HfP ‘Credit Cards’ page updated for January 2017 – what are the best deals this month?

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• James67 says:

  5 Jan5 January 07:18

  Could somebody please confirm that the qualifying period for the Lloyd’s avios voucher is the anniversary year and not the calendar year? I know the latter wouldn’t make much sense but since little does at Lloyd’s I thought I would check anyway. Thanks

  • Genghis says:

    5 Jan5 January 08:29

    It’s anniversary year. One of the T&Cs (on either Lloyds or Avios website) is incorrect

    • Alan says:

      5 Jan5 January 08:37

      Agreed, very poorly written T&Cs but 100% anniversary year.

    • James67 says:

      5 Jan5 January 08:52

      Thanks, I just hope they don’t wreck mbna.. Seems a stupid rule as there is little incentive to use the card after getting the voucher but at least it leaves scope as to when you want to trigger the voucher. I got lucky though in that the double avios continue after the first six months. Unfortunately the amex card developed a problem and is being reissue so my double avios probaby gone now, a pity as it was great in light of closure of DC.

      • Alan says:

        5 Jan5 January 10:03

        Wow that’s be fantastic you’ve been getting double Avios! In my case I’m trying to delay the voucher being issued (as I don’t have an immediate need for it), thus I’ve been spreading my spend out over the year. On the other hand with the Creation IHG card I’ve been putting as much as I want on it because I know the voucher won’t arrive until the end of the year.

        • Genghis says:

          5 Jan5 January 10:15

          I actually quite like the IHG Creation card. Not had any problems (thus far). I hit the £10k very quickly and wife now well on way to the £10k. Will revert back to me once hit (even though I won’t be able to accrue another voucher until Aug) to accrue points for this year’s Spire Elite target.

        • Alan says:

          5 Jan5 January 10:20

          Agree, I’ve had no issues either, including double points on foreign spend (although waiting to see if works for IHG spend too!). Really like the simplicity of their website, quick to login, shows pending transactions straight away.

        • James67 says:

          5 Jan5 January 11:08

          Got the card in February and it was still paying double until it failed before Xmas. Hopefully it is account related and still on my reissued card. Ironically though I didn’t use it much after triggering my voucher as I also had spend targets to hit on plat upgrade, nectar SPG and virgin cards

    • 1nfrequent says:

      5 Jan5 January 10:49

      Is this absolutely the case? Reason I ask is that I hit my upgrade voucher 3 months earlier than anticipated and when I tracked back on my spend, it looks like Lloyds started the count 3 months before my anniversary date.

      1F

      • Genghis says:

        5 Jan5 January 10:53

        Hmm. And is 3 months before your anniversary date January?

        • Matt says:

          5 Jan5 January 11:10

          I agree that’s odd. My vouchers have always triggered according to spend since card anniversary. Have you remembered that Mastercard spend also counts towards this voucher?

        • Liz says:

          5 Jan5 January 12:44

          James just paid my first Lloyds bill online through my bank account. You can set up an online bill payment using the sort code and account number supplied by Lloyds and then enter your card no in the reference bit. Will double check it has gone through in a couple of days. I did this previously when we had the card over a year ago.

        • 1nfrequent says:

          5 Jan5 January 21:38

          No – my anniversary year runs August to July. Hit the threshold in late November but the only way that was possible if you counted the spend from May. Hence the confusion! I’m not sure when to start spending on it again now.

          1F

      • James67 says:

        5 Jan5 January 11:19

        I just tried calling them on it but the agent was clueless. Despite my protests he repeatedly insisted it was an avios issue and transfered me to avios even as I was telling him not to do that.

        • Wayne Phillips says:

          5 Jan5 January 11:40

          Is there a tracker for spend, or do you have to keep track manually? I’ve got an account but haven’t been able to find one. Cheers!

        • James67 says:

          5 Jan5 January 12:05

          @Wayne, doubt it otherwise we wouldn’t even be discussing it here. You cannot even pay the card online unless you have a Lloyds bank account, and as far as I can see it has a secure message centre but I cannot see any way to send them a message. It is something of a miracle that such a poor apology for a company has become the biggest bank in the UK.

        • Genghis says:

          5 Jan5 January 12:41

          To clarify, you cannot even pay the card online unless you have a LBG bank account. I have paid it from Halifax.

        • Gavin says:

          5 Jan5 January 16:27

          I successfully pay the bill via my first direct bank account in the manner Liz describes

        • Alan says:

          5 Jan5 January 21:20

          That sadly happens all the time with Lloyds and this card!

