New American Express cashback deals with Virgin Holidays and Malaysia Airlines

Two interesting new or extended cashback offers have appeared on American Express cards.

Virgin Atlantic Holidays

Virgin Atlantic Holidays has extended its current deal, it seems.

You will receive £250 back when you spend £5,000 by 23rd September. It was due to end on 19th August.

You need to look under the ‘Offers’ tab in the app or on the Amex website for each card you have, although you are unlikely to find this on British Airways or Marriott Bonvoy cards.

The small print has a couple of gotchas if you’re not careful:

• cumulative spend counts
• only website bookings count, not transactions completed in Virgin Atlantic Holidays stores
• bookings made on the Virgin Atlantic Holidays mobile app do NOT count – it must be on the website
• ‘flight only’ bookings do not count
• part payments or deposits do not count (although how Amex would know this I have no idea)
• purchases made on finance or ‘buy now pay later’ do not count
• gift card and voucher purchases do not count

The bottom line is that you need to visit the website (and ONLY the website) and spend £5,000 in one or more transactions in full payment for a holiday (not just a flight) to get the £250.

Remember that you can earn bonus tier points in Virgin Flying Club when booking with Virgin Atlantic Holidays, as well as earning additional Virgin Points.

The Virgin Atlantic Holidays website is here.

Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines has launched what I think is its first cashback deal with American Express since 2020.

You will get £60 back on a cumulative spend of £650 by 30th August.

There is NO specific requirement for flights to start in the UK. However, the rules also say ‘Offer only applies to spend made in Great British Pound (GBP) on the Card to which the Offer is saved.’

This latter clause always appears on Amex offers so may not mean anything. However, if you book a flight departing from anywhere except the UK it won’t price in Sterling so arguably may not count.

You must book on the Malaysia Airlines website here.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – September 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 Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

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 14th October 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This would convert to 80,000 Avios! The spend target is changed to £10,000 within SIX months of approval. T&C apply. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th October 2025, the sign-up bonus on the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card is doubled to 40,000 Membership Rewards points. This would convert to 40,000 Avios! The spend target is changed to £5,000 within SIX months of approval. T&C apply. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card

Your best beginner’s card – 40,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

36,000 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:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th October 2025, the sign-up bonus on The American Express Business Platinum Card is increased to 120,000 Membership Rewards points. This would convert to 120,000 Avios! The spend target is changed to £12,000 within three months of approval. T&C apply. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th October 2025, the sign-up bonus on The American Express Business Gold Card is TRIPLED to 60,000 Membership Rewards points. This would convert to 60,000 Avios! The spend target is changed to £6,000 within three months of approval. The card remains free for the first year. T&C apply. Click here to apply.

The American Express Business Platinum Card

120,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

The American Express Business Gold Card

60,000 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 0.8 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card

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