's no real “bonus” category.
The Ink Preferred offers a greater breadth of bonus earning:
- 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
- 1X point per $1 on all other purchases
If you travel a lot and don't mind booking through Capital One Travel instead of directly with the hotel or rental car company, then you'll get a much better return with the Spark Miles card. Its 5X earning here solidly beats the Ink Preferred. However, if you have business expenses that fall into the 3X categories Chase offers, then the Ink Preferred is a better option.
Winner: It depends. If you don't have many expenses in the Ink Preferred‘s bonus categories, the Spark Miles card is the better choice for everyday spending. If you can maximize the Ink Preferred‘s 3X categories, it's likely the better option.
Other Capital One Spark Miles Benefits vs. Chase Ink Preferred
Employee cards
Both the Ink Preferred and Spark Miles cards offer free employee cards. This makes tracking employee expenses easy and allows your business to earn additional rewards from these purchases. Both of the cards let you add individual spending limits to employee cards.
Winner: Tie
Annual, monthly, or other credits
The Ink Preferred doesn't offer any sort of credits. The Spark Miles card offers one: a credit of up to $100 to offset your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee. You can use the credit once every four years, and you must pay the fee with your card to receive a statement credit against the fee.
Winner: Spark Miles
Related: How to Renew Global Entry
Chase vs. Capital One transfer partners
Both Chase Ultimate Rewards and Capital One Miles can be transferred to various hotel and airline transfer partners. Each program includes at least one good partner in each major airline alliance.
| Chase Transfer Partners | Capital One Transfer Partners |
|---|---|
| Aer Lingus AerClub | Aeromexico Rewards |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Air Canada Aeroplan |
| Air France–KLM Flying Blue | Air France–KLM Flying Blue |
| British Airways Executive Club | Avianca LifeMiles |
| Emirates Skywards | British Airways Executive Club |
| Iberia Plus | Cathay Pacific Asia Miles |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | Emirates Skywards |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Etihad Guest |
| Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards | EVA Air Infinity MileageLands |
| United Airlines MileagePlus | Finnair Plus |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Qantas Frequent Flyer |
| IHG One Rewards | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer |
| Marriott Bonvoy | TAP Portugal Miles & Go |
| World of Hyatt | Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles |
| Virgin Red / Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | |
| Accor Live Limitless | |
| Choice Privileges | |
| Wyndham Rewards |
The value of one set of partners over another will come down to your own travel preferences and patterns, so it's difficult to make a clear comparison. However, there are a few things to note.
First, Chase has more domestic transfer partners, which means people will be more familiar with those airline loyalty programs. United MileagePlus is one of the best Chase transfer partners. Chase also offers World of Hyatt, one of the best hotel programs in terms of value. I would argue, however, that Wyndham Rewards is a decent stand-in for domestic stays, as you can get great value booking vacation rentals using Wyndham points. Capital One also has more partners overall, even though they are mostly international airlines.
Second, AwardWallet readers actually tend to redeem Capital One Miles at 2.66¢ each and redeem Chase points at 1.97¢ each. This is a bit surprising but shows that our readers are savvy and able to use the Capital One transfer partners for great value.
Winner: Tie. If you're a savvy points user, you can do very well with Capital One‘s partners. Chase can't be beaten in terms of a few key partners, namely United and Hyatt.
Related: What Are the Best Flexible Rewards Points for Free Travel?
Travel insurance protections and other benefits
The Ink Preferred offers an excellent suite of travel protection benefits:
- Primary rental car coverage when renting for business purposes or outside your country of residence: You must pay with your card and decline the rental company's coverage for this to kick in. It covers most standard rental cars.
- Lost luggage reimbursement: The cardholder and immediate family are covered for up to $3,000 per person per bag for luggage that is lost or stolen while being transported by a travel provider.
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance: Receive up to $5,000 per person and up to $10,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses for covered trip cancellation or interruption events, such as severe weather, injury, or jury duty.
- Trip delay reimbursement: If your trip is delayed by more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, the primary cardholder plus their spouse and dependent children are covered up to $500 per ticket for unanticipated expenses such as lodging and meals.
- Cell phone protection: Pay your phone bill with your card and receive coverage of up to $1,000 per claim in covered theft or damage. There's a $100 deductible and a maximum of three claims in a 12-month period.
