Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Three credit cards worth keeping, unused, just for their benefits

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Typically there are three different types of travel loyalty credit cards you can apply for:

  • cards you get just for the sign-up bonus
  • cards you get primarily for the strong on-going earnings rate
  • cards you get but don’t use because they come with generous perks

Head for Points tends to focus on the first two types. I thought it was worth another look at the three loyalty cards which offer decent on-going perks even if you don’t use them.

Three credit cards worth keeping, unused, just for their benefits

For clarity, my list does NOT include perks which require you to hit a spending target each year to receive them such as the British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher or the Barclaycard Avios Mastercard upgrade voucher.

All of the perks discussed below are yours simply because you took out the card.

The place to turn for full details of all airline and hotel loyalty credit cards is, of course, our ‘Top Credit Card Offers‘ page, which summarises all of the cards and deals currently available.

Looking through the list, these are the three cards you might want to get but keep in your desk drawer gathering dust:

Three credit cards worth keeping, unused, just for their benefits

The Platinum Card from American Express

The Platinum Card from American Express

Bonus: 40,000 points

Read our full review

Other information:

  • Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,400 airport lounges
  • Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
  • Comprehensive travel insurance
  • £300 per year of restaurant credit
  • £100 per year to spend at Harvey Nichols
  • Annual fee: £650

Representative 704.6% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £650 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 31.0% APR variable.

See if you qualify for the 40,000 points sign-up bonus +

You will receive 40,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card if you spend £6,000 within three months of signing up.

Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible.  You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.

This is the ONLY personal American Express card where you still qualify for the bonus if you already hold a British Airways American Express card.

To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points.  This includes The Platinum Card and Preferred Rewards Gold.

You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.

You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card, including the British Airways, Marriott and Nectar cards.

For clarity, you can still apply for The Platinum Card even if you do not qualify for the bonus.  You would still benefit from the long list of other benefits.

Learn more about the card benefits +

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.

Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable.  The key benefits are:

Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of your supplementary cardholder, subject to enrolment

Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,400 airport lounges

Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Premium), MeliaRewards (Gold)

Access to Eurostar lounges, irrespective of travel class

£150 per year to spend in over 160 UK restaurants

£150 per year to spend in over 1,200 international restaurants

£100 per year to spend at Harvey Nichols, instore or online (no minimum spend required)

£300 per year of dining credit – £150 to be spent at 150+ UK restaurants and £150 to be spent at 1,200+ restaurants outside the UK

You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.

The Platinum Card from American Express is the most complex and most debatable card here.

Because you can get a very generous 40,000 Membership Rewards points sign-up bonus (converts into 40,000 Avios or 40,000 Virgin Flying Club miles amongst other things) it may be worth giving the card a try to see if it works for you.

There are a lot of long-term benefits that can have real value:

  • 2 Priority Pass cards, each getting you and a guest into 1,300 airport lounges for free.  If you give your second card to your partner, you have a family of four covered.  London lounges include the Aspire lounge in Heathrow T5, the Plaza Premium lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 and the Club Aspire and No1 lounges in Heathrow T3, as well as a number of Gatwick options.
  • Eurostar lounge access (cardholder only, no guests, although your supplementary Platinum cardholder can get in with their card)
  • Lounge access with Delta in the US
  • Access to Amex’s upmarket ‘Centurion’ lounge network at selected US airports, Hong Kong and London Heathrow Terminal 3
  • Marriott Bonvoy (Sheraton, Le Meridien, Aloft, St Regis etc) hotels Gold status,
  • Hilton Honors (Conrad, DoubleTree, Waldorf Astoria, Hampton etc) Gold status
  • MeliaRewards (Melia, INNSiDE, Tryp, ME) Gold status
  • Radisson Rewards (Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn) Premium status
  • Travel insurance, subject to enrolment, which is fully comprehensive (some minor benefits such as lost luggage requiring you to pay for your flights and hotels with an American Express card, although ‘big stuff’ like medical cover is covered regardless) – although read the small print if you have pre-existing conditions
  • Comprehensive car hire insurance
  • Discounts and/or added benefits in luxury hotels via the Fine Hotels & Resorts programme
  • £150 per year to spend in 150+ UK restaurants (no minimum spend required)
  • £150 per year to spend in 1,200+ restaurants outside the UK (no minimum spend required)
  • £100 per year to spend at Harvey Nichols, online or instore (no minimum spend required)

…. plus some other bits and pieces, including car hire status.

