What credit card should I use to pay for my holiday?

By the time you read this article, I will be back in London.  However, as I edit this article, I am still sitting in Dubai pondering how to pay the hotel bill.

It’s not that I can’t afford it – I was more concerned with which ‘miles and points’ credit card I should use to settle the bill!  I thought I would run through my thinking.

There was a MASSIVE shift in the market last October when Lloyds introduced the Lloyds Avios Rewards credit card (representative APR 22.7% variable, including fee).  For the first time in the UK, we had a credit card with NO foreign exchange fees (saving you 3% compared to 99% of UK credit cards) and gave you reward points at the same time.

There is a £24 fee on the Lloyd Avios Rewards card, but if you spend more than £2,000 abroad then the Avios earned will offset the fee.  Alternatively, there are some great free cards with no FX fees such as the Bank of Ireland UK-issued Post Office card (representative APR 17.8% variable).

However, for one reason or another, I never got around to applying for either.  I simply have too much plastic already.  Our hotel room this week is also being paid for on points, so our spending will be lower than usual.

Comparing the options

Here is what my wife and I have in our wallets and what we would get for every £1,000 of foreign spend:

American Express Platinum – would earn me 1,000 Membership Rewards points per £1,000. Good for 1,000 Avios or a variety of hotel schemes.  I am not short of Membership Rewards points at the moment, however, so the marginal value of another 1,000 is modest.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus (representative APR 56.4% variable including fee) – would earn me 1,500 Avios.  My new British Airways Amex card year started in February, so I am working towards my new 2-4-1 voucher.  A bit of overseas spending would certainly help.  However, I have a huge pile of Avios so, again, another 1,500 per £1000 doesn’t add much.

Priority Club Black Visa  (not available again until June) – As I wrote recently, I have just successfully applied for this card again.  The Priority Club Black card earns 2 points per £1, but you get double points for foreign spend.  Given that I value IHG points at 0.5p, that would be the equivalent of 2% back.  We only have about 300,000 Priority Club points between us, so the points we would earn are more meaningful.

More importantly, the Priority Club Black Visa has a ‘free night certificate’ which is triggered when you spend £10,000 on the card.  If I used that at the InterContinental in Paris, London or Cannes (not unlikely) I’d be getting at least £250 of value from the voucher.

bmi Platinum MasterCard (no longer available to new applicants) – would earn me 2,500 Avios per £1000 spent. I have the old-style version which pays 2.5 miles per £1.

Tesco Clubcard MasterCard (representative APR 18.9% variable) – would me earn me a poor 250 Clubcard points per £1000 of spending.

Marriott Rewards MasterCard (representative APR 16.9% variable) – this card does offer double points for foreign spend.  However, the earnings rate is so poor that even then I would only get 2,000 Marriott points, worth about £10, for every £1000 of foreign spending.  Not worth it given that I need to pay the 3% foreign exchange fee.

Starwood Preferred Guest American Express card (representative APR 36.2% variable) – would earn me 1 SPG point per £1 spent.  There is no bonus for foreign spend or for staying in a Starwood hotel, so no additional perks for using it abroad.  SPG points convert to airline miles at a 1 : 1.25 ratio based on converting 20,000 at a time.

House of Fraser Mastercard (representative APR 19.9% variable) – a card my wife has. It is not bad, paying 1% cashback in House of Fraser vouchers. We would therefore get £10 back per £1000 of spending if we used this card.

NatWest MasterCard (no longer available to new applicants) – my wife also has one of these, it pays out in useless YourPoints worth about 0.5p per £1 spent. I can’t even be bothered to work out how little I would get!

What did I decide?

On the face of it, it seems to be a toss-up between the British Airways Premium Plus, the bmi Platinum MasterCard and the Priority Club Black Visa.

In no case, of course, do the direct benefits offset the 3% foreign exchange fee I have to pay – I am fully aware of this.  However, the spend we do would help push me towards my next 2-4-1 voucher on the Premium Plus Amex or the free night voucher on the Priority Club Black Visa.  This nudges them ahead of the bmi card, despite it paying 2.5 Avios per £1!

Because of the double points for foreign spend on the Priority Club Black card, I think it just wins.  I will have no trouble hitting the £10,000 target on my BA Amex via UK domestic spending, so I might as well take the foreign spend bonus on the Priority Club card.

I will also make a mental note to ensure that one of us gets a ‘no FX fees’ card before our next overseas holiday where we will not be getting our accommodation for free …..

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 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 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 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. 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

Huge 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 9th December 2024, there are EXCLUSIVE sign-up offers for our readers on the two Capital on Tap small business Visa cards. You can earn 20,000 points on the Business Rewards card and 30,000 points on the new Pro card. Click here to apply.

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

30,000 points (TO 9TH DECEMBER) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

20,000 points (ONLY TO 9TH DECEMBER) 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