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‘Credit Cards’ page updated for February 2016 – what are the best deals this month?

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UPDATE – APRIL 2024:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.  We produce a monthly directory of the top UK travel credit card offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Credit Cards’ menu above.  Thank you.

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.

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It’s time for our monthly round up of what is coming and what is going in the world of UK airline and hotel credit card sign-up deals.  Our directory of all 25 UK travel credit cards can be found by clicking the ‘Credit Cards’ tab at the top of the site or – for email, Flipboard, Apple News or mobile readers – by clicking here.

What’s new?

Rather worryingly, not much.  The impact of the new EU interchange fee rules appears to have led to the whole industry sitting on their hands whilst they decide how to react.

There are only two key things to be aware of:

The current special offer on the British Airways American Express free card (9,000 Avios instead of 3,000 Avios) and the Premium Plus £150 card (25,000 Avios instead of 18,000 Avios) ends on Wednesday night

The refer-a-friend bonus on the £24 Lloyds Avios Rewards card has been increased from 4,500 Avios to 5,500 Avios each, until the end of March

And that, I’m afraid, is it.

If you didn’t read HfP over the weekend, it is also worth pointing out that:

American Express Platinum has added Hilton Gold, Melia Gold and Shangi-La Golden Circle Jade status to its list of benefits, but is dropping Accor Platinum (click to see the full article)

Here is a summary of what I consider to be the best deals available at the moment.

UK Rewards credit and charge cards

What are the best travel credit card deals at the moment?

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are my top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus. The BA, Lloyds and Tesco offers are special deals whilst the Amex Gold and Hilton cards are consistently strong offers.

These deals are listed in no particular order and their position on the list is not a sign of how good or bad the offer is.

American Express Platinum

The sign-up bonus on this card is 30,000 American Express Membership Rewards points.

Your points can be transferred into various airline and hotel programmes.  You could get 30,000 Avios, 30,000 Virgin miles, 60,000 Hilton points, 90,000 Carlson points, 2,000 Eurostar Frequent Traveller points etc etc.

You receive a pro-rata refund on the £450 fee when you cancel the card and you will retain most of the benefits – Starwood Gold, Carlson Gold, Accor Platinum, Hilton Gold, Melia Gold and Shangri-La Jade – for the rest of the year even after you cancel. The Amex Platinum benefits package is extensive, though, and once you’ve got it you might find the numbers add up for you. I have had one for 15 years.

My full review of the Amex Platinum card is here – this also includes details of the additional refer a friend bonus. Amex’s own home page is here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

This is currently an outstanding deal which is showing no signs of going away. You pay no fee for the first year and earn 20,000 Membership Rewards points (see here for what 20,000 MR points can get you – 20,000 Avios points for a start!).

If you are new to this hobby, I would make this your first American Express card.  One benefit of earning American Express points is that you only need to transfer them to an airline or hotel scheme when you are ready to redeem – there is no risk of being caught out by devaluations!

My full review of Amex Gold is here. The Amex home page is here.

British Airways Premium Plus American Express

The sign-up bonus on the fee-paying British Airways card is currently 25,000 Avios until Wednesday 10th February 2016 compared to the usual offer of 19,000 Avios.  The bonus on the free card has been tripled from 3,000 Avios to 9,000 Avios.  Read my review of British Airways Premium Plus here and my review of the free British Airways Amex here to decide which is best for you.  Move quickly if you want to jump on this.

Tesco Clubcard Mastercard

This card is less useful than it was following the halving of the earning rate in December.  However, it remains the most generous non-Amex card unless you meet the strict criteria for HSBC Premier.

Some comparison sites are currently offering a 1,000 point bonus with this card as I wrote here.  My full review of the Tesco Clubcard Mastercard credit card can be found here.  The representative APR is 18.9% variable.

Hilton HHonors Platinum Visa

You receive a free night in any Hilton Group property for spending £750 on this card. That could be worth £250 if spent wisely at a Conrad or Waldorf-Astoria branded property. My full review of the UK Hilton credit card is here. The home page is here.

This remains my favourite promotion for someone new to this hobby. The card is free, you only need to spend a modest amount to trigger the bonus, and you can enjoy a free night in a luxury hotel afterwards (if you pick a decent one!). It will whet your appetite for what miles and points can bring you. The representative APR is 18.9% variable.

