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The Capital One Spark series and the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card rank among the top choices for business rewards credit cards. While both of these business cards accrue rewards points for every purchase, they cater to diverse needs. To assist you in selecting the ideal card for your business, dive into this comprehensive Capital One Spark vs. Chase Ink Business Preferred comparison.
100,000 Bonus Points: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Earn up to $3,000 cash bonus: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
50,000 Miles: Capital One Spark Miles for Business
The information for the Capital One Spark Cash for Business, Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business, and the Capital One Spark Classic for Business has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Capital One Spark vs. Chase Ink Business Preferred Review
The Capital One Spark lineup consists of five different cards:
- Capital One Spark Cash Plus
- Capital One Spark Cash Select for Business
- The Capital One Spark Classic for Business
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business
- The Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business
However, we’re going to focus on these two flagship products:
- $150 annual fee: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
- $95, waived the first year: Capital One Spark Miles for Business
There are also several Ink Business cards:
- $0 annual fee Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (check out our Ink Business Cash review)
- $0 annual fee Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (visit our Ink Business Unlimited review to learn more)
- $95 annual fee Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Ink Business Preferred Review)
- $195 annual fee Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card (The Chase Ink Business Premier Credit Card Review)
The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card is the card we’ll be focusing on today.
This will also help give us an “apples-to-apples comparison” between the Capital One Spark Miles for Business and Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card.
Purchase Rewards
One of the largest differences between the Spark and the Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card is the purchase rewards. Although some of the other comparisons are just as important, you want to use the best business credit card that earns the most rewards points possible from your business spending.
Because every business spends money on different things, you might decide that the Spark is the better option than the Ink Preferred. Or, you might decide that the Ink Preferred bonus categories are more relevant to your daily spending. It’s better to know which card is better now than after you’ve already applied.
Capital One Spark Cards
The Capital One Spark Cash Plus gives you the ability to earn an unlimited 2% cash back for your business on every purchase, everywhere. There are no minimums to redeem cash back and no expiration dates for the life of the account. There are also free employee cards, which also earn unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases and $0 Fraud Liability if your card is lost or stolen. However, you can also earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
The Capital One Spark Miles for Business gives you the opportunity to earn an unlimited 2x miles per $1 on every purchase, everywhere as well. There are also no minimums or expiration dates to worry about. However, you can also earn unlimited 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
Unlike the Ink Business Preferred, which lets you redeem your rewards points for cash or award travel, it’s one or the other with the Spark lineup, depending on the card you get.
Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
The Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card has a tiered purchase rewards program that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points on every purchase and is the top Chase business card option.
On the first $150,000 in combined annual spending, you’ll earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points per $1 for these categories:
- Travel Purchases
- Shipping Purchases
- Search Engine and Social Media Purchases
- Internet, Cable, and Phone Services
However, if you exceed the $150,000 annual spending cap, all remaining purchases in these categories earn 1 point per $1 until your next account anniversary.
All non-bonus spending categories will always earn an unlimited 1 point per $1. Points don’t expire either.
Related: Ink Business Preferred Card Review
Redeeming Rewards Points
Here’s the fun part of this Capital One Spark vs. Chase Ink Business Preferred review—redemption options. Redeeming your rewards points is easy with all three of these credit cards. Your decision boils down to if you want to travel or cash rewards.
Capital One Spark
One downside to the Spark lineup is that your rewards points can only be redeemed for one type of award depending on which card you sign up for:
- Spark Cash Plus: Cashback rewards
- Spark Miles: Travel statement credits or future award travel
With either card, each reward point is always worth one cent each. There is some exciting news though for Capital One Spark Miles for Business cardholders. Capital One has recently added 1:1 travel transfer partners and new airport lounges. This can be a helpful benefit, especially if you fly the airline partners frequently.
Chase Ink Business Preferred
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card lets you redeem your rewards points for cash rewards, award travel, 1:1 point transfers, and gift cards. You’re never locked into one redemption option for the entire time you own the card.