There are two benefits offered by both cards:
- Extended warranty protection: You can extend a warranty for an additional year for warranties of three years or less. Coverage is up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 total per card account. The benefit is the same for either card.
- No foreign transaction fees.
Winner: Ink Preferred
Related: Why the Chase Ink Preferred Is My Primary Travel Card
Combining rewards
Both cards allow you to share your rewards with others, although Chase is much more restrictive in what it allows.
It's possible to combine your cash-back rewards with Chase Ultimate Rewards points earned with the Ink Preferred. You can then use these points to book travel through the Chase travel portal or transfer the points to partners. Additionally, you can combine your rewards with one other person in your household. Finally, you're able to transfer points into the hotel and airline loyalty accounts of someone who is an authorized user/joint business partner on your Ink Preferred card.
Capital One makes this much simpler. You can combine cash-back earnings with miles if you have both types of cards. Then, you can share your miles with anyone.
Winner: Spark Miles offers much greater flexibility for combining or transferring rewards.
Chase Travel Portal vs. Capital One Travel Portal
One key area for comparing the Spark Miles versus Ink Preferred cards is how their respective travel portals work. We've mentioned that the Spark Miles card earns 5X miles on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. There's no analogous bonus for the Ink Preferred. Travel booked through Ultimate Rewards Travel still earns 3X points, as does all travel (until you reach the $150k annual spending limit in 3x categories).
However, redeeming is where the cards differ. With Capital One, your miles are worth 1¢ each when redeemed through Capital One Travel. Every 1,000 Capital One miles is worth $10. This means your return is either 2% or 5% on your spending, depending on the purchase. You can use miles to book lodging, airfare, or rental cars. Additionally, any travel purchases made within the past three months can be covered using your Capital One miles. However, given the lack of additional value, we don't recommend you redeem miles this way.
Related: Why You Should Never Redeem Capital One Miles Through Capital One Travel
Chase offers greater value for its points when you book through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal. Points redeemed from the Ink Preferred are worth 1.25¢ apiece. This gives you an immediate boost in value. The 3X earning categories effectively give you 3.75% back if you redeem this way. Additionally, the Chase travel portal offers more redemption options than Capital Onee's. Besides airfare, rental cars, and hotels, you can redeem Ultimate Rewards points for various activities, such as tours, excursions, and cruises.
Winner: Ink Preferred
Capital One Spark Miles vs. Chase Ink Preferred Points – Comparing Value
The value of Spark Miles versus Ink Preferred points really comes down to how you redeem them. Overall, the value of Ultimate Rewards points is slightly higher. Below is a comparison of the value you can get from the points earned by each card, based on how you redeem them.
| Redemption | Value per Capital One mile | Value per Chase point |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | 0.5¢ | 1.0¢ |
| Gift cards | 0.8¢ | 1.0¢ |
| Travel (through portal) | 1.0¢ | 1.25¢ |
| Transfer to partners | Varies (AwardWallet users get 2.66¢) | Varies (AwardWallet users get 1.97¢) |
If you redeem points for travel or cash, the Ink Preferred is the clear winner. However, we can't help but note that AwardWallet users tend to redeem Capital One miles at greater value. Assuming that this is because our savvy users overwhelmingly redeem their miles by transferring to valuable international airline partners, this makes sense.
Winner: Ink Preferred because Chase offers greater value for travel and cash redemption options, plus solid value through transfer partners.
Which Card Is Better: Capital One Spark Miles or Chase Ink Preferred?
For the frequent business traveler, we think the Ink Preferred has the edge. It wins by a total of just one category we considered after evaluating the Spark Miles versus Ink Preferred. That being said, the value of the travel protection benefits with the Ink Preferred heavily outweighs the Global Entry credit offered by the Spark Miles card. Even though the Ink Preferred earns fewer points on everyday purchases, the greater value of Ultimate Rewards helps offset this difference.
Conversely, for those who will have few purchases in the bonus categories offered with the Ink Preferred, the Spark Miles card is compelling. Earning 2X miles on everything and being able to transfer these to several great transfer partners offers fantastic value. The simpler rewards structure is also appealing.
For a deeper dive, check out our review of the Chase Ink Preferred and review of the Capital One Spark Miles card.
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