Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

TODAY is 24 months from Amex’s launch of the ’24 month’ rule – what should you do?

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On 21st March 2019, American Express unveiled major changes to its rules on who could obtain a sign-up bonus on its cards.

Our article from that day is here – it ended up getting over 72,000 page views, making it one of our biggest articles ever.

Add in email and aggregator readers and it will have done close to 90,000 views.

Up to that day, the American Express bonus rules had been generous:

  • travel cards were split into three families (Membership Rewards, Avios, Marriott) and you were guaranteed to get a bonus if you hadn’t had a card from the same family in the previous six months
  • even inside the same ‘family’, you could get a new bonus as long as you waited six months from when you cancelled your previous card

Under this scenario, it was a doddle for a couple to pick up over 100,000 points per year from sign-up bonuses without trying too hard. People who could reach the minimum spend targets quickly and kept a closer track of their dates could do far better.

What happened in March 2019?

With no notice, Amex changed the rules to the situation we see today:

  • with the exception of Platinum and BA Premium Plus, you cannot get a sign-up bonus if you have had a personal (business cards are ignored) Amex card in the previous 24 months

This article (click here) explains in more detail ‘what Amex bonuses can you get, based on the cards you currently or recently had’.

If you cancelled everything on 21st March 2019, you are ‘free’ today

There were two problems with what American Express did.

First, it was insanely complex. Spend 30 seconds reading my article on ‘what bonuses can I still get?’ if you don’t believe me. It didn’t help that the Business cards retained the six month rule. For extra confusion, having a Business card doesn’t block a personal bonus BUT having a personal Membership Rewards card DOES block a Business card bonus.

Secondly, it actually made sense to cancel all of your American Express cards. A couple who have had no Amex cards in the last 24 months can generate 186,000 points between them fairly quickly as we show below. Have you earned 186,000 points in the last 24 months from your Amex cards? Probably not. In retrospect, you may have been better off cancelling the lot back in March 2019, especially if you have a small business and could have used Business Gold or Business Platinum in the interim.

Does it make sense to cancel all my Amex cards now?

That’s up to you. You are gambling that the strategy I outline below for picking up points quickly will still be around in 24 months.

You will also need access to an Amex of some sort to pay the taxes on any British Airways 2-4-1 companion voucher you have ready to redeem.

If you have a small business, it could be worth considering due to the 100,000 points Business Platinum bonus

Remember that:

These offers run to 9th April. Cancelling your personal cards and focusing on the Business cards for two years may work, allowing you to unleash a storm of personal card bonuses in March 2023 – unless the rules change.

What is the best strategy if I have gone 24 months with no personal Amex cards?

If you approach it in the right order, a couple can earn 186,875 Avios from American Express sign-up bonuses as long as neither of you has had an American Express card in the past 24 months.

Here is the optimum Avios-earning strategy at the moment for a couple who have not had any Amex cards in the past two years.

Both you and your partner will be getting three different American Express cards.  How far you spread out the applications should depends on how quickly you can hit the spend target on each card to trigger the sign-up bonus.  You have up to 90 days on each card to hit the target.

HFP Amex American Express Nectar Card

To start off:

Person A applies for the Nectar American Express card (apply here)

  • Sign-up bonus for Person A: 20,000 Nectar points which converts to 12,500 Avios, £2000 spend in three months required
  • Rule: You cannot have held a personal American Express card in the previous 24 months

Person A refers Person B for the Nectar American Express card

  • Referral bonus for Person A: 5,000 Nectar points which converts to 3,125 Avios

Person B applies for the Nectar American Express card 

  • Sign-up bonus when referred for Person B: 21,000 Nectar points which converts to 13,125 Avios, £2000 spend in three months required
  • Rule: You cannot have held a personal American Express card in the previous 24 months

Person B refers Person A for The Platinum Card

  • Referral bonus for Person B: 5,000 Nectar points which converts to 3,125 Avios

Person A applies for The Platinum Card

  • Sign-up bonus when referred for Person A: 35,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to 35,000 Avios, £4000 spend in three months required
  • Rule: You cannot have held a personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points in the previous 24 months

Person A refers Person B for The Platinum Card

  • Referral bonus for Person A: 12,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to 12,000 Avios

Person B applies for The Platinum Card

  • Sign-up bonus when referred for Person B: 35,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to 35,000 Avios, £4000 spend in three months required
  • Rule: You cannot have held a personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points in the previous 24 months

Person B refers Person A for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card

  • Referral bonus for Person B: 12,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to 12,000 Avios

