Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

What are the best credit card sign-up deals for September 2018? – plus a news round-up

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

UPDATE – APRIL 2024:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.  We produce a monthly directory of the top UK travel credit card offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Credit Cards’ menu above.  Thank you.

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.

Keep up to date with the latest UK credit card bonuses by signing up for our free daily or weekly newsletters.

It is time for our regular round up of what is coming and what is going in the world of UK airline and hotel credit card sign-up deals.

Our directory of the 16 main UK travel credit cards can be found by clicking the ‘Credit Cards’ tab at the top of the site or – for email, Flipboard, Apple News or mobile readers – by clicking here.

Marriott Mastercard UK

What was new in the last month?

Being August, there wasn’t a lot of travel credit cards news but there were a couple of stories of interest that we covered.

The dog that didn’t bark – the new Marriott Mastercard

The new Creation-issued Marriott Rewards Mastercard was due to launch in August.  Nothing has happened and my approaches to people I know at Marriott and Creation have got nowhere.

However, if they simply reopen the old Marriott card – which I still have – to new applicants once again, this is what you will get:

  • a Mastercard issued by Creation
  • no annual fee
  • 1 ‘new scheme’ point per £1 spent
  • 10,000 ‘new scheme’ points, worth around £50, as a sign-up bonus
  • 2,000 free ‘new scheme’ points annually on your card anniversary
  • 10 elite night credits each year

Keep an eye on HFP for news on the launch, but don’t hold your breath.

Lloyds announced its plans for the Lloyds Avios, Lloyds Duo and Lloyds Choice cards

Lloyds Bank has finally announced what is going to happen to its legacy rewards cards.  Basically:

Holders of Lloyds Duo Avios cards or Lloyds Choice Rewards cards are being moved to Lloyds Avios Rewards

Holders of Lloyds Avios Rewards cards will see their package change substantially – the Amex part is going (it will be Mastercard-only), the upgrade voucher is going, the 0% FX fees benefit is going and the Avios earning rate is improving

This is going to be a very slow process.  Letters will be staggered between now and April 2019.  It isn’t clear if this is due to Lloyds looking to avoid a squeeze on their infrastructure or if they are hoping to tie it in with your annual renewal date.

The Avios earning rate on the new Mastercard will be:

0.4 Avios per £1 you spend in the UK

0.8 Avios per £1 you spend outside the UK (but with a 3% FX fee)

0.4 Avios per £1 transferred on a balance transfer (this is a new benefit – Lloyds Duo Avios cardholders used to get Avios on balance transfers but Lloyds Avios Rewards cardholders did not)

….. plus a 25% Avios bonus for Club Lloyds current account holders.

One thing I don’t know is whether this new Lloyds Avios Rewards Mastercard will be reopened to new cardholders or whether it will remain exclusively for legacy cardholders.

Lloyds Bank has set up a special website on the changes and you can find more details here.

MBNA’s Horizon cards finally arrived

Well, my Horizon card turned up – I don’t know about yours!  The timing was good and it was used heavily in Italy last month.  This is a surprisingly impressive card to use when travelling as I explained in this review of the Horizon Visa credit card.

Even if you haven’t been sent your replacement Horizon Visa card yet, your existing card is now operating as Horizon with cashback benefits.

All of the MBNA airline cards are now finally dead.  If you are looking for:

alternatives to the American Airlines credit card, read this article

alternatives to the Etihad Guest credit card, read this article

alternatives to the Miles & More credit card, read this article

alternatives to the Emirates Skywards credit card, read this article

alternatives to the United MileagePlus credit card, read this article

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 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 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 card

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: 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.

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

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 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 Business Credit Card

1% cashback uncapped* on all your business spending (T&C apply) Read our full review

Category

American Express Gold card, American Express Platinum card, British Airways and Avios, Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club

Comments (130)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Nelson says:
    6 Sep6 September 09:45

    O/T how to book lounge access with avios/ba miles?

  • David says:
    6 Sep6 September 10:08

    What’s the latest on upgrading from PRG credit Amex to Platinum? Is it true that it’s no longer possible, since the PRG is a credit card and the Platinum is a charge card?

  • 1nfrequent says:
    6 Sep6 September 10:33

    Question about the BA Amex card. I just had my statement for last month and went to check it against my BAEC account. The non-BA spend related points have been credited to my BAEC account but there’s no sign of the Avios related to the BA spend. Is there usually a lag between the two sets of points being transferred or has there likely been a snafu that means I should get on to Amex?

