The Capital One Spark Miles Business Card has been making waves lately with a 200,000 mile sign-up bonus. This is hands down the biggest sign-up bonus I’ve ever seen for any credit card. Sure, there was a 200,000 mile Amex Platinum sign-up bonus floating around but that was targeted – this one is public.
While a 200,000 mile credit card sign-up bonus would normally break the internet, there is one major caveat: A $50,000 spending requirement. There is no extra zero in that sentence.
The Capital One Spark Miles Business Card offers 50,000 miles when you spend $5,000 in three months. Plus another 150,000 miles when you spend $50,000 within 6 months. That’s a little over $8,000 per month in spending requirements. Or six trips to Walmart, as I like to think of it.
“Isn’t Walmart dead as a manufactured spending source?” Not exactly. While liquidating Visa gift cards via money orders is more of hassle than ever before, it’s still possible. The questions is, should you do it?
It’s probably not the best idea to put $50,000 worth of gift card purchases on a new credit card right out of the gate. Since Capital One isn’t a huge player in the rewards credit card game, I doubt they’re imposing Amex-level stringency around gift card churning.
But they also might not let $50,000 worth of gift card purchases slide. Especially when it’s costing them $2,000 per customer. Across 6 months, I personally wouldn’t feel anxious about putting a mix of regular and manufactured spending on that card. But I could be wrong and it could lead to a shut-down for those who do it this way.
Other Ways to Meet the $50,000 Spending Requirement
If you can float some cash, Kickfurther is a good option for meeting spending requirements and generating a cash profit. This is also a good time to get into reselling and merchant gift card churning.
In the past, I did pretty well churning iTunes, Starbucks, and Gap gift cards around the holidays. Even with The Plastic Merchant out of the picture, there are other places to resell gift cards at a favorable rate. If you’re able to pull it off, I’d go this route rather than buying Visa and MasterCard gift card. Or at least try to work this into your routine.
I’ve come across a few goldmines at stores like Marshall’s and Nordstrom Rack. A famous toy brand recently showed up at Marshall’s, with markdowns that translate to a 20 – 40% profit after fees.
Toys and board games are big right now, so if you’re able to stock up on a hot item, that might be a good way to meet the massive spending requirement for the Capital One Spark Miles Business Card. And maybe even generate a nice profit.
Is it Worth it?
So is the 200,000 mile sign-up bonus worth applying for the Capital One Spark Miles Business Card? It’s definitely a generous sign-up bonus and if you’re not saving yourself for a Chase card you should consider it. There are reports that Capital One business card activity shows up on personal credit reports, so keep that in mind.
The $2,000 bonus is better than the $750 value of the Chase Sapphire Reserve and you do have the option to transfer miles to airline partners at a 2:1.5 ratio. So the 200,000 mile sign-up bonus could be worth 150,000 Aeroplan,
Some people are going to be turned off by the huge spending requirement. It’s going to be especially challenging if you don’t have a reliable manufactured spending source. If you have other spending requirements to meet (for credit card sign-ups or annual spending bonuses), diverting $8,000 a month to the Capital One Spark Miles Business Card could make things more difficult.
I haven’t decided whether to get this card or not. I did cancel a bunch of credit cards recently, so my wallet is a little light. And I do like that I’d be earning the equivalent of 2% cash back on $50,000 worth of spending, Even though I’ll incur three credit pulls, I think the $2,000 reward is worth it. And on par with the rewards I’d earn from three different credit card sign-up bonuses.
The only questions is whether you’re comfortable channeling $50,000 worth of spending onto one card. I can probably figure something feasible out.
I’d love to know your thoughts on this in the comment section.
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