Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Are the best UK cashback credit cards a good alternative to miles and points cards?

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Cashback credit cards are not a core focus of Head for Points due to, erm, their lack of points.

That isn’t going to change, but as the benefit packages on all reward cards continue to be squeezed it is worth keeping an eye on the best alternatives.

After all – and this is a topic I am looking at in more detail tomorrow – you could use the cashback to pay for travel directly or even buy points in your preferred programme.

What is the best cashback credit card?

What about the American Express cashback products?

The best cashback cards come from American Express because these have not been impacted by the 0.3% cap on interchange fees.  With retailers paying more to accept the cards, Amex can pass back more to you.

There are two American Express cashback cards.  You can find details of the Platinum Cashback card here and the Platinum Cashback Everyday card here.

The Platinum Cashback card pays you cashback at the following rate:

  • 5% cashback on all your spending in the first three months, up to £2,500 of purchases
  • 1% back if you spend under £10,000 from month 4 to month 12 (and annually thereafter)
  • 1.25% back on your spend over £10,000 from month 4 to month 12 (and annually thereafter)

It comes with a £25 annual fee.

The representative APR is 36.7% variable, including the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases is 31.0% variable.

Meanwhile …..

The Platinum Cashback Everyday card (free) has a tiered reward system:

  • 5% cashback on all your spending in the first three months, up to £2,000 of purchases

After the first three months, you will earn:

  • 0.5% on the first £5,000 of spend (but you get nothing if you spend under £3,000)
  • 1% back on your spend over £5,000

Cashback is paid in a lump sum at the end of each card year.

The representative APR is 31.0% variable.

To save you getting your calculator out to assess the impact of the £25 fee on your returns, the break-even point for getting the £25 Platinum Cashback card is £10,000 of spending per year.  If you would spend over £10,000 on the card, pay £25 for the Platinum Cashback version.

For everyone except the highest spenders, you are better off with the free Platinum Cashback Everyday card.

What are the best free Mastercard and Visa cashback products?

Cashback Visa and Mastercard products without annual fees are not hugely generous following the cap on interchange fees.

0.2% is key figure to bear in mind.  This is generally what you will now get from most cashback (or pseudo cashback) Visa and Mastercards:

Amazon halved the earning rate of its Platinum Mastercard in 2019 and now gives 0.5p of Amazon vouchers per £2 spent outside Amazon (ie 0.25%).

John Lewis cut the rate on its Partnership Card from 0.5% to 0.25% cashback on non-John Lewis / Waitrose spend in July 2020 (this card pays in John Lewis / Waitrose shopping vouchers). 

The Marks & Spencer credit cards offer 1 M&S point for every £5 you spend outside M&S, with 500 points getting you a £5 M&S shopping voucher for a return of 0.2%.

An impressive new entrant is the Barclays Rewards card.  Not only does this give you 0.25% cashback – in real cash, not vouchers – but it also have no foreign exchange fees.

Some cards are even worse.  The Sainsbury’s Bank credit cards give 1 Nectar point, worth 0.5p, for every £5 you spend – a return of just 0.1%.

Do these cards beat the best free travel cards?

No, would be my answer, as long as you are smart in using your miles and points.

American Express

The free British Airways American Express, American Express Rewards Credit Card or Amex Gold (free in Year 1) should all beat Platinum Cashback Everyday. 

If you use your miles wisely, you would be better off with one of the three cards.

All of these cards earn 1 Avios or the equivalent of 1 Avios per £1 spent, and you should be able to get 1p+ per Avios when you redeem.  My spreadsheet of the last 7.7 million Avios I redeemed shows an average value of 1.18p per point, and I am conservative in my valuations.

Arguably …. and this is an article for another day …. the free British Airways American Express card is now the best free cashback credit card in Britain for most people.  You get 1 Avios per £1 which you can convert into 1.6 Nectar points, which are worth 0.8p when spent in Sainsbury’s, Argos or eBay.  You need to spend £13,000+ per year before the Platinum Cashback Everyday card pays you more.

Visa and Mastercard

The best free travel rewards Mastercard or Visa credit cards are still substantially better value than the main cashback cards.  You’ve got:

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard 

This free card offers 0.75 Virgin Flying Club miles per £1 spent. If you can get 1p per mile by redeeming smartly, you are getting a 0.75% return on your spending.  Even if you get a little less than this, you are still head and shoulders above most of the cashback cards above.  

Our full Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard review is here and you can apply here.