    • Polly says:
      6 Sep6 September 10:41

      The spend avios may not have been credited in time for the transfer date. That happened with my bonus 26k last month too.

      • 1nfrequent says:
        6 Sep6 September 11:05

        Thank you – did it show up on your next statement or did you have to call Amex to get them to force it through?

        1F

    • Genghis says:
      6 Sep6 September 10:43

      Should credit at same time.

  • Paul says:
    6 Sep6 September 11:26

    What I find most interesting is the complete absence of Visa from the travel rewards market. I was in the USA recently and Costco only take visa there. Here it’s Amex and I had to get cash using my Halifax card.

    • David says:
      6 Sep6 September 12:17

      My Horizon is a Visa, and so is the Barclaycard Platinum Travel (although no rewards on the latter).

  • Munch says:
    6 Sep6 September 11:27

    How many credit card applications a year is an acceptable amount without destroying your credit score? I noticed on my credit report I now have amber for the amount of hard searches / credit applications which is a total of 4 applications, all accepted. I believe they only appear for 1 year on your credit record? I’m not looking for any loans or mortgage renewals for at least 4 years so amber for a year shouldn’t affect me?

    • S says:
      6 Sep6 September 11:32

      Hard searches stay on for 2 years, but have negligible impact after 6 months.

      If you’re not looking for any specific credit product in the next 6 months, there’s no point in worrying about it at all. Each lender has its own criteria anyway.

    • Genghis says:
      6 Sep6 September 11:35

      4 in a year? Rubbish. I apply for probably 8 credit cards a year, may change a couple of banks, change utilities etc yet still have 999.

      • Alan says:
        6 Sep6 September 11:42

        My rating went down this month from 999 to 984! Most disappointing.

      • GabeS says:
        6 Sep6 September 16:16

        Hi Genghis
        Any experience with balance transfer credit cards?
        My wife had just transfer not a huge amount of money from one card to a new one-her score has dropped 100 points after first month
        Shocking,could not believe it,dropped her from good ,almost excellent to the bottom

    • Tom Cook says:
      6 Sep6 September 12:27

      Think I’ve made 5 applications this year and a mortgage application and my rating has stayed at 999 with the odd drop to 990!

    • the_real_a says:
      6 Sep6 September 13:38

      In my experience its not the number of applications, its the overall available credit % Vs income that has the biggest effect of approvals.

      Also your credit score is very liquid, just because you are declined one month does not mean that you will be declined the month after (if you clear some debt)

    • RTS says:
      6 Sep6 September 14:15

      I made 2 mortgage apps, 1 bank acct and 2 CCs in 1 month. Down to 919 !

  • Gin and Tonic Please says:
    6 Sep6 September 11:38

    Any news on a replacement Lufthansa card yet?

  • Jonathan E says:
    6 Sep6 September 12:21

    Re: Virgin Rewards+ card. I went through the application link for the enhanced bonus given that I’d had the MBNA version. After the first month’s spend, I’ve received the 15,000 but not the extra 6,000 (I think) for spending £1k.Anyone had experience of when this posts? Is it separately or should I chase? Many thanks.

    • Rob says:
      6 Sep6 September 12:28

      They are taking a while to arrive, Virgin is doing it all manually. I wouldn’t worry for a month or so.

    • Jonathan says:
      6 Sep6 September 12:54

      The way i read the paperwork is they enhanced bonus is manually added on the subsequent statement to the qualifying statement (i assume to allow Virgin to manually verify it). So if your initial statement met the spend threshold the enhanced bonus will appear on your second statement, and if your second statement qualified the points would appear in your 3rd statement and so on.

    • George says:
      7 Sep7 September 13:57

      Where are the details for the bonus 6000 points? Think I missed this. Thanks.

  • Scottydogg says:
    6 Sep6 September 12:59

    I’m holding out for a Hilton Visa / Mastercard , any sign of that coming out ?

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Latest Forum Posts

Get 40,000 bonus points (worth 40,000 Avios) and £300 dining credit with The Platinum Card

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get £10 when you spend £150 on your free Currensea card

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? SPECIAL OFFER TO 12TH MAY EARN POINTS WORTH 30,000 AVIOS WITH CAPITAL ON TAP

Get 20,000 bonus points, four airport lounge passes and your first year free with American Express Gold

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!