What is the best Mastercard or Visa credit card to get?
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I get a steady stream of reader emails looking for advice on the best Visa or Mastercard credit card for earning Avios, airline miles or hotel points.
The comprehensive Head for Points reward credit card guide covers many different Visa and Mastercard products. In this article I want to run through the list and suggest possible reasons for getting each of them.
This article has been updated to reflect the new Hilton Honors debit cards.
Visa and Mastercards earning air miles
Best cards for earning Avios:
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 25,000 Avios when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1.5 Avios per £1 spent
Other information:
- Receive an Avios upgrade voucher when you spend £10,000 in a card year
- Upgrade a return BA flight for one person or two one-way flights for a couple
- Annual fee: £240, charged at £20 per month
Representative 80.1% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £20 monthly fee. Interest rate on purchases 29.9% APR variable.
You will receive 25,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus on the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard credit card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days of signing up.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous six months, have held any other Barclaycard credit card. You must also have not held either of the Barclaycard Avios credit cards in the previous 24 months.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s Barclaycard account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous six months, you have had a British Airways American Express credit card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the upgrade voucher and the other card benefits.
When you spend £10,000 on the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard, you receive a voucher entitling you to:
- book a return Avios flight for one person, paying the Avios of the next lowest cabin (ie book Club World but only pay the World Traveller Plus Avios requirement)
- book a one-way Avios flight, or one leg of a return flight, for two people, paying the Avios of the next lowest cabin
The voucher is valid for two years. Full taxes and charges need to be paid on both tickets, based on the cabin you fly.
The voucher cannot be used to fly in First Class.
The voucher can be used for anyone, as long as the booking is made from the Avios account of the cardholder.
You receive your voucher within five days of reaching the spending target.
Launched in February 2022, the Barclaycard Avios Plus card completely changed the Visa and Mastercard market. It isn’t just the most generous travel rewards Visa or Mastercard – it is the most generous Visa or Mastercard credit card of any sort in the UK.
You receive a sign-up bonus of 25,000 Avios if you spend £3,000 in three months.
Earning 1.5 Avios per £1, along with a British Airways upgrade voucher for spending £10,000 per year, this is a great product. You can apply here.
If you don’t want to pay a fee, and are simply looking for a free Visa or Mastercard to use alongside your British Airways American Express card, there is also a free version:
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 5,000 Avios when you spend £1,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1 Avios per £1 spent
Other information:
- Receive an Avios upgrade voucher when you spend £20,000 in a card year
- Upgrade a return BA flight for one person or two one-way flights for a couple
- Annual fee: Free
Representative 29.9% APR variable
You will receive 5,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus on the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard credit card if you spend £1,000 within 90 days of signing up.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous six months, have held any other Barclaycard credit card. You must also have not held either of the Barclaycard Avios credit cards in the previous 24 months.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s Barclaycard account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous six months, you have had a British Airways American Express credit card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the Barclaycard Avios Mastercard even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the upgrade voucher and the other card benefits.
When you spend £20,000 on the Barclaycard Avios Mastercard, you receive a voucher entitling you to:
- book a return Avios flight for one person, paying the Avios of the next lowest cabin (ie book Club World but only pay the World Traveller Plus Avios requirement)
- book a one-way Avios flight, or one leg of a return flight, for two people, paying the Avios of the next lowest cabin
The voucher is valid for two years. Full taxes and charges need to be paid on both tickets, based on the cabin you fly.
The voucher can be used for anyone, as long as the booking is made from the Avios account of the cardholder.
The voucher cannot be used to fly in First Class.
You receive your voucher within five days of reaching the spending target.
You can apply for the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard here. It comes with a sign-up bonus of 5,000 Avios.
However, I do not recommend getting the free card. It makes more sense to apply for the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard (apply here), with its 25,000 Avios sign-up bonus, and then downgrade to the free card when you have secured the bonus.
Best cards for earning Virgin Points:
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 3,000 Virgin Points after your first transaction
- Earn 0.75 Virgin Points per £1 spent
- Earn 1.5 points per £1 spent with Virgin Atlantic
Other information:
- Get a reward voucher worth 75,000 or 150,000 Virgin Points when you spend £20,000 in a year
- Use it towards a companion ticket when you buy a cash or reward flight
- Solo travellers can use it to upgrade a cash or reward flight by one cabin
- Vouchers are valid for two years
- Annual fee: Free
Representative 26.9% APR variable
You receive a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points after your first purchase, however small.
