Capital One Venture Rewards vs. Capital One Spark Miles for Business: Personal or business?

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is among the most popular travel rewards credit cards. But before applying, you might want to consider this card’s small-business counterpart — the Capital One Spark Miles for Business.

Both the Venture Rewards and the Spark Miles for Business earn at least 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase. They allow cardholders to redeem their miles for travel purchases and transfer them to Capital One’s 15-plus airline and hotel partners.

In fact, the two cards are so similar that you might have trouble telling them apart other than their names. Let’s break down the differences to help you decide which card is right for your wallet.

Capital One Venture Rewards vs. Capital One Spark Miles for Business comparison

Capital One Venture Rewards vs. Capital One Spark Miles for Business welcome offer

New Capital One Venture Rewards cardholders can earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. Plus, new cardholders will receive a $250 Capital One Travel credit upon account opening for use in the first cardholder year.

As of TPG’s March 2025 valuations, this offer is worth $1,638, including the statement credit.

Meanwhile, new Capital One Spark Miles for Business cardholders can earn 50,000 miles after spending $4,500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. New cardholders will not pay an annual fee for the first year.

According to our valuations, this welcome offer is worth $925.

Winner: Capital One Venture Rewards. Its welcome offer is much more valuable.

Related: 7 reasons to get the Capital One Venture Rewards card

Capital One Venture Rewards vs. Capital One Spark Miles for Business benefits

Although these cards offer similar benefits, their differences mostly come down to the fact that the Capital One Venture Rewards is a personal credit card, while the Capital One Spark Miles for Business is a business credit card.

The Venture Rewards has a $95 annual fee, as does the Spark Miles for Business, though the latter offers a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year.

Both cards offer a statement credit of up to $120 for a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application once every four years, which can help reduce waits at airport security and immigration.

The Capital One Spark Miles for Business and Venture Rewards also offer car rental insurance when using the card to rent an eligible vehicle. This insurance covers collision, damage and theft.

Both cards extend manufacturer warranties of three years or less up to an additional year.

The Venture Rewards offers travel accident insurance, but don’t expect the full suite of travel protections you’ll see on more premium cards.

Cardholders of either card can also access Lifestyle Collection hotels and vacation rentals. When booking the Lifestyle Collection through the Capital One Travel portal, cardholders receive a $50 experience credit to use during each stay and receive perks like room upgrades, late checkout and early check-in, when available.

Neither card charges foreign transaction fees when making purchases outside of the U.S. You can add employee cards to the Capital One Spark Miles for Business for no extra charge.

Spark Miles for Business cardholders will also receive year-end summaries of their spending and the ability to set customized spending limits for employee cards.

Winner: Tie. While the Venture Rewards offers travel accident insurance, the Spark Miles for Business’s account management features can be very useful for small businesses.

Earning miles on the Capital One Venture Rewards vs. Capital One Spark Miles for Business

The two cards have very similar earning structures.

They both earn bonus miles on select Capital One Travel purchases. Venture Rewards earns 5 miles per dollar spent on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through the portal, while Spark Miles for Business earns 5 miles per dollar spent on just hotels and rental cars.

These two cards earn 2 miles per dollar spent on every other eligible purchase you make — like that new TV or couch you’ve been coveting — with no annual limits to worry about. This makes both cards some of the best options for everyday spending.

If you’re looking for a card with a simple earning structure, either the Venture Rewards or the Spark Miles for Business is a great option.

Winner: Tie. Both cards have almost the same earning structure.

Related: The best Capital One credit cards

Redeeming miles on the Capital One Venture Rewards vs. Capital One Spark Miles for Business

One of the main selling points of both cards is the sheer variety and value you can enjoy when redeeming the miles they earn. With both cards, your options are the same, so you won’t enjoy an advantage from one over the other. That said, it’s still worth reviewing all the possibilities.

Let’s start with the simplest — Capital One miles earned with either card are redeemable for travel at a rate of 1 cent apiece. You can use your miles to make reservations, such as flights or hotel stays, directly through Capital One Travel.

You can also redeem miles for recent travel-related purchases, such as vacation rentals, hotels, airline flights and cruises.

If you redeem your miles for cash back or statement credits against other charges with either card, you get a mere half-cent per mile in value. When redeeming points and miles, you want to strive for at least one cent per point in value.

A final option for redeeming your miles is gift cards. This redemption option offers one cent per mile, making it a decent alternative to using your miles for travel.

That said, we recommend transferring your miles to Capital One’s 15-plus airline and hotel partners over any other redemption method. You’ll get more value this way.

Winner: Tie.

Transferring miles on the Capital One Venture Rewards vs. Capital One Spark Miles for Business

Capital One has 15-plus travel transfer partners for select cardholders to take advantage of. Miles transfer to most partners at a 1:1 ratio.

You’ll gain access to these transfer partners as either a Venture Rewards or a Spark Miles for Business cardholder.

TPG credit cards writer Augusta Stone has three favorite transfer partners: Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles. Aeroplan sweet spots, for example, include short-haul economy flights under 500 miles for just 6,000 Aeroplan points.

Or, you can book transcontinental business-class awards for just 25,000 points each way — well below what some other loyalty programs, like United MileagePlus, would charge for the same fare.

Winner: Tie. The two cards have the same transfer options.

Related: How to transfer Capital One miles to airline and hotel partners

Should I get the Capital One Venture Rewards or Capital One Spark Miles for Business?

The Capital One Venture Rewards and Capital One Spark Miles for Business are both excellent travel rewards credit cards. Their easy-to-understand earning structure is simple to leverage on everyday expenses. You can use miles through Capital One Travel or transfer them to partners. If you have a business, look into applying for both cards to earn rewards on personal and business purchases.

Related: Why the Capital One Venture Rewards credit card still has a spot in our wallets

Bottom line

Regarding the Capital One Spark Miles for Business and the Capital One Venture Rewards, if either card has been on your radar for a while and you’ve put off applying for one reason or another, they’re good options to earn a flat 2 miles per dollar spent on most purchases.

With either card, you can’t go wrong, especially if you have some specific ways in mind to redeem your Capital One miles once you rack them up.

To learn more, read our full reviews of the Venture Rewards and Spark Miles for Business.

Learn more: Capital One Venture Rewards
Learn more: Capital One Spark Miles for Business

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.