Earn up to 50,000 bonus miles with the Capital One Spark Miles cards

Some of the offers below are no longer available and may be out of date.

For business owners seeking a simple, straightforward way to bring in plenty of rewards on everyday spending, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business and Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business* offer generous earning rates. Whether you want to avoid an annual fee or pay a bit more for extra perks, you can bring in a high flat rate of miles on every purchase you make.

Plus, both cards offer generous introductory bonuses just for meeting spend requirements in the first few months, giving you hundreds of dollars worth of free travel. Right now, the Spark Miles for Business is offering 50,000 miles for cardholders who spend $4,500 in the first three months, and the Spark Miles Select is offering 20,000 miles for cardholders who spend $3,000 in the first three months.

Which Capital One Spark Miles card is better in the first year?

The 50,000-mile sign-up bonus on the Spark Miles card is certainly tempting, but it comes with a $95 annual fee. The Spark Miles Select card has no annual fee and also comes with a competitive sign-up bonus – 20,000 miles if you spend $3,000 in the first three months.

	Spark Miles for Business	Spark Miles Select for Business
Rewards rate	2 miles per dollar on all purchases	1.5 miles per dollar on all purchases
Sign-up bonus	50,000 miles if you spend $4,500 in first 3 months	20,000 miles if you spend $3,000 in first 3 months
Annual fee	$95, waived first year	$0
Estimated earnings in first year ($4,000 monthly spend)	$1,460	$920

Because the Spark Miles card waives the annual fee in the first year, it is easy to see that you can get more out of the bigger sign-up bonus. In the years following, however, you might be wary of paying an annual fee. Consider how much you plan to put on the card before deciding which is right for you.

Since the Spark Miles card has a 25 percent higher rewards rate than the Spark Miles Select, it is easy to offset the cost of the annual fee and still take home more each year. In fact, you only need a monthly spend of around $2,000 for the Spark Miles card to beat the Spark Miles Select in yearly rewards. If you spend less than $2,000 a month, you might be better off with the no-annual-fee option.

Recent changes to the Spark Miles cards

Currently, the Spark Miles card is not offering the highest bonus it ever has. Twice in its history, the card has released limited-time offers of up to 200,000 miles.

The Spark Miles Select, on the other hand, has not offered a limited-time introductory bonus.

Who is eligible for the sign-up bonus?

The Spark Miles sign-up bonus is only available to new cardholders, and existing or previous account holders might not be eligible. Capital One also has a limit to the number of accounts you can have open with them. If you already have five open credit cards with the bank, you won’t be able to apply.

Both the Spark Miles and Spark Miles Select cards are designed for users with excellent credit (above 750). Since they are business cards, you’ll also have to submit information about your business including your TIN or EIN (or SSN if you are a sole-proprietorship or single-member LLC), business ownership type, annual revenue and spend per month. There are no specified qualifications for business size or spend, but it is important that you have a good individual credit history and all your personal accounts are in good standing.

Best ways to use the Spark Miles cards’ sign-up bonus

The points redemption options on the Spark Miles cards are very flexible, but you’ll get the most value out of your miles on travel purchases. With the Purchase Eraser, you can even make travel reservations outside the Capital One Rewards Center without sacrificing point value.

Redemption options for Spark Miles cards

If you’d prefer another redemption option, you can also use your miles toward a statement credit, check or gift card. Check out the table below to see the value of your sign-up bonus with each of these options.

Transfer options for Spark Miles cards

If you are eager to stretch your miles even further, you can also take advantage of Capital One’s travel partners. For each partner airline, two of your Spark Miles equal 1.5 airline miles. This might seem like you are losing value, but that is not always the case.

Each Capital One mile is worth 1 cent, but mile value for each airline rewards program varies. Here’s what we value each point at for the partner airlines and what you’ll get out of your sign-up bonus if you transfer all your miles.

Normally, the Spark Miles sign-up bonus has an up to $500 value and Spark Miles Select has a $200 value. But as you can see, transferring sometimes can increase value. If you are a frequent flier of Singapore, Aeroplan (Air Canada), Etihad or Avianca, you can maximize your reward potential.

For the most part though, it is in your best interest to redeem your miles through the Capital One Rewards Center or another travel site using Purchase Eraser. Since there are no major airlines on Capital One’s new list of partners, you’ll probably stick to these options for most of your travel.

Should you apply for a Spark Miles card now?

The Spark Miles card recently ended a limited-time offer, so the bonus is not the highest it has ever been. Nevertheless, if you are interested in the card’s earning potential, now is a great time to sign up. For Spark Miles Select fans, the bonus has not changed in its history. It is still unclear if it will ever offer a similar special promotion, so if it suits your spending, now is as good a time as ever to sign up.

*All information about the Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business has been collected independently by CreditCards.com and has not been reviewed by the issuer.