5 Lesser-Known Perks of the Capital One Spark Miles for Business

5 Lesser-Known Perks of the Capital One Spark Miles for Business

Apply for the Capital One Spark Miles for Business by Jan. 28 to earn up to 200k miles.

We’ve seen a number of flashy high-value sign-up bonuses recently, especially from business credit cards, but none larger or more rewarding than the two-tiered bonus currently available on the Capital One Spark Miles for Business. To celebrate the addition of 14 airline transfer partners to the Spark and Venture Rewards card families, now until Jan. 28, 2019, new applicants to the Spark Miles for Business card can earn up to 200,000 bonus miles after completing minimum spend.

The bonus is broken into two tiers: earn 50,000 miles after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months and an additional 150,000 miles after spending $50,000 in the first 6 months. Based on TPG’s valuation of Capital One miles at 1.4 cents each, the full bonus is worth $2,800. However, since the Spark Miles card earns 2x miles on all purchases, you’ll really walk away with a whopping 300,000 miles after completing both spending tiers.

Obviously, with a card like this, a six-figure sign-up bonus is the banner headline meant to pique your curiosity. The Spark Miles has no foreign transaction fees, and the $95 annual fee is waived for the first year. While this card doesn’t have as many perks as pricier premium credit cards, there are a few benefits that might be of interest to business owners. Today we’ll take a look at five lesser-known benefits of the Spark Miles for Business.

1. Free Employee Cards

Even for many businesses, $50,000 is a lot of money to be spending in 6 months. One way to hit that mark even faster and to continue racking up rewards long past the sign-up bonus is by adding employee cards. Thankfully, Capital One lets you add free employee cards to the Spark Miles for Business, giving you more flexibility over how you manage your cash flow and more opportunities to earn rewards.

With a consistent 2 miles per dollar on all purchases, the Spark Miles earns about 2.8% back, making it a very compelling choice for everyday, non-bonus spending. Of course it’s possible to get a much higher return if you redeem your miles for premium cabin travel through programs like Avianca LifeMiles or Etihad Guest, but 1.4 cents per point is a helpful baseline to think about.

2. Sync Your Transaction History to Quickbooks and Excel

The sign-up bonus alone makes it obvious that Capital One is marketing this card toward higher-spending businesses, and the more money you have flowing in and out of your accounts over the year, the more carefully you’ll need to keep records to prepare for tax season.

Capital One wants to make this process as easy as possible. In addition to automatic fraud alerts and zero liability if your card is lost or stolen, you can get customized itemized spending reports each quarter and easily download and export your transaction history to multiple platforms including Quicken, Quickbooks and Excel.

3. Enroll in Visa SavingsEdge

From Amex Offers to Chase Offers (even Priority Pass is getting in on the action), we’re seeing more and more loyalty programs increase their value proposition by adding additional money saving offers. With your Capital One Spark Miles for Business, you’ll be eligible to enroll in the Visa SavingsEdge program. You must enroll your card at this link to take advantage of the offers, but once you do so you’ll automatically be able to earn cash-back rewards when shopping at popular merchants. TPG contributor Katie Genter was even able to stack a Visa SavingsEdge offer with a cash-back portal and holiday sale to buy a $1,300 Lenovo laptop for only $635.

4. Primary Car Rental Insurance

While many credit cards offer some form of rental car insurance, the Spark Miles for Business is one of the few to offer a primary collision damage waiver, which is important because it kicks in before your own personal insurance policy. Simply charge your entire rental to your Spark Miles card and decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver, and you’ll be covered for damage due to collision or theft. As with any insurance policy, there are some exclusions, so make sure to check out the full terms and conditions especially if you’re renting an exotic or antique car, a van or other large vehicle, or are renting in a foreign country.

5. Extended Warranty and Purchase Protection

If you’re using the Spark Miles as your businesses main credit card, it’s likely that you’ll be making some pretty important purchases with it. You can rest assured knowing that Capital One will double the time period of an eligible US manufacturer’s warranty, giving you up to one additional year on warranties of three years or less. This benefit is capped at $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per card holder.

If an item you purchase is stolen or damaged within 90 days after purchase, you may be eligible to have it replaced, repaired or reimbursed. This benefit is also capped at $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per card holder.

Bottom Line

For a card with a very reasonable $95 annual fee (waived for the first year), the Spark Miles for Business doesn’t have a whole lot of fancy perks weighing it down and driving up its cost. What it does have, in addition to a massive, limited-time, 200,000-mile sign-up bonus, is a small but valuable list of benefits that can help you manage your businesses finances more efficiently, and protect you from loss due to theft or damage. While you obviously hope to never have to use these insurance benefits, even a single use would more than offset the annual fee.

Apply for the Capital One Spark Miles for Business by Jan. 28 to earn up to 200k miles.

FAQ About the New Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards From Amex and Chase

Apply for the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express here before it closes applications forever on Feb. 12!

While the mega-Marriott merger is almost six months old, in many ways it’s felt incomplete. In addition to the plethora of tech bugs and customer service mishaps, the fact that the combined loyalty program has continued to issue credit cards under both the SPG and Marriott brands has confused members to no end.

Marriott recently confirmed that the new program will soon operate under the official name of “Bonvoy,” and has followed up that announcement with an overhaul of all of its cobranded credit cards.

