What are the best credit card deals for May 2017?

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• Jason says:

  9 May9 May 15:04

  OT..how long does it normally take for SPG to confirm account number with AMEX so I can start to move so points?

  • Rob says:

    9 May9 May 16:29

    Did my wife the other week and it took 3-4 days I think. If you link online you need to add 3-4 zeros at the front or it may be rejected.

    • Jason says:

      9 May9 May 17:19

      if i need to buy points are they instant?if i need to buy points do they credit instantly

      • Roger says:

        9 May9 May 17:47

        IIRC it is 0000 followed by your account number (4 leading zeros).
        I have done this in the past and it goes through fine.

• Jason says:

  9 May9 May 16:32

  cheers Rob that is why i couldn’t get it to work!

• Jay says:

  10 May10 May 11:32

  Hi All

  I’m very new to the world of collecting miles/Amex points and wanted a suggestion on what to do from you experienced heads 🙂 I’ve got the Amex Gold card and have hit £15k spend for the year (5 months until I would have had it a year). I’ve referred my father and use that for most of expenses now to get the 20k points. Should I cancel my card now and wait 6 months or upgrade to Platinum first and get the additional spend points triggered and then cancel?

  • Wally1976 says:

    10 May10 May 11:45

    Assuming you can do the spend requirement quickly definitely upgrade to the platinum. Bank the hotel statuses, transfer points out then cancel ASAP to minimise the fee.

• Mark says:

  10 May10 May 12:56

  As a result of a recent telephone conversation with Barclaycard, I can report that, if you already hold two credit cards issued by Barclaycard, then an application for Hilton Honors Platinum Visa will be refused. Also, the credit limits on other, perhaps unused, credit cards from other providers will be added up, and the total amount used to decide whether you already have sufficient lines of credit for your needs. Of course, one could cancel one of the two Barclaycard credit cards, reduce the credit limit on other cards that are held, and then try for Hilton again. However, that will not guarantee that the application will be successful.

• Will says:

  10 May10 May 14:58

  After reaching £10k spend on hilton barclaycard, how long before you actually get goldbenefits? And how long do you remain gold if you cancel the card?

  • Rob says:

    10 May10 May 15:13

    Note the £10k must be done in a CALENDAR year.

    You’d get status for all the current calendar year, all the next calendar year and until March the next year. Triggering it today would last until March 2019.

    No idea how long it takes to process.

    • mark2 says:

      10 May10 May 17:25

      Would the same dates apply with triggering Gold now from Amex Plat please Rob?

      • Rob says:

        10 May10 May 17:41

        Yes, because my wife got that last week.

        • mark2 says:

          10 May10 May 18:32

          thanks

    • will says:

      15 May15 May 16:36

      thank you Rob

• Jake says:

  10 May10 May 17:43

  I could do with some advice, if anyone can oblige.

  I’m going to be spending some money on new furniture over the next few months, over £2000. This would do nicely to hit a spend target on a reward credit card – but which card should i go for?

  I’ve already got the Virgin Atlantic Black Card and have qualified for the 2 upgrade vouchers this year. The BA card looks attractive, but i’m not confident in earning enough Avios to make decent use of the 2-4-1 voucher. The Amex charge cards look ok, but i’m weary of the Platinum fee of £450, although i think i might be able to make good use of the Priority Pass. None of the hotel cards appeal ,other than the £99 IHG card as I tend to spread my hotel spend.

  If you were in my shoes, what would you do??

  • Genghis says:

    10 May10 May 18:39

    Amex Plat. Be referred, spend £2k, bish bash bosh 35k MRs for say £10 card fees (week and a half) if it gets charged straight away, potentially zero.

    • Genghis says:

      10 May10 May 18:40

      Ah. Just seen you’ll be spending £2k over the next few months. If so, the card fees might stack up. Gold?

    • the real harry1 says:

      10 May10 May 18:48

      depends if you have enough trips lined up to justify the Plat, after the Gold

      don’t forget you get the fee cancelled pro rata

      you could get the free Gold, trigger the bonus, upgrade to Plat, get 40K MR points total/ Avios, PLUS use a few lounge visits, first with Lounge pass on the Gold then with PP on the Plat

      let’s say you had 3 trips lined up – you could easily get 6 lounge visits for free (= c. £120?) ie keeping the Gold long enough to trigger the bonus, upgrading to Plat – then out for maybe a Plat fee of £25-50 depending on your trip timings

      • Jake says:

        11 May11 May 09:40

        Thanks guys for your advice.

        I think i’ll plump for the Amex Plat but will cancel it once I’ve hit the £2k. I’ve got 4 trips over 5 months but the first one isn’t until October and i’d rather not keep the Plat card for that long.

        Thanks again

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