Capital on Tap Business Visa
Capital on Tap runs the only business Visa cards in the UK that earn Avios or Virgin Points. For any business that holds an Amex card as its primary earner, Capital on Tap fills the acceptance gap — ensuring every pound of business spending earns airline points, including at the many B2B suppliers, trade merchants, and online platforms that reject American Express. The free card earns 0.8 Avios per £1 with zero FX fees worldwide. The Pro card (£299/year, tax deductible as a business expense) earns 1 Avios per £1 and adds Priority Pass lounge access with airport restaurant credits, Radisson Rewards VIP status, and a sign-up bonus. Both are Visa cards with near-universal acceptance.
| Free Card | Pro Card | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | £0 | £299 (tax deductible) |
| Earn rate | 1 CoT point per £1 = 0.8 Avios or 0.8 Virgin Points | 1 CoT point per £1 = 1 Avios or 1 Virgin Point (1.25 with pre-funding) |
| Sign-up bonus | None | 10,000 points (= 10,000 Avios) for £5,000 spend in 3 months |
| FX fees | 0% worldwide | 0% worldwide |
| Lounge access | No | Priority Pass unlimited — includes airport restaurant credits. 2 free guest passes/year, additional guests £30 |
| Hotel status | No | Radisson Rewards VIP (top tier — free breakfast for two, best room upgrades, 36 pts/$1, 15% F&B discount) |
| Other benefits | 42-day interest-free period, 3 months free Xero, accounting integrations | Digital Times & Sunday Times subscription, 42-day interest-free period, 6 months free Xero, accounting integrations |
| Transfer partners | BA Avios, Qatar Airways Avios, Virgin Points, Radisson Rewards, or 1p cashback. Transfers are instant | |
| Card network | Visa | |
| Eligibility | Limited Companies and LLPs only. No sole traders. Minimum turnover £24,000 | |
How the Points Work
Capital on Tap uses its own points currency. Every £1 spent earns 1 Capital on Tap point. These accumulate in your CoT account and can be transferred to airline programmes at any time — transfers are instant. The conversion rates differ between the two cards:
Free card: 1 CoT point = 0.8 Avios, or 0.8 Virgin Points, or 1p cashback. On £30,000 of annual business spend, this produces 24,000 Avios — enough for a short-haul Business Class return.
Pro card: 1 CoT point = 1 Avios, or 1 Virgin Point, or 1p cashback. The same £30,000 produces 30,000 Avios. Pre-funding your card (loading money onto it before spending) increases the conversion to 1.25 Avios per £1 — the highest Visa earn rate available on any UK business card.
You choose Avios or Virgin Points when transferring — you do not need to commit at signup. You can transfer different batches to different programmes. Qatar Airways Avios was added as a transfer partner, meaning CoT points can flow into the Qatar Privilege Club and from there into the wider Avios ecosystem (BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Finnair) via free inter-programme transfers.
If you redeem Capital on Tap points as cashback, HMRC treats this as taxable business income. Airline miles and Virgin Points redeemed from the same points balance carry no monetary value in HMRC’s view and are not taxable. For most businesses, transferring to Avios or Virgin Points rather than taking cashback is the more tax-efficient redemption choice.
Amex acceptance in the B2B world is poor. Suppliers, trade merchants, utility companies, and many SaaS platforms reject Amex. Without a Visa or Mastercard backup, those transactions earn nothing. Capital on Tap ensures every pound of business spend — including the transactions your Amex cannot handle — earns airline points. At 0.8 Avios per £1 for free (or 1 Avios on Pro), it is the best available return on non-Amex business spending in the UK.
The Zero FX Fee Advantage
Both cards charge 0% on all foreign currency transactions worldwide — not just Eurozone, but USD, AUD, JPY, and every other currency. This is unique among UK business cards that earn airline points. Every Amex business card charges 2.99% FX. For a business that makes regular international purchases — overseas suppliers, SaaS subscriptions billed in USD, conference registrations — the FX saving alone can be substantial.
On £10,000 of annual foreign currency spend, the FX saving versus an Amex card is approximately £299 — coincidentally covering the entire Pro card fee. A business with significant international purchasing should strongly consider routing all non-GBP transactions through Capital on Tap regardless of which Amex cards they hold.