IHG Rewards Mastercard 

This offers 1 IHG Rewards point per £1 spentThese are generally worth around 0.4p when used for Holiday Inn / Crowne Plaza / InterContinental etc hotel rooms, and at peak dates you can do a lot better.  The card also gets you Gold status in IHG Rewards for as long as you hold it.  

Our full IHG Rewards Mastercard review is here and you can apply here.

HSBC Premier Mastercard  

This offers points which convert into 0.5 Avios, 0.5 Etihad Guest miles, 0.5 Asia Miles or 0.5 Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles for every £1 you spent.  If you can get 1p per mile – and some of these schemes offer better value than Avios – then you are getting 0.5% back on your spending and potentially more.  

Our full HSBC Premier Mastercard review is here.  Note that you need to be a HSBC Premier customer to get this card. 

I have only looked at free cards here because it is easier to compare the rewards.  

That said, as there is no sign-up bonus on the free Virgin Atlantic credit card, it makes more sense, in Year 1, to pay £160 for the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card which comes with 15,000 Flying Club miles as a sign-up bonus.  This card earns a huge 1.5 miles per £1 spent and you can downgrade to the free card from Year 2.

Conclusion

I am not suggesting that you should drop your existing reward credit cards and switch to cashback cards instead.  It depends what value you place on your miles and points.

Importantly, these calculations don’t take into account the other benefits offered by travel loyalty cards, such as the 2-4-1 voucher on the British Airways American Express or the free airport lounges passes with Amex Gold.  It is always good to be aware of the alternatives though.  

If you have tried and failed to get your friends to switch from ‘no rewards’ cards to a ‘miles and points’ card, at least do them a favour and tell them to get a good cashback card instead.

Amex Cashback Credit Card

Bonus: 5% cashback (to £125) for three months

Read our full review

Other information:

  • Cashback paid in a lump sum after 12 months
  • Annual fee: £25

Representative 36.7% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £25 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 31.0% APR variable.

See if you qualify for the 5% cashback sign-up bonus +

You will receive 5% cashback on purchases on the Amex Cashback Credit Card within 90 days of signing up.  This is capped at £125.

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 Amex Cashback Credit Card even if you do not qualify for the bonus.  You will receive the standard rate of cashback on your spending.

Learn more about the card benefits +

The Amex Cashback Credit Card is the most generous cashback credit card in the UK.

After the first three months, during which the special bonus rate applies:

  • Spend £0 to £10,000 and receive 0.75% cashback on purchases
  • Spend over £10,000 and receive 1.25% cashback on purchases

Cashback is paid in a lump sum at the end of each 12 month period.  If you close the card mid-year you will lose any accumulated cashback.

As our review shows, this card is better value if you will spend over £10,000 per year.  If you will spend under £10,000 per year, you should apply for the free Amex Cashback Everyday Credit Card instead.  The cashback rate is lower but this is offset by the lack of any annual fee.

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

Amex Cashback Everyday Credit Card

Bonus: 5% cashback (to £100) for three months

Read our full review

Other information:

  • Cashback paid in a lump sum after 12 months
  • Minimum spend of £3,000 per year required to receive cashback
  • Annual fee: Free

Representative 31.0% APR variable

See if you qualify for the 5% cashback sign-up bonus +

You will receive 5% cashback on purchases on the Amex Cashback Everyday Credit Card within 90 days of signing up.  This is capped at £100.

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 Amex Cashback Everyday Credit Card even if you do not qualify for the bonus.  You will receive the standard rate of cashback on your spending.

Learn more about the card benefits +

The Amex Cashback Everyday Credit Card is the most generous free cashback credit card in the UK.

After the first three months, during which the special bonus rate applies:

  • Spend £0 to £10,000 and receive 0.5% cashback on purchases
  • Spend over £10,000 and receive 1% cashback on purchases

You must spend at least £3,000 per year to receive cashback.

Cashback is paid in a lump sum at the end of each 12 month period.  If you close the card mid-year you will lose any accumulated cashback.

As our review shows, this card is better value if you will spend less than £10,000 per year.  If you will spend over £10,000 per year, you should apply for the £25 Amex Cashback Credit Card instead.  The cashback rate is higher and you are better off even after paying the annual fee.

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

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

Bonus: None

Read our full review

Other information:

  • Get a ‘2 for 1’ voucher, valid on cash or points tickets, when you spend £20,000 in a year
  • Alternatively, claim an upgrade voucher or Clubhouse lounge passes
  • Annual fee: Free

Representative 26.9% APR variable

See if you qualify for the sign-up bonus +

There is no sign-up bonus on the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard.

