Which Avios-earning small business Mastercard from Capital On Tap is best for you?

We have run two articles over the recent months on Capital On Tap, a small-but-growing payments group which is working with Avios to offer two small business Mastercards.  Over 200 Head for Points readers have successfully signed up so far via our special reader offer.

These two cards come with sign-up bonuses of 5,000 Avios or 20,000 Avios respectively as well as an EXCELLENT day-to-day earnings rate.

EDIT:  This article is now out of date.  Capital On Tap has relaunched with just one Avios card, Business Rewards, which is better than both of the cards described below.  Click here to read our review of Capital On Tap Business Rewards.  We still have a higher sign-up bonus for our readers.

This is a great way for a sole trader or SME to rack up a large number of Avios each year, especially as HMRC accepts these cards for tax payments with no fee.

Because the two different Capital On Taps cards were launched two months apart, we have never done a proper comparison.  Since a few readers have emailed me to ask which one would best given their spending pattern, I thought I would compare the two cards side-by-side.  Feedback from readers who have applied has been very positive, especially over their quick response to any queries or questions.  

The Capital On Tap cards are aimed at SMEs and sole traders.  Whilst you may not have heard of Capital On Tap, it already has 50,000 customers for its existing ‘no rewards’ payment card.  These Avios cards are their first move into the rewards market.

You can find full details on their website here.  Read this article first, however, as there is a higher sign-up bonus for HFP readers.

Capital On Tap offers two Avios-earning cards for SMEs

The company has launched two Avios products.  One card is aimed at lower spenders and one is aimed at companies or sole traders who are spending larger sums.

I will look at the two cards in detail later but in summary:

Card 1 – ‘Capital Club’

There is a sign-up bonus of 5,000 Avios, with an on-going earnings rate of 0.5 Avios per £1.  The annual fee is £99 (tax deductible).

Card 2 – ‘On Tap Club’

There is a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Avios, with an on-going earnings rate of 1 Avios per £1.  The annual fee is £249 (tax deductible).

Both sign-up bonuses require you to spend £5,000 within three months.

An extra bonus for Head for Points readers

Head for Points readers get an extra sign up bonus of 250 Avios with ‘Capital Club’ (total of 5,250 Avios) and 500 Avios with ‘On Tap Club’ (total of 20,500 Avios).

Interest rate information:  Your interest rate is based on your business profile and can be as low as 9.9% APR.  The standard interest rate for marketing purposes is 39.9% APR.

You can find full details of both cards – and apply – on their website here.  Read on first, however.

Who can apply?

The Capital On Tap cards are aimed at sole traders as well as small businesses.  The company appears to be flexible in who they accept:

if you are a UK limited company or limited partnership with turnover of £24,000+ then you should be eligible

if you are a VAT registered sole trader then you should be eligible

if you are a sole trader under the VAT threshold but with more than £24,000 turnover then applications are looked at on a case by case basis – if you have a functioning website and are clearly in business then I am told you should be eligible

Applicants must not have a CCJ against themselves or their business in the past 12 months.

Whilst it doesn’t make any day to day difference in how you use the card, these cards are not credit cards.  They are structured as a prepaid Mastercard which is funded by Capital On Tap.  As far as I can see this doesn’t make any difference to your legal rights, as Section 75 protection does not apply to business credit cards.  In the event of any disputes over purchases, you request a Mastercard chargeback.

How do the two Capital On Tap cards compare?

Here is a summary of the two Capital On Tap products.

Whilst I quoted the earning rates above in terms of Avios, you are actually awarded ‘Capital On Tap points’.  These can be converted into Avios or exchanged for cash.

Confusingly, the transfer rate between Capital On Tap points and Avios points differs between the two cards.

The £99 per year ‘Capital Club’ card

10,000 Capital On Tap points for signing up and spending £5,000 within three months

500 extra bonus points (250 Avios) if you use code headforpoints when applying

1 Capital On Tap point per £1 spent

A 2:1 conversion rate into Avios so the sign-up bonus is worth 5,000 Avios and the on-going earning rate is 0.5 Avios per £1

15 free supplementary cards for your staff

No FX fees and no ATM fees 

The new £249 ‘On Tap Club’ card

20,000 Capital On Tap points for signing up and spending £5,000 within three months

500 extra bonus points (500 Avios) if you use code headforpoints when applying

1 Capital On Tap point per £1 spent

A 1:1 conversion rate into Avios so the sign-up bonus is worth 20,000 Avios and the on-going earning rate is 1 Avios per £1

20 free supplementary cards for your staff

No FX fees and no ATM fees 

Do you really need a dedicated business Mastercard for your company?

Some sole traders, including myself, use a personal credit card for their business expenses.  A lot of self employed people – or their accountants – are not happy doing this, however, and it is clearly not sensible to give personal credit cards to your staff.  You need a dedicated business payment card in these circumstances.

Until now, if you wanted to earn rewards from a small business payment card you were reliant on American Express Gold Business or American Express Platinum Business.  These are good products but obviously have issues over Amex acceptance, especially with small suppliers.

The Capital On Tap Mastercards are small business cards that can be used everywhere that Mastercard is accepted.

Which of the two Capital On Tap cards should I get?

You need to look at the maths based on what you spend, including how much you spend in foreign currencies (the card has no FX fees).

The £99 or £249 annual fee is a tax deductible expense so the net cost to you will be lower.  In Year 1 you are getting a sign-up bonus which converts into 5,000 Avios (£99 card) or 20,000 Avios (£249 card) respectively.

Using the special headforpoints promo code increases your bonus to 5,250 Avios or 20,500 Avios respectively.

Day to day you are collecting 0.5 Avios per £1 spent (£99 card) or 1 Avios per £1 spent (£249 card).  If you and your staff have a high level of business expenditure then this could work out very nicely for you.  Remember that you can have 15-20 free supplementary cards.

For Year 1, I think there is a very strong case for getting the £249 ‘On Tap Club’ card.  The sign-up bonus is worth 20,000 Avios – which offsets most of the after-tax fee – and then you are picking up a lucrative 1 Avios per £1 after that.

For Year 2+, you need to look at what you are spending.  If you value an Avios point at 1p, the crossover point at which the £249 ‘On Tap Club’ card earning 1 Avios per £1 is the best choice is roughly £30,000.  If your annual spend is under £30,000 you may want to trade down to the £99 ‘Capital Club’ card and earn 0.5 Avios per £1.

HMRC accepts Capital On Tap

Here is one good reason to get a Capital On Tap card.  HMRC accepts Capital On Tap cards to make tax payments with no fees.  This is because HMRC treats it as a personal debit card.

This means that you can earn Avios on all of your PAYE, VAT, corporation tax and indeed personal tax payments.  At 1 Avios per £1 on the ‘On Tap Club’ card this is a valuable extra benefit.

But don’t forget …..

Capital On Tap points can be converted into cashback as well as Avios.  You can choose to take 1p of cash instead of 1 Avios.

If you don’t value Avios at more than 1p (and in most scenarios you can get more than 1p for them as this article shows) then take your Capital On Tap points as cashback instead.

Remember to use our Capital On Tap promo code when you apply

If the Capital on Tap ‘Capital Club’ or ‘On Tap Club’ cards sound interesting for your business, you can find out more and apply on their website here.

Remember to add promo code headforpoints to receive the extra 500 points as a sign-up bonus.

Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.