However, there’s an added incentive to redeem your points for award travel. With cash back and gift card rewards, your points are only worth 1 cent each; just like the Capital One Spark. When you redeem them for award travel, your points are worth at least 1.25 cents each. Thanks to the 1:1 point transfers, there are many opportunities that make your points worth at least 2 cents each!
Some of the 1:1 Ultimate Rewards travel partners include Southwest Airlines, British Airways Avios, United Airlines, and World of Hyatt. If you travel for business, the 1:1 points transfers are almost always a better option than going through the credit card travel portal.
Ink Preferred or Capital One Spark Welcome Bonus
You’re going to love or hate the Capital One Spark cards or Chase Ink Business Preferred, depending on how you can earn and redeem your points. But, the welcome bonus can be an additional incentive to choose one card over the other.
Capital One Spark
For a limited time, new Capital One Spark Cash Plus earns up to a $3,000 cash bonus: $1,500 after spending $20,000 in the first 3 months, and an additional $1,500 after spending $100,000 in the first 6 months.
The Capital One Spark Miles for Business gives you the opportunity to earn 50,000 miles after spending $4,500 in the first 3 months of account opening. This is equal to $500 in travel.
If you transfer miles to airlines, you can get up to $100 fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
Capital One travel partners include:
- Aeromexico
- Air France KLM (Flying Blue)
- Air Canada (Aeroplan)
- Asia Miles
- Avianca
- British Airways
- Emirates
- Etihad
- EVA Air
- Finnair
- Qantas
- Singapore Airlines
- TAP Air Portugal
- Turks Airlines
There are also hotel partners—ALL (Accor Live Limitless), Choice Hotels, and Wyndham Rewards.
Related: Best Capital One Credit Cards for Travel and Rewards
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has the largest ongoing bonus offer for Ultimate Rewards Points.
New Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card cardholders can earn 100k bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠.
Of course, your points can be worth more if you transfer them to an Ultimate Rewards travel partner.
Chase transfer partners include:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards
- Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Chase Hotel Partners
- IHG Rewards Club
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
Related: Best Chase Credit Cards
Additional Card Benefits
The main value for both the Capital One Spark cards and Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card is the ability to earn and redeem rewards points with minimal effort. But all three cards offer some additional benefits that you might like as well.
Capital One Spark
Here are a few of the additional Spark benefits:
- Secondary rental car collision damage waiver protection
- Extended warranty protection
- No foreign transaction fee (great for international travel)
- Can be redeemed for any amount with no expiration
- Miles can be transferred to Capital One travel partners (with the Spark Miles for Business card)
You can learn more about the Capital One Spark business card approval odds to be sure you’re in good standing.
Learn more: Business Credit Cards
Chase Ink Business Preferred
The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card offers these additional travel benefits:
- Primary rental car collision damage waiver protection
- Cell phone protection
- Extended warranty protection
- Trip cancellation and protection insurance
- No foreign transaction fee
Cardholders can redeem points for cash back, gift cards, travel, and more (points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through Chase Travel℠). Points don’t expire as long as the account is open. Additionally, cardholders get fraud protection and zero liability. Purchase protection covers new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft, up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.
Here’s how hard it is to get the Ink Business Preferred.
When the Capital One Spark is Better
The Capital One Spark is a better option in these instances:
- You benefit more from the 2% cash back or the 2x miles per $1
- Don’t want to pay an annual fee the first year
- Can’t earn the Ink Business Preferred sign-up bonus
Learn more: Business Credit Cards
The Chase Ink Business Preferred is Better When…
The Capital One Spark cards are solid reward credit cards, but you’ll benefit greatly from the Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card in these cases:
- Benefit from the 3x bonus categories
- Want 1:1 point transfers and the 25% travel redemption bonus through Chase Travel℠
- Want more point redemption options
- Can achieve the spending requirement for the bonus
Learn more: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Summary of Chase Ink Preferred & Capital One Spark
In summary, both the Capital One Spark vs Chase Ink Business Preferred can be good options for business needs. Which business credit card is better depends on your spending habits and point redemption preference.
100,000 Bonus Points: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Earn up to $3,000 cash bonus: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
50,000 Miles: Capital One Spark Miles for Business
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