Best reward card that is not AMEX

Norris848

Hi all,

First time poster and I apologise if this has been asked before, but my search of the forum was unsuccessful.

I have recently started focusing on getting the most from my cards and accounts after a long time of ignorance to the benefits.

I have a Santander 123 account, a 0% nationwide card for my main credit card debt and the AMEX platinum card for my everyday spending. I am happy and believe I am very well covered in the majority of areas I need to be.

However I do have a gap and that is for my everyday spending where AMEX is not accepted. This is maybe 15-25% of my everyday spending. I am a reasonably frequent flyer, I have a large network of family and friends that I could sell/exchange highstreet vouchers with and I like cash; so I'm relatively flexible with the type of rewards. My salary is mid range (40% tax band) and I have a good credit history.

So my question is, what do you think is the best reward card that is not an AMEX?

Thanks in advance

w211

If you're an Avios collector, maybe a Tesco Credit card, where you receive 1 Clubcard point per £4 spent, which you can transfer to Avios.

planteria

a good question, as Amex very much lead the way..
i was with Barclaycard Cashback, and also Barclaycard Hilton, as back up to Amex Cashback....but now have CapOne Elite, and swallow the £120/y fee

Norris848

Thanks for the replies.

w211, I am not yet an Avios collector (I do have BA air miles separately as part of the executive club), but I can be if it is worth it. I need to look into this properly to be honest.

Thanks for the suggestions Planteria, I will look into those. The problem for me is as this is my secondary everyday card I estimate annually I will only spend <5k on it, so I am put off by the high annual fees that would cancel out much of the rewards benefit.

Another idea might be to get one of those accounts that issue both an Amex and Visa for the same account, however because the reward rate on the Visa is much less (20%) than the Amex, I need to find a standalone MasterCard/Visa reward card to weigh up what is the better deal.

w211

I was going to recommend the Capital One Aspire Elite, but thought that the £120 as pointed out, isn't going to be worth it.

I have the Capital One Aspire World, which I use for non-Amex spending, but they don't accept new applications for that - it's similar to the Aspire Business card, which you could apply for, if you have a business, it offers 0.5% cashback up to £6,000 worth of purchases a year.

Actually, BA Air Miles and Avios are the same anyway, and you can convert them to each other at the same rate, using "Combine my Avios" in your BA Executive Club homepage. You can set your Clubcard points to automatically redeem for BAEC/Avios when they transfer them quarterly.

This link may also help: http://www.headforpoints.com/best-uk-avios-airline-hotel-credit-cards/

planteria

the word around the campfire is that Aspire Business is available to non-business owners.

Archi_Bald

Norris848 wrote: »

I have a Santander 123 account, a 0% nationwide card for my main credit card debt and the AMEX platinum card for my everyday spending.

I use a combination of 123 CC (first year free if you are a 123 customer), Nationwide Select and Barclaycard AMEX/VISA combo.

I use the 123 for all petrol, rail and TFL tickets, and all department store purchases. Gives my between 1 and 3% cashback. For everything else I use AMEX (1%) if AMEX is taken, Nationwide or the Barclays VISA (0.5%) if not. Short of exploiting introductory offers, these is probably the best deals presently in the market.

planteria

interesting Archi...depends on spending level, of course... but i'm consistently hitting 1.5% (once hit Amex threshold) backed by 1% then 2% then 1.35%.
and i have a spell in the Spring when i can be hitting 3.25%..
and some free £5s flying around this Winter:A

weijing

HSBC World Elite MasterCard

£1 = 2 hsbc points = 1 avios

Yawn

w211 wrote: »

If you're an Avios collector, maybe a Tesco Credit card, where you receive 1 Clubcard point per £4 spent, which you can transfer to Avios.

If I remember correctly, Tesco rounds down these transactions so the rate is less lucrative than it might seem. I have a Lloyds Avios Duo credit card. The MasterCard only pays 1.25 points per 5 pounds, but spending on it does contribute to a free upgrade voucher (need to spend £7000 per year). Plus, it doesn't charge FX fees overseas.

Otherwise, I think the best card is probably Nationwide Select Credit Card which gives .5% cash back.

Alarae

Asda CC? 0.5% everywhere, 1% at Asda. Matches most cards but offers that bit extra for Asda, which as my main shop makes sense.

That will be my next card once the 1% cashback finishes on my TSB card in December.