What is the best Visa or Mastercard to get?
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I get a steady stream of reader emails looking for advice on the best Visa or Mastercard credit card for earning Avios, airline miles or hotel points.
The comprehensive Head for Points reward credit card guide covers many different Visa and Mastercard products. In this article I want to run through the list and suggest possible reasons for getting each of them.
This article was updated on 1st December 2021, and all of the information is correct as of that date. Ignore the original publication date shown.
All of these cards add a 3% foreign exchange fee so you might want to get a separate free credit card to use abroad.
Unfortunately there are no travel rewards cards without a foreign exchange fee. One option is to get a free card from Currensea. Currensea is a simple but clever idea. You pay abroad with your Currensea Mastercard debit card. Currensea translates the cost to Sterling with just a 0.5% fee (83% less than usual) and withdraws the money from your bank account. You can find out more by clicking here. Currensea is free so there is no risk in giving it a try.
Visa and Mastercards earning Avios and hotel points:
I am bundling the Avios and hotel cards together because most people have both an Avios account and an account with the major hotel chains and may be ambivalent between them when it comes to points earning.
With the Lloyds Avios Rewards Mastercard now closed to new applicants, your Avios options are limited.
Best long-term card for the Avios collector (but high income needed):
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- No sign-up bonus
- Earns 1 HSBC point per £1 spent
- Points convert at 2:1 into Avios
Other information:
- Only available to HSBC Premier account holders
- Annual fee: Free
Representative 18.9% APR variable
There is no sign-up bonus on the HSBC Premier Mastercard.
There is a bonus on the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard. This is worth 40,000 HSBC points (worth 20,000 Avios or other airline miles) for spending £2,000 within three months and a further 40,000 HSBC points (=20,000 miles) for spending £12,000 within twelve months. The annual fee is £195 and you need to pay the fee for the second year in order to receive the second half of the bonus.
The points earned with the HSBC Premier Mastercard can be transferred to four airline frequent flyer schemes – British Airways Avios, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Etihad Guest or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
They can also be redeemed for other items including retailer gift cards.
Cardholders can access any airport lounge in the LoungeKey network for a fee of £20 per visit.
You need to have a free HSBC Premier current account to get these cards. If you’ve got the money behind you to get Premier, the cards are great. The standard Mastercard is FREE, has no sign-up bonus and earns 0.5 Avios per £1.
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 80,000 HSBC points, paid over two years
- Earns 2 HSBC points per £1 spent
- Points convert at 2:1 into Avios
Other information:
- Only available to HSBC Premier account holders
- Receive free airport lounge access with LoungeKey
- Annual fee: £195
Representative 59.3% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £195 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 18.9% APR variable.
The sign-up bonus on the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard is 80,000 points.
This is paid in two parts. You receive 40,000 HSBC points (worth 20,000 Avios or other airline miles) for spending £2,000 within three months and a further 40,000 HSBC points (=20,000 miles) for spending £12,000 within twelve months.
The annual fee is £195 and you need to pay the fee for the second year in order to receive the second half of the bonus.
There is no restriction on receiving the bonus if you have previously held the card, as long as you cancelled it over six months ago, or are upgrading from the free HSBC Premier Mastercard.
The points earned with the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard can be transferred to four airline frequent flyer schemes – British Airways Avios, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Etihad Guest or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
They can also be redeemed for other items including retailer gift cards.
Cardholders can access any airport lounge in the LoungeKey network for free. No guest are allowed, but you can get your partner a supplementary credit card on your account for an annual fee of £60. Children would be charged at £20 per visit.
You need to be a HSBC Premier current account holder to apply for this card. HSBC Premier comes with a range of additional benefits including comprehensive travel insurance.
The World Elite card has a £195 annual fee but comes with a sign-up bonus of 40,000 Avios for spending £12,000 in your first year, free airport lounge access and pays a generous 1 Avios per £1 spent.
Best long-term card for the Avios collector (no annual fee):
We used to recommend the Tesco Clubcard Mastercard as the best Visa or Mastercard option for earning Avios. However, Tesco Clubcard ended its partnership with Avios in January 2021.
Avios now has a partnership with Nectar. We cannot recommend any of the Sainsbury’s Bank credit cards, unfortunately, as the earning rate is exceptionally poor. You receive just 1 Nectar point (0.625 Avios) for every £5 you spend.
The points from the free IHG Rewards Club Mastercard, see below, convert to Avios. The rate is poor. You receive 1 IHG Rewards Club point (0.2 Avios) for every £1 spent.
I recommend that you choose one of the two Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercards as your Visa or Mastercard card. You will find further details in the Virgin Points section below.
Worth considering as a hotel card (no annual fee):
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 10,000 IHG Rewards points when you spend £200 within 90 days
- Earn 1 IHG Rewards point per £1 spent
- Points convert at 5:1 into Avios or other airline miles
Other information:
- Receive Gold Elite status in IHG Rewards
- Points from spend count towards elite status
- Annual fee: Free
Representative 22.9% APR variable
You receive 10,000 IHG Rewards points as a sign-up bonus when you spend £200 within 90 days.
There are no restrictions on receiving the bonus if you have previously held this card or the (no longer available) IHG Rewards Premium Mastercard.
All IHG Rewards cardholders receive Gold Elite status in IHG Rewards for as long as they hold the card.
This is the only UK travel card where the points you earn from spending count towards elite status. The 10,000 points you receive as a sign-up bonus do not count towards elite status, however.
This card comes with 10,000 IHG Rewards points which I would value at £40. As an added bonus, you receive permanent Gold Elite status in IHG Rewards. For a free card, the earning rate is pretty good. You receive 1 IHG Rewards point per £1 spent which is worth around 0.4p, with double points on foreign spend and spend in IHG hotels.
Visa and Mastercards earning Virgin Flying Club points:
Best long-term card OVERALL as long as you can use the miles:
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- The card has no sign-up bonus
- Earn 0.75 Virgin Points per £1 spent
- Earn 1.5 points per £1 spent with Virgin Atlantic
- Highest return per £1 of any free UK Visa or Mastercard
Other information:
- Get a ‘2 for 1’ voucher, valid on cash or points tickets, when you spend £20,000 in a year
- Alternatively, claim an upgrade voucher or Clubhouse lounge passes
- Get free access to Virgin Money lounges across the UK
- Annual fee: Free
Representative 22.9% APR variable
There is no sign-up bonus on the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard.
You may want to consider applying for the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard instead. This comes with a £160 annual fee but has a sign-up bonus of 15,000 Virgin Points. You also receive a higher earning rate of 1.5 miles per £1 spent.
All Virgin Atlantic credit card holders receive free access to Virgin Money lounges across the UK.
When you spend £20,000 per year on the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard, you can choose a benefit. This is what you can pick from:
A 2-4-1 voucher, valid for two years, for a Virgin Atlantic cash flight or a Virgin Flying Club redemption, in Upper Class, Premium or Economy
A return upgrade – on either a cash or miles ticket – from Premium to Upper Class, or from Economy Delight/Classic to Premium. You can either upgrade 1 x return flight if travelling alone or 2 x one-way legs of two return flights if travelling with someone else.
A Virgin Clubhouse lounge pass (requires a same-day Virgin Atlantic, Delta, KLM or Air France flight)
Here’s the small print:
If you are a Red (no status) member, you need to pay 50% of the miles for your 2nd ticket if you redeem your 2-4-1 voucher in Upper Class. This means that, for Upper Class redemptions for Red members, it is effectively a ‘2 for 1.5’ voucher. For Economy or Premium redemptions, it is a genuine ‘2 for 1’.
If you are a Gold member, you would receive two Clubhouse lounge passes instead on one if you chose that option
Taxes and charges need to be paid on the ‘free’ ticket as part of your 2-4-1 booking
Vouchers are valid for two years and you must fly the outbound leg of your trip before the expiry date
Without a doubt, the two Virgin Atlantic Mastercards are the most generous Visa or Mastercard products available. You get 0.75 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card …….
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 15,000 Virgin Points when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 spent
- Earn 3 points per £1 spent with Virgin Atlantic
- Highest return per £1 of any UK Visa or Mastercard
Other information:
- Get a ‘2 for 1’ voucher, valid on cash or points tickets, when you spend £10,000 in a year
- Alternatively, claim an upgrade voucher or Clubhouse lounge passes
- Get free access to Virgin Money lounges across the UK
- Annual fee: £160
Representative 63.9% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £160 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 22.9% APR variable.
You receive a bonus of 15,000 Virgin Points with your first purchase.
There are no restrictions on earning the bonus if you are accepted. However, you cannot apply for a card if you currently have, or in the previous six months have had, a Virgin Atlantic credit card.
All Virgin Atlantic credit card holders receive free access to Virgin Money lounges across the UK.
When you spend £10,000 per year on the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard, you can choose a benefit. This is what you can pick from:
A 2-4-1 voucher, valid for two years, for a Virgin Atlantic cash flight or Virgin Flying Club redemption, in Upper Class, Premium or Economy
A return upgrade – on either a cash or points ticket – from Premium to Upper Class, or from Economy Delight/Classic to Premium. You can either upgrade 1 x return flight if travelling alone or 2 x one-way legs of two return flights if travelling with someone else.
A Virgin Clubhouse lounge pass (requires a same-day Virgin Atlantic, Delta, KLM or Air France flight)
Here’s the small print:
If you are a Red (no status) member, you need to pay 50% of the points for your 2nd ticket if you redeem your 2-4-1 voucher in Upper Class. This means that, for Upper Class redemptions for Red members, it is effectively a ‘2 for 1.5’ voucher. For Economy or Premium redemptions, it is a genuine ‘2 for 1’.
If you are a Gold member, you would receive two Clubhouse lounge passes instead on one if you chose that option
Taxes and charges need to be paid on the ‘free’ ticket as part of your 2-4-1 booking
Vouchers are valid for two years and you must fly the outbound leg of your trip before the expiry date
……. and 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card. This is FAR better than any Avios or hotel card. You also get a 2-4-1 or upgrade redemption voucher for hitting spending targets. The only downside is that, with no short haul routes, you are unlikely to earn enough points purely from the credit card to get a good redemption so the cards are best suited to regular Virgin Atlantic flyers.
You can apply for the free Virgin Atlantic Mastercard here.
You can apply for the £160 Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard here. The paid card comes with a sign-up bonus of 15,000 Virgin Points.
Other airline Visa or Mastercards:
Worth considering if you fly Star Alliance (£79 annual fee):
The Lufthansa Miles & More Global Traveller card was suspended to new applicants in November 2020. It is planning to relaunch as a Visa card in early 2022.
It has a generous earning rate of 1.25 Miles & More miles per £1 spent and is worth considering when (if?) it relaunches.
Conclusion
These are not vintage times for anyone looking for a new Visa or Mastercard with travel rewards. However, I hope I have been able to show here that there are some decent deals about and hopefully one will suit your miles and points goals.
Further reading: click here for our full directory of the best airline and hotel credit cards and click here to see all of our airline and hotel credit card reviews.
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points and do not consider interest rates, service levels or any impact on your credit history. By recommending credit cards on this site, I am – technically – acting as a credit broker. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a credit broker.
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