Compare Credit Cards
- Airmiles credit cards
- Bad credit credit cards
- Balance transfer credit cards
- Black credit cards
- Business credit cards
- Cash back credit cards
- Credit builder credit cards
- Low interest rate credit cards
- Luxury credit cards
- Overseas credit cards
- Prepaid credit cards
- Purchases credit cards
- Rewards credit cards
- Under 18’s credit cards
- Worthy causes credit cards
Credit cards by issuer
Credit Card News
-
10th May, 2012
Credit cards or loans – which is better? -
3rd May, 2012
Are your credit card details for sale to the highest bidder? -
20th April, 2012
Never look a gift card in the mouth… -
6th April, 2012
Want an Easter break? Where can you get the best value for money?
Avios & Airline Credit Cards
Our favourite for May
Generous Avios Program
BA Premium American Express Card
- Spend £3k 1st 3 mths, get 18000 Avios
- 1.5 Avios per £ spent
- 3 Avios per £ spent on BA flights
- Free companion ticket on spend > £10,000
- Free Travel Insurance
Representative APR 50.1% (inc. annual fee)
Also consider
Comprehensive Virgin Flying Club Scheme
Virgin Atlantic Black Amex
- 2 Flying Club Miles for every £ spent
- 4 Flying Club Miles per £ of Virgin spend
- 0% on B Transfers for 6 mths, 2% fee
- Spend >£7,500 for free companion flight
- Spend >£5,000 for free seat upgrades
Representative APR 47.2% (inc. annual fee)
Here are our best Avios, airmiles and airline credit cards, and these offer a variety of travel rewards and privileges based on your annual or monthly spend. Everyone likes the idea of accumulating airmiles to spend on that holiday in the sun whilst all your friends are stuck with the poor weather in the UK!
But joking aside, there’s more than just holidays to be considered when deciding if airline credit cards will work for you. If you’re new to airmiles cards, take a look at our Guide below the comparison table.
The old BA miles, Airmiles and Iberia Plus frequent flyer programs have ended, and been rolled into a new scheme called Avios. There’s a feature below giving more detail on the end of the BA miles program and more detail on Avios.
However we’ve found that lots of our visitors still search for ‘airmiles credit cards’ and so we still use this generic term to cover points and rewards on frequent flyer programs. Cards are listed with the highest Avios, airmiles, airline miles or travel points cards at the top!
 |
BA Premium Plus American Express Credit Card | 18,000 bonus Avios if you spend £3000 in the 1st 3 months | 3% | 50.1% APR |
Spring promotion, 18,000 free Avios 3 Avios per £ spent at BA, 1.5 /£ normally Purchase protection & travel insurance Companion ticket on spend over £10k p.a.
Annual fee |
Lloyds TSB Avios Duo American Express Credit Card | 0% on balance transfers for 6 months, x2 Avios for spend abroad | 3% min. £3 | 15.9% APR |
1 Avios for every £1 spent on the Amex card 0% for 6 months on balance transfers 1500 Airmiles / every full £1000 transferred 5 x Avios accumulation in 1st 3 months No transfers from other Lloyds cards |
Lloyds TSB Avios Duo MasterCard Credit Card | 0% on balance transfers for 6 months, x2 Avios for spend abroad | 3% min. £3 | 15.9% APR |
1 Avios for every £1 spent on the Amex card 5 x Avios accumulation in 1st 3 months 0% for 6 months on balance transfers Double points on spend abroad No transfers from other Lloyds cards |
Virgin Atlantic American Express Black Credit Card | 0% on B transfers for 6 mths, 6,000 Virgin bonus Flying Club miles on 1st purchase | 2% | 47.2% APR |
Now with dual Amex & Visa cards 6000 free Flying Club miles on 1st purchase Double miles - Virgin Hols & Virgin Atlantic Annual fee No transfers from MBNA or Virgin cards |
American Express Platinum Charge Card | 40,000 bonus points on spend of £1500 in 1st 3 months | Charge Card | Charge Card |
Charge card, so no interest to pay No pre-set spending limit Comprehensive rewards program Travel and personal protection insurance Annual fee |
British Airways American Express Credit Card | 3,000 bonus Avios on spend of £500+ in 1st 3 months | 3% | 19.9% APR |
1 Avios per £ spent Companion ticket on spend over £20k p.a. £75,000 travel accident benefit High APR |
Tesco Clubcard Credit Card | 0% on purchases for 15 months & balance transfers for 9 months | 2.9% | 16.9% APR |
Doubles as Tesco Clubcard Wide variety of rewards on spending Points can be converted to Avios Allows £ transfers to your bank account No interest free period on money transfersAirmiles and Airline Credit Cards Guide
Credit and charge cards offering various brands of ‘travel miles’ have the potential to make you money if you have the right spending profile, but used wrongly can cost you significant amounts in charges. All those airmiles and travel points cost someone money, so always take on board that the airlines will try and recuperate those costs from charges that will be dotted around like traps to catch you out if you don’t use the cards carefully!
As ever, we’ve scrutinised the market in detail and distilled this down to a series of facts and decisions you need to take into account when considering airmiles and airline credit cards. We hope this means you will collect loads of miles, and avoid the charges!
The market is complex because many credit card brands offer travel points under a myriad of different product names. As they all accrue at different rates on different types of spending, it makes them hard to compare.
The market is divided into two main types of card:-
1. Airline Specific Cards
True loyalty cards that give you enhanced rewards when you buy their own flights with the card, but also offer miles that can be spent with selected partner airlines and sometimes with other retailers
The main Airlines in the market and the name they give their ‘travel miles’:
| British Airways | Avios |
| BMI (Used to be British Midland) | Destinations Miles |
| Virgin Atlantic | Flying Club Miles |
| Lufthansa | Award Miles |
2. Premier Credit Card Brands that offer ‘Travel Miles’
These are high quality credit and charge cards that offer points or miles that accrue on all your expenditure and that can be used to buy flights from various airlines and also exchanged for other goods and service, or even gift vouchers.
*Other travel Flight and Miles orientated credit cards include:-
NatWest Black with YourPoints
American Express with Preferred Rewards
BA miles and Airmiles are now Avios
On 15th November 2011 the BA miles and Airmiles program officially closed.
BA state that the reason for this is their merger with Iberia (forming the new International Airlines Group), and with Iberia’s frequent flyer program accumulating benefits at a different rate to BA’s, something needed to change. BA’s miles, the Airmiles scheme and Iberia’s Plus program have been rolled into a one new scheme called Avios. More on the BA mile and Avios changes »
How do these cards work?
Most airmiles and airline credit cards are an extension of the airline’s in house loyalty schemes. The cards allow you to accumulate points or ‘miles’ relative to your monthly or annual spend on the credit card. Some cards are also offering either free flights or allocations of ‘miles’ just for taking out a new card.
These points or ‘miles’ can be exchanged for free airline flights (or even complete holidays), unfortunately you usually have to settle the Air Passenger Duty Tax (APD) on these flights yourself.
Who are they suitable for?
Before you consider airmiles or airline credit cards you need to be sure you can reliably pay off any monthly balance you may accumulate on your new credit card.
If you’re not sure, it’s unlikely that any travel miles or airline rewards you may accrue will make you better off. You’ll probably be better off with a 0% on purchases credit card or low rate for life card. If you’re not sure which type of credit card suits your financial profile, check out ‘Which credit card is best for me’?
Interest rates on airmiles and airline credit cards don’t tend to be the best in the market; obviously card issuers want you to spend money on the card, and NOT clear your balance on the due date meaning they’ll earn money in interest. If you end up paying interest, this cost outweighs any gain from the free travel miles or points.
Therefore our advice with airmiles and airline credit cards (and indeed any rewards credit cards or cash back credit cards) is to set up a direct debit to clear the balance before the due date. This way it doesn’t cost you if you forget to make a manual payment to clear the balance.
This can usually be done at outset as part of the application, but can also be done later usually via the credit card’s online tools, or via a call to the card issuer’s customer service department.
Airmiles and airline credit cards will probably suit you if:
- You travel regularly on business, pay with your own credit card, and can claim back your expenses. Choosing the best airline credit card could offer you a significant annual bonus in rewards.
- You’re a regular airline passenger for whatever reason and book your own flights.
- You’re responsible for funding your own business expenses, and can then claim them back at the end of the month. Using a travel miles card could give you a meaningful annual return.
- You have high disposable income, you can fund your expenditure on any credit card you like, and can always settle clear your card account on the due date.
- You regularly travel with a companion or partner and book flights online for both of you
To get accepted for these cards you will need a clear credit history, and a high credit score. Most of the credit card companies that offer travel miles have strict underwriting criteria, and you’ll need a good credit rating, coupled with an obvious disposable income (an excess of income over your regular commitments). This is because the credit card companies these days are just as interest in the likely profit they’ll make from you, as your credit worthiness.
So what is a high credit score?
Each company ‘scores’ your financial profile differently according to its own criteria, but the ideal customer profile the airline credit card companies are looking for would be:
- Over 30 years old
- Home owner at the same address for 3 years +
- Small mortgage, always paid on time
- On the Voters Roll at your home address
- PAYE income of at least £45,000
- Have another credit card with a small balance on, but pay a large amount off every month
How do I choose which Airmiles or airline card will give me the best return?
Unfortunately, the return on some airline credit cards isn’t what it used to be. Some airline credit cards won’t even give you a free domestic return flight in return for spending £40,000 in a year on their loyalty cards.
You’ll have to look at any prospective trips you’ve got planned for the next year, and compare that with your likely spending profile on any new card to really understand what’s each card can give you personally.
Compare the incentives in our tables above, and take a look at the website of the card you’re considering. Look at the rewards section and see if you think with your budget and spending profile that card works for you.
Logically, the cards that offer the biggest up front incentives to join are often the most expensive to run. Unless you’re a big spender on plastic, cards carrying an annual fee may not give you a net gain. But if you’re a frequent flyer, the cards with the annual fees often give you useful extra benefits like travel insurance, lounge access and global assistance.
In summary
- Don’t forget, those Airmiles and airline rewards cost someone money. Look closely at the cards, work out where the costs lie and compare the cards profile with your own spending and travelling patterns. Which one will make you better off?
- Don’t consider Airmiles or airline rewards cards unless you can be sure you can settle your card account, every month without fail. Otherwise the charges and interest nullify the benefits.
- Don’t (unless it’s a real emergency) use these cards for cash withdrawals at an ATM or over the counter. The surcharges and withdrawal fees will wipe out the value of any rewards you may accumulate.
- Use these cards only for UK, £ Sterling expenditure, and avoid spending on these cards when you’re abroad or to pay for goods or services in non-UK currency. The foreign exchange surcharges are eye watering. Instead for your spending abroad, or to order online and settle in foreign currency, consider overseas credit cards.
- If a card in our comparison tables seems to have a disproportionately high Representative APR, it’s probably got an annual fee. You’ll need to be spending significant amounts of money on the card over the year to overcome the cost of this fee, unless you feel any free insurance or other benefits like lounge access make this worthwhile.
