Capital One Spark Miles Select Credit Card Review 2024

Earning and using credit card travel rewards can sometimes seem complicated. Thankfully, the Capital One Spark Miles Select’s program is markedly streamlined. You’ll earn 1.5 miles per dollar on every purchase.

What’s more, there are no expiration dates or earnings caps, leaving you free to amass a hefty pile of points for use at your own leisure. Capital One’s redemption system is straightforward, with multiple ways to redeem reward points for travel. Miles can also be redeemed for cash back or gift cards, but that’s generally a lesser value.

In addition to a straightforward rewards system, the Capital One Spark Miles Select comes with valuable extras like a decent welcome bonus. The card also comes with some helpful protections, including car rental collision coverage and extended warranties on eligible items.

• $0 annual fee
• Flat earnings of 1.5 miles per dollar on every purchase
• 18.49% - 24.49% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers
• Foreign transaction fees: None
• Rewards are unlimited and can be redeemed at any time
• Travel and extended warranty protections

Earning Rewards

Every purchase made on the Capital One Spark Miles Select will net 1.5 miles per dollar on every purchase. However, hotels booked through the Capital One portal will likely not earn status benefits, making this bonus of limited value for travelers who care about hotel status perks.

Redeeming Rewards

As mentioned earlier, there are a few ways to redeem rewards for travel:

• Make a purchase on your own and use miles as a statement credit towards the purchase
• Redeem miles on the spot by booking travel through the Capital One Travel Center
• Transfer miles to Capital One’s travel partners

Independent booking can be done through whatever means you prefer; hotel websites, discount travel sites, travel agents and airlines are all fair game. Then, after making the purchase, redeem your miles for a statement credit in the amount of the purchase. The only stipulation is that statement credits for travel must be made within 90 days of the original purchase.

Alternatively, you can book your excursion through the Capital One Travel Center. Whichever option you choose, miles are worth a penny apiece.

Redeeming miles for cash back, gift cards or using them to shop with Amazon is possible, though it will likely yield lesser value.

Rewards Potential

How much can you earn in a year? A business that spends $2,000 per month on its Capital One Spark Miles card will earn 24,000 miles per year. This is worth $360 when used for travel through Capital One’s portal. You can get even more value from your miles when transferring them to Capital One’s travel partners.

Also, as previously mentioned, the card comes with a welcome bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.

The Capital One Spark Miles Select comes with a 18.49% - 24.49% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers. Simply put, there’s no downside to having some time for interest-free spending.

Besides streamlined earnings, the Capital One Spark Miles Select comes with some perks typically reserved for cards with an annual fee. These include:

• Extended warranty and purchase protection. Eligible items purchased with the card are protected against damage or theft (up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 total per cardholder). The original manufacturer’s warranty will also double in duration (restrictions apply).
• Rental car collision coverage. Provides reimbursement for expenses incurred due to damage or theft. You must pay for the rental with the card to receive this benefit. Rental car coverage is secondary, meaning coverage will kick in after your other insurance policies have paid out.
• World Elite Mastercard benefits. Get travel protections like travel assistance, roadside assistance, lust luggage reimbursement and more.
• Free employee cards. Manage employee spending with preset limits on each card
• Pick your own monthly due date.

Interest Rates

• Regular APR: 18.49% - 24.49% Variable

Fees

• Annual fee: $0
• Foreign purchase transaction fee: None

Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business* vs. Capital One Spark Miles for Business*

The Capital One Spark Miles Select has a near-identical sibling: the Capital One Spark Miles for Business*. They do have two important differences, however. First, the Spark Miles Select carries no annual fee, while the Spark Miles has an annual fee of $0 intro for the first year; $95 after that. Also, the Spark Miles Select earns 1.5 miles per dollar spent, compared to 2 miles per dollar on the Spark Miles.

The Spark Miles will only be worth the fee if you plan to spend more than $4,750 annually on the card during each year beyond the first.

Here’s how the two cards stack up side-by-side:

	Capital One Spark Miles	Capital One Spark Miles Select
Annual fee	$0 intro for the first year; $95 after that	$0
Welcome bonus	Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening	Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
Rewards	2 miles per dollar on every purchase and 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel	1.5 miles per dollar on every purchase
Intro APR offer	None	None

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Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business* vs. Spark Cash Select from Capital One*

These two cards are virtually identical except for the type of rewards they earn. The Capital One Spark Miles earns rewards that have the most value when redeemed for travel, while the Spark Cash Select from Capital One* earns cash back.

If you’re looking to get the most flexibility from your rewards program, cash is generally better. However, travel enthusiasts will likely prefer to take advantage of the Spark Miles Select’s travel partners, potentially increasing the value of their earnings.

Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business* vs. Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card

The Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card has a $0 annual fee and earns 3 points per dollar spent on car, hotel or airline travel booked through the Bank of America® Travel Center and 1.5 points per dollar spent on all other purchases.

If a business owner already has a Preferred Rewards for Business relationship with Bank of America, the rewards rate on the Business Advantage can greatly increase. For example, rewards can increase by 25% to 75% depending on your relationship tier with Bank of America.

Thus, someone at the top tier of Preferred Rewards for Business is eligible for a 75% increase in rewards, meaning that the 1.5 points per dollar earning rate on spending would be increased to 2.62 points per dollar.

While business owners with a Preferred Rewards relationship with Bank of America may benefit more from the Business Advantage card, the redemption ease of the Capital One Spark Miles Select may make it a more attractive option to other customers, as you can cash in your Spark Miles in any amount at any time. The Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card won’t let you redeem until you’ve accrued at least 2,500 points for travel, travel credits, or cash rewards, and gift card redemptions become available at 3,500 points.

Businesses with moderate spending would be hard-pressed to find a better no-annual-fee travel card than the Capital One Spark Miles Select. However, it’s possible that concentrated spending in certain categories may increase your earning potential through other cards. You may also prefer to get cash back to use on more than just travel. If either of these is the case, it could be worth considering a different card.

Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors, including:

• Annual fees
• Welcome bonus offers
• Ongoing earning rates
• Value of individual points or miles
• Included travel or merchant credits
• Additional cardholder benefits

Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors came together to provide a star rating for each individual card.

Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Credit Cards