What are the best credit card sign-up deals for April 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UPDATE – APRIL 2024:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.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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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.

Let’s be honest …. if you’re sitting around at home with nothing to do, there are worse ways to pass the day than getting your credit card portfolio in order!

We have also included a round-up of all of the loyalty credit card news from the last month.

Our directory of the 15 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 March and early April?

Disaster!  IHG Rewards Club closed its Premium Mastercard

With no notice, IHG Rewards Club and Creation Financial Services closed down the IHG Rewards Club Premium Mastercard – click here.

We loved this card.  After all, we gave it an ‘Editor’s Choice’ award in the Head for Points 2019 Travel & Loyalty Awards.

For a £99 annual fee, you were getting 2 points per £1 (which counted towards status), a free night at any IHG hotel for spending £10,000 and Platinum Elite status in IHG Rewards Club.  It was a great package easily worth the £99 fee.

What was a little odd is that, in the previous weeks, IHG had been offering a special bonus of 20,000 points on the free IHG Rewards Club Mastercard, pictured below.  The free card IS still available.

Why did it do this?  Was there a notice period on pulling the Premium card, and IHG wanted to put people off applying in the meantime by boosting the free card?  Was it just a coincidence?

I will do an article soon on my thoughts on the best Visa or Mastercard rewards card now that IHG Rewards Club Premium has been pulled.

For clarity, the Premium card will continue to operate for people who already have it.

American Express Gold launched a special sign-up bonus

Now THIS came as a surprise, as American Express is not known for adjusting its sign-up bonuses temporarily.

Until 29th June 2020, the sign-up bonus on Amex Gold is doubled to 20,000 points.   You need to spend £3,000 in 90 days to receive it.

You can apply for the card here.

20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points would convert into:

• 20,000 Avios
• 20,000 Virgin Flying Club miles
• 40,000 Hilton Honors points
• 60,000 Radisson Rewards points
• 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
• 1,666 Club Eurostar points

…… amongst other things.

If you have never held a personal American Express card before, you will definitely get the bonus.

You WILL receive the 20,000 bonus points if you have not held a personal American Express card in the previous 24 months.  Cards issued by MBNA or Lloyds Bank do not count.  You WILL receive the sign-up bonus if you have a Corporate or Business American Express card via your job, even if you receive Membership Rewards points from it.

You WILL receive the bonus if you are only a supplementary cardholder on someone else’s American Express card. As far as Amex is concerned, the card belongs to the primarily cardholder and does not make you an ‘existing cardholder’.

If you do not qualify for the bonus, you can still apply.  You still receive the other card benefits, including the two free airport lounge passes and ‘no fee in the first year’.

We wrote this article on the 20,000 points bonus on Amex Gold and all of the benefits of getting the card.

You can apply for American Express Preferred Rewards Gold here.

American Express Gold starts issuing METAL cards in Europe

As you can see from the image above, the roll-out of METAL American Express Gold cards has started in Europe.

Sweden was the first country to get it last week, with the rest of Scandinavia following very shortly.  There is no date yet for a UK launch.

This HfP article on the metal American Express Gold card explains what the card benefits are in Sweden, which may be what we see here.  It is likely we see an increased fee to pay for it unfortunately.

American Express in the US extends the time frame for sign-up bonuses

In the US, American Express has extended the time needed to trigger the sign-up bonus on new cards from three months to six months.

This is for anyone whose card was approved from 1st December 2019 until 31st May 2020.

For clarity, this has NOT yet been replicated in the UK.

There is also no sign of any leeway being given on the time needed to spend £10,000 on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card to trigger the 2-4-1 voucher.

We continue to push Amex on this when we can and will let you know if there is any relaxation.  I can imagine that a lot of people will look to cancel their £195 BA Premium Plus card if they cannot see any possibility of triggering the 2-4-1 voucher.

Details of the US changes to American Express sign-up bonuses are in this article.

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 of the American Express International Currency Cards in this article.

Your BAPP Amex 2-4-1 voucher will run for 30 months if triggered by 30th June

British Airways has extended all outstanding American Express 2-4-1 companion vouchers by six months.

Importantly, all new vouchers issued before 30th June 2020 will also be extended by six months.

This means that you may prefer to trigger your voucher sooner rather than later.  A voucher triggered on 20th June 2020 will expire on 20th December 2022.  A voucher triggered on 20th July 2020 will expire five months earlier, on 20th July 2022.

I wrote this article about the extension to the 2-4-1 Avios voucher on the British Airways American Express card.

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 on how to save the £4.99 fee when you join Revolut via our special HFP reader offer.

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

Further reading ….

We ran the following credit card articles during the last month:

How to earn and redeem your British Airways American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher

The METAL Amex Gold card launches in Europe – coming our way soon?

Nooooo …. IHG has withdrawn the UK’s best Visa / Mastercard credit card

Amex USA extends the sign-up bonus spend period by 3 months – will the UK follow?

Should you trigger your next BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher before 30th June?

If you cancel Amex Platinum to save the fee, the Amex Rewards Credit Card will keep your Membership Rewards points alive

Earn miles and trigger credit card bonuses when you use Billhop to pay council tax and other bills

All British Airways American Express 2-4-1 companion vouchers have been extended by six months

How to earn 20,000 Avios points – or other miles – as a sign-up bonus with American Express Gold!

Amex Gold doubles its sign-up bonus to 20,000 points (= 20,000 Avios) and is still free for a year

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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.