Person A applies for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card

  • Sign-up bonus when referred for Person A: 26,000 Avios, £3000 spend in three months required
  • Rule: You cannot have held a personal British Airways American Express card in the previous 24 months

Person A refers Person B for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card

  • Referral bonus for Person A: 9,000 Avios (or 12,000 Membership Rewards points, which converts to 12,000 Avios, if they still hold The Platinum Card at this point and make the referral from that)

Person B applies for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card

  • Sign-up bonus when referred for Person B: 26,000 Avios, £3000 spend in three months required
  • Rule: You cannot have held a personal British Airways American Express card in the previous 24 months

Person A or Person B spends £10,000 on their British Airways American Express Premium Plus card in order to trigger the 2-4-1 voucher and so maximise how far your 186,875 Avios can take you!

You will actually have more than 186,875 Avios because of the points from your daily spend.

There are also opportunities to add supplementary cards to each card as you go along, for additional bonuses of up to 3,000 points each.

Conclusion

If you cancelled all of your personal American Express cards in March 2019, the day you may have thought would never come is here.

At some point in the next few days, you will pass the 24 month mark and can start taking advantage of your freedom.

One thing: I recommend ringing American Express and asking them to confirm the date you cancelled your previous cards. More accurately, you want to make sure that the date Amex says you cancelled is the same date you think you cancelled. Remember that Amex may not have processed your cancellation request until any unpaid bills were cleared.

If you get it wrong – even by 24 hours – you won’t get a bonus now and you will need to wait another two years before you can try again ….

Further credit card information

Here is the legally required interest rate information on the cards mentioned above, together with links to our reviews:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

Bonus: 30,000 Avios

Read our full review

Other information:

  • Receive a companion voucher, letting you book two flights for the Avios of one, when you spend £15,000 in a card year
  • A solo traveller can use it for a 50% discount on the Avios for one ticket
  • The voucher is valid in any cabin
  • It can be used on British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus
  • Annual fee: £300

Representative 137.8% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £300 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 30.0% APR variable.

Apply here
See if you qualify for the 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus +

You will receive 30,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card if you spend £6,000 within 90 days of signing up.

To qualify for the bonus, you must not have held the British Airways Premium Plus or the free British Airways American Express cards in the previous 24 months.

You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s British Airways American Express account.

You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card.

For clarity, you can still apply for the British Airways Premium Plus card even if you do not qualify for the bonus.  You would still benefit from the companion voucher and all of the other card benefits.

Learn more about the card benefits +

When you spend £15,000 on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card, you receive a companion voucher entitling you to book two Avios redemption flights for the miles of one.

Alternatively, a solo traveller can use the voucher for a 50% reduction on the Avios required for one ticket.

This voucher is valid for two years.  Full taxes and charges need to be paid on both tickets.

This voucher is the most valuable perk available in the UK airline and hotel credit card sector in my view. It could save you 150,000 or more Avios when used for a long-haul redemption in a premium cabin.

The voucher with the Premium Plus card is far more powerful than the voucher given with the free British Airways American Express card.  You need to spend the same £15,000 to receive it.  More importantly, the Premium Plus voucher is valid for two years and is valid in ALL cabins.  The voucher on the free British Airways American Express card is only valid for one year and can only be used for Economy flights.

You receive your voucher within a few days of reaching the spending target.  You need to fly the outbound leg of your 2-4-1 flight before the expiry date of the voucher.

The voucher can be used for flights on British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus.

You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.

The Platinum Card from American Express

Bonus: 80,000 points
SPECIAL OFFER

Read our full review

Other information:

  • Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,400 airport lounges
  • Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
  • Comprehensive travel insurance
  • £400 per year of restaurant credit (T&C apply)
  • £50 per half year of Harvey Nichols credit (ends June 2025)
  • Annual fee: £650

Representative 694.9% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £650 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 30.0% APR variable.

Apply here
See if you qualify for the 80,000 points sign-up bonus +

You will receive 80,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card if you spend £10,000 within six months of signing up.

This is a special offer which runs to 27th May 2025.  The standard bonus is 50,000 Membership Rewards points.

Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible.  You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Points or other airlines (usually at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.

This is the ONLY personal American Express card where you still qualify for the bonus if you already hold a British Airways American Express card.

To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points.  This includes The Platinum Card and Preferred Rewards Gold.

You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.

You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card, including the British Airways, Marriott and Nectar cards.

For clarity, you can still apply for The Platinum Card even if you do not qualify for the bonus.  You would still benefit from the long list of other benefits.

Learn more about the card benefits +

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.

Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable.  The key benefits are:

Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of your supplementary cardholder, subject to enrolment

Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,400 airport lounges

Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Premium), MeliaRewards (Gold)

Access to Eurostar lounges, irrespective of travel class

£200 per year to spend in over 170 UK restaurants (£100 per half year)

£200 per year to spend in over 1,500 international restaurants (£100 per half year)

£50 to spend at Harvey Nichols, instore or online (£50 per half year, this benefit ends on 30th June 2025)

You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.

Nectar American Express

Bonus: 20,000 points

Read our full review

Other information:

  • You can convert Nectar points into Avios, and vice versa
  • Annual fee: Free for the first year, £30 from Year 2

Representative 36.8% APR variable.  Annual fee applies after the first year.

Apply here
See if you qualify for the 20,000 points sign-up bonus +

You will receive 20,000 Nectar points as a sign-up bonus on the Nectar American Express credit card if you spend £2,000 within 90 days of signing up.

Nectar points are worth 0.5p each if spent in Sainsbury’s, Argos etc.  They can also be converted to Avios at the rate of 400 : 250.  1 Nectar point gets you 0.625 Avios.

To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card.

You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.

You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held a Business American Express card.

For clarity, you can still apply for the Nectar American Express card even if you do not qualify for the bonus.  You would still benefit from the ‘no fee in Year 1’ offer.

Learn more about the card benefits +

The Nectar American Express credit card comes lets you earn 2 Nectar points for every £1 you spend.  This is on top of any Nectar points you would usually earn at Sainsbury’s and other Nectar partners.

Converted to Avios, you would be earning 1.25 Avios per £1.  This makes the card better value than the free British Airways American Express credit card for your first year, as the Nectar American Express is ‘fee free’ for the first 12 months.  There is a £30 annual fee from Year 2.

The sign-up bonus of 20,000 Nectar points is worth £100 to spend in Sainsbury’s, Argos etc.

20,000 Nectar points can also be converted into 12,500 Avios.

You need a minimum personal income of £20,000 to apply for the card.

American Express Business Gold

Bonus: 20,000 Membership Rewards points

Read our full review

Other information:

  • Annual fee: Free for the first year
  • £195 annual fee from Year 2
  • Get £100 per year to spend at Dell
  • Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios and Virgin Points
  • You can also convert to other airlines, Eurostar and hotel schemes
  • T&C apply, 18+, subject to status

This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month.  Annual fee £195 from Year 2, free in Year 1.

Apply here
See if you qualify for the 20,000 points sign-up bonus +

You will receive a sign-up bonus of 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points if you spend £3,000 in your first three months.

Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible.  You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Points or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.

There are no longer any rules on qualifying for the sign-up offer on this card, subject to hitting the spend target.  If you are accepted and spend the required amount you will receive the bonus, irrespective of what other cards you hold or have recently held.

Learn more about the card benefits +

You receive £100 of Dell statement credit per calendar year.  This is made available in two parts.  You receive a £50 credit on Dell purchases made between January and June and a £50 credit on Dell purchases made between July and December.  There is no minimum spend requirement.

You can apply for complimentary Amex business cards for your employees.

You will receive one consolidated statement showing the spend on your card and all of the complimentary cards.  All of the Membership Rewards points earned on the complimentary cards will flow into your personal account.

Depending on when in your monthly cycle you make a payment, you will effectively receive up to 54 days free credit on your spending.

American Express statements provide more underlying transaction detail for flights and certain other transactions than Visa or Mastercard statements, making it easier to reconcile transactions.

You need a minimum personal income of £20,000 to apply for the card.

Terms and conditions apply to all card benefits.

American Express Business Platinum

Bonus: 50,000 Membership Rewards points

Read our full review

Other information:

  • Get £200 per year to spend at Amex Travel
  • Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,400 airport lounges
  • Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
  • Get £150 per year to spend at Dell
  • Get £300 per year to spend at job ads site Indeed
  • Comprehensive travel insurance
  • Annual fee: £650
  • T&C apply, 18+, subject to status

This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month.  Annual fee £650.

Apply here
See if you qualify for the 50,000 points sign-up bonus +

You will receive a sign-up bonus of 50,000 American Express Membership Rewards points if you spend £6,000 in your first three months.

Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible.  You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Points or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.

There are no longer any rules on qualifying for the sign-up offer on this card, subject to hitting the spend target.  If you are accepted and spend the required amount you will receive the bonus, irrespective of what other cards you hold or have recently held.

Learn more about the card benefits +

American Express Business Platinum comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.

Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable.  The key benefits are:

£200 of Amex Travel credit per membership year

Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of up to five complimentary cardholders, subject to enrolment

Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,400 airport lounges

Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Premium), MeliaRewards (Gold)

Other benefits include:

£150 of Dell statement credit per year – you receive £75 credit on Dell purchases betweeen January and June and £75 credit on purchases between July and December

£300 of credit to run job advertisements at indeed.com (£75 per quarter)

Digital subscription to The Times and The Sunday Times, worth over £300

You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.

Terms and conditions apply to all card benefits.

Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

earns points from credit cards

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 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 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

Get 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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:

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up 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 Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Category

American Express Platinum card, British Airways American Express, Sainsbury's and Nectar

Comments (100)

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

  • Garry says:
    22 Mar22 March 08:10

    I remember that day… we hit 1171 comments

  • Harry T says:
    22 Mar22 March 08:12

    For anyone saying low spenders should favour the 24 month break strategy, have you seen how much you need to spend to hit the bonuses on all the cards, as listed in the strategy above?

    And tbh, if you think it’s high spend that’s helping us all make pots of points every year, you need to rethink. Easier to refer someone for 12k than spend 12k, for one!

    • Aston100 says:
      22 Mar22 March 12:38

      So Harry, are you saying one can continue to churn referrals between partners?
      Isn’t this going to draw attention right away, or is there some minimum period of time?
      Currently, my wife and I cross refer each other for BAPP, hit the companion voucher spend threshold on each BAPP, and then do it again. But this is all genuine spend and I am unsure how I’d be able to spend more than £20k pa on genuine purchases (I don’t have a mortgage / rent, nor a car at present).

      Unless you mean not even waiting to hit the companion voucher threshold and cancelling before that in order to increase the number of referral cycles?

      If I’m venturing into territory that shouldn’t be spoken about publicly, I’d be happy (and grateful) for a private response. Not sure if I’m allowed to put an email address in here?

      Thanks.

      • Polly says:
        22 Mar22 March 17:58

        Yes

        • Aston100 says:
          22 Mar22 March 18:09

          Polly, whenever I’ve cancelled an Amex, the person on the phone has been aware of my card history.
          Won’t they begin to get suspicious if the cancel and referral cycle increases before any spend targets are met?

          Thanks

      • Harry T says:
        22 Mar22 March 20:25

        Personally, I haven’t held a BAPP in a while as I don’t find the vouchers that useful and I prefer to spend 15k on a gold card to get a higher earnings rate than the BAPP.

        I’ve referred the gf for about three or four cards a year. We have kept most of them and put a bit of spend through for offers etc. I’ve also referred friends and family as much as possible but in a genuine manner. When referring each other, my gf and I generally leave a gap of a month or two at least between referring the same person. We keep the card for at least a few months.

      • Chris Heyes says:
        22 Mar22 March 22:23

        Aston100 There are 3 of us who travel on hols together (myself, Partner & her Brother)
        We have referred each of us for Platinum, Gold, and BA Premium (not in that order)
        We Each have had a free supplementary on each card.
        We have all referred our Children for Gold and BA Premium plus
        have 5/6 free supplementary’s just sat in a drawer never to be used
        To hit the spend target especially for Platinum (3 cards)
        We pooled our spend so 2 cards took a month to hit the target 3 of us spending on it
        the last took 2 months then cancelled (it was easy)
        but we had some bigish spends planned plus children helped allowing us to use our cards for their spends
        i think the 3 Platinum cards cost us less than £200 when we cancelled
        Not a small sum but when you take into account the points from hitting the 3 targets and referrals as well “Well Worth It”

  • Craig says:
    22 Mar22 March 08:58

    Working through our reapply strategy, the only card we kept was my Platinum. We have staggered cancellation dates, starting with Mrs S’s BAPP in August 2019 and the Platinum in November 2019. My understanding is that she would be eligible for a BAPP bonus in August 2021 but that would preclude her from a Nectar bonus which she isn’t eligible for until the November? So best strategy is to wait until November and start from then?

  • BuildBackBetter says:
    22 Mar22 March 09:14

    Isn’t it better to say 187k avios every 3 years (assuming the couple take a year to earn all bonuses).
    From that perspective, earning more than 63k avios every year comes out top?

    • Rob says:
      22 Mar22 March 09:43

      Yes, but in theory you should then also factor in the points you earn from whatever non-Avios cards you used for those two years.

      I think if there was a strong Avios Visa or Mastercard product more people would happily take the two year break.

      • Jonathan says:
        22 Mar22 March 12:52

        It’d be good if IHG black card returns for new applications!

      • Polly says:
        22 Mar22 March 18:00

        We kept the hsbc premier going, plenty of spend on that, plus the usual referrals ongoing…kept the numbers up.