Lloyds Avios Rewards American Express and Mastercard

I have become more keen on this card over the last year.  The Avios devaluation last April increased the value of the upgrade voucher.  With no other cards following its lead of dropping foreign transaction fees, it remains a good choice for spending abroad.  Representative APR 23.7% variable including the £24 fee based on a notional £1200 credit limit.

More importantly, with most Visa and Mastercard cards looking unexciting these days (eg Tesco cutting its earning rate by 50%), the ability to use Mastercard spend on the Lloyds card to count towards your upgrade voucher is valuable.   My full review of the card is here.  Until 31st March, the refer-a-friend bonus is increased from 4,500 Avios to 5,500 Avios for both of you.

Bonus on small business cards

Head for Points focusses primarily on personal cards. However, if you are a sole trader or run a very small business, you may also want to check out the American Express Platinum Business Card and the American Express Gold Business Card. There is currently a 20,000 points (= 20,000 Avios) bonus on the Gold Business card and a 40,000 points (40,000 Avios) bonus on the Platinum Business 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 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 card

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

15,000 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

Category

American Express Gold card, American Express Platinum card, British Airways American Express, Hilton Honors

Comments (78)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Matt says:
    8 Feb8 February 08:54

    For the BA Amex can I get the bonus again as soon as 6 months is up since closing my last one? I closed the account (had the letter giving the account closure date) on the 5th of August. Am I safe to apply now to get the increased bonus while it’s on?

  • RTS says:
    8 Feb8 February 09:07

    Just to note, I think the Gold upgrade to Platinum bonus points deal has finished as well. The splash page isn’t there anymore.

    Shame… I wanted to do this as well!

  • RTS says:
    8 Feb8 February 09:11

    Just on the Lloyds card, if I were to cancel mine and re-applied, would I still receive the benefit of the double avios, upgrade voucher at 7.5k spend?

    • Rob says:
      8 Feb8 February 09:17

      You have the old style card? Yes, if accepted you will get all that. Perhaps easier to call them and try to upgrade although I believe they can be awkward!

      • RTS says:
        8 Feb8 February 09:27

        No – I took out the Lloyds Avios duo card, a little under a year ago.

  • AndyR says:
    8 Feb8 February 09:33

    Do you think the BA Amex cards will likely repeat these sign up bonuses this year? Not really in a position to get one yet as trying to meet spend on other cards. Thanks.

    • Jaz says:
      8 Feb8 February 09:40

      They had the bonuses late 2014, then for a period of months from last year until now, so I’d reckon they’re likely to be repeated later in the year.

      • Rob says:
        8 Feb8 February 10:19

        Agreed, very high chance we will see it again. However, as it has run for 5 months (!) at this level, they will have problems with the advertising people if they don’t run it at the lower level for a while.

  • Jaz says:
    8 Feb8 February 09:43

    Wife just been rejected for Hilton HHonors card again. Neither of us have been able to get our hands on this card, despite good credit rating, and not too much card churning. If they would just tell us what their criteria is, we could probably take steps to meet it.

    • The_Real_A says:
      9 Feb9 February 09:52

      Have you checked your free credit report from Noddle or even taken the free Experian trial? I was very suprised when i looked at mine – it transpired problems i encountered were down to too much available credit (but not taken up).

      • Yuff says:
        9 Feb9 February 10:20

        I had 1/5 on my noddle credit report and hit the submit button, on every card application, with trepidation, however have only been rejected once by mbna ( Etihad) 3 weeks after receiving the premium IHG visa. Both my wife and I( same applications) appealed they gave her the card but not me. She is employed, I’m self employed 🙁
        I recently received the Hilton card with a 1/5 score having only cancelled the IHG premium the previous month.

  • Michael says:
    8 Feb8 February 10:48

    How long does it take for the Hilton Honors voucher code to be send after the spending the required amount?

    • Mr Cinnamon says:
      8 Feb8 February 11:02

      Hopefully many weeks as I have hit the target too early, thinking the voucher was valid for 12 months but in fact it is 6 months. Darn it.

    • Ben E says:
      8 Feb8 February 11:14

      Ages in my experience. But I got caught in the transfer over to Barclaycard site and they lost view of my transactions/spend!