You can read the full details of that announcement here. Today we’ll take a look at some of the most common questions surrounding these changes and what they mean for your credit card strategy moving forward.

Q: Help, all these new names are confusing! Which SPG/Marriott cards will convert to which Bonvoy cards?

A: It will likely take a while until all the new names are ingrained in our memory, but for now you can use this cheat sheet to help. Here’s what’s happening to the Amex SPG cards:

As well as the Chase Marriott cards:

Q: Which cards are closing to new applicants?

A: After Feb. 12, the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express will be closed to new applicants. The card will be rebranded as the Marriott Bonvoy Card from American Express for existing card holders. At the same time, the Marriott Premier Plus Business Card from Chase is closing to new applicants, and existing card holders will be converted to the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business card.

Q: Are any new card benefits being introduced?

A: Yes, some! The Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card, soon to be known as the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card from Amex, will be getting a $100 statement credit on paid stays of two nights or more at Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis properties. You’ll need to book a special rate code to get this credit, and it’s not valid on room rates (only property charges like spa, dining, etc.). It is uncapped though, so you can use it as many times a year as you want. This same credit is available on the Ritz-Carlton Card which has been closed to new applicants since last July.

In addition, both business cards will get the ability to earn a second free night worth up to 35,000 points after spending $60,000 a year. This will apply to the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card from Amex, and the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business card (which is closing to new applicants).

Q: Which cards are seeing their annual fees change?

A: The annual fee on the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex is raising to $125 a year, but if you apply before March 28 you’ll get the fee waived for the first year and have your second year fee grandfathered in at $95.

Q: Are any cards getting elevated welcome bonuses to celebrate these changes?

A: All three credit cards that are staying open to new applicants past February will begin offering limited-time welcome bonuses, allowing you to earn 100,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. This will launch on Feb. 13 for the SPG Luxury Amex (Marriott Brilliant Bonvoy Amex) and Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express (Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex), and on Feb. 28 for the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card (Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card).

Q: How long will these elevated bonuses last?

A: The 100,000-point welcome offer on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex and Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex will be valid until April 24, 2019. There’s no end date for the Bonvoy Boundless card yet.

Q: Are there any ways for me to earn extra bonus points during these changes?

A: In addition to the elevated welcome bonuses, the SPG Amex (Marriott Bonvoy Amex) will be letting customers who applied before Jan. 23 earn up to 100,000 bonus points. These card holders can register to earn 25,000 bonus points for every $25,000 they spend, up to $100,000. This effectively raises the card’s earning rate back to its pre-merger rate of 3x points per dollar, but the bonus points are only awarded in 25,000 increments.

Q: Will these cards count as new products for welcome bonus eligibility?

A: No, so if you’ve had an SPG Business Amex before, you won’t be eligible for the welcome bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex.

Q: What will happen to the old Chase Marriott Premier Card?

A: This product will be rebranded as the Marriott Bonvoy Premier card, but there have been no announced changes to the benefits.

Q: Can you get multiple anniversary free nights by holding both Chase and Amex Bonvoy cards? 

A: Yes, it’s possible to earn one anniversary free night for each Bonvoy card you have (two if you hit the spending thresholds on the business cards) but you can only earn one set of 15 elite night credits no matter how many Bonvoy cards you have.

Q: Can you downgrade the SPG Luxury Amex to the regular SPG Amex?

A: Yes. And card members can continue to downgrade from the SPG Luxury Card to the SPG Amex even after they become the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant and the Marriott Bonvoy Amex and the SPG Amex (Bonvoy Amex) is no longer open for applications.

Q: If I’m an existing SPG Business Amex card holder, will my annual fee this year be $125 or $95?

A: Your annual fee will increase to $125 on your next account anniversary on or after March 28.

Q: What can you tell me about the new credit card designs?

A: While all the Bonvoy cards will sport new designs, there are two that are especially exciting. Beginning in March, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex will get a metal makeover, with a texturized design befitting a premium card.

While the Marriott Bonvoy Amex will be closing to new applicants, Amex is sending it out with a bang. The issuer collaborated with artist Tony “Rubin” Sjöman to develop this limited edition design. Existing card holders will automatically receive this redesigned card beginning in May.

Q: What dates do I need to put on my calendar to keep track of all these changes?

A: With different changes kicking in on different dates, here are the ones to circle on your calendar:

Feb. 12: Last day to sign up for the SPG Amex and the Marriott Premier Plus Business Card Feb. 13: Marriott Bonvoy branding officially live; 100,000-point offers available on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex and Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Feb. 28: 100,000-point offer available on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card from Chase March 28: $100 luxury credit available on Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, free night after $60k in spend available on the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex, Bonvoy Business Amex annual fee increasing to $125 April 24: 100,000-point offers end on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex and Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Bottom Line

For many customers, especially existing SPG/Marriott card holders, the changes here are mostly cosmetic. Some cards are getting new perks and updated annual fees, but the most important thing to take action on right now is applying for the SPG Amex or the Marriott Premier Plus Business if you’re interested, since they’ll be closing to new applicants on Feb. 12.

If you still have questions about the Bonvoy credit card changes, ask them in the comments section and we’ll do our best to answer them.