A lot of people, including myself, have a Platinum card for the benefits but – because of the weak 1 point per £1 earning rate – do not use it much.

credit cards worth keeping, unused, just for their benefits

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

Bonus: 80,000 points

Read our full review

Other information:

  • Only available to HSBC Premier account holders
  • Receive free airport lounge access with LoungeKey
  • Annual fee: £195

Representative 59.3% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £195 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 18.9% APR variable.

See if you qualify for the 80,000 points sign-up bonus +

The sign-up bonus on the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard is 80,000 points.

This is paid in two parts.  You receive 40,000 HSBC points (worth 20,000 Avios or other airline miles or hotel points) for spending £2,000 within three months and a further 40,000 HSBC points (=20,000 points) for spending £12,000 within twelve months.

The annual fee is £195 and you need to pay the fee for the second year in order to receive the second half of the bonus.

There is no restriction on receiving the bonus if you have previously held the card, as long as you cancelled it over six months ago, or are upgrading from the free HSBC Premier Mastercard.

Learn more about the card benefits +

The points earned with the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard can be transferred to 10 airline and hotel loyalty schemes – Asia Miles, British Airways Executive Club / Avios, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Finnair Plus, Flying Blue (Air France KLM), Qantas Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, TAP Miles&Go and Wyndham Rewards.

They can also be redeemed for other items including retailer gift cards.

Cardholders can access any airport lounge in the LoungeKey network for free.  No guest are allowed, but you can get your partner a supplementary credit card on your account for an annual fee of £60.  Children would be charged at £20 per visit.

You need to be a HSBC Premier current account holder to apply for this card.  HSBC Premier comes with a range of additional benefits including comprehensive travel insurance.

The HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard is only available to HSBC Premier current account holders, and a substantial financial commitment to HSBC is required to receive one. 

You receive free airport lounge access at 750 airports worldwide via the Priority Pass programme.  Guests are charged at £24, although if you regularly travel with the same adult it would be cheaper to pay £60 to get them a supplementary credit card on your account.  It is a cheaper way of getting lounge access than buying your own Priority Pass card.

If you get the standard version of the HSBC Premier Mastercard, you also get a Priority Pass card but are charged £24 per lounge visit, no freebies.

You would also get comprehensive travel insurance, although this is technically a benefit of the free HSBC Premier current account and you would receive this even if you decided not to take out the credit card.

The card has a chunky £195 annual fee BUT you receive a sign-up bonus – paid over two years – of 80,000 HSBC points. These convert to 40,000 Avios or 11 other airline and hotel programmes. If you value an Avios at 1p then the card is effectively free for two years if you offset the £390 of fees against the 40,000 Avios received if you hit the bonus targets.

Our full review of the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard is here.

Three credit cards worth keeping, unused, just for their benefits

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

Bonus: 20,000 points

Read our full review

Other information:

  • 15 elite night credits per year to help you towards higher status
  • Free night, up to 25,000 points, when you spend £25,000 per year.
  • Upgrade to Gold Elite status when you spend £15,000 in a card year
  • Annual fee: £95

Representative 54.8% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £95 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 31.0% APR variable.

See if you qualify for the 20,000 points sign-up bonus: +

You will receive 20,000 points as a sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days of signing up.

To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card.

You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.

You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held a Business American Express card.

For clarity, you can still apply for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card even if you do not qualify for the bonus.  You would still benefit from the 15 elite night credits per year, the free night (up to 25,000 points) for spending £25,000 and Gold Elite status for spending £15,000.

Learn more about the card benefits +

You will receive 15 elite night credits per year in Marriott Bonvoy.  The first batch will arrive within 60 days on applying and then in Spring in each subsequent year.

15 elite nights will automatically get you Silver Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy and put you nearer to Gold Elite and higher tiers.

If you spend £15,000 per card year, you will be upgraded to Gold Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy.

If you spend £25,000 per card year, you will receive a free night voucher, valid at any hotel where reward nights cost up to 25,000 points.

You need a minimum personal income of £20,000 to apply for the card.

The Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 15 free elite night credits per year.

15 night credits means that you will immediately qualify for free Silver Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy.  This has few real benefits, except for a 10% bonus on base points earned from Marriott hotel stays, so it is debatable whether it is worth the £75 annual card fee on its own.

However, it also puts you 15 nights nearer the very valuable Platinum Elite status which usually requires 50 nights. Platinum Elite comes with guaranteed lounge access, breakfast benefits and a guaranteed 4pm check-out.

You will also receive 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy points as a sign-up bonus, if you qualify and meet the spending target.

Our full review of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card is here. You can apply here.

Conclusion

Overall, there are some interesting deals to be had with some credit cards which makes them worth keeping, even if you don’t use them.

For bigger spenders, especially heavy travellers, The Platinum Card from American Express is worth a look.

The generous sign-up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards points, airport lounge access and the free hotel status cards mean that you don’t have much to lose by giving it a try, despite the heavy fee.

PS.  In case you are wondering, I deliberately excluded The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card.  Whilst you get four free airport lounge passes per year, these do not justify the £195 annual fee from Year 2 onwards.  Of course, in Year 1, it is a different story.


Want to earn more points from credit cards? – January 2024 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

15,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.

Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card

2% cashback on all your business spend for 3 months (1% thereafter) and no annual fee Read our full review

Comments (32)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Gary_Dexter says:

    It’s worth noting you should still “use” the card at least once every 3-6 months, otherwise it becomes dormant on your credit file and could eventually be closed by the lender.

  • E says:

    Some cards get cancelled if you don’t use them at least occasionally. That sadly happened to me with my Marriott card from Creation a few years ago.

  • Stian says:

    I must admit that I do use my Platinum card for day to day spending. I like accumulating some Amex points as a diversification from Avios and hotel points, but I don’t spend enough to justify having e.g. the Gold card also. It’d be interesting to hear your thoughts about which cards to use instead, e.g. “instead of the Platinum card, use the Xxxx”.

    • DJ says:

      Likewise, I used to spend the BA and Marriott cards, but now I only spend on the Platinum if the merchant supports Amex, otherwise either Barclaycard Avios or the free Virgin Atlantic card.

      Still keeping the Amex Marriott and the free British Airways cards, and I put 2x Amazon Subscription items on those two cards to keep them active.

    • Kat says:

      I’ll be interested to know too of other cards which has better earning rates as my travel expenses have gone up and everything is going through Amex Plat at the moment

    • No Longer Entitled says:

      Instead of XXX, use XXX depends very much on what you are working towards. If Avios, both the premium Barclaycard and BA Amex offer 1.5 Avios per £1 so you are 50% better off than the Platinum. But, if keeping the Platinum, does the extra 0.5 Avios per £1 make up for having an additional card and paying an additional fee? It depends upon how much you spend, your need for Avios, and if the Platinum is even worth keeping.

      Personally, I think the Platinum has benefit because MR points are applicable to a number of schemes and there is considerable merit in that. But if all you want are Avios, there are cheaper cards with a better earning rates available. Check the credit card page in the HfP header/drop down.

      • Man of Kent says:

        Likewise – I’m prepared to give up 0.5 Avios per £1 to have the flexibility of MR points over Avios. It’s also useful sometimes to move spending from BAPP to Platinum to defer the timing of earning the 241 voucher if I have an unused one in my account already.

  • jj says:

    I keep meaning o cancel my wife’s Amex Gold for the reason Rob says in the article, but every month I’ve been finding new, valuable offers that don’t feature on my Platinum or BAPP cards. I’ve received cash back of about £35 already in May, a typical run rate that gets me to about £400 per annum.

    Offer numbers have fallen of a cliff recently, so cancellation happens today.

    • Julia says:

      We’re in the same position with the Marriott card. Just as we decided it had no further use we received a £75 rebate offer which paid the subscription fee. The other thing to keep in mind is you don’t know when these cards will be withdrawn. I know a lot of people were very upset when the Hilton Barclaycard was closed
      over night.

      • No longer Entitled says:

        Guilty as charged. I was between Hilton cards and due to it being withdrawn, I am still between Hilton cards years later.

  • derbydave says:

    I cycle through my “drawer” cards to pay the Netflix / Spotify subscriptions, it only takes a moment to change the card and keeps them alive.

  • Dominic says:

    World Elite also comes with good benefits RE car companies (amongst other things) through Priceless. Easy upgrades for car rentals, for example.

    I no longer live in the UK, but have kept the Marriott card for the aforementioned nights – massive pull in continuing the path to Lifetime Plat

  • Tony says:

    But….the HSBC Premier card does NOT give free travel insurance to 70-plus….an important point!

    • Rob says:

      Neither does Amex Plat. However its arguably a moot point because very few people aged 70+ would not have any of the pre-existing conditions which exclude you.

  • Null says:

    The annual fee for the Amex Platinum seems to be missing from the article

    • Rob says:

      Oh yes. The reason is that there is usually a ‘fact box’ in this article which includes it but the fact box gets screwed up on the emails, so I replaced it with written text on the APR. Have swapped the boxes back in now the emails are out. Thanks.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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