What are the best credit card sign-up deals for February 2020? – plus your news round-up

UPDATE – APRIL 2024:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.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.

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After a January break, 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 and charge 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.

What was new in January?

The Marriott Bonvoy Amex was announced, to replace the Starwood Amex

On 26th February, the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express card will be replaced by the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card.

There isn’t much good news surrounding this, unfortunately.  The most positive thing is that the card will now come with 15 elite nights credit per year.  This puts you a lot nearer Platinum Elite (35 nights vs 50 nights usually) which is the sweet spot in terms of getting lounge access, guaranteed late check-out and free breakfast.

The bad news is that the earning rate drops by 33%, from 3 Bonvoy points per £1 to just 2 points.  The annual fee remains unchanged at £75.

The sign-up bonus is also whacked, falling from 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to just 20,000.  Importantly, the qualifying spend to trigger the bonus jumps sharply, from £1,000 to £3,000.

If you’ve never had this card and qualify for the bonus, you should apply before 26th February to lock in the 30,000 points bonus and the £1,000 qualifying spend.

Existing cardholders will receive their first batch of 15 elite night credits during April, I believe, and then every January thereafter.

Full details of the changes can be found in our ‘the SPG Amex becomes the Marriott Amex’ articles here and here.  You can apply for the card here.

This article looks at your options if you are planning to ditch your SPG Amex.

Tesco launched its new Clubcard Plus credit card

Clubcard Plus is Tesco’s new Amazon Prime (but nowhere near as interesting) subscription service.  For a £7.99 monthly fee, you receive a 10% discount on two (and only two) in-store (and in-store only, not delivered) shopping trips.

Another benefit is the ability to apply for the Clubcard Plus credit card.  This is identical to Tesco’s standard credit card except that you don’t pay any foreign exchange fees.  The earning rate of 1 Clubcard point per £8 spent (so 0.3 Avios per £1) is the same as the standard card.

My full review of the Tesco Clubcard Plus credit card is here, but in summary this is certainly not compelling enough to pay £7.99 for Clubcard Plus if the ‘10% off two shops’ benefit doesn’t work for you.

Virgin Atlantic launched a 25,000 mile bonus on its Reward+ card

Until the end of February, you can get an excellent deal on the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card.

The standard sign-up bonus of 15,000 miles is increased to 25,000 miles as long as you spend £3,000 within three months.  There is an annual fee of £160.

With an amazingly good earning rate of 1.5 Virgin Flying Club miles per £1, as well as a (restrictive) 2-4-1 voucher for spending £10,000, it is very lucrative.

Note that there is NO special offer on the free Virgin Atlantic credit card, which remains at 5,000 miles for signing up.

My full article on the 25,000 mile bonus is here.  You can apply here.

EXCLUSIVE Head for Points 15,000 Avios bonus on the Capital On Tap SME Visa card

It is very rare that we get an EXCLUSIVE credit card sign-up offer for our readers, so are very pleased to be offering a great deal on the Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa card.

If you apply by 5th February, you will receive £150 or 15,000 Avios – your choice – when you spend £5,000 within 3 months.  Given that the annual fee is only £99, this is a no-brainer if you have a qualifying business.

As well as a big bonus, you will receive 1p cashback or 1 Avios per £1 spent going forward.  This is an unbeatable Avios rate for a Visa or Mastercard.

You ONLY receive the higher 15,000 Avios bonus if you use promo code headforpoints when you apply.  The application page is here.

I strongly recommend you read our main article on the Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa first, however.

American Express still has a 30,000 point bonus on the DOLLAR / EURO versions of the Platinum card

Amex is running a sign-up bonus on its Dollar and Euro Platinum charge cards – 30,000 Membership Rewards points to be precise.

The good news is that you can get this bonus even if you already have a UK Platinum or Gold card.  The bad news is that this is a complicated product with poorer transfer rates to most airline schemes than the UK cards.  I wrote about the pros, cons and sweet spots in this article.

Curve Card is now charging for HMRC payments – unless you go Metal

24th January was your last chance to pay HMRC for free using your Curve Card.  There is now a 1.5% fee which, frankly, I can’t justify.

You WILL receive the underlying loyalty points from the Visa or Mastercard you link to Curve Card, but these are very rarely worth 1.5%.  I would only suggest it on the Virgin Atlantic Reward Plus card which earns 1.5 miles per £1, so you are effectively ‘paying’ 1p per mile.

If you upgrade to Curve Metal for £14.95 per month (£150 per year), you can continue to pay HMRC for free.  If you have chunky tax bills this can still be an excellent deal.  If you pay £50,000 to the Revenue per year, for example, you would earn 75,000 Virgin Flying Club miles by linking it to a Curve Card and paying with that.  The £150 annual fee for Curve Metal is nominal in this case.

My full article explaining how Curve Card works is here.  The base card is free – in fact, Curve will pay you £5 for trying it out if you use my promo card which is in that article.

Tandem Money launched its new cashback credit card – with a £72 annual fee

The Tandem Money cashback credit card was our long-term pick for a good Visa or Mastercard to use abroad.  Not only did it have no FX fees but you received 0.5% cashback on all of your spending.

This was clearly not sustainable.  Tandem withdrew the card to new applicants last year and has now announced its replacement – with a £6 per month fee.  Very few people will get value at this level.

Our full article on the new Tandem Money credit card fee is here.

Finally, whilst not directly related to miles and points, Head for Points is running an exclusive sign-up offer with Revolut.  Sign up via our link here and you do not have to pay the £4.99 delivery fee for the plastic card.  Read our full article first.

If you have your own small business, we also reviewed Revolut for Business – click here for details.  You can sign up here.

Further reading ….

We ran the following credit card articles during January:

• What are the top UK credit card sign-up deals by £ value?
• How to earn miles on your January tax bill via debit card (Tesco), Amex (Billhop), Curve, Miles & More or Revolut
• New BA Amex offer – get 3,000 bonus Avios for £300 of British Airways spend
• What is the best replacement for your Starwood American Express card?
• American Express is cutting your sign-up bonus on the Starwood / Bonvoy card
• BAD NEWS: Amex cuts the earning rate on the SPG card as it rebrands as the Marriott Bonvoy American Express
• Why the only thing better than transferable points is INSTANTLY transferable points
• The Tandem cashback and no FX fees card will now cost you £72!
• What are the best credit card bonuses for your LONG TERM spending?
• How a couple can earn 185,000 Avios from Amex sign-up bonuses – if you’ve not had an Amex recently
• Still got the Amex Gold charge card? Swap to the Amex Gold credit card and save
• What American Express bonuses can you get, based on the cards you have?

You may also want to read our ‘Top 10’ series:

What are the top 10 reasons to get American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (Amex Gold)?

What are the top 10 reasons to get American Express Platinum (The Platinum Card)?

What are the top 10 reasons to get the American Express Rewards Credit Card?

What are the top 10 reasons to get the British Airways American Express (BA Amex)?

What are the top 10 reasons to get the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card?

What are the top 10 reasons to get the HSBC Premier Mastercard?

What are the top 10 reasons to get the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard?

What are the top 10 reasons to get the free IHG Rewards Club credit card?

What are the top 10 reasons to get the Lufthansa Miles & More Diners Club and Mastercard?

What are the top 10 reasons to get the Marriott Bonvoy American Express credit card?

What are the top 10 reasons to get the Tesco Clubcard Mastercard credit card?

What are the top 10 reasons to get the Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard credit card?

What are the top 10 reasons to get the Virgin Atlantic Reward Plus Mastercard credit card?

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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:

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.

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.

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.