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Bits: Which? magazine writes about HfP readers, the BA Amex Premium card lives

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News in brief:

Which? covers the end of Royal Mint commemorative coin purchases

In the past I have written about Royal Mint offers where you could buy commemorative coins at face value – using a miles earning credit card – and then pay them into your bank account.

I was always cautious of such deals because it was often tricky to find backs that would accept them.  Eventually the Royal Mint intervened and told banks to stop taking them.

The story was picked up in Which? magazine this month:

Which? magazine commemorative coins

Is Amex still issuing the BA Amex Premium card to new customers?

If you can remember the peak days of Busted, McFly and Natasha Bedingfield, you might also remember the grey-coloured British Airways American Express Premium card. 

It offered 1.25 Avios per £1 (half way between the free and Premium Plus cards) and required £15,000 of spend (half way between etc) for a 2-4-1 companion voucher with an 18 month validity (half way between etc).

It was only half way successful and was quickly withdrawn by American Express.

However, this comment was posted at Flyertalk this week.  A Premium Plus cardholder who wanted to downgrade – presumably after triggering his voucher – was offered this card as an alternative to the free one.

I doubt this was a random agent who had decided off their own back to relaunch a card last seen when they were still at primary school, so it is possible we may see more efforts by Amex to bring it back.  I know that Amex has continued to re-issue new BA Premium Amex cards on expiry to the few people who still have one. 


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:

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

Comments (64)

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

  • Nick Haley says:

    Just me or does anyone prefer this light silver card colour to both the premium dark grey or the dark blue free one? Perhaps it’s having come from / weened myself off the Platinum!

    • harry says:

      I think it’s just you!

      Not many people stuck in the time warp of credit card colour = importance, I don’t think it gets you that far anyway unless you are seriously important

  • Marc says:

    Like many other commenters I recently downgraded from the BAPP card after receiving the news about the fee increase, this one would have been tempting.
    After downgrading I noticed that my online account shows that I only have a small amount to go before hitting the 20k target needed for the 2-4-1 voucher on the free card and should hit that before my renewal. Does anyone know if it’s possible to get two vouchers per year this way?

  • Jerry says:

    I also downgraded from the BAPP card today and was offered the £95 intermediate card – with the explanation it’s not on the website and only available to existing card holders. I was informed the Companion voucher validity is 12 months not 18 months as the above article states. I elected the free card I have just earned my voucher, and taken out the Gold charge card referred by my partner.

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

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