Bits: Virgin Azuma trains named, 0% balance transfers and no fee with Post Office credit card
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News in brief:
Virgin Trains names its new trains Azuma
Virgin Trains has announced the name of its new train fleet for the East Coast line – Azuma.
Currently being assembled by Hitachi in County Durham, they are due to come into service from 2018. The trains will have the same 1-2 seating layout in First Class, pictured below, as the existing fleet.
The top speed will remain at 120 mph until line upgrades are completed, albeit that improved acceleration is expected to reduce London to Edinburgh journey times by 20 minutes.
A variant of these trains will debut first, in 2017, on the Great Western line.
0% fee and 0% interest for 18 months on Post Office Money Platinum MasterCard
There are a handful of credit cards which are both FREE and have no foreign exchange fees on purchases abroad – Nationwide, Halifax Clarity etc – plus the Post Office Money Platinum Mastercard.
Whilst the Halifax Clarity card is marginally better than the Post Office one – because Clarity also has no FX fees on overseas cash withdrawals – there is a new reason to take a look at the Post Office card at the moment.
For a limited period, it is offering:
0% interest for 18 months on balance transfers, and
0% fee on your balance transfer
This means that you can move an existing balance from any other credit card, fee free, to the Post Office card and pay no interest until Autumn 2017. You should definitely clear your balance at that point, however, as the representative APR is 17.8% variable. This is NOT a card where you want to be paying interest.
More details of the Post Office Platinum card and this offer can be found here.
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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