February 2024’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.

February’s credit card & BNPL update video

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

February’s credit card & BNPL news

Sainsbury’s to exit credit card market

Sainsbury’s is to stop providing financial products directly in the future, including credit cards. What we don’t know is when or how.

It could be that they still offer customers the chance to have Sainsbury’s credit cards, but they could be via a third party. This is how they currently sell insurance, and it’s a model you see from the likes of John Lewis who have a credit card via NewDay.

It’s not clear right now whether existing products will be eventually be closed down, or whether they’ll be transferred over to a new version. I’d expect it’ll be a similar story to when John Lewis moved from HSBC to NewDay which required customers to reapply for the new card.

However until more is announced, there’s nothing changing with the cards. Saying that, I don’t think the benefits from Sainsbury’s Bank credit cards are that exciting especially when it comes to rewards.

You’d be better off with the American Express Nectar credit card as you’ll earn more points on all your shopping, not just at Sainsbury’s.

February’s credit card special offers

Get Amex Boosts Platinum welcome offer now – or wait

Last time I told you of some new Amex welcome deals, including a huge one for the Platinum card. I won’t go over in details how to stack each element of the deal again, but there’s one thing worth adding.

A big perk of this card is the £150 credit you get to spend in restaurants each year. Another is the £50 credit to spend at Harvey Nicholls. Both reset on 1 January 2024.

However, since it can take a week for your application to be approved and the card to arrive, you’ll either want to apply in the first week of December so there’s definitely enough time to use those offers before New Year’s Eve.

If that’s not possible, I’d instead apply as close to the deadline of 9 January 2024 as possible. That’ll then mean you’ve got the first week of 2025 to also redeem the promotions (assuming they’re still running then).

Asda Money card 10% welcome

There’s a huge welcome offer on the Asda Money credit card this month. Normally you’re looking at a £20 voucher, but this one could be worth £100.

If you’re a new customer (or haven’t had one of their cards in the last 12 months) and apply by 11 March 2024 you’ll get 10% back on Asda spending over 90 days. This is capped at £100 in total, meaning you’d need to spend £1,000 over those three months to get the full amount. More on the offer here.

After this it’s 1% at Asda, which is decent, but 0.3% elsewhere which can be beaten. Bear in mind the money you earn has to be used in Asda, and there are time limits for swapping the points you earn into vouchers. More on the Asda Money credit card in our review.

M&S card £25 welcome

And finally, you can get £25 in vouchers, though this time for M&S if you sign up for the Marks and Spencer credit card andspend £250 across five or more transactions in the first 90 days. The previous offer was a higher £40 voucher, so if you’re only after the freebie it might be worth waiting to see if a boosted promotion occurs. More here.

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: