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

UPDATE – MARCH 2023:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.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: Successfully apply for either of the Barclaycard Avios credit cards by 2nd April 2023 and you will be entered into a free draw to win ONE MILLION AVIOS! Full details are on the application forms here (free) and here (paid). This competition is exclusive to Head for Points readers. T&C apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th March 2023, the sign up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to 120,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. The bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to 60,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. T&C apply, see the application forms for details.

Keep up to date with the latest UK credit card bonuses by signing up for our free daily or weekly newsletters.

With travel, and life in general, getting back to some level of normality, we are bringing back the regular HfP features which were suspended last year.

Today 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.

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

Our directory of the 12 main UK travel credit and charge cards can be found by clicking the ‘Credit Card Offers’ tab at the top of the site or – for email, Flipboard, Apple News, Google News, RSS or mobile readers – by clicking here.

We have also introduced a separate directory for small business credit cards which is here.

What was new in July?

Here are the news stories we covered:

The sign-up bonus doubled on the Marriott Bonvoy Amex – and you get Gold Elite status

American Express and Marriott Bonvoy have launched the first special offer on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card since it launched last year.

The bonus is doubled to 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy points if you apply before the end of August. You will also receive Gold Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy until February 2023.

Not many HfP readers will qualify for the sign-up bonus due to having other American Express cards. However, you would still receive Gold Elite status.

You might consider it worth the £75 card fee purely to get Gold Elite status until February 2023.

Full details of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express 40,000 points bonus are in this article. You can apply here.

Is the 10,000 Nectar points (6,250 Avios) bonus on the free Sainsbury’s Nectar Credit Card ending?

The Sainsbury’s Nectar Credit Card is, to be honest, a bit rubbish when it comes to day to day spending. The earning rate is so poor that there is no reason to use it outside of Sainsbury’s and Argos.

The sign-up bonus, on the other hand, is a handy 10,000 Nectar points (6,250 Avios). You need to spend £400 in Sainsbury’s or Argos in two months to trigger this – gift cards seem to be fine.

The Sainsbury’s Bank website says that the bonus is changing on 8th August. We don’t know how, but you may want to jump on this offer now. The card is free.

This article discusses the Sainsbury’s Nectar Credit Card in detail.

Earn 2 KrisFlyer miles per £1 spent abroad on the Currensea travel money card

The Currensea travel money card is a free product which lets you spend abroad with just 0.5% FX fees instead of the usual 2.99% added by most credit and debit cards.

Currensea now has a new twist. You can choose to pay the industry standard 2.99% FX fee – but you will receive 2 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles per £1 spent. It’s an interesting proposition especially if you are making purchases for your business which are tax deductible.

This article explains more about the Currensea and KrisFlyer partnership.

American Express announces positive changes to the British Airways Accelerating Business Credit Card

The British Airways Accelerating Business Credit Card has been a bit of a damp squib since it launched. The combination of On Business points and Avios seems to have been too confusing.

The card will relaunch in September with a number of improvements:

• there will be an impressive Avios sign-up bonus, replacing the current small On Business points bonus

• you will earn more bonus On Business points when you buy BA flights on the card

• you will receive 10,000 Avios for every £20,000 you spend, up to 30,000 Avios per calendar year

This article covers the changes to the British Airways Accelerating Business card in detail. The Amex website does not reflect them yet as they are not live until September.

Is the new Lloyds cashback credit card the best on the market?

The market for Visa and Mastercard travel rewards products is not great. The Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard is VERY generous – here is our review of the free Virgin Atlantic credit card – but, if you’re not a Virgin Points collector, there isn’t much else to excite.

Lloyds Bank launched a cashback credit card last week which is the most generous on the market. It is worth a look if you are struggling for a decent Visa / Mastercard option.

Is the Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card the best card for sole traders?

If you have a small business, Barclaycard has a very generous Visa credit card.

It is free and you get a huge 1% cashback on virtually all of your spending. It is available to all small businesses, including sole traders.

We reviewed the Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card here. You can apply here.

Amex still has a 30,000 point bonus on the Dollar / Euro versions of the Platinum card

Finally, a reminder that Amex is still 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.

Further reading ….

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

NEW: Get 40,000 points and Gold status with the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card

Get a 50% bonus on Membership Rewards redemptions via Amex Travel – but bad deal

How a couple can earn 201,666 Avios if they are new to Amex

1,000 Membership Rewards points for American Express Gold cardholders – if you’re quick

MBNA Smart Rewards credit card cashback offers get slightly more interesting

Which 41 airline partners can you transfer the new 40,000 points Marriott Amex bonus into?

Why the only thing better than transferable points is INSTANTLY transferable points

American Express transfers to Marriott Bonvoy are now instant

American Express Platinum cardholders now get Lufthansa lounge access at Heathrow

Should you get the Marriott Bonvoy Amex for 15 elite night credits and Gold status?

Is the Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card the best card for sole traders?

No Virgin Points? No problem. Virgin’s credit card 241 and upgrade vouchers work on cash tickets.

Got a BA Amex? Are you sure you are ready for the 1st September changes?

Is the new Lloyds cashback credit card the best on the market?

American Express announces positive changes to British Airways Accelerating Business Credit Card

NEW: Earn 2 KrisFlyer miles per £1 spent abroad on the Currensea travel money card

Is the 10,000 Nectar points (6,250 Avios) bonus on the free Sainsbury’s Nectar Credit Card ending?

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – March 2023 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Successfully apply for either of the Barclaycard Avios credit cards by 2nd April 2023 and you will be entered into a free draw to win ONE MILLION AVIOS! Full details are on the application forms here (free) and here (paid). This competition is exclusive to Head for Points readers. T&C apply.

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:

Until 30th March 2023, the sign up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to 120,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. The bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to 60,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. T&C apply, see the application forms for details.

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.