What are the best credit card deals for November 2012?

UPDATE – MARCH 2025:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.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 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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The ‘Credit Card Offers’ page at the top of the site has been updated for November to reflect changes over the past month. 

After a quiet start to the month, things have really picked up in the last few days.

Here are the changes over the past month:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold – yesterday I discussed a special 30,000 Membership Rewards points (= 30,000 Avios) sign-up deal, good until 4th November only.  Details here.

British Airways Amex – the sign-up bonuses have been considerably ramped up, and are now at the 2nd-highest level ever.  The free card is offering 9,000 Avios and the £150 fee card is offering 25,000 Avios.  Full details here in this article.

United Airlines Amex – after a couple of months of no bonus, which followed a few months with a paltry 5,000 mile bonus, United has brought back its 15,000 MileagePlus miles sign-up deal.  Click here for my article which discusses this.

Lloyds TSB Duo Avios cards – the news is that there is no news!  The current rather weak offer, which expired on 18th October, has been extended until next April.

Virgin Flying Club cards – the special deal has ended and the bonuses have dropped back to their usual levels of 3,000 miles for the White card and 6,000 miles for the Black card

and, of course,

bmi American Express and Visa cards – both cards were permanently withdrawn last Monday.  Look out for a eulogy later this week on Head for Points!  Full story here.

My top sign-up bonus picks for November

Looking at the special deals currently available, these are my picks.

1.  British Airways American Express cards.  9,000 Avios for the free card and 25,000 Avios for the paid card is about as good as it gets.  And the 2-4-1 voucher for use on Avios redemptions that comes with this card is the most valuable perk in the UK loyalty card sector, as I discuss here.  If you have been thinking about the BA Amex, now is as good a time as any to jump in.

2. American Express Preferred Rewards Gold. Clearly the 30,000 point deal until 4th November is an outstanding deal.  Even after that, the card still looks great.  No fee for the first year and 20,000 Membership Rewards points if you are referred. Apply here.

3. Hilton HHonors Platinum Visa. A free night in any Hilton Group property for spending £750. That could be worth £250 if spent wisely at a Conrad or Waldorf-Astoria branded property.

4. American Express Platinum – if you meet the £40,000 household income requirement and have no other Amex-issued cards, including NO BA Amex then this is outstanding.  You get 50,000 Membership Rewards points and you can cancel for a pro-rata refund of your £450 as soon as you’ve hit the £3,000 spend target. Apply here.

5. Priority Club Black Visa – this targetted link is good for 40,000 Priority Club points until 18th November.  Despite being targetted, it should work OK for anyone who tries it.  The £99 fee takes away some of the value of the points, but the addition of Priority Club Platinum status for cardholders also has some value.

6. United MileagePlus American Express card – after a few months of no bonus or just 5,000 miles, it is good to see a 15,000 mile deal back.  This card is only really useful if you already collect United miles, though.  I expect this deal to disappear in a few weeks.

My personal portfolio

We did a couple of changes across our household cards.  I cancelled my wife’s Starwood Preferred Guest Amex, that we took out when they offering a 20,000 point bonus earlier in the year.  I also decided to cancel the FlexSelect element of my American Express Platinum card, since it was adding £3,500 to my outstanding credit across all cards despite me never using it.

My wife’s 40,000 Priority Club points are now showing on her card statement, although they have not yet been sent over to Priority Club by Barclays.  I now need to decide whether to cancel the card or whether to spend £10,000 on it to trigger the ‘free hotel night’ voucher, from which we would get £250 of value.  As it is a Visa and so easier to put spending through it, we will probably go for it.

We also triggered her BA Amex 2-4-1 for the year!

Full credit card reviews

Don’t forget that you can see my detailed series of ‘Credit Card Reviews’ posts by clicking on ‘Credit Card Reviews’ under the ‘Reviews’ menu.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – March 2025 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

Get 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 60,000 points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

American Express Business Platinum

Up to 120,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Up to 60,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review