October/November 2021’s credit card 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.

October/November’s credit card update video

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

October/November’s credit card news

Amex Preferred Rewards Gold welcome bonus

Last month I shared with you some boosted welcome bonuses for the Amex Platinum and Amex British Airways Premium Plus cards. Well, there’s now also a boosted bonus for the Preferred Rewards Gold card.

This is already the top card for new Amex customers – as long as you’ve not had an Amex in the last 24 months in your name. You’d normally get 20,000 Membership Reward points if you spend £3,000 in three months, but until 9 November you’ll get 30,000.

You can swap these bonus points for a £150 gift card, or if you are happy to swap your points for Nectar points, these are boosted to £240. Factor in the additional points you’ll earn with spending that first £3k this adds up to £264. Read more about the card here.

Another perk of this card is £5 Deliveroo credit twice a month – though there’s a minimum spend of £5 on each order to qualify.

Is a debit card is now the best cashback card?

Thanks to the launch of the new current account from Chase Bank, the best standard rate for cashback on spending is now 1% via a debit card.

Though this is the same rate you’ll get with the Amex Nectar card, the Chase debit card is a MasterCard so it’ll be accepted everywhere. And more importantly the payout is in cash to your current account which you can spend anywhere – rather than Nectar points. It’s also fee-free to use abroad.

Of course, welcome bonuses for Amex still beat this, so they remain my top picks for anyone eligible. Plus there are a handful of store-specific credit cards which will pay more in those shops (eg John Lewis and Amazon).

The 1% back from Chase is also only for 12 months, so it’s going to be a temporary choice rather than permanent replacement.

Recent credit articles from Andy you might have missed

Amazon offers £40 voucher for signing up

Newbies who successfully apply for an Amazon Platinum or Classic credit card will receive a £40 Amazon voucher. This is the highest value offer I can remember from Amazon, especially for the Classic card which might be a decent bet for people with poorer credit scores.

The Platinum card is good for regular Prime shoppers as you’ll get 1.5% back on Amazon purchases (though I’d encourage you to try ditching Amazon – it’s easier than you think and you might save money)

American Express Platininum dining offer still live

I also mentioned last month that it looked like new Platinum cardholders were able to request the £200 dining credit offer. That was still the case when we got our Platinum card at the start of October, so if you do apply for this card for the increased welcome offer make sure you call them up or get on live chat to see if you can do the same.

Again, this isn’t guaranteed so don’t apply for the card just because of this.

The deal gives you £200 credit to spend in some decent restaurants until December. Most are in London but there are options around the country. If you apply and the offer doesn’t show you could try calling Amex to see if they’ll add it. More details 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. You’ll also find my list of the latest offers in the same article.

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:

Andy’s Top Three Credit Cards (October/November 2021)

  • Amex Preferred Rewards Gold Card for the welcome bonus (read more)
  • Amex Platinum for welcome bonus for existing Amex holders intil 2 November (read more)
  • Barclaycard Rewards for 0.25% cashback and fee-free spending overseas if you don’t want a Chase current account

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