EU credit card fee caps – BA slashes card benefits in Sweden, closes Germany
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Yes, British Airways has a credit card in Sweden. Whether you will want it after December is another question.
I wrote recently about the drastic cuts that Tesco is making to the Clubcard earning rate on the Tesco Mastercard. This is because of the upcoming EU imposed cap on credit card fees charged to retailers.
This is the BA card issued in Sweden (click for details). It is run by EnterCard and is a Visa, so impacted by the new EU rules.
This is the historic benefits package:
Earn 1 Avios per 10 SEK (80p) charged to the card
Earn a 2-4-1 voucher for spending 200,000 SEK per year (£16,000)
This is the new benefits package which takes effect on 8th December for current cardholders and already applies to new applicants:
Earn 1 Avios per 20 SEK (£1.60) charged to the card
Earn a 2-4-1 voucher for spending 500,000 SEK (£40,000)
Yes, £40,000 per year to generate the 2-4-1 voucher.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the annual fee of SEK 395 (£32).
If you live in Germany, it is even worse. It was announced this week that the British Airways credit card there is to be closed down in December. Existing customers will stop earning Avios and the card will become a ‘no benefits’ card instead.
Welcome to the new credit card landscape in the EU, at least for Visa and Mastercard products. Amex remain exempt although it will be under serious competitive pressure – how do you respond when your (cheaper) competitor cuts its price by 2/3rd?
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – March 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
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.
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
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
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
15,000 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: You receive a huge 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Platinum by 9th April 2024. You receive 80,000 points for spending £12,000 within 90 days and a further 40,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Gold by 9th April 2024. Remember that the card is FREE for the first year. You receive 40,000 points for spending £6,000 within 90 days and a further 20,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 9th April) and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
Huge 60,000 points sign-up bonus (until 9th April) and free for a year Read our full review
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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 on your spending.
Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card
2% cashback on all your business spend for 3 months (1% thereafter) and no annual fee Read our full review
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