When is Sterling credit card spend treated as foreign spend, earning double points?
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You will, no doubt, have seen stories in the press about companies such an Amazon and Apple who go to great lengths to minimise their UK tax bills. One of the ways they do this is to process credit card payments outside of the UK, to ensure that the transaction is not seen as taking place here.
This can often lead to a good result for you – you may receive bonus miles on your credit card, even though your transactions are in Sterling!
There are a few credit cards which offer double points for foreign spending:
- The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
- The Priority Club / IHG Rewards Club Black Visa
- The TSB Avios Amex and MasterCard
About 14 months ago, I discussed this on Head for Points and we came up with the following list:
Companies treated by Amex Gold as foreign spend (and of course – except for the first three – travel spend as well, so 300% bonus):
Apple, iTunes, Amazon, easyJet, hotels.com (but, oddly, not its parent company Expedia), ebookers, American Airlines, Hotelopia, lastminute (may treat non-travel as travel spend), Ocado, Paypal
Companies treated by Priority Club Black as foreign spend:
I’d like to revisit this topic, so if you have any other examples, please let me know. In particular, if you have the Amex Gold card, it would be interesting if you could go online and look at your Membership Rewards statement.
This is because Amex shows you the points you earn on a transaction-by-transaction basis, so it is easy to see if a particular merchant comes up as double points. (Remember that travel companies post as double points anyway, so you would be looking for travel transactions that post with triple points.) What else works with that card?
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Earning miles and points from small business cards
If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review
For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.
Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card
1% cashback uncapped* on all your business spending (T&C apply) Read our full review
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