Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Should you leave American Express for 24 months until you can get a new sign-up bonus?

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We have spent a lot of time in the last few days discussing the new American Express sign-up bonus policy.  In most cases, you need to cancel all of your personal American Express cards and wait two years before you would qualify for any new sign-up bonuses.

As I pointed out on Thursday, for someone who does not have an American Express card and has not had one in the past 24 months, you can still earn 65,000 Avios relatively quickly.

This is the best strategy for maximising Avios under the new Avios rules:

For your first card: 

Get the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express (bonus of 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) or Nectar American Express (20,000 Nectar points) or Platinum Cashback or Platinum Cashback Everyday.  I would see the Starwood option as the most valuable.

Once you have got your first card, you are disqualified from bonuses on most of the other cards.  There are two exceptions however:

For your second card (or third card, order is not important):

Get The Platinum Card (bonus of 30,000 Membership Rewards points) because the only restriction on getting this is if you have held another Membership Rewards-earning card (Preferred Rewards Gold, American Express Rewards, Green, Gold Business, Platinum Business) in the previous 24 months

For your third card (or second card, order is not important):

Get the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card (bonus of 25,000 Avios) because the only restriction on getting this is if you have held either British Airways American Express card in the previous 24 months

The reason for the order here is that as soon as you get The Platinum Card or the British Airways Premium Plus card, you block yourself from all of the bonuses in the first list.

Under the new rules, if you had not previously had a personal American Express card, this strategy will earn you:

30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points from the Starwood American Express or 20,000 Nectar points

plus

30,000 Membership Rewards points from The Platinum Card 

plus

25,000 Avios from the British Airways Premium Plus card

If you converted the 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points into 10,000 Avios and the 30,000 Membership Rewards points into 30,000 Avios, you would have earned 65,000 Avios fairly quickly from sign-up bonuses.

What are your options as an existing cardholder?

If you are currently an American Express personal cardholder, you have two options.

Option 1 is to carry on as you are, keeping one of the American Express cards in your wallet but knowing that in most cases you will never be eligible for another sign-up bonus

Option 2 is to cancel all of your personal American Express cards and start the 24 month clock on when you can pursue the strategy above

For a lot of people, I think Option 2 is pretty attractive.

Option 2 allows you, in two years time, to pick up 65,000 Avios relatively quickly via the application strategy I outline above.  Your partner can do the same.  Importantly, you can refer your partner for the cards using the ‘refer a friend’ programme.  Add in the referral bonuses and you can still earn over 150,000 Avios between two people once every two years.

What would you do for 24 months whilst you are waiting? 

Spend on a totally different card.

There are LOTS of non-American Express cards out there that you can use for the next 24 months and some are pretty attractive.  Here are the most valuable options:

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard – annual fee £0 – earns 0.75 miles per £1 – sign-up bonus of 5,000 Virgin Flying Club miles – our review / apply

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard – annual fee £160 – earns 1.5 miles per £1 – sign-up bonus of 15,000 Virgin Flying Club miles – our review / apply

Miles & More Global Traveller Diners Club and Mastercard – annual fee £79 – earns 1.25 miles per £1 – sign-up bonus of 5,000 Miles & More miles – our review / apply

IHG Rewards Club Mastercard – no annual fee – earns 1 point per £1 – sign-up bonus of 10,000 IHG Rewards Club points – our review / apply

IHG Rewards Club Premium Mastercard – annual fee £99 – earns 2 points per £1 – sign-up bonus of 20,000 IHG Rewards Club points – our review / apply

HSBC Premier Mastercard – no annual fee – earns 0.5 airline miles per £1 – no sign-up bonus – our review / apply

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard – annual fee of £195 – earns 1 airline mile per £1 – sign-up bonus of 40,000 airline miles – our review / apply

There are plenty of alternatives out there.  It is worth remembering that KLM and Air France will soon be redeemable with Virgin Flying Club miles, adding a lot of extra options.