  • chris1922 says:
    22 Mar22 March 09:28

    So if I understand it correctly, and assuming two years have passed, I can have the Nectar card, get bonus and still be eligible for BAPP and bonus, but if I get the BAPP first, then I wont be eligible for the Nectar card bonus ? Is that right ?

    • BuildBackBetter says:
      22 Mar22 March 09:30

      Yes

    • Genghis says:
      22 Mar22 March 09:52

      Correct. And still be eligible for Plat SUB.

      There is a middle ground to no cards for two years: keep non-avios and non MR cards as permanents and churn the Plat and BAPP. That’s optimum strategy for us for points earning, Amex shop small etc etc.

      • Dan says:
        22 Mar22 March 10:47

        Interesting, I never thought about having Amex’s but still being able to get the SUB whilst waiting for clock to reset.

        So the non Avios and non MR options are technically only 2: the Marriott Bonvoy and Nectar so holding both of these will allow us to reset the clock for the BAPP and Plat?

    • chris1922 says:
      22 Mar22 March 11:11

      Thanks all. It’s actually for my wife; I currently hold and have had my BAPP for a few years, but my wife cancelled almost two years ago and will now be eligible for a bonus on whichever card she opts for. So it looks like I should recommend her for a Nectar, and then I can recommend her for a BAPP as well, with her receiving bonuses on both cards. I can’t justify the annual fee for the Plat at present.

  • Rob says:
    22 Mar22 March 09:45

    Are you factoring in annual fees there?

  • Harry S says:
    22 Mar22 March 09:59

    I currently have the Amex Platinum (Personal) card. Can I refer myself for the BAPP card and get the referral bonus on the Amex Platinum and the sign-up bonus on the BAPP card?

    • Doug M says:
      22 Mar22 March 10:19

      You can, but should you. Against T&C’s and in USA Amex have pursued self-referrers. Better to find a referral friend or partners and refer each other.

    • Rob says:
      22 Mar22 March 12:04

      Amex US is now closing people down who do, or have done, this. Your risk but you may end up with a multi-year Amex ban.

  • HB13 says:
    22 Mar22 March 11:30

    Hi Rob,
    Now that the UK is out of the EU, is there a chance that big bonuses on credit cards will come to the UK? Because interchange fee caps only existed here because of the EU – is that correct? Now, unless the UK goes that route too, credit card issuers can increase their fees and at the same time incentivise people with big bonuses? Or have I got it all wrong?

    • The Streets says:
      22 Mar22 March 11:45

      It was the UK that wanted to introduce the interchange fees in the first place and so very doubtful it will change

    • Rhys says:
      22 Mar22 March 11:49

      No, we didn’t ditch EU legislation when Brexit happened, we subsumed it into UK law.

    • RussellH says:
      22 Mar22 March 12:09

      I am no expert, but yes, I think that you have got it wrong.
      Rob has frequently stated here, and I have no reason to disbelieve this, that the interchange fee cap for the EU was initiated by the UK, implying that there was no reason at all for this to change here.
      Another point worth mentioning is that a few years ago the UK banned businesses from charging fees for accepting credit cards. Before that it was routine for travel businesses to add card payment fees.
      Were the UK to uncap interchange fees, the pressure would be on to allow businesses to charge again for accepting card payments.
      As I see it we have a reasonably happy medium here. Plenty of fee free credit cards and still merchant fees are low enough that merchants are not put off accepting cards.
      Compare the situation with Germany where many businesses only accept German§ debit cards for payments, while credit cards carry an annual fee.

      §Last time I was there, shortly before lockdown we were in a huge shoe supermarket which could not accept any Visa cards, even my own German Bank’s Visa debit card!

      • Rob says:
        22 Mar22 March 12:10

        No Government in their right mind is going to remove interchange fee caps which have only one outcome – to take money away from UK retailers and put it into the pockets of three major US corporations.

        • RussellH says:
          22 Mar22 March 13:40

          It is a very long time since we did have a government in its right mind though.

          However, I cannot see this issue ever being something that any government would want to spend time on though. Even the current one has, I think, more sense than that!

          I assume that those here who every so often hope for this change have never run an SME that has to pay the card fees… Those big US sign-up bonuses have to be paid for somehow.

          • BuildBackBetter says:
            22 Mar22 March 16:23

            There has been some research that poor people pay more for goods and services because merchants have to put prices up in US to cover charges

          • Genghis says:
            22 Mar22 March 17:18

            More everyone pays the same higher prices. But those that pay with non credit cards don’t earn the rewards.

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