June 2023’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.

June’s credit card & BNPL update video

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

June’s credit card & BNPL news

Up to £815 profit American Express Platinum offer ends

You’ve only got until 13 June 2023 to get double the usual welcome points and £200 Amex Travel credit as a new Amex Platinum card holder.

You’ll need to be eligible (and that could include some existing Amex cardholders – it depends on which one you have right now) and then spend £6,000 in six months.

Combined with other offers, and if you covert your 60,000 Amex Reward points into Nectar points then this could be worth up to £815 profit (assuming you cancel the card after seven months to get a pro-rata refund on the huge fee). I’ve explained how to maximise the offer in detail here.

Has Amex introduced a minimum income?

Incidentally, a few people have reported in our Facebook group that their application has been rejected due to their salary. Currently there’s no minimum salary listed on the Amex website when you apply, and it’s not been a thing since this requirement was removed across all Amex cards in 2016.

Looking into this further it seems people have found that it’s personal rather than household income which is being taken into account (regardless of the household income), with a £50,000 personal income requirement for the Platinum card. And there’s speculation that other Amex cards will also have minimum salary levels needed to get them. Of course, this is all speculation. I’ll investigate and report back next month.

Is an Apple Card coming to the UK?

9to5Mac reported last month year (update – the article is actually from a year ago! It appeared in my Google discover last week as a suggested article and I saw the headline but not the year. It doesn’t change what I say about the card, but it’s important to clarify- sorry for the confusion) that Apple has acquired a UK startup that uses open banking to assess creditworthiness. That could be a sign the tech giant is planning to launch it’s own credit card – the Apple Card.

In the US it pays a decent 2% cashback on all purchases, increasing to 3% for Apple products and some retailers such as Uber and Nike. That sounds pretty tasty, especially since the likes of Chase and Amex offer at most 1%.

But don’t expect similar rates here if it does happen. That’s because the margins the card companies make in the UK are significantly less than in America. The interchange fees are paid by the merchant when you shop, and here the consumer ones are capped at 0.2% on debit cards and 0.3% on credit cards (business cards are higher). So any cashback to the customer above these rates has to come from elsewhere.

Of course, it might not happen at all. If it does I’ll update you here on the blog.

Yonder offers six months free

I wrote in April about an offer from Yonder – a credit card which doesn’t necessarily check your credit report, prioritising open banking data when making a decision on accepting or rejecting your application.

Well they’ve another deal. This time newbies will get six months free and a free pint on top. After this trial, it’s £15 a month, though this does come with travel insurance and the chance to earn points you can use on dining out (largely in London). You can cancel before the trial ends if you wish.

Halifax Clarity newbies get £20 cashback

One of the longest running fee-free overseas credit cards is the Halifax Clarity credit card. It’s free to spend with it, though you’ll get charged interest on cash withdrawals abroad.

It was a staple in my wallet until cashback paying cards from Chase and Barclaycard came along, but it’s still a decent bet for your holiday.

And right now you can get £20 cashback as a new cardholder when you make a single purchase within 90 days. . That’s actually pretty decent. In comparison though the Barclaycard Rewards card pays 0.25%, you’d need to spend £8,000 on it to get the same amount back. And bear in mind you’d be better off with most spending with Chase’s debit card so that might take years to reach,

Of course since that Barclaycard cashback can be earned over a number of years you might earn more from that than longer term than from this initial Halifax Clarity £20.

It’s a limited-time offer, so it could go anytime. Here’s more on the deal.

Swap Nectar to Avios for double points in store

If you have some Nectar points you’re keen to swap to Avios points then doing it in June will mean you earn double Nectar points this month at Sainsbury’s, Argos and eBay. Personally, I wouldn’t bother – it’s often better to swap Avios points to Nectar as you can use them as you wish! But if you are both an Avios collector and a Sainsbury’s shopper it’s worth knowing about.

No Amex Shop Small this summer?

By now we’d normally have heard if American Express is running an additional Shop Small promotion in June. Since there’s been nothing announced, and I can’t even see anything for businesses on the Amex website, I think it means we won’t get one.

That could of course change. Perhaps it’ll run later in the summer instead. And if it does I’ll share updates in my Shop Small guide.

If it doesn’t happen in the next few months, I’d be surprised if it doesn’t return in December, so it’s certainly worth thinking about getting an Aex card ready so you can take advantage of this deal where you save £5 per £15 spent at participating small businesses, including bars and restaurants.

Vote in the Consumer Credit Awards to maybe win £1,000

The Consumer Credit Awards are back for 2023, and if you vote for the lender you think deserves to win one of the categories you’ll be put into a prize draw for a £1,000 cash prize.

This isn’t just credit cards, but also loans, car finance, credit reports and so on.

You’ll need to leave a review of the credit provider as part of your vote. You’ve got to do this by 14 August. Vote here.

Of course you can also leave a bad review on Smart Money People if there’s a provider that you feel hasn’t delivered the goods. It’s all useful information for others when choosing a product.

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: