Capital One Spark Miles Business Credit Card — “50,000 Bonus, First-Year Annual Fee Waived!”

Capital One Spark Miles Business Credit Card

【Note】If this is your first time applying for a business credit card, please read the “Business Credit Card Introduction” first

Perks Breakdown

• 2x points on all spending: If you like using just one card, this is effectively 2% cash back and 1.5x miles back, which is one of the better cards in this category
• Easy point redemption: After you use this card to pay for travel-related purchases, you can directly redeem points to offset those charges. You can also transfer points to miles for potentially better value.
• Global Entry/TSA Pre: This card now comes with a Global Entry/TSA Pre reimbursement benefit. You can get up to $100 reimbursed every four years, and you need to pay with this card.
• Plaza Premium Lounge: You can visit Plaza Premium Lounge for free twice each year.

Downside

• No other bonus categories

Capital One Points Overview

• Point Value: Average value is 1.2c/p, so 100 points = $1.2 (Point Values & Analysis)
• Redeem Directly: Redeem at 1c/p toward travel purchases or various gift cards; cash out directly at 0.5c/p
• Transfer Partners: Transfer 1:1 to Air Canada miles (good for US-China flights and infant tickets), British Airways (short nonstop flights, Avianca miles (good for US-China business class, ANA and Asiana US-China first class, and no YQ on award tickets), Qantas Airways miles (good for domestic US nonstop flights and flights from the US East Coast to Western Europe), TAP Portugal Miles&Go, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, Flying Blue, Club Premier, Asia Miles, Etihad Guest, Finnair Plus, Wyndham, and Choice. Transfer times range from instant to several days.
• Points Feature: You can pool all of your Capital One points into one account and use them together.
• My Take: Capital One has fewer transfer partners, so compared with some other programs it is a bit less flexible and valuable. The more useful partners are AC and Avianca. Redeeming points for travel at 1c/p is also a solid option, and you can still earn miles, which makes it much easier than transferring points for award tickets.
• Detailed Analysis: Capital One Points Guide>>

My Take

This card’s points can also be transferred to airline miles at a 2:1.5 ratio, which can deliver better value than cash when used for business class. It would be even better if the transfer partners were stronger. Also, this card waives the annual fee in the first year, and downgrading to the no-annual-fee Spark Miles Select in the second year is a nice option.

Capital One Credit Card Application Guide

• Application status can only be checked by phone: (800) 903-9177
• Capital One applications usually pull reports from all three credit bureaus. You may be able to avoid a hard pull by freezing some of your credit reports.
• You can apply for only one Capital One credit card every six months, including both personal and business cards. If you force another application, it will likely be instantly denied, but it will not result in a hard pull.
• One person can hold at most two Capital One personal credit cards at the same time, counting only Capital One-issued cards.
• If you do not qualify for the card you applied for, you may be automatically approved for a different card instead, usually a lower-tier version. You can choose to accept or decline it, and there will be no additional hard pull.
• New applicants may be asked to upload ID during the application process.
• More on applying for Capital One credit cards

Application Link