What are the best credit card deals for February 2013?

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• Colin says:

  2 Feb2 February 08:24

  Hi,

  Have never had a BA card.

  Should I apply for the basic one first, then the paid one later and get two bonuses?

  Would I need to cancel the basic one and wait six months before applying for the paid one?

  I have Amex Plat and SPG, plus the old BMI Mastercard.

  Wife only has Amex SPG and BMI MC.

  Thanks Raffles.

  • Raffles says:

    2 Feb2 February 09:15

    To get the bonus for an upgrade, you would need to cancel, wait 6 months and reapply. You would lose the benefit of your spend to date towards the 241 voucher. It is probably better to go for the Premium Plus card straight off.

    If you are not using the SPG card anymore, you might want to cancel that first or at least reduce your credit limit (can be done on the website) if its high, to maximise your chance of acceptance.

    • Colin says:

      2 Feb2 February 10:02

      Hi Raffles,
      Thanks for that. We put about 60k a year through the cards, but usually fly from Scotland to Europe – hate LHR with a passion – to start long-haul so not so worried about 241 (especially with Malaysia on board)
      So was just wondering about snapping up a couple of 10k bonuses before Premium Plus.
      Sounds like it might be risky, since the current PP sign-up may end and we would lose out on the 50% extra PP points for six months.

      • Raffles says:

        2 Feb2 February 10:58

        True. The current 25k is very close to the highest bonus ever, which was 30k.

        • Alan says:

          2 Feb2 February 14:13

          Nope, the highest was 40k in July 2012 – I know as I applied and received it 😛

          Just tried to churn Hilton, but find it incredibly difficult to get it approved – they seem to have some weird criteria! (Amex/MBNA always approve without an issue)

        • Raffles says:

          2 Feb2 February 16:34

          That 40k was targetted though, wasn’t it? 30k was the highest general offer I remember. But I’m getting old and my memory fades!

      • pauldb says:

        2 Feb2 February 17:07

        Get your wife the free card, then have her refer you immediately. She gets 9k + 9k and you get the 25k. Only risk is the 25k offer disappears before she gets her card through. Just make sure you can achieve the spend requirements concurrently.

        While you’re at it, looks like she needs a referral for AMex plat (25k + 52k for £450).

• onlysuites says:

  2 Feb2 February 10:23

  Raffles a friend of mine got the Amex gold. Spent the 2k and got the points. Now he is thinking about refunding the major purchase which was £1500 for a TV. Will they take the points away?

  • Raffles says:

    2 Feb2 February 10:59

    Probably not, but I have heard one report of it happening. To be safe, transfer the points out of MR first.

• soran says:

  2 Feb2 February 12:07

  If I have the Amex Platinum Creditcard and a BA Amex can I still apply for and get the bonus for the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

  Also, if my brother has a AMEX Platinum Charge card can he apply for and get the bonus for the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

  • Raffles says:

    2 Feb2 February 20:01

    “If I have the Amex Platinum Creditcard and a BA Amex can I still apply for and get the bonus for the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold” – yes, as neither of those are charge cards and the rules only block people who have charge cards or Membership Rewards accounts, which are the same thing in effect

    “Also, if my brother has a AMEX Platinum Charge card can he apply for and get the bonus for the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold” – no, if you have a charge card – or have had one in the last 6 months – you cannot get the MR bonus on the Gold card

    • testblog1980 says:

      4 Feb4 February 16:38

      On the first point then it is confusing. I have the Platinum credit card that does have a membership rewards account and earn membership rewards points so would that exclude me?

• Raffles says:

  2 Feb2 February 21:43

  Very interesting!

  • Alan says:

    3 Feb3 February 00:34

    Mine didn’t track either – that was a few months ago, I submitted a claim and it has now been paid 🙂 On the upside it meant I held on to the card and was able to take advantage of some offers! Yes, you need to wait for your bill to be generated before the points post across to SPG.

    • Flashware says:

      3 Feb3 February 07:05

      That’s awesome Alan, thanks very much! I’ll have to wait for the card to arrive as it asks for the card number when doing the cash-back claim form. Thanks for confirmation on the points, too!

      • Flashware says:

        3 Feb3 February 08:04

        Let’s hope that’s the case then for me!

• LJ says:

  3 Feb3 February 10:49

  Being single, I don’t think I can spend more than £6000 on an Amex each year. I think keeping a fee-charging Amex long-term would become very expensive. I could keep the normal BA card, then apply for and cancel the Plat every year, whenever I have £2000 to spend. Is this feasible indefinitely, or will they start rejecting after a while? Would be a regular 25K referral points for you if they maintain the bonuses…

  • Raffles says:

    3 Feb3 February 13:03

    I think, in your scenario, your best bet is definitely to focus on churning cards. You don’t need to go mad – if you just got 2 new cards a year, cancelling others as you go, you could carry on for ever and would get a decent miles intake each year. As you said, you can time the applications so the cards appear at a time when you might be booking a holiday or running up some other bill.

• daniel says:

  3 Feb3 February 11:20

  hi,
  does the uk platinum card have the $200 airline statement credit? (or the relevant currency)

  • Flashware says:

    3 Feb3 February 11:37

    Not that I’ve seen, think it’s just a US thing.

    • Alan says:

      3 Feb3 February 11:40

      Indeed not – no free forex fees or various other benefits too! We do however get lots of free supp cards that they have to pay for and our Priority Pass is the full one, not the Select version that they get.

• Simon says:

  3 Feb3 February 22:00

  The 9000 Avios on the free card offer ends on 3rd March 2013 according to an advert I saw for it.

  Found an old statement the other day and I got a whole 1000 Avios when I took the card out 🙁 I only had to make one purchase to get the bonus at least!

• Raffles says:

  4 Feb4 February 16:23

  Yes, you are fine for both. The only cards which block you from the bonus are the Gold and Green Amex charge cards (either currently held, or held in the last 6 months).

  Some text on the Amex websites is contradictory, but you can trust me that what I wrote above is correct!

  • Andrew says:

    4 Feb4 February 16:34

    For both getting the card from a referral and just signing up? On both cards? Amazing.

    This website is so good! I have become addicted to collecting miles within the past month – who knew it was this easy!

    I also tweeted this question to you, so you can ignore that!

    Thanks

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