You may want to consider applying for the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard instead.  This comes with a £160 annual fee but has a sign-up bonus of 15,000 Virgin Points.  You also receive a higher earning rate of 1.5 miles per £1 spent.

You cannot apply if you have had the free Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card in the previous six months.  You are free to apply if you have any other Virgin Money credit card or the paid-for Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card.

Learn more about the card benefits +

When you spend £20,000 per year on the Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard, you can choose a benefit.  This is what you can pick from:

A 2-4-1 voucher, valid for two years, for a Virgin Atlantic cash flight or Virgin Flying Club redemption, in Upper Class, Premium or Economy

A return upgrade – on either a cash or points ticket – from Premium to Upper Class, or from Economy Delight/Classic to Premium.  You can either upgrade 1 x return flight if travelling alone or 2 x one-way legs of two return flights if travelling with someone else.

For elite members, Virgin Clubhouse lounge passes (require a same-day Virgin Atlantic or Delta Air Lines flight) – one pass if you are Silver, two passes if you are Gold

Here’s the small print:

If you are a Red (no status) member, you need to pay 50% of the points for your 2nd ticket if you redeem your 2-4-1 voucher in Upper Class.  This means that, for Upper Class redemptions for Red members, it is effectively a ‘2 for 1.5’ voucher. For Economy or Premium redemptions, it is a genuine ‘2 for 1’.

Taxes and charges need to be paid on the ‘free’ ticket as part of your 2-4-1 booking

Vouchers are valid for two years and you must fly the outbound leg of your trip before the expiry date

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

Bonus: 15,000 points

Read our full review

Other information:

  • Get a ‘2 for 1’ voucher, valid on cash or points tickets, when you spend £10,000 in a year
  • Alternatively, claim an upgrade voucher or Clubhouse lounge passes
  • Annual fee: £160

Representative 69.7% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £160 annual fee.  Interest rate on purchases 26.9% APR variable.

See if you qualify for the 15,000 points sign-up bonus +

You receive a bonus of 15,000 Virgin Points after your first purchase, however small.

There are no restrictions on earning the bonus if you are accepted.

You cannot apply if you have had a Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card in the previous six months.  You are free to apply if you have any other Virgin Money credit card or the free Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card.

Learn more about the card benefits +

When you spend £10,000 per year on the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard, you can choose a benefit.  This is what you can pick from:

A 2-4-1 voucher, valid for two years, for a Virgin Atlantic cash flight or Virgin Flying Club redemption, in Upper Class, Premium or Economy

A return upgrade – on either a cash or points ticket – from Premium to Upper Class, or from Economy Delight/Classic to Premium.  You can either upgrade 1 x return flight if travelling alone or 2 x one-way legs of two return flights if travelling with someone else.

For elite members, Virgin Clubhouse lounge passes (require a same-day Virgin Atlantic or Delta Air Lines flight) – one pass if you are Silver, two passes if you are Gold

Here’s the small print:

If you are a Red (no status) member, you need to pay 50% of the points for your 2nd ticket if you redeem your 2-4-1 voucher in Upper Class.  This means that, for Upper Class redemptions for Red members, it is effectively a ‘2 for 1.5’ voucher. For Economy or Premium redemptions, it is a genuine ‘2 for 1’.

Taxes and charges need to be paid on the ‘free’ ticket as part of your 2-4-1 booking

Vouchers are valid for two years and you must fly the outbound leg of your trip before the expiry date

Sainsbury's Nectar credit card

IHG Rewards Mastercard

Bonus: 10,000 points

Read our full review

Other information:

  • Receive Gold Elite status in IHG Rewards
  • Points from spend count towards elite status
  • Annual fee: Free

Representative 22.9% APR variable

See if you qualify for the 10,000 points sign-up bonus +

You receive 10,000 IHG Rewards points as a sign-up bonus when you spend £200 within 90 days.

There are no restrictions on receiving the bonus if you have previously held this card or the (no longer available) IHG Rewards Premium Mastercard.

Learn more about the card benefits +

All IHG Rewards cardholders receive Gold Elite status in IHG Rewards for as long as they hold the card.

This is the only UK travel card where the points you earn from spending count towards elite status.  The 10,000 points you receive as a sign-up bonus do not count towards elite status, however.