You get some decent long-term incentives too.  The IHG Rewards Club Premium Mastercard offers you a free night voucher each year if you spend £10,000.  The Virgin Atlantic credit cards offer a 2-4-1 or upgrade voucher each year if you spend £10,000.

New American Express sign-up bonus rules

If you think you prefer Option 1 – carrying on as you are – remember how hard it would be to earn 65,000 Avios via normal spending

If you cancel all of your American Express cards, I showed you above how – in 24 months time – you can pick up 65,000 Avios fairly quickly via three applications.

If you choose to keep your existing cards, you will obviously continue to earn miles as you always did.  However, think about how much spending would be required over the next two years to earn 65,000 Avios:

£65,000 on the free BA Amex, Amex Gold or Amex Platinum

£43,333 on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus

£52,000 on the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express

Most people can’t hit these targets and are better off cancelling everything – you will earn more miles from Amex by cancelling and waiting 24 months.  This also ignores the huge number of points you’d earn by diverting your spend to one of the other cards above.

The ‘elephant in the room’ is the BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher

The key problem, if you cancel all of your American Express cards to restart the 24 month clock, is not earning a British Airways American Express Premium Plus 2-4-1 voucher.

You might be happy to skip the voucher for two years, especially if you have existing vouchers to use up.   If you are still earning a lot of Avios via other routes (like flying) you may well need to bite the bullet and keep your BA Amex open.

This doesn’t totally stop you getting other bonuses.  You would still be eligible to apply for The Platinum Card every 24 months and receive a 30,000 points sign-up bonus.

And you need an Amex to pay the taxes on your 2-4-1 tickets ….

Remember that you need to pay the taxes when you redeem a British Airways 2-4-1 voucher using an American Express card.  Despite what the rules say, it doesn’t need to be a BA Amex and it doesn’t need to be in your name (Amex does not check names as part of its card verification) but you WILL need access to an American Express.

And possibly a Platinum-coloured elephant too ….

For some people, The Platinum Card poses a similar dilemma.  What will you do for airport lounge access, travel insurance, hotel status etc during your 24 month hiatus?

Finally, do the Amex cashback offers have value to you?

Most of us have save £100+ per year via the cashback offers added to our Amex card statements.  You should factor the loss of those savings into your calculations.

New American Express sign-up bonus rules

Ignore this article entirely if you have a small business

Forget everything you just read if you have a small business.  The sign-up rules on Amex Gold Business and Amex Platinum Business have not changed and you can reapply for those and receive a new bonus after just a six month gap.

Conclusion

You need to decide if you are going to walk away from American Express entirely for the next 24 months.

For many HfP readers, this may be a sensible strategy.  Put your credit card spend on other products and then, in two years time, return to American Express and get three cards in quick succession – earning 65,000 Avios – using the strategy above.

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

18,000 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 Membership Rewards, American Express Platinum card, British Airways American Express, Marriott Bonvoy American Express

Comments (374)

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

  • Oli says:
    23 Mar23 March 07:27

    How does Amex consider non-activated cards? I ordered an Amex Nectar cars in January (to get a Platinium referral bonus) but never activated it. Should I activate it and cancel it to reset the 2 years period?

    • Rob says:
      23 Mar23 March 08:12

      Still counts as issued. Activation is purely a security thing.

      I know readers who applied for Gold, changed their mind and called 24 hours later to swap it for Plat, and got no bonus as first app made them an existing cardholder.

  • BJ says:
    23 Mar23 March 07:28

    Option 1

    65k avios worth £487.50 at your 0.75ppa valuation so holding cards is more attractive than it might first seem. I am sure virtually all of us can better this on amex offers over two years (Liz has probably beaten it using shop small alone in onr year!). Furthermore, holding the cards makes it easier to gain the referral bonuses. As I mentioned a few days ago we need to avoid knee-jerk reactions and think twice before cancelling all ouf existing cards.

