What is the best replacement for the UK Hilton Honors Platinum Visa credit card?

Barclaycard closed the Hilton Honors credit card in the UK last week.

This follows a run of travel card closures, with MBNA closing all of its eight UK airline partner credit cards to new applicants recently.

Why did this happen?

You should NOT assume that the Hilton Honors credit card will return under a new issuer.

The core driver was the European Union cap on interchange fees.  This restricted the fee that payment processors could charge retailers for accepting credit cards to 0.3%.   It is very difficult to run a successful rewards card on this basis.

What is your best alternative to the Hilton Honors UK credit card?

If you currently hold the Hilton Honors Visa credit card it will continue to operate for a while.  Whether that is weeks, months or years I don’t know.

If you had been planning to get a Hilton credit card but never got around to it, here are your options:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold or American Express Platinum (points convert 1:2 into Hilton Honors)

or / and

the Virgin Atlantic credit cards to be launched in April 2018 as either a Visa or Mastercard (miles convert 2:3 into Hilton Honors)

The sign-up bonus on Amex Gold would get you 40,000 Hilton Honors points – and the card is free for the first year.  You can cancel at any time.

The sign-up bonus on Amex Platinum would get you 60,000 Hilton Honors points and all cardholders receive Hilton Honors Gold status.

Reviews and to apply

Here are my reviews of the cards mentioned above, which also explain the sign-up bonuses available:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold – review, apply 

American Express Platinum – review, apply 

We will be covering the new Virgin Atlantic Flying Club credit cards in detail as soon as we have the details.

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