HSBC Premier Mastercard

Bonus: None

Read our full review

Other information:

  • Only available to HSBC Premier account holders
  • Annual fee: Free

Representative 23.9% APR variable

See if you qualify for the sign-up bonus +

There is no sign-up bonus on the HSBC Premier Mastercard.

There is a bonus on the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard.  This is worth 40,000 HSBC points (worth 20,000 Avios or other airline or hotel points) for spending £2,000 within three months and a further 40,000 HSBC points (=20,000 points) for spending £12,000 within twelve months.  The annual fee is £195 and you need to pay the fee for the second year in order to receive the second half of the bonus.

Learn more about the card benefits +

The points earned with the HSBC Premier Mastercard can be transferred to 10 airline and hotel loyalty schemes – Asia Miles, British Airways Executive Club / Avios, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Finnair Plus, Flying Blue (Air France KLM), Qantas Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, TAP Miles&Go and Wyndham Rewards.

They can also be redeemed for other items including retailer gift cards.

Cardholders can access any airport lounge in the LoungeKey network for a fee of £20 per visit.

(Want to earn more miles and points from credit cards?  Click here to visit our dedicated airline and hotel travel credit cards page or use the ‘Credit Cards’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Comments (53)

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

  • Genghis says:

    Under the platinum card

    “ 1.25% back on your spend over £10,000 from month 4 to month 12 (and annually thereafter)”

    Perhaps change to

    “1.25% back if you spend over £10,000 from month 4 to month 12 (and annually thereafter)”

    The former implies it’s 1.25% only above £10k spend while in fact it’s on all spend, including the bit under £10k, if you spend over £10k.

    • Neil says:

      It is 1% on spending up to £10000 and 1.25% on spending above this. I have just checked

      • Rich says:

        It’s unlike Genghis to get a fact wrong to be fair to him!

      • Genghis says:

        “ After the first three months of Cardmembership you’ll earn up to 1.25% CB depending on how much you spend on the Card4

        Spend £0 to £10,000 and receive 1% CB on all purchases

        Spend over £10,001 and receive 1.25% CB on all purchases”

        https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/compare-platinum-cash-back-cards/

        Pretty clear to me??

        • Neil says:

          When put like that, it does seem obvious. Unfortunately, I have just had a quick look at the small print, which suggests otherwise!

        • Freddy says:

          I read it the same as Neil, all spend up to 10k is 1%. When you go over 10k you get CB as 1.25%

        • Joe N says:

          I have the card and you do only get 1.25% on what you spend above £10k. I think the ‘all spend’ wording is meant to indicate it’s on all categories of spend – it’s not a bonus only on spending in certain places. The wording from Amex could maybe be clearer though!

          • Genghis says:

            Apologies all. I’ve never had the card. Just remembered the wording I had seen which I quoted above.

  • BS says:

    I use the Barclaycard rewards card when I’m abroad: fee-free foreign spending, interest-free and fee-free ATM withdrawals, and 0.25% back on foreign purchases. Really does the job, and as far as I know, beats any other credit card for this.

  • ChrisBCN says:

    Just this week I finally got a friend to switch from putting all his spend on a zero rewards debit card to a points card, took me a year to do so! Which got me thinking – I wonder how many people earn nothing back on their spending, gotta be the vast majority surely? (not people here, obviously)

    • Bs says:

      It really isn’t for everyone. With a credit card you need to be disciplined, not spend money you don’t have, and pay in full every month. Fail to do this, even once in 2 years, and the interest and/or penalties will cancel out any gain you’ve made and more.

    • Crafty says:

      Yes, including otherwise very intelligent and business minded people. Some for potentially good reason. Most of my ex consulting friends pay pub and restaurant bills directly on their Monzo cards, I suppose they value the analysis functions higher than the rewards. Others because they are lazy or wilfully obtuse about it.

      • Freddy says:

        I think it also depends on a person’s typical spend. On an average salary how much would you realistically put through an amex card, £5-10k at a push? Would you bother trying to accrue points for a flight when it would take years or the ease of sticking through a debit card

        I only got into the points game when I was spending significant amounts for a business

        • Peter K says:

          This.
          It takes a lot of spending to generate enough points for a hotel or flight redemption. A friend of mine collected Avios for years and still only ended up with 8k Avios (he ignored my advice on how to boost this).
          For many this is too much hassle. Even having to track spend to pay off a ca$hback credit card is too much hassle for many.
          The mentality of ‘I know how much I can spend by how much is in my bank account’ rings true for many.

