Four credit and debit 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 a look at the four loyalty cards which offer decent on-going perks even if you don’t use them.

This list was recently expanded with the launch of the Hilton Honors Plus debit card which we reviewed here. The card gives you Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as you hold it.

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 four 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 50,000 Membership Rewards points sign-up bonus (converts into 50,000 Avios or 50,000 Virgin Flying Club miles amongst other things) it may be worth giving the card a try to see if it works for you.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. Click here to apply.

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

• 2 Priority Pass cards, each getting you and a guest into 1,400 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
• £200 per year to spend in 150+ UK restaurants (no minimum spend required, credited at £100 per half year)
• £200 per year to spend in 1,800+ restaurants outside the UK (no minimum spend required, credited at £100 per half year)
• £50 per half year to spend at Harvey Nichols, online or instore (benefit ends 30th June 2025)

…. 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.

Our full review of The Platinum Card is here. You can apply here.

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 1,400 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. There is no way of getting children into a lounge with you without paying the £24.  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 £290 annual fee BUT you receive a sign-up bonus of 40,000 HSBC points. These convert to 20,000 Avios or 12 other airline and hotel programmes.

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

Consider the Lloyds Bank World Elite Mastercard too ….

Whilst it is not a ‘travel rewards’ card, and so not included in this article, you may also want to look at the new Lloyds Bank World Elite Mastercard.

This costs £15 per month and includes Priority Pass airport lounge access. It is, I think, the cheapest option in the UK for someone who purely wants unlimited airport lounge access.

Unlike American Express, HSBC and Lloyds also allow you to use selected airport restaurants with your Priority Pass. This HfP article looks at the UK airport restaurants which will give you an £18 credit.

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.

I have this card myself and find that I can manage 35 Marriott nights each year on top to requalify for Platinum Elite. The 15 free elite nights even count towards lifetime status with Marriott Bonvoy.

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.

Hilton Honors Plus Mastercard debit card

The Hilton Honors Plus debit card comes with Gold status in Hilton Honors for as long as you keep the card.

Hilton Gold is the best mid-tier status of any hotel group because it gets you free breakfast for two on every stay. The only exception is in the USA where you receive a daily cash credit towards any food or drink spend.

You also receive an 80% bonus on Hilton Honors base points earned during your stay and should be upgraded to a ‘preferred’ room. This isn’t necessarily a higher category but the best room in the category you booked.

Even if you never use the debit card, you are ‘buying’ Hilton Honors Gold status for £150 per year. You can easily recoup this in free breakfast savings if you stayed as few as three nights with your partner.

You will also receive 10,000 Hilton Honors points as a sign-up bonus if you spend £2,500 in foreign currency within your first six months.

As the name suggests, this is a debit card and not a credit card. Transactions are debited to your existing UK current account as soon as they are made.

Our full review of the Hilton Honors Plus Mastercard debit 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 50,000 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.

The new Hilton Honors Plus debit card is arguably your cheapest option for ‘buying’ worthwhile travel status, as it gives you Gold status in Hilton Honors.

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 and £120 of Deliveroo credit, these do not justify the £195 annual fee from Year 2 onwards.  Of course, in Year 1, it is a different story. I also excluded the basic Hilton Honors debit card because the benefits of the included Hilton Honors Silver status do not justify the £60 annual fee.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. Click here to apply.

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 9th December 2024, there are EXCLUSIVE sign-up offers for our readers on the two Capital on Tap small business Visa cards. You can earn 20,000 points on the Business Rewards card and 30,000 points on the new Pro card. 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 when you spend at least £2,000 per month.