No more churning of the Hilton HHonors Visa card?

The Hilton HHonors Platinum Visa is my preferred first pick for anyone who is new to this hobby.  This is because it offers a quick win – a free weekend night for spending just £750 – which is easy to redeem at any of their global hotels.  The card is also free.

A free night at, say, the Conrad in London or the Waldorf-Astoria in Amsterdam, Rome or Berlin is an easy way of showing someone how rewarding this hobby can be.

Unofficially, you have always been able to re-apply for the Hilton credit card after a six month gap as long as you don’t hold any other cards from Barclays.

Yesterday, however, an eagle-eyed HFP reader spotted what appears to be a change in the Barclays terms and conditions:

Free Night Reward Certificate will only be awarded for first time applicants of the Hilton HHonors Platinum Visa card.

It remains to be see if Barclays actually imposes this rule or if there is an unofficial time period.  MBNA has a similar rule on most of its credit cards but you can usually reapply, with a bonus, after a couple of years.

If you were thinking of applying for the first time, be certain that you can use the voucher for a high-value free weekend night over the next six months.  If you don’t have a plan in mind then you may want to hold back until you do if this is now a one-off lifetime benefit.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous 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:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.