Daily Mail writes about (a HfP reader?) buying Royal Mint coins for Avios and trying to cash them
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Well, I never expected this story to reach the hallowed pages of the Daily Mail, but there you go.
I have, a couple of times, mentioned that it is possible to buy face value commemorative coins from the Royal Mint using a credit card. I have never made a big deal of this because:
the Royal Mint doesn’t take American Express, so it was only really worthwhile if you had a ‘no longer available to new customers’ Visa or Mastercard such as the BMI Diamond Club one which pays 2.5 Avios per £1
you were 100% dependant on finding a willing bank if you wanted to pay in the coins. It was never totally clear what the legal position was.
We now know, thanks to the Daily Mail, what the legal position is.
You should read the article in full, but here are some extracts:
The reader, who wishes to be known simply has James, would buy high value commemorative coins from the Royal Mint in bulk to gain air miles on his credit card before cashing them in at the bank.
However, the Royal Mint appears to have cottoned onto his system by writing to banks and telling them not to accept the coins, which are deemed ‘legal tender’.
and
James said: ‘I am someone who has a bit of an addiction to frequent flier miles. I’ve done various things over the years to generate more miles – and the only way to generate such things is by spending on a credit card.
and
The coins, such as the £100 ‘face value’ Buckingham Palace coin issued last year are limited edition and are described by Royal Mint as legal tender. They also have a 14 day returns policy.
But its terms and conditions section on the website describes legal tender as having ‘a very narrow and technical meaning in the settlement of debts.’
It adds: ‘In practice this means that although the face-value UK coins in denominations of £5, £20, £50 and £100 are approved as legal tender, they have been designed as limited edition collectables or gifts and will not be entering general circulation.
‘As such, UK shops and banks are not obliged to accept them in return for goods and services.’
and
A recent letter sent to a bank branch from the Royal Mint, published below, has told staff to no longer accept coins over the counter and that customers should be referred to them instead.
and
James adds that when he entered his local HSBC branch, as he usually would to cash them in, the bank accepted the deposit. This is Money has seen the deposit slip.
The branch manager then chased after him as he was leaving the branch and advised that it could no longer accept them.
It is a great story but, to avoid copyright issues, I recommend you head over to the Daily Mail site and read it in full for yourself.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 2021)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.
Until 9th April 2021, American Express is running the biggest sign-up bonuses ever seen on a UK payment card.
You will earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points on American Express Business Platinum (apply here) and 50,000 Membership Rewards points on American Express Business Gold (apply here) which is FREE for your first year. Points transfer 1:1 into Avios. Here are links to our reviews:

American Express Business Platinum
100,000 points sign-up bonus – SPECIAL OFFER TO 9th APRIL – and a long list of travel ….. Read our full review

American Express Business Gold
50,000 points sign-up bonus – SPECIAL OFFER TO 9th APRIL – and free for a year Read our full review
Here are your other options. There are two official British Airways American Express cards:

British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and a companion voucher for spending £20,000 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express
30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
If you have a small business, we especially recommend Capital On Cap’s Visa card which comes with a generous bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review
(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)
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