Three credit cards worth keeping, unused, just for their benefits

Typically there are three different types of travel loyalty credit cards you can apply for:

• cards you get just for the sign-up bonus

• cards you get primarily for the strong on-going earnings rate

• cards you get but don’t use because they come with generous perks

Head for Points tends to focus on the first two types. I thought it was worth another look at the three loyalty cards which offer decent on-going perks even if you don’t use them.

For clarity, my list does NOT include perks which require you to hit a spending target each year to receive them such as the British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher or the Barclaycard Avios Mastercard upgrade voucher.

All of the perks discussed below are yours simply because you took out the card.

The place to turn for full details of all airline and hotel loyalty credit cards is, of course, our ‘Top Credit Card Offers‘ page, which summarises all of the cards and deals currently available.

Looking through the list, these are the three cards you might want to get but keep in your desk drawer gathering dust:

The Platinum Card from American Express

The Platinum Card from American Express is the most complex and most debatable card here.

Because you can get a very generous 40,000 Membership Rewards points sign-up bonus (converts into 40,000 Avios or 40,000 Virgin Flying Club miles amongst other things) it may be worth giving the card a try to see if it works for you.

There are a lot of long-term benefits that can have real value:

• 2 Priority Pass cards, each getting you and a guest into 1,300 airport lounges for free.  If you give your second card to your partner, you have a family of four covered.  London lounges include the Aspire lounge in Heathrow T5, the Plaza Premium lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 and the Club Aspire and No1 lounges in Heathrow T3, as well as a number of Gatwick options.
• Eurostar lounge access (cardholder only, no guests, although your supplementary Platinum cardholder can get in with their card)
• Lounge access with Delta in the US
• Access to Amex’s upmarket ‘Centurion’ lounge network at selected US airports, Hong Kong and London Heathrow Terminal 3
• Marriott Bonvoy (Sheraton, Le Meridien, Aloft, St Regis etc) hotels Gold status,
• Hilton Honors (Conrad, DoubleTree, Waldorf Astoria, Hampton etc) Gold status
• MeliaRewards (Melia, INNSiDE, Tryp, ME) Gold status
• Radisson Rewards (Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn) Premium status
• Travel insurance, subject to enrolment, which is fully comprehensive (some minor benefits such as lost luggage requiring you to pay for your flights and hotels with an American Express card, although ‘big stuff’ like medical cover is covered regardless) – although read the small print if you have pre-existing conditions
• Comprehensive car hire insurance
• Discounts and/or added benefits in luxury hotels via the Fine Hotels & Resorts programme
• £150 per year to spend in 150+ UK restaurants (no minimum spend required)
• £150 per year to spend in 1,200+ restaurants outside the UK (no minimum spend required)
• £100 per year to spend at Harvey Nichols, online or instore (no minimum spend required)

…. plus some other bits and pieces, including car hire status.

A lot of people, including myself, have a Platinum card for the benefits but – because of the weak 1 point per £1 earning rate – do not use it much.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

The HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard is only available to HSBC Premier current account holders, and a substantial financial commitment to HSBC is required to receive one. 

You receive free airport lounge access at 750 airports worldwide via the Priority Pass programme.  Guests are charged at £24, although if you regularly travel with the same adult it would be cheaper to pay £60 to get them a supplementary credit card on your account.  It is a cheaper way of getting lounge access than buying your own Priority Pass card.

If you get the standard version of the HSBC Premier Mastercard, you also get a Priority Pass card but are charged £24 per lounge visit, no freebies.

You would also get comprehensive travel insurance, although this is technically a benefit of the free HSBC Premier current account and you would receive this even if you decided not to take out the credit card.

The card has a chunky £195 annual fee BUT you receive a sign-up bonus – paid over two years – of 80,000 HSBC points. These convert to 40,000 Avios or 11 other airline and hotel programmes. If you value an Avios at 1p then the card is effectively free for two years if you offset the £390 of fees against the 40,000 Avios received if you hit the bonus targets.

Our full review of the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard is here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

The Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 15 free elite night credits per year.

15 night credits means that you will immediately qualify for free Silver Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy.  This has few real benefits, except for a 10% bonus on base points earned from Marriott hotel stays, so it is debatable whether it is worth the £95 annual card fee on its own.

However, it also puts you 15 nights nearer the very valuable Platinum Elite status which usually requires 50 nights. Platinum Elite comes with guaranteed lounge access, breakfast benefits and a guaranteed 4pm check-out.

You will also receive 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy points as a sign-up bonus, if you qualify and meet the spending target.

Our full review of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card is here. You can apply here.

Conclusion

Overall, there are some interesting deals to be had with some credit cards which makes them worth keeping, even if you don’t use them.

For bigger spenders, especially heavy travellers, The Platinum Card from American Express is worth a look.

The generous sign-up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards points, airport lounge access and the free hotel status cards mean that you don’t have much to lose by giving it a try, despite the heavy fee.

PS.  In case you are wondering, I deliberately excluded The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card.  Whilst you get four free airport lounge passes per year, these do not justify the £195 annual fee from Year 2 onwards.  Of course, in Year 1, it is a different story.

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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.