AmEx BA Cards - What card to use when not

I currently try to use an amex BA card for all purchases, and pay it in full each month.

But what about when somewhere does not take AmEx? I was wondering if there is a card that would be worthwhile for points. I saw that Lloyds so something similar, but Mastercard.

I have a Visa Barclaycard as a backup, but no point using it unless I want the protection on larger purchases, as get cashback from my bank card on contactless.

Or should I just not worry about it? As it's unlikely to be more than £250 a month.

Just wondering, I've built up some decent avios now, enough for a return flight for 2 in europe anyway.

Comments

  • theburningcat
    theburningcat Posts: 198 Forumite
    For £250/month and with Amex out of the question it's probably not worth the effort. The AA and ASDA cards were good but the former has been removed and the latter is now vouchers (still good if you shop at ASDA).

    The Lloyds Avios card has the added advantage of having a 0% fee on forex and you can combine the points with your BA card. Amex's forex fee is 3% so I would also leave the Amex at home when you travel abroad as well.

    There's the Tesco credit card which is actually no better than the Tesco debit card. It's 1 Clubcard point for every £1 spent in Tesco + 1 point for every £8 spent elsewhere. The Tesco premium credit card is out of the question for such a low spend.

    The IHG and Virgin Atlantic cards are also good but your spend is probably too low to make them worthwhile as well.
  • newuser86
    newuser86 Posts: 312
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    I use the Lloyds avios card as it comes with both an Amex and a visa. The visa counts towards the 7k threshold for a free upgrade. It does cost £24 for the year. With a referral you get 4,500 avios free with it, and double avios in the first 6 months.
  • cashbadger
    cashbadger Posts: 5 Forumite
    Yeah it might be worth me upgrading? Current spend seems to be in the £1500/mth mark on the AmEx (blue card)
  • System
    System Posts: 178,077
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    newuser86 wrote: »
    I use the Lloyds avios card as it comes with both an Amex and a visa. The visa counts towards the 7k threshold for a free upgrade. It does cost £24 for the year. With a referral you get 4,500 avios free with it, and double avios in the first 6 months.

    Amex are ending their licencing agreements with European banks, so I wouldn't expect the Lloyds Amex to continue in the long term.
  • Marchitiello
    Marchitiello Posts: 1,266
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    I would add, that whilst the Lloyds Avios duo is still on offer, it gives you much better rewards then the Blue BA Amex if you consistently spend on it. Aside of the initial sign up bonus, the Amex version will earn you 1.25 Avios per £1, vs the 1 Avios per £1 of the BA Amex, and you get the upgrade voucher after £7k spend in a rolling year (start from account opening, recently learned that). Only bug that only one upgrade voucher per booking can be used, so even if you did earn two voucher over two rolling year, but wanted to use them both at the same time (in the short time the first one is still valid), you cannot actually do that...
  • Ben8282
    Ben8282 Posts: 4,821
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    For £250 a month spend not worth bothering. Just continue using whatever you are using currently.
  • Marchitiello
    Marchitiello Posts: 1,266
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    Ben8282 wrote: »
    For £250 a month spend not worth bothering. Just continue using whatever you are using currently.

    My understanding is that the £250 refer to non Amex spending, so if the Amex spending is still considerarable, I would still suggest getting the Lloyds Avios card as he may be able to get a nice bonus plus get the upgrade voucher with his normal Amex spent.
  • It's actually nearer £1500/mth and has nudged over £2500 a few times recently
  • loranius
    loranius Posts: 1,090
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    I currently use this one:-

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/cobrandcard/marketing.html

    1,000 points = £10 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card

    £2 spent on amazon = 1.5 points
    £2 spent anywhere else = 1 point
  • 20aday
    20aday Posts: 2,610
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    If you shop at Tesco or Shell regularly it’s worth noting you can collect Avios points through the Clubcard and Shell Drivers’ schemes too.

    £2.50 in Clubcard vouchers can be converted into 600 Avios.
    It's not your credit score that counts, it's your credit history. Any replies are my own personal opinion and not a representation of my employer.
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