‘Credit Card Offers’, updated for May 2013

I have updated the ‘Credit Card Offers‘ page at the top of the site for May.

We have had a couple of great months in terms of new offers being launched.

In March, we got the new promotion on the Lloyds TSB Duo Avios cards and the return of a bonus on the American Express Platinum charge card.

During April we got (click to see the relevant posts):

35,000 American Airlines miles with their MBNA American Express and Visa cards – the best offer that I have EVER seen for a free loyalty credit card

a link for an additional 10,000 Hilton HHonors points with the free Hilton Visa

and I showed you how to get an additional 5,000 Avios when applying for the Lloyds TSB Duo Avios cards!

The only bit of bad news is that the 6,500 (or 15,000 miles, if you used my link) deal on the Lufthansa Miles & More card has ended. This is now back to a boring 1,500 miles.

I churned our personal portfolio during the month:

I applied for the American Airlines card, and was (surprisingly) accepted with a £10,000 limit, despite having a £20,000 limit on my bmi card. I have already spent the required £5,000 settling a tax bill, so I will be able to report on how quickly the miles post.

I finally chopped up our Lloyds TSB Duo Avios cards. I had only kept these because I was waiting for a refund from BA on an old BMI redemption. Whilst BA had promised to make the refund by bank transfer, I wanted to be 100% sure. Unfortunately, the £50 fee on the Lloyds card came around before the refund turned up, but you can’t win them all.

I got an American Express International Dollar Card. I will write about this more at a later date.

What are the best loyalty credit cards currently available?

Here is my advice on the best cards currently available if you are thinking of ‘churning’ the contents of your wallet:

1. American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

This is currently an outstanding deal, which is showing no signs of going away. No fee for the first year and 20,000 Membership Rewards points  (see here for what 02,000 MR points can get you – 20,000 Avios points for a start!).  Apply here.

2. American Airlines American Express and Visa

Until 31st May, this card is offering 35,000 American Airlines miles when you spend £5,000 within 180 days. This is the best sign-up deal I have ever seen on any free credit card. You can learn more about the deal here, here and here. The miles can be redeemed on British Airways flights, but cannot be merged with your Avios points.

3. Lloyds TSB Premier Duo and Duo Avios cards

This is good deal and is much improved on the previous promotion. The free (‘Duo’) cards give you 15,000 Avios points for signing-up. The £50 fee ‘Premier Duo’ cards give you 20,000 Avios. You need to spend £500 per month for the first three months on the American Express card to receive the bonus, which may require careful tracking of your spending. You can learn more about the Lloyds TSB Duo Avios promotion here.

4. American Express Platinum

The card now offers 30,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 30,000 Avios amongst other things.

You receive a pro-rata refund on the £450 fee when you cancel the card and you will retain most of the benefits – Starwood Gold, Carlson Gold, Accor Platinum, Cathay Pacific Gold (= BA Silver) for the rest of the year even after you cancel!  Apply here.

5. Hilton HHonors Platinum Visa

You receive 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. If you use this link before 10th June you will receive an extra 10,000 Hilton points.

6. Priority Club Black Visa

If you are used to having Platinum status for your Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn Express, Indigo, InterContinental etc stays, you will probably have noticed by now that you are very unlikely to requalify in 2013. The incredibly harsh new regime – which means only base points and not bonuses count for status – will see 80%+ of Platinum cardholders drop away, I imagine.

The Priority Club Black Visa comes with Platinum status as a free (and not publicised) perk. There is an annual fee of £99 but if you do enough stays at Priority Club hotels then it is a decent deal.

Full details, including links to the application forms, are on the ‘Credit Card Offers’ page.

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