Pro Card: When the Fee Makes Sense
The Pro card costs £299/year over the free version — and as a business expense, the fee is tax deductible, reducing the effective cost for higher-rate taxpayers. The additional benefits that justify the fee:
Priority Pass lounge access with restaurant credits: The cardholder receives unlimited Priority Pass access to 1,600+ airport lounges globally, plus two free guest passes per year. Additional guests at £30 each. Critically, this is a full Priority Pass membership that includes the £18 airport restaurant credit — a benefit that Amex-issued Priority Pass cards explicitly exclude. At airports where restaurant credit is available, this extends the benefit beyond the lounge itself and adds meaningful value for cardholders who travel through busy UK and European hubs.
Radisson Rewards VIP status: Top-tier Radisson status, which normally requires 20 stays or 30 nights per year. VIP benefits include: upgrade to the best available room category at check-in (suites at participating properties), free breakfast for two, access to VIP lounges at properties that offer them, 36 Radisson points per $1 spent (versus 8 for a no-status member), 15% off food and beverage spending, one complimentary ironing per stay at selected brands, early check-in and late checkout subject to availability, and access to Discount Booster — an optional feature allowing members to take a cash discount of up to 20% on bookings in exchange for earning fewer points. No other UK credit card offers top-tier Radisson status.
Higher earn rate: 1 Avios per £1 versus 0.8 on the free card. On £30,000 of annual spend, the difference is 6,000 Avios — worth approximately £60 at 1p/point. The earn rate alone does not justify the £299 fee. The fee makes sense when the lounge access and Radisson VIP status add substantial value on top.
Pre-funding boost: Pro cardholders who pre-fund their card (deposit money before spending) earn at 1.25 Avios per £1 — the highest effective Visa earn rate in the UK. This requires loading funds in advance, which suits businesses that can predict upcoming expenditure.
Sign-up bonus: 10,000 CoT points (= 10,000 Avios or Virgin Points) for £5,000 spend in 3 months. The free card has no sign-up bonus.
Times & Sunday Times digital subscription: Included with the Pro card at no additional cost.
Xero accounting software: Pro cardholders receive six months free Xero for first-time subscribers. The free card includes three months. Both cards also integrate with Sage, QuickBooks and FreeAgent. For any business not yet using cloud accounting, this offsets a meaningful portion of the annual cost from day one.
Portfolio Fit — The Business Card System
Capital on Tap works best as a companion to an Amex business card, not a replacement. The optimal business card system for a director:
Primary spend: Amex Business Gold (1 MR per £1, flexible) or Amex Business Platinum (1 MR per £1 plus travel benefits) — use for all merchants that accept Amex.
Secondary spend: Capital on Tap free Visa (0.8 Avios per £1, 0% FX) — use for all merchants that reject Amex and for all foreign currency transactions.
Optional third card: BA Amex Accelerating Business (1.5 Avios per £1, On Business points) — if the business specifically wants direct Avios earning and BA benefits.
This three-card system ensures every pound of business spending earns airline points, maximises the Amex sign-up bonus (120,000 MR on Business Platinum), eliminates FX fees on international purchases, and maintains Visa acceptance as a fallback.
If you direct more than one limited company, you can hold a Capital on Tap card for each. Each company’s card is independent with its own credit limit and points balance. Points from multiple businesses can all be transferred to the same personal Avios or Virgin Points account — a legitimate way to consolidate earning across business entities.
Who Should Get Which Card
Get the free card if: You hold an Amex business card as your primary earner and need a Visa for merchants that reject Amex. Your international spend would benefit from 0% FX fees. You want to earn Avios or Virgin Points from every transaction with zero ongoing cost.
Get the Pro card if: You stay at Radisson, Radisson Blu, Park Plaza or Park Inn hotels and would make use of VIP status. You travel frequently enough to value unlimited Priority Pass access including restaurant credits. You have significant annual spend where the higher earn rate (1 vs 0.8 Avios per £1) generates meaningful extra points. You want the 10,000-point sign-up bonus. Remember the fee is tax deductible — the effective net cost is lower than the headline £299.
Skip both if: You are a sole trader (not eligible). Your business already has near-total Amex acceptance and negligible FX spend.
Capital on Tap is the only business Visa in the UK earning Avios or Virgin Points. The free card delivers 0.8 Avios per £1 with 0% FX fees worldwide — the essential companion to any Amex business card. The Pro card (£299, tax deductible) upgrades to 1 Avios per £1 (1.25 with pre-funding), adds unlimited Priority Pass with airport restaurant credits, top-tier Radisson Rewards VIP status including free breakfast and 15% F&B discount, and a Times digital subscription. Points transfer instantly to BA Avios, Qatar Avios, or Virgin Points — and unlike cashback, airline miles are not treated as taxable income. Ltd Co and LLP only — sole traders cannot apply.
