Best card to collect airmiles?

The_Urbanite

zagubov wrote: »

It's come up on other threads that if you're just putting normal spending on your card without buying say expensive holidays, it could take close to decades rather thanyears for you to earn enough for a couple of short return flights (UK to Europe say).

It is prudent to review the redemption rates against the earning rates on the card to decide if it's worth pursuing.

If you're a frequent flyer who pays for flights then these cards offer a nice way of boosting points balances. If you're not then for them to be much use, you either need to be a big spender or be prepared to game the system to earn more points. There are ways of getting lump sums of thousands of points free of charge.

guesswho2000

A UK citizen definitely can get UK cards overseas, providing they’ve got a UK history of course.

As for OPs Q, transferable points currencies are the best, Amex Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy in the UK, which can be earned via various Amex cards (Green, Gold, Platinum and Rewards for MR, and the Starwood Preferred Guest card for Marriott).

These will allow you to transfer to the bulk of airlines you’d need to. Depending on where you are though, wouldn’t it be better to get one in your own country? I know offerings might not be good, other than USA, Canada and Australia, but you’ll be hammered for forex fees if you’re not spending in GBP.