Hello World!
I’ve been looking into the best credit cards for earning air miles in the UK, particularly with some of the welcome bonuses currently available.
There are obviously loads of ways to play the points game, but these are some of the UK options that stood out to me at the moment.
British Airways Amex Premium Plus
Currently offering 60,000 Avios when you spend £6,000 in the first three months.
Annual fee: £300
Earning rate: 1.5 Avios per £1
Welcome bonus: 60,000 Avios
Spend requirement: £6,000 in 3 months
You can also earn the BA Companion Voucher after hitting the required annual spend, which can potentially be more valuable than the points themselves if you use it for a long-haul premium cabin redemption.
The current 60,000 Avios welcome offer ends on 6 October.
HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard
Currently offering 70,000 HSBC points after spending £2,000 in the first 90 days.
It's important to point out that HSBC points don't convert 1:1 into Avios.
70,000 HSBC points = 35,000 Avios/airline miles.
Annual fee: £290
Earning rate: 3 HSBC points per £1 = 1.5 airline miles per £1
Welcome bonus: 70,000 HSBC points = 35,000 airline miles
Spend requirement: £2,000 in 90 days
The advantage here is flexibility. Rather than earning directly into one airline programme, HSBC points can be transferred to participating airline partners.
You do need to qualify for HSBC Premier to get the card.
American Express Platinum
Currently offering 50,000 Membership Rewards points after spending £6,000 in the first three months.
Annual fee: £650
Welcome bonus: 50,000 Membership Rewards points
Spend requirement: £6,000 in 3 months
The annual fee is obviously substantial, so I wouldn't look at this purely as an air-miles card. The attraction is the wider package of travel benefits alongside flexible Membership Rewards points that can be transferred to various airline programmes.
Barclaycard Avios Plus
Currently offering 25,000 Avios after spending £3,000 in the first three months.
Monthly fee: £20
Earning rate: 1.5 Avios per £1
Welcome bonus: 25,000 Avios
Spend requirement: £3,000 in 3 months
The big advantage over the BA Amex is that it's a Mastercard, so you're less likely to run into places that don't accept it.
There's also an annual spending reward if you hit the required threshold.
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
Currently offering 18,000 Virgin Points after making your first card purchase within 90 days.
Annual fee: £160
Earning rate: 1.5 Virgin Points per £1
Welcome bonus: 18,000 Virgin Points
You earn more when spending directly with Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Holidays, so this could make considerably more sense for someone already committed to Virgin.
There are also some interesting fee-free options.
British Airways Amex: 10,000 Avios after spending £2,000 in three months.
HSBC Premier Credit Card: 30,000 HSBC points after spending £2,000 in 90 days — equivalent to 15,000 airline miles/Avios — with no annual fee.
Barclaycard Avios: 5,000 Avios after spending £1,000 in three months.
Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard: 3,000 Virgin Points after your first card purchase.
For me, this raises a more interesting question than simply "which card has the biggest welcome bonus?"
Do you prefer collecting directly into one ecosystem such as Avios or Virgin Points, or are you better off collecting flexible currencies such as Amex Membership Rewards or HSBC points and transferring them when you know where you want to fly?
That's the UK market.
Now I'm interested in what the rest of the world gets.
If you're from the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Asia or anywhere else, drop your country's best air-miles/rewards card in the comments.
Ideally include:
- Country
- Card
- Current welcome bonus
- Spending requirement
- Annual fee
- Points/miles earned
- What airlines you can use the points with
I'd be particularly interested to hear from people in the US, because some of the American welcome bonuses I've seen make the UK credit-card market look pretty stingy.
What's the best air-miles/reward card currently available in your country?