Tesco drops the Tesco Premium Credit Card

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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote this article about the Tesco Premium Credit Card.

I suggested that the card did not have much of a future given the closure of Tesco Direct in three weeks, because the main feature – 5000 bonus Clubcard points if you spent £5000 annually across all Tesco businesses – would now become trickier. I know some people relied on putting large household purchases through Tesco Direct in order to hit the £5000 target.

It seems that Tesco Bank agreed with me. The Tesco Premium Credit Card is being withdrawn from the market for new applicants. I don’t know if it is being closed to existing cardholders too.

If you were on the fence about applying, the application form might still be live if you click here. There is a 5,000 Clubcard points bonus (worth 12,400 Avios or 12,500 Virgin miles) for signing up. I have been told that it will be gone by the end of today, if it hasn’t gone already.

Whilst this was definitely a niche product – and one I struggled to get excited about – it does have potential. It may have suffered from poor marketing, because the free travel insurance benefit would have been valuable for a lot of mainstream card users who will not have Amex Platinum, HSBC Premier etc. At a lower fee (say £50) or with a different benefits package, it may have worked well for a lot of HFP readers as a strong points earner.

I have updated our core ‘best credit card’ articles, all of which are listed on this page of HfP, to reflect this change.

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 BA Amex American Express card

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 BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

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

Category

Tesco Clubcard

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

N says:

14 Jun14 June 11:37

Completely OT, but does anyone know if Marriott Memories packages get discounted in the days before an event?
- Rob says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 12:03
  
  Very occasionally I have seen it happen. Sometimes the London hotels get offered unclaimed O2 seats to offer to guests or staff.
Rob says:

14 Jun14 June 12:03

You must spent more than my six figure sum them to be offered £15 🙂
- Alan says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 17:30
  
  They must have decided you’d cost them enough already 😀 Although weirdly I’ve spent oodles on my AA and they’re offering me £55 to keep it!
  - Michael Jennings says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 17:56
    
    The only applicable card for me is a Virgin White. I spent about £5000 on it over the last 12 months. No free money for me.
TAY says:

14 Jun14 June 12:18

OT: Does Amex do a new credit search when upgrading from Amex Gold Charge to Platinum? Also, when the upgrade is completed, does it show up as a new card in the credit report or just continue as an Amex Charge card?
- Lister says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 12:57
  
  My experience from upgrading in January.
  
  Hard search
  
  Continuation of the current charge card agreement. No new account opened on credit file.
Neil Donoghue says:

14 Jun14 June 13:29

Does anyone have the gold companion link please and does it work on the Amex plat?? Thanks
B C says:

14 Jun14 June 13:39

Does anyone have the link for upgrading Amex Rewards Gold Charge to Platinum? Assuming this still gets you 20k for the upgrade. Thanks
- Stuart says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 13:49
  
  https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/content/platinum-charge/upgrade/
  - B C says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 13:53
    
    Thanks
- Radiata says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 14:19
  
  I have used this successfully on two occasions over the past couple of years. A friend to whom I recommended likewise however did not receive the bonus and rebuffed when appealed to AMEX…
  
  Although it may be a moot point, in their case used after the anniversary date for the Gold in order to secure the anniversary spend bonus. In my case always used early on after obtaining the three month spend bonus.
Vasco says:

14 Jun14 June 14:03

OT: If I cancel my BAPP, will my 2-4-1 voucher remain available? I know it stays if you downgrade, but I’ve heard conflicting accounts of what happens if you cancel altogether. I have the Amex Gold and SPG, so I can always pay the the fees with those, that’s not the problem.
- Radiata says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 14:15
  
  In all likelihood, yes.
  
  There was a report on flyertalk of a voucher being rescinded but this contrary to the t&c and in the main, although the AMEX agent may insist otherwise, the voucher remains in one’s BAEC account.
  
  As you are aware, one must pay associated fees when redeeming with an AMEX.
  - Vasco says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 18:38
    
    Thanks, that’s what I thought too, but wanted to be double sure!
Navara says:

14 Jun14 June 15:23

OT.
Buy a Phone or Tablet From Sky Mobile, and You’ll Get a Free Return Flight to Europe.
No sure if it’s been highlighted before.
just seen it in the nectar app
- the real harry1 says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 15:44
  
  I got this in the post & thought about flagging it – until I saw the cost! If you had somebody else paying for the phone or tablet, you might go for it – if it’s your own money, you’d be crazy, really poor pricing.
  
  Return Flights >£100 on Lastminute.com only
  
  I threw it away but there’s a page online if you feel like googling it
  - the real harry1 says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 15:46
    
    https://www.sky.com/shop/mobile
- Alex W says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 15:48
  
  Cheapest option seems to be Sony Xperia L1. £6 per month for 2 years i.e. £144. There are flights worth hundreds available. Could be another hoover??
  - the real harry1 says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 15:58
    
    +£5/ month cheapest data plan = £11/ month for 24 months then £6.50 for 5 months
    total £296.50
    - the real harry1 says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 16:12
      
      before anybody gets too excited, the thingy I got in the post made it clear it was only valid for flights up to £100 on Lastminute.com (& limited destinations) – so they’ll be filtering out any flights currently over £100
      
      The most you can get as a discount is therefore £100 (plus possibly £11 discount per person for additional pax paying £89)
DTB says:

14 Jun14 June 16:33

Anyone receive an email from Virgin Atlantic re: the new credit card? says it’s targeted.

15,000 extra miles per month as long as you spend £1.5k, valid for 3 months, so 60k miles in 3 months essentially including the sign up bonus.

will apply on that basis
- Tom H says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 16:36
  
  I Got :
  A welcome bonus of 15,000 miles,
  Plus, a bespoke offer for you – an extra 6,000 miles a month for the first three months your account is open. You just need to spend a minimum of £1,000 each month on your card to qualify.
  - Melvin says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 17:09
    
    +1
- YoungL says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 16:40
  
  That sounds very good.
- KevMc says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 16:40
  
  I have just received one with 6,000 extra a month for 3 months if spending £1k, so looks like it is targeted. I only spent my £10k on the MBNA card to get my two vouchers and then stopped using it, so perhaps this is the reason for a lower offer than yours?
  - Rob says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 16:50
    
    Now, here is some news no-one will tell you. This offer is retrospective. If you had the MBNA cards and applied for this already, you will get the 18k. I am still looking for clarity on exactly how (a one-off drop or a spend target) but you will not be worse off.
    - KevMc says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 16:52
      
      Do you think it is worth holding out for a better offer like the one DTB was sent, or is the 18k as good as it is going to get?
      - Rob says:
        
        14 Jun14 June 16:55
        
        This is a one-off conversion offer as far as I understand it.
    - Louise says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 17:00
      
      So is the offer not going to be targeted Rob? I still haven’t got round to applying but no email (as yet)
      - Rob says:
        
        14 Jun14 June 18:19
        
        It is targeted but all MBNA cardholders are getting some version of it.
    - Melvin says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 17:11
      
      For clarity, my offer is for 33,000 miles total (18k + (3 x 6k))
    - Jonathan says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 21:07
      
      @Rob, will this only be for recently active MBNA card holders in the sense that i have held both VS MBNA white and black cards in the past but cancelled them about 6 months ago?
      - Rob says:
        
        14 Jun14 June 21:12
        
        Only people whose cards are being cancelled now.
    - Camille55 says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 23:57
      
      Mine is also 15K + (3 x 6k). However, I HAVE already applied for the Reward+ card, which I received last month and have been spending on it.
      
      Rob, I’d be interested to know when you find out – ie. whether the 18k will be a one-off drop at the end of the 3 months, or whatever. Thanks in advance.
      
      c55
      - Rob says:
        
        15 Jun15 June 08:32
        
        I know now. You will get an email with a spend target like everyone else. Emails being staggered over 2 weeks.
- Lev441 says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 17:13
  
  I got the same. Before this i wasn’t really interested in getting the card but this is giving me some food for thought…
- John G says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 17:13
  
  I got: 5000 on card opening + an extra 2000 miles for the first 3 months when spending £500 per month. This is for the free card. For the fee card I go the 6000 per month as above.
  
  Note I haven’t had a VS MBNA card for years.
- the_real_a says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 17:35
  
  Yup also got 15k plus 3 x 15k for 1.5k spend in first three months (60k total bonus miles)… I wasn’t going to bother getting the virgin cards for a while until i burnt down my stash of miles but this might change my mind.