Credit cards with travel rewards

Stardustjunkie

Hi all,

I'm new to posting but I have been browsing for a while. I'm using some time off work (due to an op) to do some research in to ways to improve my monthly savings and help with my travel plans.

I would ideally love to have a credit card that allows me to earn airmiles. I have a flight to Bali to pay for next year, and it would be great to earn points to help with that while I buy my food shopping etc.

My issue is that a lot of credit cards require a £3,000 approx minimum spend in 3 months. I do not spend this much due to renting a room at a friends house. My outgoing are fairly small, although my income also isn't great.

I wanted to know if I can firstly pay my rent on my credit card? At the moment I just send my friend the money once a month! I also put X amount in to my savings. I'm guessing it's not possible to do this via a credit card? Can you also move direct debits such as phone bills, car lease etc to a credit card?

I've only ever had one credit card and I NEVER used it, so I'm completely new to this. I have read some of the guides on here, but I just need a bit more help. I also can't find a guide specifically for travel rewards.

Thank you!

[Deleted User]

I don't know of any cards that demand a minimum spend. You

Your friend won't accept unlikely to accept credit cards unless he's a business and is set up to do so. You also can't set up DDs.

You can set up CPAs though.

Stardustjunkie

Thank you zx81. I've been looking all week and as soon as I posted this thread, I found the Avios page on MSE! Typical Hopefully this will help me get a greater understanding.

PeacefulWaters

Headforpoints web site is your friend.

You'll need a ridiculous number of Avios or alternative miles to get to Bali. And using miles for long haul economy tickets is invariably madness due to high taxes levied as cash charges.

My instinct is that you should seek out the best cash fares you can and accrue miles from that and your credit card / Tesco spending that will contribute to a subsequent shorter trip such as getting to Dubai or USA in business class.

Is AMEX to PayPal to Landlord an option to build things up?

Stardustjunkie

Thank you. I'll check out Headforpoints!

I've found a page with a bit more information and maybe Bali is a little unrealistic (I thought it wouldn't be, given that you can get return flights for £450). Perhaps I'm better off looking at cashback cards. I'm new to all of this!

msallen

Stardustjunkie wrote: »

Perhaps I'm better off looking at cashback cards. I'm new to all of this!

Undoubtedly so given the large number of miles needed for anything worthwhile and your very low credit card spend.

blindman

Stardustjunkie wrote: »

Thank you. I'll check out Headforpoints!

I've found a page with a bit more information and maybe Bali is a little unrealistic (I thought it wouldn't be, given that you can get return flights for £450). Perhaps I'm better off looking at cashback cards. I'm new to all of this!

Collecting and using Frequent flyer miles is a serious hobby and is a black art. :cool:

As has been mentioned Headforpoints gives a great breakdown of which CC is best to achieve this.

Not all CC need a huge spend to get points.

However if you have low spending then it makes it more difficult to reach these targets.

Now that there are no fees for paying by CC Im paying my Council tax bill (£2k :eek:) with my SPG Amex

The fact that my Council does not take AMEX is overcome by using Billhop

Slight flaw is that Billhop charge 2.99% for this service

However

At the moment there is an offer for 0% commision if you get referred :cool:

As has been said you may be better off with a cashback card as you can then spend the money you save on flights of your own choosing.

Ben8282

If you have only ever held one credit card and never used it, I would suggest that you use an eligibility checker to see what cards you are likely to be accepted for. It may be a case of taking whatever you can get at this stage until you build up a credit history of using credit cards. If you could say who your credit card is(was) issued by and what the credit limit is(was) it may help. Is this account still open?
Obtaining a credit card for the purpose of getting enough Avios or whatever for a trip to Bali next year is unrealistic.
If you were to transfer as much of your day to day spending as realistically possible to a credit card, how much do you think you would be able to put through the card each month?
Paying your rent to an individual by credit card would not normally be possible unless your friend is somehow able to accept credit cards.
You can't move direct debits to a credit card. However, you can call each of these service providers individually and ask if it is possible to pay by credit card. If they say yes then you can set up a CPA to the credit card with them. A CPA is like a direct debit but to a credit card.
How worthwhile this would be depends on how much you can spend on the card each month. With a 0.5% cashback card you will get 50p cashback for each £100 spent, less any fee associated with the card. For example, the excellent Santander card has a £3 per-month fee. You would therefore have to spend £600 per-month just to break even and £1600 per-month to make £5.

pantaiema

Stardustjunkie wrote: »

Thank you. I'll check out Headforpoints!

I've found a page with a bit more information and maybe Bali is a little unrealistic (I thought it wouldn't be, given that you can get return flights for £450). Perhaps I'm better off looking at cashback cards. I'm new to all of this!

Unless you are a frequent long haul travellers due to work requirement for instance, getting air miles reward travel card with the hope to get a free flight is not really helpful.

The main problem is that you could only use your airlines with certain airlines. In the meanwhile it is not uncommon you could easily find a cheaper flight by not restricting yourself to a certain airlines.

I used to have Amex airlines reward but I abandon it as I never use it.

Like other have said your goal is better achieved with cashback credit card and use the car you earn to find a cheap flight without the need to tie to certain airlines.