What are the best credit card deals for October 2015?

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UPDATE – APRIL 2025: This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.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.

Keep up to date with the latest UK credit card bonuses by signing up for our free daily or weekly newsletters.

It’s time for the return of our monthly round up of what is coming and what is going in the world of UK airline and hotel credit card sign-up deals. Our directory of all 25 UK travel credit cards can be found by clicking the ‘Credit Cards’ tab at the top of the site or – for email, Flipboard or mobile readers – by clicking here.

What’s new?

MBNA is making another aggressive push for new customers and has launched some new deals on its most popular cards.

The Emirates Skywards card (free) has the bonus increased from 5,000 to 12,000 miles. The £140 Emirates Skywards Elite card has the bonus increased from 10,000 miles to 15,000 miles. The bonus on the United Airlines card is increased from nothing (!) to 12,000 miles.

The most interesting deal is the Etihad Guest card. The bonus is increased from 5,000 miles to a whopping 25,000 miles – an exceptional deal for a free card. Whether you can put those miles to good use is a different question.

IHG has also launched a special offer on the two IHG Rewards Club cards. These deals are only available via the links here. The free IHG Rewards Club Visa has the bonus doubled to 20,000 points. The £99 IHG Rewards Club Premium Visa has the bonus doubled to 40,000 points.

Of the existing special deals which are still running, the British Airways American Express, British Airways Premium Plus American Express, Virgin Atlantic White and Virgin Atlantic Black cards are also offering enhanced sign-up bonuses.

The Marriott Rewards MasterCard is still ‘missing in action’. Marriott has removed it from its website and you can no longer apply. As an existing cardholder, I haven’t heard anything about changes to the card.

I expand on all of these offers below.

UK Rewards credit and charge cards

What are the best deals at the moment?

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are my top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus. The Etihad, Emirates, United, Virgin and BA offers are special deals whilst the Amex Gold, Amex Platinum and Hilton cards are consistently strong offers.

These deals are listed in no particular order and their position on the list is not a sign of how good or bad the offer is.

Emirates Skywards and Emirates Skywards Elite American Express & Visa

Until 30th November, the bonus on the free card is increased to 12,000 miles from 5,000 miles. You need to spend £1,000 within 90 days to receive the full amount. The bonus on the £140 Elite card is increased from 10,000 miles to 25,000 miles. A £2,000 spend within 90 days is required.

This article discusses some of the pros and cons of earning and spending Emirates miles.

The representative APR on the free card is 17.9% variable and 54.9% variable on the Elite card, including the fee and assuming a £1200 credit limit.

Etihad Guest American Express & Visa

The bonus on this free card is now exceptionally generous – 25,000 Etihad Guest miles. This is easily the most generous offer available on a free card this year.

It isn’t that straightforward, of course, because 25,000 miles are of little use if you cannot spend them effectively. I discussed your options in this article.

The representative APR on the free card is 18.9% variable.

American Express Platinum

The sign-up bonus on this card is 30,000 American Express Membership Rewards points. These can be transferred into various airline and hotel programmes. You could get 30,000 Avios, 30,000 Virgin miles, 60,000 Hilton points, 90,000 Carlson points etc etc.

You receive a pro-rata refund on the £450 fee when you cancel the card and you will retain most of the benefits – Starwood Gold, Carlson Gold, Accor Platinum – for the rest of the year even after you cancel. The Amex Platinum benefits package is extensive, though, and once you’ve got it you might find the numbers add up for you. I have had one for 15 years.

My full review of the Amex Platinum card is here. Amex’s own home page is here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

This is currently an outstanding deal which is showing no signs of going away. You pay no fee for the first year and earn 20,000 Membership Rewards points.

If you are new to this hobby, I would make this your first American Express card. One benefit of earning American Express points is that you only need to transfer them to an airline or hotel scheme when you are ready to redeem – there is no risk of being caught out by devaluations!

My full review of Amex Gold is here. The Amex home page is here.

Hilton HHonors Platinum Visa

You receive a free night in any Hilton Group property for spending £750 on this card. That could be worth £250 if spent wisely at a Conrad or Waldorf-Astoria branded property. My full review of the UK Hilton credit card is here. The home page is here.

This remains my favourite promotion for someone new to this hobby. The card is free, you only need to spend a modest amount to trigger the bonus, and you can enjoy a free night in a luxury hotel afterwards (if you pick a decent one!). It will whet your appetite for what miles and points can bring you. The representative APR is 18.9% variable.

United Airlines MileagePlus American Express & Visa

Until 15th November, United has brought back a 12,000 mile sign-up bonus on this card. The bonus is usually nothing at all so this is a major improvement! The card is free.

This article discusses some of the pros and cons of United miles. The representative APR is 18.9% variable.

Virgin Flying Club American Express & Visa

Until 27th October, Virgin has brought back its highest ever sign-up bonus on its credit cards. The free White card is increased from 3,000 miles to 10,000 miles. The Black card, with a £140 fee, has increased from 18,500 miles to 32,000 miles. You need to spend £1,000 and £3,000 respectively within 90 days to trigger the full bonus.

My article on this bonus is here.

Representative APR 17.9% variable on White and 52.0% variable including fee on Black based on a £1200 credit limit.

Bonuses on small business cards

Head for Points focusses primarily on personal cards. However, if you are a sole trader or run a very small business, you may also want to check out the American Express Platinum Business Card and the American Express Gold Business Card. There is currently a 20,000 points (= 20,000 Avios) bonus on the Gold Business card and a 40,000 points (40,000 Avios) bonus on the Platinum Business card.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 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 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 – 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:

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

Category

American Express Gold card, American Express Platinum card, British Airways American Express, Emirates and Emirates Skywards, Etihad and Etihad Guest, IHG One Rewards, Lufthansa and Miles & More, Marriott Bonvoy, United Airlines and MileagePlus, Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

James67 says:

5 Oct5 October 06:06

Unusually I’m struggling to make a deciosion with so much on offer at the moment. I have over £4k travel expense in next two months so nothing ruled out on target spends. However, Etihad and Virgin white ruled out as I held them already, and currently hold PRG, SPG and BA amex. I currently have 15k FC miles and 30k qualifying IHG points so Virgin black would get me spire and 75k IHG points to spend or leave me 10k FC miles short of a one way UC flight to/from HKG. Emirates premium card poorer value on face if it but I could recoup £150 fee via the same discount on a BKK-HKG J or F revenue fare and although I’d be starting from scratch on EK I think the opportunity for MR transfer bonus to skywards is likely much greater than that to Virgin or avios. £99 for 40k premium IHG card seems to make little sence when I stand to gain 75k points and spire via virgin black, and this card or hilton card probably best kept for a quiet spend time when target spends seem more difficult to reach. Although the referal bonus of 4.5k is poor the Lloyds avios £24 card is quite appealling because of the upgrade voucher, my forthcoming travel spend combined with next years council tax would see me hit the target.So it seems Lloyds or virgin black is best deal for me at the moment unlrss somebody thinks I’m overlooking something?
- Rob says:
  
  5 Oct5 October 11:18
  
  The IHG Premium card is better value for the £99 fee if you would do the £10k spend for a free night – and the main IC in Hong Kong is very nice, and expensive, if you used the night there.
  
  You didn’t mention if you had any cards with zero FX fees – the Lloyds card would help there, of course.
  - James67 says:
    
    5 Oct5 October 11:51
    
    Thanks Rob, hadn’t thought of the free IC nught at £10k but I’m not sure it is enought to sway me as the extra £3k spend could go towards another signup bonus as I’m avios-poor at moment. I will give it some thought though as we are doing a Euro rail tour next May so every hotel night counts. FX is no problem, I have supercard, N&P debit and Nationwide cc.
    - Thunderbirds says:
      
      5 Oct5 October 13:02
      
      Will Virgin FC miles to IHG Elite qualifying points “loop hole” remain? Though not really an issue if you are prepared to fly Virgin if it is closed. Upgrade vouchers (E to PE) on Virgin work well at GBP 5k and then again at GBP 10k depending on how many you need, only problem is that they post at the end of the CC year not when you pass the trigger points.
      - Rob says:
        
        5 Oct5 October 14:12
        
        Not sure it is a loophole as such – points from all partners count for status except for credit card sign-up bonuses. Travelling Connect or car hire rentals credited to IHG count for status.
        
        That said, they may change it if it is massively used. Realistically, though, we are probably talking a few hundred people at most who have used VS to get some – not all – of the points they needed. And, of course, Virgin is paying IHG for those points so they may be happy to keep it going.
      - James67 says:
        
        5 Oct5 October 19:48
        
        Recent reports here suggest the FC-spire option continues to work. The virgin flight is a plan B for me, I can only use HKG so at mercy of both devaluation and route axing. Given I’m in Edinburgh the demise of little red means flight option also less valuable.
Harris says:

5 Oct5 October 06:23

Rob can you run an adjacent article showing how many credit cards you can hold at the same time from the same provider? For example I know I can only have 1 credit card from Barcleys at any time. What about tesco though, or lloyds, MBNA, amex, Santander, etc. It would be nice to have such a list of restrictions and then use it to plan ahead about when I will hold each card and for how long before applying for the next one.
- Rob says:
  
  5 Oct5 October 11:14
  
  The problem is that the rules are not publicised, apart from Amex, so I don’t like making sweeping statements in a big article called ‘These are the rules’. I do mention the restrictions, as I believe them to be, on the relevant credit card review pages.
Danksy says:

5 Oct5 October 07:23

In terms of multiple card holdings I have

3 with Barclays
3 with mbna
3 with Amex
2 with virginmoney
- Harris says:
  
  5 Oct5 October 09:55
  
  But there are new rules now. I can only have 1 Barcleys and I think I have to wait 6 months after cancelling before I apply again. I would similarly like to know the rules for other card providers.
James W says:

5 Oct5 October 08:05

I currently have got

3xBarclays
3xMBNA
1xAsda
1xSantander
1xTesco
Max says:

5 Oct5 October 10:45

Morning guys,

I need to empty my 200k MR points from the Platinum charge card and Plat credit card before cancelling them.
Any advice as to the best airline and/or hotel programmes I may transfer the MR points to obtain the max benefit?

P.S. Can I apply for an Amex pref. gold card straight away or do I need to wait 6 months?

Many Thanks!
Max
- harry says:
  
  5 Oct5 October 11:01
  
  The answer depends entirely on you 🙂
  
  If you fly a lot, hard to beat the obvious BA – which has more possibilities/ redemption availability than Virgin. Not just flights but all the other bits you can use Avios for, such as hotels rooms/ holidays. I’ve got 100K of Virgin miles & can’t use them.
  
  Hotels: would you get decent value from the redemptions? – would be the obvious question.
  - Brian says:
    
    5 Oct5 October 13:26
    
    Don’t you ever cross the pond? Or couldn’t you arrange a US trip? What about transferring to IHG?
- Brian says:
  
  5 Oct5 October 11:02
  
  Depends partly on your travel habits. If you usually go to the States, for instance, then Virgin is probably a good option, because availability is generally no problem. Club Carlson offers a good exchange rate if you prefer to spend points on hotels.
- Max says:
  
  5 Oct5 October 11:38
  
  Thx guys.
  
  With 2 kids, we only fly once a year (during the summer school holidays).
  I suppose transfer to BA is a good choice as I also have a 241 voucher sitting in my BAEC account.
  However, the taxes seem quite high on BA flights. Any other airline with less tax on reward flights to aour preferred destination: manly Asia or America?
  - harry says:
    
    5 Oct5 October 12:51
    
    BA from a non-UK airport 🙂
    
    Cheaper tickets most of the time, as well (even after tax is removed from the equation)
  - Nick says:
    
    5 Oct5 October 13:24
    
    If you’ve got a 241, I’d convert it to avios. Much though we like to moan about availability, charges, and the CW product it still beats flying economy.
    - Max says:
      
      5 Oct5 October 15:19
      
      Covert to Avios? That’s news to me. How many Avios do we get per voucher?
      - Nick says:
        
        5 Oct5 October 16:55
        
        Sorry! What I mean is: as you already have a 241 voucher, I would convert your MR points to avios/BA because with the 241, you should be able to get good value from them. I didn’t mean you could convert the 241 voucher to Avios!
      - Max says:
        
        5 Oct5 October 18:05
        
        Gotcha!
  - Brian says:
    
    5 Oct5 October 13:25
    
    Virgin has lower taxes for economy, and possibly Prem Econ. Not much in it for Upper Class.
  - Rob says:
    
    5 Oct5 October 14:15
    
    American – Aer Lingus or airberlin (minimal tax). Updated Avios Redemption University articles on those airlines are in the pipeline.
    
    Asia – you can use Cathay Pacific from, say, Dusseldorf or Amsterdam but you can’t use a 241. Only way to escape APD on a 241 is to book it from Jersey and start there.
    - Max says:
      
      5 Oct5 October 18:10
      
      Thx for the advice Rob.
      
      Spoke to an Amex rep. who said I can apply for a gold card card after cancelling my Amex plat charge card. Pls confirm if that’s true or do I need to wait for 6 months before applying.
      - Brian says:
        
        5 Oct5 October 19:18
        
        You can apply when you want – you won’t get the sign-up bonus unless you wait 6 months!
      - Rob says:
        
        5 Oct5 October 20:25
        
        The rep is wrong. You need a clear 6 month gap between cancelling a Gold / Plat / Green and reapplying for a Gold / Plat / Green. This is pointed out clearly on the website before you apply (well, fairly clearly – I admit it could be worded better).
- Steve says:
  
  5 Oct5 October 14:27
  
  Isn’t there the option to downgrade to the free Amex charge card and keep all your points as membership rewards?
  - Rob says:
    
    5 Oct5 October 15:38
    
    There is no free Amex charge card. Green is £60 per year and I think still charges separately for Membership Rewards membership.
    - Jac says:
      
      5 Oct5 October 16:11
      
      I just cancelled my Amex gold charge card as the 7500 bonus points had posted. I gave as explanation that i didnt find it worthwhile to keep the card in the second year given the fee and the agent offered me the gold credit card as free alternative.
      I declined as i got approved for another amex card but this gold card might be an option if you want to wait converting your points
      - Rob says:
        
        5 Oct5 October 17:20
        
        You are not meant to be able to have the Gold credit card without the Gold charge card. However, some agents do seem to offer it to people who want to cancel – it is a good result if you can get it.
polly says:

5 Oct5 October 10:56

Baec best if you can use a 241 voucher from the ba amex card. You must wait 6 months minimum before applying for the gold card.
Stuart Ross says:

5 Oct5 October 11:28

Rob, was wondering if you could clarify the situation with Amex payments for Vehicle Tax to DVLA?

Had taken out a free BA Amex on 21st July (was awarded 10000 Avos for £1000 spend) and then upgraded the card to BA Premium+. As a result, Amex will give me the 25000 additional Avios if I spend a further £3000 by the 21st of October. Half way there (with pre-Xmas shopping over the weekend) but received my 2 Vehicle Tax reminders this morning and am more than happy to pay a fee to use my BA Amex to pay. Any suggestions?
- Liz says:
  
  5 Oct5 October 11:54
  
  Can you not pay it with you BAPP at the post office as they now take Amex.
  - harry says:
    
    5 Oct5 October 12:39
    
    for Post Office services only (stamps etc)
    - Neil J says:
      
      5 Oct5 October 13:11
      
      I paid for my car tax in the post office recently with no problem at all. They add a £2.50 fee though.
      - harry says:
        
        5 Oct5 October 13:20
        
        good to know
- harry says:
  
  5 Oct5 October 12:54
  
  Any other suggestion? Yes, buy a few rails of pay.coms. In Tesco, gives you Tesco points. In Morrisons, gives you 10p off a litre of petrol per £100 pounds. Spend them on your normal bills such as gas/ elec etc.
  
  You could hit £3000 in a couple of hours if you visit a few different Morrisons.
  - harry says:
    
    5 Oct5 October 13:02
    
    Morrisons just got better, today they sent me 2 x vouchers for extra 250 points for every £10 you spend, max 5000 points each = £5 x 2.
    
    If I buy £200 of pay.coms I get 20p off a litre (x60 = £12; extra 5000 points = £5; 400 Avios = £4.
    
    Grand total £21 for doing next to nothing 🙂
- Rob says:
  
  5 Oct5 October 14:16
  
  You shouldn’t get the sign-up bonus for upgrading. If you do, it is an IT mistake by Amex. The rules are clear – you are meant to leave a 6 month gap between having either of the BA cards before you can get a BA card bonus again.
Max says:

5 Oct5 October 11:54

I have tried for 3 days to “Refer a friend” for the Amex BAPP. The referral is sent but nothing arrives at the other end. There is no spam blocking set. Is this a known glitch. card referral is for the OH so I want to make the rwferral myself for the Avios.

Is there any other way of doing this other than online via my account portal?
- Alan says:
  
  5 Oct5 October 11:58
  
  Yes, sadly this happens most of the time!! Easiest way I found was to share the link to Facebook and make it post only visible to yourself, then copy and paste the link into emails – seems to work fine that way.
- Daz says:
  
  5 Oct5 October 12:38
  
  I had this problem when I recommended my wife for the AMEX Gold card. First problem, I had turned off receiving amex promotional offers, etc on her online account and if I remember rightly it also did not like a particular email provider, Yahoo, gmail can’t remember which one now.
  
  However I turned on her promotional emails and used her hotmail address and this worked.
  - Max says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 09:09
    
    Unfortunately that did not work either! But I have “shared the link” direct to others email and that link works for them and taks them to the “refer a friend” application page.

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What’s new?

What are the best deals at the moment?

Emirates Skywards and Emirates Skywards Elite American Express & Visa

Etihad Guest American Express & Visa

American Express Platinum

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Hilton HHonors Platinum Visa

United Airlines MileagePlus American Express & Visa

Virgin Flying Club American Express & Visa

Bonuses on small business cards

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 update

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

The Platinum Card from American Express

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

Earning miles and points from small business cards

American Express Business Platinum

American Express Business Gold

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

Capital on Tap Visa

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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