‘Credit Card Offers’ updated for October 2012

UPDATE – DECEMBER 2021:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.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 Card Offers’ menu above.  Thank you.

The ‘Credit Card Offers’ page at the top of the site has been updated for October to reflect changes over the past month. (Click here to see it if you are an e-mail or RSS reader.)

Here are the changes over the past month:

British Airways American Express – the sign-up bonus on the basic card dropped to 1,000 Avios or 6,000 Avios on the Premium Plus card. These offers are both, frankly, shockingly poor compared to earlier this year. Hold off applying, there are far better card offers currently available.

Flybe Mastercard – the deal has improved, with the offer of ‘two free flights’ coming back. You get the usual one free flight for signing up, plus a second free flight for spending £500. Note, though, that taxes etc must still be paid. With Flybe, these often represent 80%+ of the price of buying a cash ticket. (Their website admits that, during a sale period, the taxes on a ‘free’ ticket may be MORE than the equivalent reward seat!)

Lloyds TSB Duo Avios cards – no change, but the current (weak) offer expires on 18th October so we will see what comes after

Virgin Atlantic American Express and Visa cards – there is a very good promotion on at the moment, described as the best they have ever done. See this post for details.

Priority Club Rewards Visa – the cards now come with Priority Club Gold (free card) or Priority Club Platinum (£99 card) status, although this is not mentioned on the website yet. See this post for more details.

Tesco Clubcard MasterCard – the ‘refer a friend’ bonus of 1,000 Clubcard points has rolled over into 2013

American Express Platinum charge card – the bonus for a direct application is back (50,000 points). See my other post today for news on who qualifies for the bonus.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold charge card – the bonus, after a dip to 10,000 points, is back at 20,000.

Finally, it is worth noting that the BMI Diamond Club cards continue to be available and will be, it seems, for a few months yet.

The 20,000 Avios bonus for getting the FREE bmi Diamond Club credit card remains the best deal currently available in UK loyalty cards. If you have one, get one for your partner. If they have one, get one for your parents and use the Family Account facility to move the miles to yourself. MBNA gives out cards to even very low earners, so do not miss out.

My top picks

If I had to list my preferred choice this month, I would say:

The bmi Diamond Club cards. You get 20,000 Avios. It will disappear soon, has no fee, has a low £250 target to trigger the bonus and is available to people on very modest incomes or pensions. You cannot ask for more.

American Express Prefered Rewards Gold. No fee for the first year and 2o,000 Membership Rewards points (see here for what 20,000 MR points can get you – 20,000 Avios points for a start!).

Hilton HHonors Platinum Visa. A free night in any Hilton Group property for spending £750. That could be worth £250 if spent wisely at a Conrad or Waldorf-Astoria branded property.

Virgin Atlantic Black – if you already collect Virgin miles, the 20,000 bonus miles under the current promotion are worth having, despite the £140 card fee. They would also convert into 40,000 Hilton Hhonors points.

American Express Platinum – if you meet the £40,000 household income requirement and have no other Amex-issued cards, including NO BA Amex then this is outstanding (but see my other post today for news on the qualification criteria). 50,000 Membership Rewards points (see here for what that gets you), and you can cancel for a pro-rata refund of your £450 as soon as you’ve hit the £3,000 spend target.

Don’t forget that you can see my detailed series of ‘Credit Card Reviews’ posts by clicking on ‘Credit Card Reviews’ under the ‘Categories’ menu on the right.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus. 

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee 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.

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

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

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

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:

Barclaycard Select Cashback Credit Card

1% cashback and no annual fee Read our full review