    • Mr(s) Entitled says:
      23 Mar23 March 07:47

      For referral though you could still get in and out within a month. Save on fees and put the spend elsewhere. Just do that every 12mths and forgo the sign up bonuses. No need to hold the cards if that is your thinking.

    • Liz says:
      23 Mar23 March 07:57

      I currently have BAPP and SPG and nothing in hubby’s name at present so will likely stick with these 2 till hubby is eleible again. Away in van ATM in sunny Stonehaven so can’t check my dates. Glad I didn’t follow the strategy of earn and burn as I have 330+ Avios, 180k Virgin and £700+ Clubcard points saved for future trips. We tend to only do one big redemption trip per year so we are ok for the next few years. My fear of cancelling the BAPP would be that it gets pulled before 2 years are up. I will take out the Plat card next month instead of hubby for the insurance, car insurance then cancel again shortly afterwards. Will also continue to use IHG card and start using Virgin and Hilton cards a bit more.

      • Anna says:
        23 Mar23 March 08:06

        I’m also thinking longer trips away as hubby and I both retire within the next 3 years, e.g. a month-long road trip with a J or F flight at either end using a 2 4 1. My BAEC account is showing 400,000 avios this morning, I don’t think I’ll see that again…

        I would consider taking out Platinum once a year for hotel status and car insurance, but I don’t see the point of keeping it for more than a couple of months if there’s no sign up bonus, it just doesn’t justify the fee. I wonder if there will be a big dip in uptake and retention with this card.

      • Graham Walsh says:
        23 Mar23 March 08:08

        Don’t forget the 5 x referrals when you hold Plat. That’s the best bit going forward.

        • Liz says:
          23 Mar23 March 08:10

          I don’t have anyone to refer except each other and that is now severely restricted.

        • Polly says:
          23 Mar23 March 08:46

          Yes, we will still hold the plat, referring each other, for all 3 cards ( Plat, Bapp, SPG) on a reasonable rotation, which will keep the earning levels up enough for a J 241 to Asia annually. Plus double dipping in Tesco. As most of our spend goes via amex.
          Will drop the WE MC down to Premier mc, so still earning .5/£, but no fee then. But may move back to the new Lloyds mc when we get it, as it will earn 0.4/£. And drop the hsbc mc entirely. So thinking it through atm.
          And of course, curve is linked to our hsbc mc, very useful too. Council tax etc etc.
          As conscious of fees, can take £450 pa, with pro rata refund, as we will have the referrals out of it. And use the PP when on ryan air etc from Dub. Use T5 to fly to Dub ongoing tho.
          And usually get a good whack of the fee back w offers.
          But yes, serious loss to us…but not the end for sure.

        • Graham Walsh says:
          23 Mar23 March 09:19

          Polly, why not apply for 2 other Amex cards such as Nectar too to max out the 5 referrals? Need to read my Lloyds letter as that arrived last week informing me of my cancelled Avios Amex

        • Graeme says:
          23 Mar23 March 09:49

          I’m the same Liz. Good strategy would be to team up and refer between 4 (or 2 + 2 partners ideally) every 6 months.

          That way you have the platinum benefits for 1/2 the time, 1 in every 2 years.

      • BJ says:
        23 Mar23 March 08:11

        I have not yet decided, we will probably split the difference witn me holding and my partner cancelling. Also ok here through end 2021 with no devaluations. Not sure if you would consider renting out your van but be advised The Ooen us at St Andews next year so there vould be rewarding opportunities.

        • Liz says:
          23 Mar23 March 08:25

          No way would I rent it out! It is our wee cosy home from home and would hate for it to get trashed! Spending the week exploring the Aberdeenshire area which we would never normally do if we had to pay for hotels or B&B’s. Making the most of our investment and seen more of Scotland in the past 2 years than I have my whole life. Need to start going further afield though in the next few years.