    • Fenny says:
      8 Feb8 February 11:31

      I had the Hilton card a couple of years ago and my voucher was emailed pretty much as soon as I hit my spend. That was before the switch to Barclaycard.

      • Liz says:
        8 Feb8 February 11:54

        I am holding my spend back as I don’t want to tempt fate and miss out on getting the voucher for use on 21/8 – just hope it comes through fairly quickly after I do hit the spend though. It seems to be mixed – some get it quick others can take weeks from what I’ve seen on here.

    • Funtime says:
      8 Feb8 February 11:59

      Mrs Funtime hit her £750 spend target on 27/01/2015 and her voucher was emailed 01/02/2015.

      She’s since hit her £10000 spend (self assessment tax bill paid) and now waiting for Hilton to upgrade to Gold.

      Had hoped the free night voucher would have taken longer to process so that we could use on USA road trip during August (Route 66 at long last). Never tire of London though so will use there instead.

      • Liz says:
        8 Feb8 February 12:53

        Hey we are doing Route 66 next May/June time ! We want to use our free night voucher on 21/8 in Chicago – this year driving to Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans and Houston! I was tempted to hit my limit this week to speed up the voucher but after seeing your post I will hold back till 21/2!

    • Rob says:
      8 Feb8 February 13:56

      2-6 weeks, they seem to be done in batches.

    • Yuff says:
      8 Feb8 February 14:18

      My wife’s took 7 days from getting the card,spending the £750 the day it was received and voucher being emailed.
      I git my card last Tuesday and didn’t the £750 on Tuesday. No voucher yet.

  • Liz says:
    8 Feb8 February 12:57

    I made a purchase on my account on 25/11 and got the 1000 pts over the weekend – I didn’t register for it – only heard about it on here. I also did a purchase on my husbands account on 24/11 but he hasn’t received anything so far.

    • Andrew H says:
      8 Feb8 February 13:15

      I suspect there has been a massive cock-up down at Virgin Flying Club.

      • Ian says:
        8 Feb8 February 13:23

        I’ve transferred more than 20k from Tesco to Virgin more than a week ago and nothing has reached any of the accounts so far. Never had this issue before. It usually takes a couple of days? Does anyone know how long it takes to transfer from Amex to Virgin?

        Regarding the Gold upgrade. I’ve reached my target now. Is it better to upgrade to Platinum or cancel the gold and apply for a Platinum?

        Thanks.

        • Rob says:
          8 Feb8 February 13:54

          There as a case once where Tesco misformatted all the account numbers so the transfers could not be completed, may have happened again.

        • Pol says:
          8 Feb8 February 14:37

          Amex to virgin is immediate.

        • Fenny says:
          8 Feb8 February 15:29

          This happened to me last year. I made a transfer to each of Avios and Virgin. Normally, my Tesco transfers go through within a couple of days, but with Virgin, the miles hadn’t hit my account some time later. I rang Tesco and they had to put it through again. It’s worth ringing the Clubcard number and asking them to check.

          • Ian says:
            8 Feb8 February 15:40

            I think I’m going to give them a ring. Thanks.

          • John says:
            8 Feb8 February 22:27

            This also happened to me, maybe at the same time as you.

            I emailed Tesco about a month after conversion, and they replied the next day, saying they had “immediately and manually” sent the miles to Virgin, and true enough they were there.

        • Mark says:
          9 Feb9 February 04:38

          I have also made a transfer from Tesco to Virgin a week ago with nothing appearing in my Virgin account .

    • Kathy says:
      8 Feb8 February 13:58

      Hmm, I finally had the points for a purchase post on 16th Jan, but no 1000 point bonus. Will have to chase for it.

      • Andrew H says:
        8 Feb8 February 15:00

        @Kathy, if you’re referring to Virgin, the promo closed on 20th Dec.

      • TimS says:
        8 Feb8 February 15:57

        I had similar. Transaction on 25/11/15 didn’t show up until 23/1/16 & is dated as being outside of the promotion period. No 1000 points for me either. I have emailled CS to ask about missing bonus points.

  • Andrew H says:
    8 Feb8 February 13:17

    If anyone else is in the same boat as me, email customer.services@fly.virgin.com – the more the merrier!

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