Capital One rebrands Elite Travel Spark to Venture X Business

The small business credit card market is full of attractive offers, and Capital One contributes to that with its extensive Spark card line.

Next week, however, one of those cards will leave the Spark collection — but not very far. The premium travel business card, Capital One Spark Travel Elite, will join the Venture business card with a new name: Capital One Venture X Business.

Like Spark Travel Elite, the new Venture X Business costs $395 a year and is available only to clients of Capital One account managers. Below, CNBC Select details the card’s features and how to apply.

Capital One Venture X Business will be a premium metal card with a new design. However, it will continue to offer the same rewards and benefits as Spark Elite. Here are some key features of the card:

• Venture X Business is a credit card. This means the card has no preset spending limit, but you must pay the balance in full each month. Otherwise, you will pay a 2.99% late fee.
• The card provides business owners with access to benefits. These include Free employee and virtual cards, the option to sync transaction data with your accounting software, year-end summaries, and more.
• Venture X Business earns travel rewards. Book with Capital One Travel and earn 2x unlimited miles on every purchase, 10x miles on hotels and car rentals, and 5x miles on flights.
• It also offers excellent travel benefits. You’ll get up to $300 in a statement credit each year for travel booked through Capital One and up to 10,000 bonus miles (worth $100 in travel) each year after your first credit card anniversary. You can also book a selection of luxury hotels with Capital One Travel’s new Premier Collection. On top of that, you get free access to Capital One lounges and over 1,300 partner lounges. Finally, you can get a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee credit every four years.

Given the potential value the card can offer, frequent flyers should easily offset its hefty $395 annual fee. Venture X Business comes with some top-notch benefits. 2x Earnings on all purchases also makes it easy to earn travel rewards on your business spend. Capital One also keeps redemption flexible: you can redeem directly through the issuer’s travel portal, use your miles to pay for recent travel purchases, transfer them to Capital One’s airline and hotel partners or redeem them for gift cards or cash return.

If you are an existing Spark Travel Elite cardholder, you do not need to take any additional steps. You will see the card name change in your account next week and Capital One will be in touch when your new metal card is ready to order.

For new cardholders, the Venture X business will only be offered through the issuer’s relationship manager — at least “temporarily,” according to Capital One. If you are interested in this card, please speak with your account manager to see if you can apply.

Alternatively, you can check out the Capital One Venture X Rewards credit card. Aside from the fact that it’s a personal card with a credit line and no business benefits, it offers the same rewards structure and perks as Venture X Business for the same annual fee.

As you can see, with Venture X, you get the same rewards, annual travel credits and anniversary bonuses, lounge access, and reimbursement allowances for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees. If you can get travel rewards and benefits on a personal card rather than a business card, the Venture X is a great choice.

That said, keep in mind that mixing personal and business expenses is generally not a good idea because it can complicate your tax situation.

If you’d rather stick with a business credit card, you also have a variety of options. For example, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is CNBC Select’s top business card with luxury perks, earn 5x Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com, and qualify on US construction material purchases Earn 1.5x Membership Rewards® points and earn $5,000 or more on purchases of $5,000 or more per calendar year at hardware suppliers, electronics retailers and software and cloud systems suppliers, and shipping suppliers up to $2 million). It also comes with premium perks, including multiple statement credits and airport lounge access.

The Capital One Venture X Business is a premium business credit card that lets you earn travel rewards on your business purchases and enjoy attractive benefits. It’s a solid option for business owners who travel a lot, and easily offsets the card’s $395 annual fee.

Perhaps the only significant downside is that you can only get cards through the issuer’s account manager. If that’s not an option, you might want to buy a different business card – or if you don’t mind getting a personal credit card, consider the Capital One Venture X Rewards credit card.