How to Maximize the Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business Card

Combine this card's earning power with other Capital One cards and you'll accumulate miles even faster.

Alex CramerFebruary 25, 2021
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The Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business is an excellent credit card for small-business owners looking for a $0-fee card that rewards frequent travelers. The card comes with several different perks, and you’ll want to take advantage of all of them to get the greatest value out of the card.

Here’s how to maximize the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business.

Ways to get the most out of your Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business

Earn your bonus

The first thing to do once you’re approved for the card is earn your welcome bonus: Earn a one-time bonus of 20,000 miles - equal to $200 in travel - once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

If you don’t earn the bonus, you'll be leaving money on the table.

» Learn more: What to know before you start earning Capital One miles

Travel

Frequent travelers will benefit the most from having this card. For many purchases, the card pays 1.5 miles for every dollar you spend. However, you earn 5x miles when you book hotel stays or car rentals through Capital One Travel.

Additionally, the card doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee, so you won’t get dinged with extra charges for purchases you make when you’re outside the U.S.

You can also transfer your miles to more than 10 Capital One travel partners, including JetBlue, Air France, Air Canada and Qantas.

Nerdy tip: You have two ways to redeem your points for travel: either directly through Capital One or by converting your miles into the currency of one of its partner programs.

If you don’t travel much and would rather have a straight cash-back card, consider the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card, which offers 1.5% unlimited cash back on purchases.

Combine your miles

Capital One will allow you to combine the Sparks miles that you earn on different cards, so you can take advantage of the earning rates that each card offers.

For example, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers 2 miles for every dollar you spend on qualified purchases, but it doesn’t offer bonuses for spending in a specific category like travel. Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business offers 1.5 miles per dollar for most types of purchases, but will award 5x miles for booking hotels and rental cars.

So if you have both cards, you can use your Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business card for travel and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card for everything else. This strategy will maximize the rewards you earn. Then, simply combine the miles into one account when you’re ready to redeem them.

» Learn more: Who benefits the most from the Capital One Venture Card?

Issue cards to employees fee-free

If your employees have business expenses, such as taking clients for meals or making office supply purchases, you can get them their own cards (linked to your account) for free. You can set spending limits on employee cards to better manage your finances.

Though you will still be responsible for paying the balance, all of the miles they earn will accrue to your account.

Learn about the card’s security features

How you protect your money is just as important as how you spend it, and the Sparks Miles Select offers cardholders a number of options to keep your money safe.

If you or your employee loses a credit card, you can lock that card from an app on your phone to prevent the card from being used.

You can also sign up for security alerts that will let you know anytime Capital One detects a suspicious or unexpected charge to your account. The card also provides fraud protection so that in the event that your card is lost or stolen, you won't be responsible for any charges.

The bottom line

There are dozens of business credit cards to choose from, but the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business contains unique features that could make it a great choice for the right user. Frequent travelers in particular can extract a lot of value from this no-annual-fee business credit card.

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