        • The real John says:

          Some people actually pay for flights. Most of my avios are from flying, I don’t get that much from Amex now that I’ve stopped churning.

      • BuildBackBetter says:

        Also you are either all in or not. If you don’t keep reading and don’t stay up to date on the changes, it’s very easy to lose value.
        For me, apart from the value I get from rewards flights / hotels, 3 things that I like:
        1) access to experiences that were previously too expensive
        2) Keeps you on your toes – trying to find ways to maximise points
        3) it’s a nice hobby to spend your time if you are physically lazy and
        4) learn about travel and destinations in general

  • Duncan says:

    The Hilton Barclays Visa card must be the best free non amex. Two points per £. Which I would value at 0.7p

  • Gary_Dexter says:

    Although the Amazon card pays more (0.75% earning rate) per £1 spend on Amazon spends if you’re a Prime member.

    • Steve says:

      Always surprised me why they don’t bundle discounted Prime membership with that card.

  • HH says:

    I put everything I can on my Amex Gold, including abroad despite the 3% fee, because with double points on foreign spend (triple for non-sterling travel spend) I know I can still make a profit at the top end of my points redemptions. I keep a Visa Credit for the occasional place that doesn’t take Amex (usually abroad), but I don’t put enough spend on it to warrant a paid card. The free HSBC Premier makes no economical sense to use abroad, with a 3% fee while earning 0.5 point. So I now use Barclaycard Rewards as fee-free abroad (even cash withdrawals) and earns a modest 0.25% when I can’t use my Amex – is there a better alternative I should consider?

    • Freddy says:

      I personally have the virgin Atlantic free card for those occasions. Doesn’t get out much but useful on those odd occasions

      • HH says:

        But again outside EEA you are paying 3% fee for 0.75 Virgin points – can you realistically get 4p/point value just to break even? I find the economics of points cards rarely work out abroad, other than Amex Gold.

        • Freddy says:

          In those situations I’d link the virgin card to curve and bank the 0.75 return

          • Memesweeper says:

            +1

            easy option and you can charge to the card you want to boost rather than the one that has 0% FX markup

    • Doug M says:

      The issue with FX on the Amex gold is you have to make a lot of assumptions. I’ll hit the £15K spend without need for non GBP spend, so don’t factor the bonus. Typical non GBP earns 2MR rewards so break even on those is 1.5p per MR, airlines it’s 3MR so 1p per MR. You have to be very sure of outperforming those valuations to make it worthwhile. If you actually pay the £140/year it gets to be a very hard card to justify, never mind paying FX.

      • Dan says:

        Interested to hear your view on the economics of the Gold card post year 1.

        I’m in the situation where my anniversary points for the first year has just been posted and my annual fee of £140 has just been taken. Is there any rationale to keep it in the second year? For context, I’m confident that I can spend £15k on it to hit the 10k MR bonus for this year as well.

        Concerns that i have is that if I cancel:

        1) I am unable to transfer the credit limit over to another Amex as I have just adjusted it last month
        2) I think the gold card generally has better offers (not always) but most of the times
        3) Is there a better alternative than the 1.6 MR per £ spent? I am currently resetting the clock for BAPP.

        • Memesweeper says:

          I will close my Gold at 13 months. Will switch spending to Marriott or Nectar or Virgin. Three or four months later reapply — you don’t have to wait it out a whole year before getting another.

          • Dan says:

            yes – I wonder if it will look bad though from an Amex point of view by doing this though. I did this before and reapplied 6 months later for the ‘free’ year.

        • Rob says:

          Swap to an Amex Rewards Credit Card. Same earn rate (except on airlines and FX), no fee, keeps your MR account active.

      • Waddle says:

        Depends on how you calculate your rewards per £.

        On Amex Gold – if you know that you will hit the £15k annual spend target and no more, you can add 0.67MR per £.

        So on domestic spending you are earning 1.67MR per £, foreign spending earning 2.67MR and foreign airfare would be 3.67MR per £. Foreign spend would actually be a tiny bit more because the FX fee is not charged to the card separately but rather as part of the whole transaction and you earn MR on the final GBP spend.

        Taken in isolation, foreign spending basically means paying 3% for 2.67MR and it will be down to the spender to decide if this is worth it.

