Changes to the Avios earning rate on the 7 (!) bmi credit card options

For those people lucky enough to still have the old bmi British Midland credit cards issued by MBNA, some unwelcome news dropped through the letterbox yesterday.

Not for everyone, just for some.

There are, unbelievably, SEVEN different bmi credit card packages out there.  Whilst everyone is losing the benefit of double miles for spending with British Airways, not everyone is having their miles cut.  The 10% discount on British Airways flights will also remain.

As far as I can tell, this is what is happening.  If you have a letter which contradicts anything below, please let me know and I will correct it:

Diamond Club American Express card (no annual fee)

Old rate:  2 miles per £1

New rate:  Unchanged (guess)

Diamond Club Plus American Express card (with annual fee)

Old rate:  2.5 miles per £1

New rate:  Unchanged (guess)

Diamond Club credit card (Amex & Visa combination, no annual fee)

Old rate:  2 miles per £1 on the Amex, 1 mile per £1 on the Visa

New rate:  Unchanged (fact)

Diamond Club Plus credit card (Amex & Visa combination, with annual fee)

Old rate:  2.5 miles per £1 on the Amex, 1.5 miles per £1 on the Visa

New rate:  Unchanged (guess)

Diamond Club Mastercard (with annual fee)

Old rate:  2.5 miles per £1

New rate:  Unchanged (fact)

Diamond Club Mastercard (no annual fee)

Old rate:  1.25 miles per £1

New rate:  Unchanged (guess)

Diamond Club Classic Mastercard (no annual fee)

Old rate:  2 miles per £1

New rate:  1.25 miles per £1

Should you switch?

Probably not, to be honest.

Only the Classic Mastercard is seeing a big cut in the earning rate.  The loss of double miles on BA transactions on the other cards is a very minor adjustment.

The best Mastercard or Visa option for earning Avios is currently the HSBC Premier Mastercard.  This is tricky to get, however.  It earns 1 mile per £1.  The second best option is the Tesco Mastercard which only earns 0.6 Avios per £1.  If you have the Classic Mastercard, 1.25 Avios per £1 is still a great deal.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – September 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our September 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus. 

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here.

The following offers will end soon:

• 2,000 Virgin Points on Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard (ends 15th October)
• 30,000 Virgin Points on Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard (ends 15th October)
• 10,000 Avios on British Airways American Express (ends 2nd November)
• 40,000 Avios on British Airways American Express Premium Plus (ends 2nd November)
• 60,000 points on The Platinum Card from American Express (ends 2nd November)
• 30,000 points on American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (ends 9th November)

Here are the top current deals:

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.

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: