Capital One Venture Rewards vs. Capital One Spark Miles: Should you get the personal or business card?

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

Like the Venture Rewards, the Spark Miles for Business earns 2 miles per dollar on every purchase. It allows 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.

But it’s worth delving into their differences to determine whether the Capital One Venture or Capital One Spark Miles for Business will be a better choice for your needs and which card’s benefits you can better leverage for rewards.

Let’s compare how the Capital One Spark Business and Venture Rewards fare against one another to help you decide between them.

The Capital One Venture Rewards is offering 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.

The Capital One Spark Miles for Business is currently offering 50,000 miles after spending $4,500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. The $95 annual fee is waived for the first year.

Winner: Capital One Venture. It has a higher sign-up bonus with a slightly lower spending requirement.

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

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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, and 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, although the Spark Miles for Business waives it 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 extend car rental insurance when using the card to rent an eligible vehicle to cover collision, damage, and theft.

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

Both cards insure lost luggage up to $3,000 but don’t expect the full suite of travel protections you’ll see on some other more premium cards.

Cardholders of either card also have access to Lifestyle Collection hotels and vacation rentals. When booking 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., nor does it cost money to add authorized users, such as employees with the Capital One Spark Miles for Business.

Winner: Tie.

Benefits only available to accounts approved for the Visa Signature card. Terms apply.

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

The two cards have the same earning structures. They earn at least 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, and the number of miles you can earn is unlimited.

That means you’ll earn 2 miles per dollar on every 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.

They also both earn 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

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

Related: The best Capital One credit cards

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, cruises, etc. So, your return on spending with either card is a solid 2%.

If you redeem your miles for cash back against other charges with either card, you get a mere half-cent per mile in value. This brings down your return on spending to just 1%, so it’s best to avoid this and use a different cash-back card without specific redemption category restrictions.

Winner: Tie.

Related: Cashing in Capital One miles? How to get the maximum value when redeeming miles

However, things get more exciting because Capital One has 15-plus travel transfer partners and miles transfer to most at a 1:1 ratio.

Three of TPG credit cards writer Augusta Stone’s favorite partners are 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 United would charge if you booked through its MileagePlus program.

Winner: Tie. The two cards earn the same type of miles and have the same transfer options.

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

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 the Capital One travel portal 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

Regarding the Capital One Spark Business vs. 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.

For more details, 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 above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.