Learn How to Optimize your travel, from redeeming air miles for free flights to saving on costly foreign currency (FX) conversion charges. Below is a comprehensive guide on how to save money travelling and earn free flight – UK.
When trying to figure out what the best cards for earning air miles and avoiding additional charges are when travelling it can get very complicated. Whilst not as lucrative as the US, the UK has an extensive market. It can be mind-numbing trying to figure out which programs to sign up for and what card to use. And it is not always obvious when/where you can earn.
This post will be the first of a 3-part series. Here I talk about the best credit/debit cards for travel. I will release 2 further posts about the best Airline Rewards Programs and best Hotel Loyalty Programs. Please also check out my article on the best airline alliance, as this may influence which airline you choose to travel with. Eventually I will release a final post combining what I think is the best combination of all three (The UK Points Trifecta). So you will be able to combine the UK’s best credit card, air miles and hotel loyalty programs (spoiler, it involves Amex and British Airways).
1. American Express
When it comes to earning points and cashback in the UK I think American Express is by far the best option. Compare to other card providers they just have a much larger range with greater benefits. By spending with Amex and using their offers you earn “Membership Rewards” (MR) points. These MR points can be transferred to virtually any airline or hotel partner, or even just for Amazon gift cards (but you can’t redeem at such a good rate this way).
I will focus on Amex’s two main travel focused cards here, the Platinum card and the British Airways card. Another option would be the Marriott Bonvoy Card or the Gold Card but I got into more details about that here in my post about Hotel Loyalty Programs. The British Airways card comes in two options, fee-free and £195 annual fee and for convenience I will just cover the fee-less version.
The Platinum card comes with a very steep annual fee of £575. I would not recommend this card unless you plan to spend at least £10k per year and ideally much higher. Even with this high fee though it is relatively easy to get significantly more value out of it as I outline below. And don’t forget the wow factor of owning a metal card. I wasn’t convinced by this before owning it but actually handling it in person I must admit I was sold:
As you can see, using all the credits and sign-up bonuses on the Platinum card will easily exceed the annual fee. I have both of these cards but this is just my setup, you can pick and mix as you like based on your preferred airlines and hotels or even go with the Marriott Bonvoy Card.
Finally, what I like most about American Express is the flexibility they offer. You can use MR points directly with Amex travel, redeem for gift cards, or convert to virtually any large airline or flight reward program. Personally I will either convert MR to Avios for British Airways/Oneworld flights or Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Points for Star Alliance airlines. And the added bonus of free lounge access for you and a guest at most large airports just makes travelling a lot more comfortable.
If you want to earn double the usual amounts of points when signing up please use my referral links. Currently you can get 65,000 MR and 12,000 Avios which have a cash value of around £800 and £130 respectively:
- The Platinum Card – You Receive 65,000 Membership Reward points and a £200 travel credit, I receive 24,000 points: https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/fREDEGgRA5?CPID=100493012
- British Airways Card: You Receive 12,000 Avios after spending £1,000 in the first 3 months, I receive 8,000 Avios: https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/fREDEGuUeO?CPID=100493012
In fact I booked an upcoming return flight from London to Geneva in British Airways Business Class for just 30,000 Avios + £1. A trip which would have otherwise cost me around £320 at the time of booking. Stay tuned for a review of that flight in November.
2. Barclaycard Avios
Barclaycard recently released the new Barclaycard Avios with both a free and premium £20/month version. I recommend the basic card with no monthly fee unless you’re a very high spender. See the below chart for a rough breakdown of potential points value you could earn with each card. I’ve used The Points Guy UK’s estimate of 1.1p per Avios point:
I personally use the free version of this card when shops don’t accept Amex and am very satisfied with it. You receive a 5,000 Avios bonus for spending £1,000 in the first 3 months. Earning 1 Avios for every £1 spent also matches the basic Amex British Airways Card. Finally, you can get up to five months of Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple News+ and Apple Arcade for free with your new Barclaycard.
The only downside of the basic card is that you have to spend £20,000 per year to earn a companion voucher versus £10,000 on the Plus version. The Points Guy UK values a companion voucher at over £1,000 if you use it efficiently. Though as this is essentially a backup card for me I don’t spend that much either way so it doesn’t factor for me. But it is worth bearing this in mind if you plan to spend over £10k per year.
3. Virgin Atlantic Credit Card
The Virgin Atlantic Credit Card is the best choice if you want a Avios/British Airways alternative. Virgin Atlantic recently announced their plan to join the Skyteam Alliance in early 2023. If you regularly travel with Delta, KLM/Airfrance, Korean Air or other Skyteam airlines then this is a good fit. Personally I favour Oneworld and Star Alliance airlines so this card is not really on my radar.
Almost identical to the Barclaycard Avios, the cards are offered in a free and premium version with a £160 annual fee. Points structures are almost identical as well though as Virgin Points are valued at 1.2p per point you won’t earn quite as much with the free version as you would with the Barclaycard Avios.
When choosing between this card and the Virgin Atlantic Card and the Barclaycard Avios it really just comes down to which airline/alliance you prefer. Again this is a Mastercard so could be used as a good non-Amex backup.
4. Revolut & Barclays currency wallets
Revolut and Barclays both offer a foreign currency wallet. With Revolut you can convert and transfer 30 different currencies and use them to make purchases on your card. Whilst Barclays allows you to create either a EUR or USD travel wallet and spend abroad in these currency using your regular debit card. Both of these are great options for avoiding having to pay foreign currency charges when spending abroad (as long as you travel to a country with a supported currency).
I’ve used neither of these as I have a credit card with no FX fees but it’s worth knowing they exist.
5. Nationwide and no foreign transaction fee cards
Nationwide offer a credit card with 0% FX fees. Although you need to me a Nationwide Member (have a Nationwide current or savings account) I chose this card as on top of the 0% foreign transaction fees it also comes with a 0% interest on purchases and balances transfers for 15 months offer and has no annual fee.
Nationwide are also currently offering a £125 Current Account Switch offer for new customers so if you want some free extra cash this is a great choice.
Several other banks offer similar cards and the savings potential is relatively small so at the end of the day I would recommend you just choose the bank/issuer that is most convenient for you:
- Barclaycard Rewards Card and also earn a modest 0.25% cashback
- The Halifax Clarity Card
- The Natwest Credit Card for very low interest rates (for a credit card)
- Chase Debit Card which includes up to 1% cashback
- Sterling Debit Card
Conclusion
There are many ways to save money and maximise you’re rewards when travelling but American Express comes out as the clear winner with the Avios Barclaycard a distant second. If you’re not a fan of British Airways or the Oneworld Alliance then the Virgin Atlantic Credit Card is also a good choice. Especially considering their recent announcement to join Skyteam in early 2023. So if you have status with any Skyteam airline this is a must have.
Please check out other articles on Freddie’s Flight Reviews here and feel free to contact me here or in the comments below. Thanks!
- Shopping With British Airways: The Easiest Way to Earn Thousands of Avios (shopping.ba.com)
- Eastern Airways ATR72 Review: Surprisingly Great UK Domestic Airline | Newquay to London Gatwick
- Which is the BEST LONDON AIRPORT? Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and More!
- GWR Night Riviera Sleeper Train Review (Bunk Cabin) | Overnight from London Paddington to Penzance
- Icelandair Saga Premium Review (Business Class) | Boeing 767-300ER | London Heathrow to Reykjavik