  • the_real_a says:

    5 Jan5 January 13:07

    I actually made a formal complaint on this and got compensation from LLyods. I can 100% confirm its the anniversary year.

    2 years ago there was a conflict in the T&C`s which caused me to make some large purchases on the card to trigger the voucher. There was a promise to ensure the T&C`s were clearly updated, i suppose with LLyods this did not happen.

    • the_real_a says:

      5 Jan5 January 13:09

      Voucher is triggered on the statement date as soon as you hit the spend target

    • James67 says:

      5 Jan5 January 14:42

      Thanks for this.

      Apologies to Liz & Genghis, I xhould have been more explicit and stated you cannit pay it from Lloyds online banking unless you have an accountbwith them. I pay mine from Santander but would prefer a payment option to be available when viewing my card online.

• Stalybridge Sweets says:

  5 Jan5 January 07:41

  re the Hilton HHonors Platinum Visa: I had this card back in 2011, and earned and used a free night in early 2012. Does that mean I can’t nowearn another night from taking this card out again? Will the IT ‘remember’ me from that long ago? Has anyone had any success getting this for a second time since the conditions changed?

  • James67 says:

    5 Jan5 January 08:03

    In theory yes but in practice no in my own experience. No harm in applying, if you get it you get it, if not you know why.

  • Dominic says:

    5 Jan5 January 10:09

    I’ve recently taken this card out. Any ideas from others who have had it previously whether any Hilton Spend will trigger the four 2500 bonus points in the first year?

    For example, paying for the room with an amex but then buying drinks at the bar with the Barclaycard?

    • Al says:

      5 Jan5 January 13:00

      I did this recently and even just staying at the hotel got me the bonus 2500.

    • James67 says:

      5 Jan5 January 14:58

      On a previous period of holdng the card I had no troble with it triggering all 4×2500 points, even points and cash stays did it. This time it is a different story, it’s not working at all and Barclays and Hilton are blaming each other. First time Barclays eventually credited the payment and paid substantial compensation. Now after my second stay the whole drama with their respective CS is repeating itself and currently ongoing. I just want the points and peace, the compensation is welcome but I’d rather not have the hassle in the first place. The problem is US HHCS and most of Barclays own staff are clueless about the card.

      • Dominic says:

        5 Jan5 January 15:14

        Mine worked fine on my last visit. The Barclays points posted before the points from Hilton.

        I have a stay coming up in two weeks that was prepayed with an amex. I’ll just use the HHonors card for dinner/drinks and see if I get the second 2500. Hoping I triple points for the spend too.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          6 Jan6 January 00:40

          Plus 5000 as its a visa, make sure you are registered

    • Richmond says:

      6 Jan6 January 07:32

      I never used Hilton card in Hilton and got 5 x 2500 during first year. I assume last bonus was system error.

• Dio says:

  5 Jan5 January 07:57

  Do you get the BAPP amex bonus if you had the card in the past and it has been more than one year sinvce then?

  • James67 says:

    5 Jan5 January 08:08

    You get bonuses again with amex provided you wait at least 6 months after cancelling your card to apply again. People take advantage of this regularly to maximise points and miles, it is what you will see us refer to as churning

• Matt says:

  5 Jan5 January 08:39

  I currently have both the Amex Gold Card and the free BA card and have triggered the spend bonus points for both. I also have the Hilton Visa arriving soon which I will be using to pay £750 of my tax bill to instantly trigger the free night, which will be cancelled once redeemed.

  I’m currently thinking that I am best to cancel the BA card (& reapply for it in July and hit any bonus points available, even the £1-1avios would work from me to tide me over) & keep the Amex Gold as I am due to book return flights to the US (so get bonus points for booking direct with the airline & overseas spending) car hire upgrade and lounge access. Then cancel and churn again later in the year for another sign up bonus.

  At the moment I don’t think I can quite make the BAPP card work this year; so is my plan the best bet to maximise cc points/miles?

  Thanks for the site, Rob! Incredibly helpful for maximising the points available to earn!

  • Rob says:

    5 Jan5 January 08:41

    To get full value from the BAPP you must be triggering the 241 and, of course, have enough Avios to get full value from it. It that means sticking with other cards to build up Avios then that is fine.

    • Alan says:

      5 Jan5 January 10:01

      Or if the 241 if of no interest then do a smash and grab and aim to hit the spending target as quickly as possible for 25k Avios then cancel to minimise fee paid 😉

      • Wayne Phillips says:

        5 Jan5 January 11:42

        That’s what I did this time around. ~8 weeks to spend £3k and earn the points then cancel for ~£150 refund

    • Matt says:

      5 Jan5 January 20:16

      Thanks Rob. Was my thought there but wanted to check!