        • Mikeact says:
          23 Mar23 March 08:58

          Liz. You need to take the ferry over to Santander, and keep to the coast, Northern Spain and down through Portugal, all the way, and return totally off the beaten track where possible. No flying…Curve card plus back ups.

        • Liz says:
          23 Mar23 March 09:14

          I will add it to our never ending to do list! Would love to just hitch up and go to Europe for 3 months but we have elderly parents here so need to always be going home to check up on them! Hopefully get to do this in the future though.

  • Sussex bantam says:
    23 Mar23 March 07:30

    I’m not sure this is the right strategy for me

    I think my plan is to keep an ARC card for myself and my wife to keep MR points alive and then for one of us to get a gold card and refer the 90k limit during the free year. Cancal the gold having got the spend bonus and then repeat.

    Having an ARC keeps the flexibility of MR points and as I’m not worried about sign up bonus I can keep all my points in Amex rather than transferring out

    Thoughts ?

    • TGLoyalty says:
      23 Mar23 March 11:38

      if you aren’t worried about sign up bonus then Plat through high travel times and Gold the rest of the year? First year is still free so you always have an MR but only pay fee for part of the year

  • Genghis says:
    23 Mar23 March 07:30

    We currently have zero Amexes but a 241 to use (got access to friends’). I plan on allowing the 2 year fallow period and will run the numbers on optimal strategy then (ie most points maximising referrals but keeping costs low). In the interim:
    – HSBC Prem WE for avios earning and lounge access
    – HSBC Prem for travel insurance
    – Spend £10k on Hilton visa to maintain Gold (the only one of the Plat statuses really worth having)

    • BJ says:
      23 Mar23 March 08:00

      It is a big gamble, the amex landscape may look very different in two years and you have missed the benefits and opportunities in the interim.

    • Funtime says:
      23 Mar23 March 10:44

      Making use of Meliá gold status in Tenerife soon, you get three vouchers each worth 20% off.

      Plat benefit worth having.

  • Josh says:
    23 Mar23 March 07:32

    How long do you need to have had the gold/plat cancelled before you can reapply and get the first year free?

    Specifically had the gold charge for a year and upgraded to plat which I now have but want to cancel and change to gold credit card, i’m guessing there’s no way to self refer to this?

    • Alex W says:
      23 Mar23 March 07:39

      Yes you should be able to self refer from Plat to gold credit. As this is a separate product not a downgrade you shouldn’t get charged the annual fee in the first year. Won’t get the sign-up bonus though.

    • Rob says:
      23 Mar23 March 08:10

      You get first year free and lounge passes irrespective.

  • Tracy McLaughlin says:
    23 Mar23 March 07:48

    Not got long to hit the spend targets on a few so worth keeping for a whille. Then it takes a while for them to come through. mmm. Happy with the Capital on tap business card though. Thanks for referring. Tracy

    • The Savage Squirrel says:
      23 Mar23 March 07:52

      Tracy, can you report whether the HMRC payments with the COT business card go through OK?

  • Jonathan says:
    23 Mar23 March 07:48

    I posted a couple of weeks ago about what to do with 160k MR points. Looking to speculatively move them – I already have 1.5m Virgin, 500k Avios, 800k Marriot, 800k IHG, 135k Emirates. The consensus was probably Marriot (for flexibility) or start Hilton. Would this news change that consensus?

    Secondly as a small business owner, I’m thinking my strategy will now be to keep one SPG and one BAP permenantly in my name. Churn them both every 2 years in my wife’s name. Although I don’t expect either to last that long. Then churn business gold/platinum every 6 months.

    Probably, overall, I’ll take a 50k Avios hit per year but still able to earn large enough quantities to fly BA redemptions #fingerscrossed.

  • fischersfritz says:
    23 Mar23 March 07:49

    Does getting an Amex business card affect the 24 months you need for your next personal card? And do you get the fee back on a pro-rata basis if you cancel them?

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