November 2022’s credit card & BNPL news & round-up

The latest news to help you get the most from your credit card.

Here’s my monthly update sharing changes for leading UK credit cards, as well as some of the relevant articles you might have missed on the blog.

November’s credit card & BNPL update video

I go into more detail on some of this month’s updates in this video.

November’s credit card & BNPL news

Avios reduces the value of Nectar points transfer

This is really big news if you are collecting Avios or American Express Membership Reward points with the intention of converting them to Nectar points.

The value of these points, when used to convert from Avios to Nectar, has been 0.8p. But from 16 November 2022, they’ll work out as 0.67p. That’s a hefty 16.25% decrease.

So if you have a card earning 1 point (whether Avios, or Amex that you convert to Avios), that’s your equivalent cashback rate. This is marginally better than you’ll get on some cards, but some way behind the rate on the Amex Nectar (the equivalent of 1%) or the Amex Platinum Cashback (0.75%). It’s also less than the 1% cashback on the Chase debit card (though that’s only for 12 months).

If you have some points ready to convert you can do this before the deadline, but you’ll be limited to 50,000 manually, and another 25,000 via the autoconvert feature (this latter approach is capped for the quarter of October to December, so you may already have used some of this).

I’ve written in more detail about the transfer change and the impact it’ll have on welcome bonuses too.

Amex Gold bonus ends

The boosted welcome offer for American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card ends on 8 November.

This card offers a boosted 30,000 bonus points (up from 20,000) if you spend £3,000 in the first three months. This is increased to 32,000 if you go via a refer-a-friend link. You’ll also earn one point per £1 spent (so another 3,000 in the first three months)

If you convert the 35,000 points earned in that initial period to Avios points, and then switch again to Nectar points (via the new conversion rate), it’s worth £240.

Barclaycard Platinum £39 cashback stack

If you successfully apply for a Barclaycard Platinum credit card before 30 November 2022, and then spend £250 on the card within 90 days, you’ll get a £20 cashback bonus to your account. And if you apply via a cashback site there’s another £19 available on top.

Make sure you check eligibility before applying though, as you won’t want to get rejected. And if you’re new to Quidco or TopCashback, there are joining bonuses worth up to £17 you can nab.

This could be a good card if you’re thinking of stoozing, as you’ll get up to 24 months interest free spending.

Amazon & John Lewis cards now closed, Sainsbury’s rate slashed

If you’ve had an Amazon or John Lewis credit card then they’ll have now stopped working or be about to stop. For John Lewis it was the end of October, while the Classic Amazon cards closed on 14 October. The Platinum Amazon cards will stop on 14 November.

John Lewis cardholders had to decide whether to apply for the new card or not. As mentioned last month there’s a triple points offer for the first 90 days.

Amazon cardholders will have either automatically been sent a Pulse card as a replacement (from the same provider, NewDay) or had their account closed. There’s no news yet on a replacement from Amazon, but that could well be anytime now in the lead-up to Black Friday. I’ll update you on the blog and in next month’s update if there is any news.

And since 1 November the points you earn on a Sainsbury’s Bank Nectar credit card are significantly less. As reported in September, the rate is now 1 point per £2 spent at Sainsbury’s, the equivalent of 0.25%. Previously it was 2 points per £1 spent, working out as 1%. If you have this card it’s worth swapping to a different one.

This month’s best credit cards

As always when talking about credit cards the best credit card for you will depend on your credit report and why you need one. Make sure you read my rules for having and applying for a credit card.

But assuming you’ve got a great credit report, don’t need one to clear existing debts and will clear the balance completely each month, these are my top picks: