Amex Platinum sign-up bonus massacred – and other sign-up bonus changes
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A massacre! Is there any other way to describe what has happened to the sign-up bonus on the American Express Platinum card which has plunged overnight from 50,000 Membership Rewards points (=50,000 Avios) to NOTHING.
When I ran my post last week suggesting that you should jump in before the advertised bonus cut on March 3rd, I wasn’t expecting anything as bad as this.
Perhaps a drop from 50,000 to 40,000 points. But not 50,000 points to zero ….
The bonuses on the British Airways American Express cards have also been reduced as well. However, these are still acceptable and have been worse (and, of course, have been better).
I have updated the ‘Credit Cards Update‘ page for March to reflect these changes. I left this a couple of days later than usual, because of the changes to the Amex Platinum and BA Amex bonuses which were due yesterday.
Here are all the changes to the list:
The bonus on the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express dropped from 20,000 points back to its usual 10,000 points on February 15th.
Tesco has extended the referral bonus on its credit cards until 30th June. If you refer a new cardholder, both the referrer and the person being referred will receive 1,000 Clubcard points (2,400 Avios or 2,500 Flying Club miles).
The bonus on the American Express Platinum charge card was reduced from 50,000 points to nothing
The bonus on the free British Airways American Express card was reduced from 9,000 Avios to 3,000 Avios
The bonus on the British Airways Premium Plus card was reduced from 25,000 Avios to 18,000 Avios
The bonus on the Flybe card has improved from two lounge passes to one free flight and one lounge pass
Annoyingly, the current deal on the Lloyds Avios card – which requires you to book hotel nights via Avios in order to redeem your ‘free’ Avios – still has another month to run before something (hopefully) better turns up.
What are the best deals currently available?
Given the downgrades to the various bonuses above, there are only three cards that I currently recommend as offering ‘best in class’ bonuses. Other cards do other acceptable bonuses, but you are likely to find that a better deal comes along if you are willing to wait a few months.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
This is currently an outstanding deal, which is showing no signs of going away. No fee for the first year and 20,000 Membership Rewards points (see here for what 20,000 Membership Rewards points can get you – 20,000 Avios points for a start!)
Hilton HHonors Platinum Visa
If you’re looking for a Visa or Mastercard, this card remains a great deal purely for the sign-up deal. You get a free night in any Hilton Group property for spending £750. This could be worth £250 if spent wisely at a Conrad or Waldorf-Astoria branded property.
Priority Club Black Visa
If you are used to having Platinum status for your Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn Express, Indigo, InterContinental etc stays, you will probably have noticed by now that you are very unlikely to requalify in 2013. The incredibly harsh new regime – which means only base points and not bonuses count for status – will see 80%+ of Platinum cardholders drop away, I imagine.
The Priority Club Black Visa comes with Platinum status as a free (and not publicised) perk. There is an annual fee of £99 but if you do enough stays at Priority Club hotels then it is a decent deal. Last month I also found a new link which gives you 40,000 points for signing up (worth 8,000 Avios or other airline miles, or 80% of an InterContinental free night) which more than covers your first year fee.
Full details, including links to the application forms, are on the ‘Credit Card Offers‘ page.
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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – February 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.

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

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
50,000 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:

American Express Business Platinum
50,000 points when you sign-up 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 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
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 when you spend at least £2,000 per month.

Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card
Get 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month* Read our full review
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