Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Amazon cuts the cashback earning rate on its Platinum Mastercard credit card

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

If you need any further proof of the tough environment out there for credit card rewards, Amazon has just announced big changes to its UK Platinum Mastercard.

I tend to use the Amazon card as one of my default ‘best (almost-)cashback’ cards.  After this change, the best mainstream card is probably the John Lewis / Waitrose one which has no annual fee and still offers 0.5% back, doubled to 1% at John Lewis and Waitrose.

Amazon Mastercard reduces its cashback earning rate

From 29th April, the cashback rate – paid in Amazon vouchers – on the Amazon Platinum Mastercard will drop from 0.5% to just 0.25%.

The earning rate when spending at Amazon remains unchanged.  You will get 1.5% back as a Prime member and 0.75% back otherwise.

Details of the credit card, which do not reflect the upcoming changes, are on this page of the Amazon site. 

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

General

Comments (153)

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

  • Tom Cook says:
    28 Mar28 March 12:08

    So, I have the plat and was thinking about referring my other half for the SPG card though she wounldn’t get a welcome bonus I don’t think.

    Anyway, in going through the refer a friend it only shows the plat and the BAPP card – I know this has happened before but it is now saying I would only get 9k MR points for a referral to the BA card, whereas before it has always been 18k……has anyone else had successful 18k points referral recently?

  • Freddy says:
    28 Mar28 March 12:23

    I must be living under a rock, what offers do you tend to look out for to get these discounts on giftcards

  • Chris L says:
    28 Mar28 March 12:55

    OT, Flybe launching LHR-IOM on 21/4. Not sure if this is old news or not.

  • James says:
    28 Mar28 March 13:45

    I have the Shop Small promotion and was very surprised to see the change in terms to just one single transaction / shop.

    It is not promoting the use of the card in small shops by much !!

    I reread it several times to make sure I was reading it correctly I was that surprised.

  • Sussex Bantam says:
    28 Mar28 March 13:57

    I also had a horrible experience with their customer service. I won’t use them again however much they offer in avios/discounts.

    I hope you have better luck !

  • illuminatus says:
    28 Mar28 March 14:11

    Does Eurostar normally run any promotions between now and May?

    • John says:
      28 Mar28 March 15:23

      not that I recall, there’s often one earlier in the year, and June/July had something the last few years

      I’ve been avoiding Eurostar for the last few weeks due to the industrial action by French customs at Gare du Nord, too many delays and cancellations!

      if that finishes, perhaps they’ll do something to try and get people back, but I wouldn’t count on either

  • Charlieface says:
    28 Mar28 March 14:42

    Natwest Rewards and Santander All-in-one are 0.5% as well, and that’s hard cash I think.

  • TP says:
    28 Mar28 March 15:03

    O/T – I’m new to the Marriott and building up stays for status requirements. I have a work booking I’m making for 3 rooms under the same reservation code for the same night. How many of these rooms can I earn credit for?
    I know with Hilton I’d earn against 2 room – What’s the policy with Marriott please?
    TIA..

    • TGLoyalty says:
      28 Mar28 March 15:35

      Stays/Nights against 1 but points against up to 3

      SPG was far better for this as its allowed both for up to 3

    • Rob says:
      28 Mar28 March 17:25

      One IIRC.

      Hilton – for clarity – gives points on two rooms but I THINK (IIRC) only gives night credit for 1 room?

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.

NEW: Sign-up bonuses boosted to 3,000 and 18,000 points

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!