ALL MBNA airline credit cards withdrawn – what are your alternatives?
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It was good advice.
All eight MBNA airline credit cards were pulled on Monday evening. Slightly surprisingly, this included the new American Airlines card which is only a few months old and which did not have an American Express element.
These are the cards you can no longer get:
Lufthansa Miles & More
Emirates Skywards
Emirates Skywards Elite
Virgin Flying Club White
Virgin Flying Club Black
Etihad Guest
United Airlines MileagePlus
American Airlines AAdvantage
You should NOT assume that these cards will return under a new issuer.
We know that the two Virgin Atlantic cards will return shortly under the Virgin Money banner. However, I know from some discussions I have had that you should not necessarily expect the other cards to return. If you think that they are all primed to relaunch next week, you are very wrong.
Two linked events caused this. The core driver was the European Union cap on interchange fees. This restricted the fee that payment processors could charge retailers for accepting credit cards to 0.3%. It is very difficult to run a successful mileage card on this basis.
The second driver was American Express being caught up in the 0.3% cap, even though it was originally expected to be exempt. American Express decided to pull all of its licensed cards from the market, which means that MBNA, Lloyds, TSB and Barclays had to stop issuing Amex-branded products. (The Lloyds Avios Amex is still being issued but the end is nigh.)
I am a little surprised that the American Airlines card was pulled. This had already been relaunched without an American Express element. It combined a chunky fee (£70) with a very high earning rate (1.25 miles per £1 on a Visa). I thought this might prove sustainable but MBNA clearly had other ideas.
So, overnight, one third of the UK airline and hotel credit and charge card market disappeared.
What are my alternatives?
If you currently hold these cards (I have the Lufthansa ones, my wife has the Virgin ones) they will continue to operate for a while. Whether that is weeks, months or years I don’t know.
If you had been planning to get one of these cards but never got around to it, here are your options:
Lufthansa Miles & More / American Airlines AAdvantage
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold or American Express Platinum (points convert 2:1 into Starwood Preferred Guest, then 1:1 – or 1:1.25 for larger amounts – into Miles & More or AAdvantage)
or
Starwood Preferred Guest American Express (best choice – points convert 1:1 into Miles & More or AAdvantage, or 1:1.25 for larger amounts)
The only half-decent Visa / MasterCard option is via the IHG Rewards Club MasterCard (0.2 miles per £1, assuming you convert 10,000 IHG points into 2,000 airline miles) or, with the £99 IHG Rewards Club Premium MasterCard, 0.4 miles per £1.
Emirates Skywards
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold or American Express Platinum (points convert 1:1 into Emirates Skywards)
or
Starwood Preferred Guest American Express (points convert 1:1 into Emirates Skywards, or 1:1.25 for larger amounts)
The only half-decent Visa / MasterCard option is via the IHG Rewards Club MasterCard (0.2 miles per £1, assuming you convert 10,000 IHG points into 2,000 airline miles) or, with the £99 IHG Rewards Club Premium MasterCard, 0.4 miles per £1.
Etihad Guest
You can use the Amex Gold, Platinum or Starwood Amex options as per Emirates
or
HSBC Premier MasterCard (0.5 miles per £1) or HSBC Premier World Elite MasterCard (1 mile per £1) – these cards are only available to HSBC Premier current account holders
You can also use the IHG option for a Visa / MasterCard (0.2 or 0.4 miles per £1).
Virgin Flying Club
You can use the Amex Gold, Platinum or Starwood Amex options above as per Emirates
or
Tesco Clubcard MasterCard (0.31 miles per £1) or Tesco Premium MasterCard (0.62 miles per £1)
or
you can also use the IHG option for a Visa / MasterCard outlined above (0.2 or 0.4 miles per £1)
or
wait for new Virgin Money-issued Virgin Flying Club credit cards
United Airlines MileagePlus
You can use the Amex Gold, Platinum or Starwood Amex options above as per Lufthansa / American. However, because Starwood has a poor transfer rate to United, you should move your Starwood points across to Marriott Rewards and convert from there. The exact rate will depend on the amount you transfer.
You can also use the IHG option for a Visa / MasterCard (0.2 or 0.4 miles per £1).
Reviews and to apply
Here are my reviews of the cards mentioned above, which also explain the sign-up bonuses available:
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold – review, apply
American Express Platinum – review, apply
Starwood Preferred Guest American Express – review, apply
IHG Rewards Club MasterCard – review, apply
IHG Rewards Club Premium MasterCard – review, apply
Tesco Clubcard MasterCard – review, apply
Tesco Premium MasterCard – review, apply
HSBC Premier MasterCard – review, apply
HSBC Premier World Elite MasterCard – review, apply
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – January 2021 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our January 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus.
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here.

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

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

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
15,000 points bonus and the most generous non-Amex for day to day spending 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:

American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
Earn both Avios and BA On Business points with your business spending Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points and do not consider interest rates, service levels or any impact on your credit history. By recommending credit cards on this site, I am – technically – acting as a credit broker. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a credit broker.
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