RELAUNCHED: Get up to 20,000 Avios with the Capital On Tap small business Visa credit card

EDIT:  This article is now out of date.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!

After a slightly longer than expected delay, the two Capital On Tap small business payment cards have relaunched as Visa products.

The cards are now credit cards, instead of prepaid Mastercards, with sign-up bonuses as high as the equivalent of 20,000 Avios.  This means that you can no longer use them in places which only accept debit cards, such as with HMRC.  They are, of course, accepted everywhere where Visa credit cards are welcome.

Of course, it is possible that you can link a Curve Card to the new Capital On Tap Visa. This would mean that that you could continue to pay HMRC, using Curve as an intermediary, and earn 1 Avios per £1 on your tax bill.  We won’t be sure about this until the new Visa cards start to arrive.  You can learn about how Curve Card works here – Curve will pay you £5 to try it out.

I have re-run an updated version of our main Capital On Tap article below, which I will use as a reference article in future.

I believe that existing cardholders can continue to use their existing Mastercard for another month.  As far as I know there is no clear position on what happens if you do not want to move to the new Visa product.  I know at least one reader has received a pro-rata fee refund on his Mastercard after requesting one.

How do the Capital On Tap Visa cards work?

The Capital On Tap cards are the only way to indirectly earn Avios via a small business Visa or Mastercard credit card.

This is a great way for a sole trader or SME to rack up a large number of Avios each year.

Capital On Tap is a niche payments group which offers two small business Visa cards which indirectly earn Avios – and we have negotiated a higher sign up bonus for our readers!

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 70,000 customers across its existing ‘no rewards’ payment card and the Avios products.  These cards were their first move into the rewards market.  Intially issued as a Mastercard, they have recently relaunched as a Visa product.

We have been writing about the cards for a few months and feedback from readers who have applied has been very positive, especially over their quick response to any queries or questions.

Capital On Tap is the answer for all of the people who have emailed me in search of a good travel rewards card for their business purchases.

You can find full details on their website here.  Read on first, however, to learn more about the additional bonus for HfP readers.

Capital On Tap offers two cards for SMEs which indirectly earn Avios

The company has launched two products.  One is aimed at lower spenders and one is aimed at those who can put substantial sums through the card.

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

Card 1 – ‘Capital Club’

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

Card 2 – ‘On Tap Club’

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

Both sign-up bonuses require you to spend £5,000 within three months.  The bonus arrives at the end of your fourth billing period, irrespective of how quickly you spend the £5,000.

Another positive point is that Avios transfers from Capital On Tap are INSTANTANEOUS.  Log in to Capital On Tap, request a transfer of some or all of your available Capital On Tap points to Avios, log in to your British Airways Executive Club account and they will be there.  Capital On Tap is the only UK Avios partner to offer instantaneous transfers.

And an extra bonus for Head for Points readers

Head for Points readers get an extra sign up bonus equivalent to 250 Avios with ‘Capital Club’ (total equivalent to 5,250 Avios) and 500 Avios with ‘On Tap Club’ (total equivalent to 20,500 Avios).  You need to use code headforpoints when applying.

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 39.4% 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 above £24,000 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.

How do the two Capital On Tap credit 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, pictured above, offers:

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

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 converts into 0.5 Avios per £1

15 free supplementary cards for your staff

No FX fees and no ATM fees 

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

The £249 ‘On Tap Club’ card, pictured above, offers:

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

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 converts to 1 Avios per £1

20 free supplementary cards for your staff

No FX fees and no ATM fees 

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

Do you really need a dedicated business Visa card 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 credit 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 or British Airways American Express Accelerating Business cards.  These are good products but obviously have issues over Amex acceptance, especially with small suppliers.

The Capital On Tap Visa cards are small business credit cards that can be used everywhere that Visa 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 cards have 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 by 500 Capital On Tap points so the sign-up bonus converts into 5,250 Avios or 20,500 Avios respectively.

Day to day you are collecting the equivalent of 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 converts to 20,000 Avios – which offsets most of the after-tax fee – and then you are picking up the equivalent of 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 the equivalent of 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 the equivalent of 0.5 Avios per £1.

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.