Best non-Amex, non-Avios, non-airline credit card

[Jbadiani]

Hi All,

Since the closure of the IHG credit card, I’ve been lost on which card to replace this with. I’m looking for a non-amex, non-avios, non-airline card on which I can earn any of cashback, points, etc.

Do you have any thoughts?

I look forward to hearing them!

Thanks,

Jay

[Reney]

Some ideas:

Chase 1% cash back but it is capped and not a credit card

Virgin yes is an airline card but points can be transferred to IHG and Hiltons

HSBC premier if you qualify for it but has a relatively high annual fee and the service is not great.

Worth reading the relevant section of HTP.

[Alex G]

NatWest Rewards CC gives you 1pc cashback at supermarkets. You would need to open a current account with them to get the card for free, but you can earn £3 a month from the current account.

[ChrisBCN]

There is a section on non-amex here

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-credit-card-rewards/

Chase seems to be the only one that gives you 1% everywhere, but there are short term offers on other cards.

[PIL]

Albgra for 1.5% on contactless and 1% on all other purchases.

[Alex G]

Algbra is a pre paid debit card, not a credit card.

Algbra is not a bank. Your deposits are not FSCS protected.

[memesweeper]

Reney wrote:

Virgin yes is an airline card but points can be transferred to IHG and Hiltons

if you really want a credit, not a debit, card, this is the best option IMO

[davefl]

Problem with the VM cards inc the current account is that they’re app only for management and also for 2FA for online payments.

So if you don’t have a working smart phone you can’t pay for anything online.

[Guernsey Globetrotter]

memesweeper wrote:

Reney wrote:

Virgin yes is an airline card but points can be transferred to IHG and Hiltons

if you really want a credit, not a debit, card, this is the best option IMO

And also currency for Greggs sausage rolls too ! 😋

[Peter K]

Santander All in One credit card. £3 monthly fee but 0.5% back and no fx fees.

[PIL]

Alex G wrote:

Algbra is a pre paid debit card, not a credit card.

Algbra is not a bank. Your deposits are not FSCS protected.

True, did not read the thread title properly as was in a rush. Still worth it if you know how to use it

[Rob]

Get the free Barclaycard Avios card and convert to Nectar – 0.67% back.

[dahokolomoki]

If London based and a foodie, I recommend Yonder.

Can get approx 2% return if you spend redeeming at their featured restaurants (monthly list changes, and the quality is good, not crappy restaurants). Also earn 5% ponts at those selected restaurants monthly. Good if you’re responsible for doing lots of client/vendor entertaining and can put on personal card.

Lmk if you want a referral. First month free and 10000pts bonus

[andiron]

Also not credit but there’s Uphold card in the crypto world paying 2%/4% back..

Really depends what are you looking for?
Best return on money spend? Then probably a credit card with a long interest free purchase period 12+ months – spend £10k, put that money for a year into 6.2% saving account – pay off you card after a year.
Stoozing

[can2]

dahokolomoki wrote:

If London based and a foodie, I recommend Yonder.

Can get approx 2% return if you spend redeeming at their featured restaurants (monthly list changes, and the quality is good, not crappy restaurants). Also earn 5% ponts at those selected restaurants monthly. Good if you’re responsible for doing lots of client/vendor entertaining and can put on personal card.

Lmk if you want a referral. First month free and 10000pts bonus

Location, location, location…

Yonder only has a few restaurant each month. In this whole big city of London, it is such a minute chance that some of these restaurants would work for you.
They are decent restaurants but it is a big hit and miss, location-wise

[Reney]

andiron wrote:

Also not credit but there’s Uphold card in the crypto world paying 2%/4% back..

Really depends what are you looking for?
Best return on money spend? Then probably a credit card with a long interest free purchase period 12+ months – spend £10k, put that money for a year into 6.2% saving account – pay off you card after a year.
Stoozing

On stoozing – does it have an impact on your credit rating as you are essentially carrying a balance. Affordability calculations now will take that into account. Also interest is subject to tax unless you have very little other interest income so might need to discount that 6.2%. Still a lot more than the 0.something percentage that the avios cards are equivalent of.

[andiron]

Well Avios cards including monthly/yearly fees hardly ever reach 1% return. If you worried about tax, you can always put your money into an ISA and then it’s tax free.
Same with credit rating – not an issue, if you planning to get mortgage etc. pay it off, otherwise nobody cares about the score.
The main issue is that it’s a yearly return – so let’s say you spend £1000 a month – only after a year you will get £12k, so the interest rate is actually half of the 6% – because your average balance will be £6k. With best easy access ISA (5%) it’s about 2.5% return – £300 from £12k debt.
But for example if you use Chase and spent £1000 a month, you get £120 back after a year.
Best free Avios card 1 Avios / £1 – so about 0.8% return = £96.
Best paid Avios card 1.5 Avios and £20 monthly fee – you lose money in this case – minus £96.

[SamG]

Reney wrote:

andiron wrote:

Also not credit but there’s Uphold card in the crypto world paying 2%/4% back..

Really depends what are you looking for?
Best return on money spend? Then probably a credit card with a long interest free purchase period 12+ months – spend £10k, put that money for a year into 6.2% saving account – pay off you card after a year.
Stoozing

On stoozing – does it have an impact on your credit rating as you are essentially carrying a balance. Affordability calculations now will take that into account. Also interest is subject to tax unless you have very little other interest income so might need to discount that 6.2%. Still a lot more than the 0.something percentage that the avios cards are equivalent of.

This is what I’m doing at the moment – Lloyds 0% purchase card and then “stoozing” the cash. Even after tax it’s worth it. My mortgage isn’t due for a few years, I always “tidy” up and simplify my finances in the prior few months to a possible application – pay off any 0% unless it’s got a long time to run, don’t do anything that could be seen as dodgy etc (although we are nowhere near max affordability which I suspect limits questioning, I got more questions from HSBC when I applied for the WE card than Natwest asked for my mortgage!)

Otherwise agree with @Rob – free Barclaycard. You might use the Avios for something and get good value, otherwise you can cash out to Sainsbury where I shop anyway

[TooPoorToBeHere]

The paid cards only work if you are putting big amounts through them, that is fact.

There is a reason why there’s so much attention on the Barclaycard offerings in this space! As Rob notes above, they’re hard to beat.

I’ve a fair bit of experience in the cryptocurrency world. The Uphold and Crypto dot com cards both have attractive rewards rates.

The crypto dot com one requires their own appalling shitcoin to be staked (purchased and locked-away) to get the best cashback rates, and this is far too risky IMV.

The Uphold one pays 2% in XRP which is actually not bad in its way. I deeply dislike XRP and the history of the issuer – however its price is relatively stable and the issuer is well-resourced and well-lawyered (the SEC is afraid of them); it’s unlikely to disappear overnight.

The big risk is that the card issuer will vanish with your funds. Even if the issuer is straight, there is the possibility of a great disaster in the crypto space which makes them insolvent overnight – closure/bankruptcy of Tether being the obvious one.

[TooPoorToBeHere]

SamG wrote:

You might use the Avios for something and get good value, otherwise you can cash out to Sainsbury where I shop anyway

Always think it’s worth noting that the route out of Avios is to Nectar points, which don’t just work at Sainsburys. I’ve used a large Avios windfall at ebay before – where nectar is also accepted. Several large retailers have ebay stores and I used it a couple of Christmases ago for large presents, without worrying about dubious ebay vendors.

There can be good voucher offers at ebay as well around holiday times – 10% or 15% off big-brand retailers.

[Jbadiani]

Thanks all, I appreciate the feedback. Will take all of your thoughts into consideration when I take a decision.
Happy for this threat to be closed.

[Harrier25]

You’ll find the Virgin Atlantic cards hard to beat. The points become an instant currency in the Virgin Red app, points can be transferred to either Hilton or IHG reward schemes and free FX spending across the EU. A no brainer in my view.
Keeping life simple but slightly rewarding.

[SamG]

TooPoorToBeHere wrote:

SamG wrote:

You might use the Avios for something and get good value, otherwise you can cash out to Sainsbury where I shop anyway

Always think it’s worth noting that the route out of Avios is to Nectar points, which don’t just work at Sainsburys. I’ve used a large Avios windfall at ebay before – where nectar is also accepted. Several large retailers have ebay stores and I used it a couple of Christmases ago for large presents, without worrying about dubious ebay vendors.

There can be good voucher offers at ebay as well around holiday times – 10% or 15% off big-brand retailers.

As I’m an obsessive optimiser (picking up pennies in front of a steam roller my OH calls it 😂 though not quite accurate it is hardly high risk) .

So I wouldn’t use them at Argos as I can get 7% off via a reloadable card I can buy from my work rewards app. Ebay there is always the risk I might need to return something. Whereas Sainsbury you can only use £50 of a gift card online (also bought through rewards -4%) and then I used the nectar on the rest of the shop with no opportunity cost

[TooPoorToBeHere]

AFAIK you can still infinitely use the new customer discount on Sainsburys home delivery by just making a new email address (the +suffix feature of gmail is great for this).

Don’t forget TCB.

[andiron]

Harrier25 wrote:

You’ll find the Virgin Atlantic cards hard to beat. The points become an instant currency in the Virgin Red app, points can be transferred to either Hilton or IHG reward schemes and free FX spending across the EU. A no brainer in my view.
Keeping life simple but slightly rewarding.

0.75 point per £1 on free (point worth 0.8p) so it’s just 0.56% return.
Better on the £160 fee one. Sure there are other perks if you go above £10k/£20k spend.

Also a lot depends on transactions that points are awarded, Chase won’t pay me 1% for council tax bill, but othera do.