A guide to the new One Card from Capital One®

The following post has been sponsored by our partner, Capital One. The analysis and opinions in the story are our own and may not reflect the views of Capital One. Learn more about our editorial policy

Corporate cards can help mitigate financial risk for business owners, while also providing a more robust set of features for managing and tracking the complex finances of a large business. While adopting a corporate card program comes with some complexity, once a business reaches a large enough size, the benefits of finer control and easier card management is often worth the time and resource investment.

The One Card from Capital One happens to be one of the most reasonably-priced payment solutions for large businesses. With an annual fee of only $35 per authorized cardholder, Capital One offers you a dedicated account representative, real-time spending controls and a virtual payment solution all on a single card that allows you to earn rewards on most of your employees’ spending.

The One Card from Capital One®

Why should you get it? The One Card from Capital One lets you earn rewards for your business at a higher-than-average rate, while choosing either a 14- or 30- day billing cycle to fit your business needs. The card also incorporates a convenient virtual payment solution, all at a very reasonable annual fee per user.

More things to know: Earn either up to 1.5X rewards on net purchases with a 14-day billing cycle with 7 days to pay or up to 1.25X rewards on net purchases with a 30-day billing cycle with 14 days to pay Use Capital One® Virtual Card to send payments to suppliers in just a few clicks $35 annual fee per authorized cardholder Real-time spend controls and flexible employee card management Redeem points for gift cards, merchandise, travel or rebates for your company

Why get the One Card from Capital One?

The primary advantage of the One Card is its pricing and combination of features:

The annual fee per cardholder is low

Considering all the features the One Card offers – including its rewards program – the $35 annual fee per authorized user is very reasonable and much lower than many competing solutions.

More rewarding than your average corporate card

While there are many corporate card solutions that offer rewards, the Capital One corporate card offers a much higher rewards rate than usual. You can earn up to 1.25X or up to 1.5X rewards on net purchases, depending on whether your business opts for a 14- or 30-day billing cycle. Capital One also offers flexible options for redeeming your rewards – you can redeem points at the employee or company level for gift cards, merchandise or travel, or you can opt to earn rebates for your company.

Real-time spending controls

The One Card comes with standard features to help you better track and manage your employees’ spending, including granular spending controls for employee cards and employee card management features that allow you to see transactions in real time and generate custom reports. You also get a dedicated account representative to help you utilize these features and tailor them to your needs.

No foreign transaction fees

If you have many employees traveling or making business purchases outside the country, you won’t have to pay an extra fee on those purchases, since the One Card doesn’t incur a foreign transaction fee. 

Purchase and travel protections for your employees

The One Card comes with a fair set of purchase and travel protections, including fraud coverage, purchase protection, extended warranty protection, auto rental insurance, travel and emergency assistance and 24-hour card replacement hotline. These protections help reduce your liability on purchases that your employees make for your business.

Mastercard Easy Savings^® program

As a little extra bonus, your business can earn up to a 4 percent discount on purchases made at more than 30,000 participating merchants through the Mastercard Easy Savings program. The discount is applied automatically to your statement with no sign-up required.

Who should get the One Card from Capital One?

Your business needs to be of a sufficient size to justify the features and fees of a corporate card, and you’ll need to have an employer identification number and an established credit history for your business. Here are some of the reasons you should consider the One Card from Capital One:

• Your company makes at least $20 million dollars in revenue.
• You want your company to be financially responsible for transaction on the account, versus having the account information submitted to personal credit agencies.
• You have a large, complex company and require more detailed management of your expenses, including a dedicated account representative.
• Your company has a banking relationship with Capital One.
• You want to earn rewards from your company’s spending.
• You don’t need to carry an account balance and can pay off your account in 14 to 30 days.

In addition, the One Card is probably the best fit for a business that’s looking for a good combination of features for its general employees, with a streamlined payment solution at a reasonable cost. If, on the other hand, you have a travel-heavy business and you’re looking for a large set of premium travel features and protections – including luxury travel benefits for executives in your company – you may want to consider other options.

How to open a One Card account with Capital One

Opening a corporate card account is a much more involved process than opening a personal or small business credit card.  You’ll need to contact an account representative at Capital One to discuss your business needs, and to start the conversation with them to move your business to the One Card. If you already have a banking relationship at Capital One, your relationship manager can point you in the right direction.

Related stories: Capital One plans free business reports, How to find corporate cards opened under your companys’ name