        • Dan says:

          I guess the question is whether the additional 0.67MR per pound is worth £140

        • Doug M says:

          @Waddle. If you can hit the £15K spend without non-GBP spend your numbers get less attractive. Non-GBP spend only works in my mind if it’s going to push you over £15K and you wouldn’t otherwise manage that.

          • Waddle says:

            You’re right. But this is why I recommend Gold card users to not worry too much about the 3% FX fee especially if it helps them hit £15k. If they have no chance of hitting £15k then it’s not worth it. Nor is the 3% fee worth it if they spend well in excess of £15k a year – someone who spends £30k a year could easily split up spend across BAPP + Gold can get a voucher and a bonus annually.

      • HH says:

        Agree with all those breakevens, Doug. With strategic Avios and HHonors redemptions, I can get higher value from MR. As for the £140 fee, I partly offset against the 10k bonus points since at a minimum they cash out as £80 via BA/Nectar or much higher redemption value if converted well.

  • Chris Heyes says:

    The Problem with me, i suspect there are a few like me (well not exactly I’m a one off)
    I Don’t put any value on my Avios (ok I know there is a value)
    But i just collect Avios (and Points) and use them for First or Business Flights
    I Don’t think if it’s cheaper to pay cash for my flight instead of Avios
    I’m sure when we are flying to Europe in Business it probably is
    But we just look at where we want to go, and book it Avios cost doesn’t come into it, we don’t pay for flights so never even look at cash prices
    I do realise we are probably not getting good value especially Europe flights but it doesn’t really matter to us.
    Would I want to cash out and change to Nector/cash no why would ?
    I collect Avios/Points not cash, i have cash
    My Take on it, for what its worth

    • mark2 says:

      Same here; maybe it’s an age thing.

    • Doug M says:

      Not sure I agree with this. Firstly Avios have a cost, because you could use a cash back card, yours clearly don’t come from flying if you never pay cash. Saying I have cash is not logical, if you have so much you don’t care, why restrict your choice of flights and airlines to Avios ones, cash has much wider availability.
      Given the fees and charges on non RFS, Avios without a 241 can be so so as a value option. I’d say generally European RFS is often a decent value use of Avios.
      What none of us really know is what it’ll be like moving forward, reduced availability, especially in F, combined with a lot of Avios being held may make using Avios effectively, even harder.

      • Genghis says:

        Avios already earned then have a floor value. 0.8p I’d argue, given the Nectar tie up.

      • Chris Heyes says:

        Doug M only ever fly BA (BOAC i think that’s what it used to be called)
        Only fly off peak, mainly Sept but also May/June, Jan/Feb
        Yes Avios has a cost, but not from flying as you said
        BA seems to fly wherever we want to go
        We use other Airlines for transferring between stops ie AA, Contour Airlines, Great Lakes Airlines ect because we are usually away 3/4 weeks at a time but differant destinations.
        Use 241s there are always 3 of us traveling (adults)
        Have always had enough Avios (of course was lot better and free when it was AirMiles)
        As for booking using Avios although a lot of HFPs seem to have trouble finding availability.
        We have always managed to find 3 seats in either 1st or Business every time
        In fact our flight going to Denver had 6 availability and 4 back from Phoenix
        Of course by normally traveling off peak and being able to travel any dates helps.
        I do accept that going forward might be more difficult but at 73 now my next long haul flight will probably be my last my partner says so ?
        Europe and UK is her plan for us

        • Doug M says:

          73 is the new 50. No need to stop until you run out of money or insurance gets beyond affordable.

          • Chris Heyes says:

            Doug M I like it the new 50, only stopping long haul, been doing 3/4 week holidays at a time for many years now. Partner says time we stopped.
            My fault i always told her why go for 7 days or 14 days come back and go again
            more economical fly out for 3/4 weeks stopping 2/3 different places
            or maybe I’m just tight same amount of Avios 1 week or 4 weeks.
            Just told my Partner I’M 50 lol

  • Jimbo says:

    I have the old Hilton Barclaycard Visa, am I best putting all my non-Amex spend through that? Also, is there an easy answer to the best card to use overseas?

    • Peter K says:

      On the first question. It depends on whether you want to stay at Hilton hotels and if you’ll put enough through to get a redemption.
      On 2nd question. If not a big spender abroad then something like Curve, Revolut, Halifax Clarity might be best for you.

    • Memesweeper says:

      I’d say it beats any free card currently available to new applicants. You need to spend enough to get a redemption you want ‘saved up’. Ca$hb@ck cards do not have this problem, there’s always a use for cash.

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