  • John says:

    5 Jan5 January 08:49

    Bonus points on Amex Gold foreign spending are not worth it unless someone else is paying

  • JP says:

    5 Jan5 January 10:45

    If you have a partner it works much better if you refer them before cancelling your card, you get extra points for referring and they get extra for being referred. Then repeat in the opposite direction in 6 months.

• Kathy says:

  5 Jan5 January 09:01

  Do you still get a higher sign-up bonus if referred to the Amex Gold? I am ready to apply for it again, having earned the voucher on my Lloyds. If so, can someone refer me please?

  • Graeme says:

    5 Jan5 January 09:16

    Rob provides a link in his review of the card.

    • Kathy says:

      5 Jan5 January 10:17

      Link is to the Amex Gold home page, though. Rob normally says if using a particular link will get you a higher sign-up bonus or give a benefit to him.

      • mark2 says:

        5 Jan5 January 11:09

        just email him and he will send you a link which will get you an extra 2000 MR points and help to support the site.

  • Rob says:

    5 Jan5 January 11:24

    Drop me an email at rob at headforpoints co uk and I’ll send you one.

    • Kathy says:

      5 Jan5 January 13:40

      Thanks!

• Al says:

  5 Jan5 January 09:23

  Regarding transferring points from SPG to BAEC, is there a minimum number of point you must accumulate prior to moving them over?

  • Genghis says:

    5 Jan5 January 09:39

    “There is no minimum Starpoint transfer requirement for Platinum Preferred Guests, except where transfer ratios are not 1:1. Gold Preferred Guests have a minimum transfer requirement of 1,500 Starpoints, and Preferred Guests have a minimum transfer requirement of 2,500 Starpoints.”

    • Wayne Phillips says:

      5 Jan5 January 11:43

      Best to wait until you have 20,000 SPG points, so get the bonus when transferring to the airline programme

      • mark2 says:

        5 Jan5 January 12:40

        You may already have a heap of Avios and need these to make a redemption, but do not forget spgflights.com where you can book flights on almost any airline on any flight.

• Phil T says:

  5 Jan5 January 09:25

  I have the BAPP card and Mrs T has a supplementary card. Can I refer her for her own card and me as supplementary and will she get the spend bonus?

  • Graeme says:

    5 Jan5 January 09:25

    Yes

    • Phil T says:

      5 Jan5 January 12:06

      Thanks Graeme

• Lawrie says:

  5 Jan5 January 09:52

  My one year anniversary is due for my VA black Amex in a few days time. I have already spent over 10k to get my two economy to premium eco upgrades. However I want to cancel my card to avoid the fee (as my other half has taken the card out and we will focus the spend on her card instead). Can anyone confirm that the upgrade vouchers should still tip across at the end to the year? I can’t think of any reason it shouldn’t but I will call flying club to confirm anyway before I cancel. Thanks

  • Lev441 says:

    5 Jan5 January 10:47

    They posted mine a couple of days before my renewal date. Either way, as long as you spend nothing on the card after the renewal date, you would get a refund of the annual fee

    • Lawrie says:

      5 Jan5 January 12:08

      Thank you!

      • Peter K says:

        5 Jan5 January 15:23

        I’d wait until the upgrade voucher goes across then cancel but as Lev441 says, don’t spend anything after anniversary date to cancel without the fee.

  • Charlie says:

    5 Jan5 January 11:03

    I recommend you to stop using the card but don’t cancel it.

    Check your Virgin Flying Club every morning to find out when the vouchers have actually posted, you’ll see an entry like:

    “VAA Credit Card Rwd: Upgrade Econ.to Prem.Econ.o/w”

    Once the vouchers have posted then call MBNA to cancel the card.

    I once had the vouchers post before the annual fee was applied.

    If the annual fee has already been charged to your card, then ask them to refund it as you have not used the card. If they refuse then call again to try someone else!

    BTW, regarding the £10K spend, it is AMEX only spend, hopefully you know this already.

    • Lawrie says:

      5 Jan5 January 12:07

      Thank you. yeah all 10k was Amex spend.

  • Andy says:

    5 Jan5 January 12:29

    I don’t have personal experience of it, but I think I recall someone cancelling their card on the anniversary date so that they got the upgrade vouchers and didn’t trigger the renewal fee.

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