Capital on Tap is one of the more interesting UK business rewards cards because it solves several different problems at once. It is a Visa, so acceptance is wider than American Express; it currently charges no foreign-exchange fee; eligible business spending earns rewards; those rewards can become cashback, Avios, Virgin Points or Radisson Rewards points; and Bill Pay can even turn some supplier invoices that normally require a bank transfer into rewards-earning spend.
The premium Capital on Tap Pro tier adds 1:1 airline transfers, Priority Pass lounge access, Radisson Rewards VIP status and ways to increase the normal 1-point-per-£1 earning rate to 1.25 points per £1.
That does not automatically make Pro worth £299 a year. The useful question is whether the extra benefits fit spending the business would make anyway.
This article contains my Capital on Tap referral link. If you apply through it, I may receive a referral reward. There is no reason to apply solely to generate a referral reward for this site; check the current offer, eligibility, fees and credit terms for yourself before applying.
See the current Capital on Tap offer and apply →
Capital on Tap Free vs Pro at a glance
| Capital on Tap Free | Capital on Tap Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual card fee | £0 | £299 |
| Normal eligible spend | 1 point/£1 | 1 point/£1 |
| Enhanced earning | – | 1.25 points/£1 with eligible Daily Repay or preloaded spend |
| Cashback value | 1% | 1% normally; up to 1.25% with enhanced earning |
| Avios conversion | 10 points → 8 Avios | 1 point → 1 Avios |
| Virgin Points conversion | 10 points → 8 Virgin Points | 1 point → 1 Virgin Point |
| Radisson Rewards | 1 point → 3 Radisson points | 1 point → 3 Radisson points |
| Foreign-exchange fee | None currently | None currently |
| Airport lounges | – | Unlimited Priority Pass access for main cardholder + 2 guest passes/year |
| Hotel status | – | Radisson Rewards VIP |
| Welcome offer | Varies by application channel | Standard published offer currently 10,000 bonus points after £5,000 spend in first 3 months |
| Card | Visa | Premium metal Visa |
| Bill Pay | Available to eligible accounts | Available to eligible accounts, with enhanced rewards possible |
Why Capital on Tap works well alongside American Express
I do not see Capital on Tap and American Express as an either/or decision.
American Express Business Gold and Business Platinum have a major advantage in Membership Rewards flexibility. Amex has a much broader range of airline and hotel transfer partners.
Capital on Tap solves two problems Amex does not solve as well:
- Visa acceptance: if a supplier, restaurant, hotel or other merchant simply does not accept American Express, Capital on Tap can keep that spend earning rewards rather than falling back to a non-rewards debit card.
- Foreign-currency spend: Capital on Tap currently charges no foreign-exchange fee, while the UK Amex business cards currently charge a 2.99% non-sterling fee.
That makes a two-card business strategy particularly practical: use Amex where its flexible points or premium benefits make sense, and Capital on Tap where Amex is not accepted or where the FX fee would outweigh the value of the Amex points earned.
My broader UK business cards and bank accounts for travel rewards guide compares the two in more detail.
How Capital on Tap points work
The standard earning rate is 1 Capital on Tap point per £1 of eligible spend, including eligible spend on linked employee cards. Capital on Tap says there is no cap on how many points can be collected.
At the standard cashback redemption rate, that is effectively 1% back.
Points can currently be used for:
- cashback against the card balance;
- cash transferred to a bank account;
- e-gift cards;
- Avios;
- Virgin Points;
- Radisson Rewards points; and
- Go Coins for selected tickets, events and concierge experiences.
Capital on Tap says points do not expire while the account remains active and in good standing.
Capital on Tap transfer partners
The travel-partner list is useful but much narrower than American Express Membership Rewards.
| Partner | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| British Airways Club | 10 points → 8 Avios | 1 point → 1 Avios |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 10 points → 8 Avios | 1 point → 1 Avios |
| Virgin Red / Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 10 points → 8 Virgin Points | 1 point → 1 Virgin Point |
| Radisson Rewards | 1 point → 3 Radisson Rewards points | 1 point → 3 Radisson Rewards points |
For somebody mainly interested in Avios, Virgin Points and Radisson Rewards, that may be enough. If you want the ability to move business-earned points to programmes such as Flying Blue, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Hilton Honors or Marriott Bonvoy, American Express Membership Rewards is much more flexible.
This is one reason I prefer to think about Capital on Tap as a complement to Amex rather than a direct replacement.
Free card: a strong no-fee business rewards option
The Free card has no annual fee and earns 1 point per £1 of eligible spend.
If those points are taken as cashback, the return is 1%. If they are transferred to British Airways, Qatar Airways or Virgin, the Free conversion rate effectively produces 0.8 Avios or Virgin Points for each £1 of ordinary eligible spend.
Radisson Rewards converts at 1:3, so £1 of eligible card spend generates one Capital on Tap point which can currently become three Radisson Rewards points.
The other major advantages of Free are the same ones that make the whole Capital on Tap proposition useful:
- it is a Visa;
- there is currently no foreign-exchange fee;
- employee cards can contribute to the central points balance; and
- eligible accounts can access Bill Pay.
For a business that simply wants rewards without committing to an annual card fee, Free is already a credible option.
Capital on Tap Pro: what does £299 buy?
Pro currently costs £299 a year.
Its standard published package includes:
- 10,000 bonus points after £5,000 of eligible spend in the first three months;
- 1:1 conversion to Avios with British Airways or Qatar Airways;
- 1:1 conversion to Virgin Points;
- 1:3 conversion to Radisson Rewards;
- 1.25 points per £1 on eligible preloaded spend;
- the potential for 1.25 points per £1 with Daily Repay through Smart Repay;
- unlimited Priority Pass lounge access for the main cardholder;
- two free guest lounge passes per year, plus discounted additional guest access;
- Radisson Rewards VIP status;
- Go Privilege Silver membership;
- a premium metal Visa card; and
- dedicated 24/7 support.
The important point is that the £299 fee should not be justified solely by the extra 0.2 Avios per £1 you receive when converting ordinary spend compared with Free. Pro becomes more interesting when several benefits overlap: enhanced earning, lounge access, Radisson VIP, transfer bonuses or meaningful use of the card overseas.
Daily Repay: the 25% points boost
One of the strongest Pro features is easy to overlook.
Capital on Tap’s Daily Repay option within Smart Repay can increase the earn rate from 1 point to 1.25 points per £1 – a 25% increase – when the full card balance is cleared daily and the relevant conditions are met.
At Pro’s 1:1 airline transfer rate, that can mean:
£1 eligible spend → 1.25 Capital on Tap points → 1.25 Avios or 1.25 Virgin Points.
This is particularly interesting because Capital on Tap can combine that rate with Visa acceptance and no FX fee.
There are a few important conditions. Daily Repay uses Open Banking Variable Recurring Payments, so the nominated business bank account must support the feature. Capital on Tap’s rewards terms also make clear that the boosted rate is subject to availability and the conditions displayed in the online portal.
If an automatic Daily Repay fails or does not clear the full balance, Capital on Tap says the balance needs to be repaid in full manually that day to preserve the boosted rate.
Preloading: another route to 1.25 points per £1
Pro customers can also earn 1.25 points per £1 on eligible preloaded spend.
Preloading means adding your own business funds to the Capital on Tap account and then spending those funds through the card. Preloaded money is used before the credit line.
This can be useful where a purchase is larger than the available credit limit or where you simply want to route a substantial genuine business expense through the rewards card without borrowing the money.
Again, the point is not to create spending for rewards. It is to make existing business expenditure work harder.
Bill Pay: earn rewards where the supplier does not accept cards
Bill Pay is one of the most distinctive Capital on Tap features.
It can allow eligible customers to pay suppliers, rent, utilities and employees by bank transfer using the Capital on Tap credit line. This matters because many genuine business expenses simply cannot be paid by card.
A supplier may only accept BACS. With Bill Pay, that invoice can potentially be paid from Capital on Tap while still earning rewards.
Capital on Tap currently offers two Bill Pay fee structures:
| Bill Pay option | Fee | Rewards | Net cost before valuing rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free – rewards route | 2% | 1% | 1% |
| Free – no-rewards route | 1% | None | 1% |
| Pro – normal earning | 2% | 1% | 1% |
| Pro with qualifying Daily Repay or preloaded spend | 2% | 1.25% | 0.75% |
This does not mean Bill Pay is automatically good value. Paying 2% simply to earn points would be expensive if the reward is later used badly.
The calculation becomes more interesting if:
- the supplier only accepts bank transfer;
- you value the additional cash-flow flexibility;
- you are using Pro’s enhanced 1.25% earning rate; and
- the resulting Avios, Virgin Points or other rewards will be redeemed for more than the net fee paid.
A £10,000 Bill Pay example
A £10,000 supplier invoice using the 2% rewards option would incur a £200 Bill Pay fee.
At the standard 1% rewards rate, it would generate 10,000 points, leaving a £100 effective cost before assigning any value to the points.
If a Pro customer qualifies for the 1.25% boosted rate, the same £10,000 could generate 12,500 points. The effective cost would then be £75 before valuing those points.
On Pro, 12,500 Capital on Tap points could currently become 12,500 Avios or 12,500 Virgin Points.
Capital on Tap’s Bill Pay terms also allow interest-free treatment where the relevant statement balance is paid in full by its due date, subject to the account terms.
Important: Bill Pay is currently described as a beta / limited-availability feature, so it may not yet appear on every account.
Why Bill Pay is different from Amex
Standard UK American Express Business Gold and Business Platinum do not currently offer the same kind of self-service feature where a small-business cardholder enters a supplier’s bank details, funds the payment from the card credit line and earns Membership Rewards on the transfer.
American Express does have services with similar names, including Pay with Bank Transfer, but that moves money from a bank account rather than turning the supplier payment into a Membership Rewards-earning Business Card transaction.
For businesses with substantial BACS-only expenditure, this can therefore be a genuine Capital on Tap differentiator.
No foreign-exchange fee
Capital on Tap currently charges no foreign-exchange fee on card purchases.
This is particularly useful for travel and international business costs because many traditional rewards cards charge a percentage fee when the transaction is not in sterling.
The UK Amex Business Gold, Business Platinum and BA Accelerating Business cards currently charge a 2.99% non-sterling transaction fee. That can overwhelm the value of the points earned on the purchase.
For that reason, I would consider Capital on Tap for:
- overseas hotels;
- restaurants and transport abroad;
- foreign-currency software or supplier invoices paid by card; and
- other legitimate international business expenditure.
As always, choose the local currency if a merchant or terminal offers to convert the transaction into pounds at its own exchange rate.
Visa acceptance: useful even when FX is irrelevant
The Visa network is another practical advantage.
Some businesses and merchants simply do not accept American Express. That matters even when the transaction is entirely in pounds and there is no foreign-exchange issue.
Capital on Tap can therefore act as the rewards-earning fallback rather than forcing the business to use an ordinary bank debit card and earn nothing.
This is one of the reasons I use both Amex and Capital on Tap rather than expecting either card to do everything.
Radisson Rewards: points and VIP status
Capital on Tap points currently convert to Radisson Rewards at 1 Capital on Tap point = 3 Radisson Rewards points on both Free and Pro.
Pro goes much further by including Radisson Rewards VIP status.
VIP is Radisson’s top published tier. Benefits can include complimentary breakfast for two, room upgrades, early check-in and late checkout, subject to the programme’s individual benefit rules and availability.
This is unusual because most premium business-card travel benefits focus on airport lounges rather than directly providing top-tier hotel status.
I compare the Capital on Tap route with Amex-provided hotel status and other shortcuts in How to Get Hotel Elite Status Without Staying 50 Nights.
Airport lounge access on Pro
Pro includes unlimited Priority Pass access to more than 1,600 participating airport lounges for the main cardholder.
It also includes two complimentary guest lounge passes each year, with discounted guest access thereafter under the current package.
The value depends heavily on how often you actually use independent airport lounges and whether another card or premium-cabin ticket already provides access.
That is one reason I would not simply assign a theoretical retail value to every visit when deciding whether Pro’s £299 fee is worthwhile.
Historical transfer bonuses can make Capital on Tap more valuable
The published conversion rates are not always the only opportunity.
I have used a 30% Capital on Tap to Qatar Airways Avios transfer bonus. That meant a transfer which would normally produce 1 Avios per point on Pro generated 30% more Avios during the promotion.
I have also received a previous promotion offering four Radisson Rewards points per Capital on Tap point instead of the normal three. I did not use that particular offer because a transfer bonus only makes sense when there is a worthwhile use for the destination points.
These are historical examples, not current offers. They illustrate why I prefer to keep Capital on Tap points flexible until I know how I want to use them.
See How I Use Points Transfer Bonuses for more detail.
Capital on Tap vs Amex Business
| Capital on Tap | Amex Business Gold / Platinum | |
|---|---|---|
| Card network | Visa | American Express |
| FX fee | None currently | 2.99% currently |
| Core rewards | Capital on Tap points / cashback | Membership Rewards |
| Transfer-partner breadth | Limited | Much wider |
| Avios | Yes | Yes |
| Virgin Points | Yes | Yes |
| Radisson Rewards | Yes | Yes |
| Hilton / Marriott transfer option | No | Yes |
| Bill Pay from card credit line | Yes, for eligible accounts | No direct equivalent on standard Gold/Platinum |
| Enhanced 1.25x earning | Pro with qualifying Daily Repay/preloading | No equivalent daily-repayment boost |
| Premium hotel status | Radisson VIP on Pro | Business Platinum includes several hotel-status benefits |
| Lounge access | Pro | Business Platinum |
Amex wins comfortably on transfer flexibility. Capital on Tap is stronger where Visa acceptance, no FX fee, Daily Repay and Bill Pay matter. For the other side of that comparison, see my Amex Business Platinum UK guide.
That is why the combination can be stronger than choosing just one.
Who is eligible?
Capital on Tap’s current published eligibility criteria require, among other things:
- the applicant to be an active director or a shareholder owning at least 25% of the company and resident in the UK;
- the business to be a UK-registered private limited company, LLP or PLC;
- the business to be active on Companies House;
- no unsatisfied CCJs for the applicant or business in the previous 12 months; and
- the business not to fall into an excluded high-risk industry.
Capital on Tap states that there is currently no minimum trading history.
It does not currently accept sole traders under the standard eligibility criteria.
Approval, credit limits and pricing remain subject to Capital on Tap’s own assessment.
When the Free card may be enough
I would look closely at Free if:
- you want a no-annual-fee Visa rewards card;
- you want 1% cashback;
- 0.8 Avios or Virgin Points per £1 is sufficient for your needs;
- you want no FX fee without paying for Pro;
- you want a backup for merchants that do not take Amex; or
- you would not use Radisson VIP or Priority Pass enough to justify £299.
When Pro becomes more interesting
Pro deserves a closer look if several of these apply:
- you want 1:1 Avios or Virgin transfers rather than Free’s 0.8 rate;
- you can use Daily Repay or preloading to generate 1.25 points per £1;
- you make substantial eligible business spend;
- you will genuinely use Priority Pass lounges;
- Radisson VIP status is useful to you;
- you can use Bill Pay for genuine BACS-only business expenditure; or
- you regularly spend abroad and value combining rewards with no FX fee.
The annual fee should be justified using benefits you will genuinely use, not simply by adding up every advertised perk at its maximum theoretical retail price.
How I use Capital on Tap
For me, Capital on Tap complements rather than replaces American Express Business Platinum.
Amex gives me the broader Membership Rewards ecosystem and premium travel benefits. Capital on Tap provides Visa acceptance, no FX fee and another flexible route into Avios, Virgin Points and Radisson Rewards.
The existence of transfer bonuses means I do not automatically move Capital on Tap points as soon as they are earned. Keeping them flexible can be more valuable until a particular redemption or promotion appears.
Bill Pay and Daily Repay also make the product materially more interesting than a straightforward “1% cashback Visa”. They create ways to earn rewards on spending that would otherwise be difficult to put on a card, or to increase the return on normal eligible spend when the cash-flow mechanics suit the business.
Is Capital on Tap worth it?
The Free card is relatively easy to understand: no annual card fee, 1% cashback, travel-transfer options, Visa acceptance and no FX fee. For an eligible business that wants a rewards card without paying an annual fee, there is a strong practical case for considering it.
Pro requires more analysis. The £299 fee can make sense where the business gets genuine value from the better airline conversion rate, enhanced 1.25x earning, lounges, Radisson VIP and the other premium benefits.
The feature I would not overlook is the way the pieces interact. A Pro customer using Daily Repay can potentially earn 1.25 points per £1, convert them 1:1 to Avios or Virgin Points, pay no FX fee on overseas card purchases, and still have a Visa for merchants that do not accept Amex. Bill Pay can extend the rewards proposition to some bank-transfer-only expenditure too.
For the right business, that combination is what makes Capital on Tap much more interesting than the headline “1% cashback” description suggests.
See the current Capital on Tap offer and apply via my referral link →
If you apply using the referral link above, I may receive a referral reward. Check the current application page for the offer available to you; offers, eligibility and terms can change.
Related guides
- UK Business Cards & Bank Accounts That Earn Travel Rewards
- How I Use Points Transfer Bonuses
- How Much Is an Avios Worth?
- How Much Is a Virgin Point Worth?
- How Much Is a Radisson Rewards Point Worth?
- Hotel Elite Status Shortcuts
- Is Amex Platinum Worth It?
- Amex Business Platinum UK Guide
- BA Amex Accelerating Business Card UK Guide
- Amex Business Gold UK Guide
Official Capital on Tap information
- Capital on Tap Free and Pro
- Capital on Tap rewards
- Bill Pay
- Smart Repay and Daily Repay
- Rewards terms
- Eligibility
Capital on Tap fees, reward rates, transfer partners, Bill Pay availability and other benefits can change. This guide was checked against Capital on Tap’s published UK information in September 2026. Business borrowing should only be used where repayments remain affordable; interest and fees can outweigh the value of rewards.
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