You may want to consider applying for the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard instead for its higher bonus. This comes with a £160 annual fee but has a sign-up bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points. You also receive a higher earning rate of 1.5 miles per £1 spent.
You cannot apply if you have had the free Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card in the previous six months. You are free to apply if you have any other Virgin Money credit card or the paid-for Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card.
When you spend £20,000 per year on the Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard, you will receive a reward voucher.
The voucher is worth:
75,000 Virgin Points if you have no status in Virgin Flying Club on the date you book
150,000 Virgin Points if you have Silver or Gold status in Virgin Flying Club on the date you book
The voucher is valid for two years and will get you:
A discount on a companion flight when you book a cash or reward flight at full price for yourself (taxes and charges need to be paid on the companion ticket)
A discount on a one category upgrade for yourself when you book a cash or reward flight
The two Virgin Atlantic Mastercards compete with the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.
The free Virgin Atlantic card is worse than the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard for day to day earning (0.75 Virgin Points per £1 vs 1 Avios per £1) ….
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 18,000 Virgin Points after your first transaction
- Earn 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 spent
- Earn 3 points per £1 spent with Virgin Atlantic
Other information:
- Get a reward voucher worth 75,000 or 150,000 Virgin Points when you spend £10,000 in a year
- Use it towards a companion ticket when you buy a cash or reward flight
- Solo travellers can use it to upgrade a cash or reward flight by one cabin
- Vouchers are valid for two years
- Annual fee: £160
Representative 69.7% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £160 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 26.9% APR variable.
You receive a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points after your first purchase, however small.
There are no restrictions on earning the bonus if you are accepted.
You cannot apply if you have had a Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card in the previous six months. You are free to apply if you have any other Virgin Money credit card or the free Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card.
When you spend £10,000 per year on the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard, you will receive a reward voucher.
The voucher is worth:
75,000 Virgin Points if you have no status in Virgin Flying Club on the date you book
150,000 Virgin Points if you have Silver or Gold status in Virgin Flying Club on the date you book
The voucher is valid for two years and will get you:
A discount on a companion flight when you book a cash or reward flight at full price for yourself (taxes and charges need to be paid on the companion ticket)
A discount on a one category upgrade for yourself when you book a cash or reward flight
…. but the paid cards are equal, each earning 1.5 Virgin Points or Avios per £1.
The premium Virgin Atlantic card has a lower fee than the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard (£160 vs £240) but Virgin Points are less flexible than Avios given the small Virgin Atlantic long haul network and the lack of short haul opportunities. Air France and KLM do offer long haul options with a connection in Paris or Amsterdam.
You can apply for the free Virgin Atlantic Mastercard here. The free card comes with a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points.
You can apply for the £160 Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard here. The paid card comes with a sign-up bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points.
Best cards for other airlines:
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- No sign-up bonus
- Earn 1 HSBC point per £1 spent in Sterling
- Earn 2 HSBC points per £1 spent in foreign currency
- Points convert at 2:1 into Avios or 12 other programmes
Other information:
- Only available to HSBC Premier account holders
- Annual fee: Free
Representative 23.9% APR variable
There is no sign-up bonus on the HSBC Premier Mastercard.
There is a bonus on the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard. This is worth 40,000 HSBC points (worth 20,000 Avios or other airline or hotel points) for spending £2,000 within three months. The annual fee is £290.
The points earned with the HSBC Premier Mastercard can be transferred to various airline and hotel loyalty schemes – Asia Miles, British Airways Club / Avios, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Finnair Plus, Flying Blue (Air France KLM), Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, TAP Miles&Go and Wyndham Rewards.
They can also be redeemed for other items including retailer gift cards.
Cardholders can access any airport lounge in the Priority Pass network for a fee of £24 per visit.
You need to have a free HSBC Premier current account to get these cards. The standard Mastercard is free, albeit with no sign-up bonus, and earns 0.5 Avios per £1.
There is little point getting the HSBC cards if you want to earn Avios. The Barclaycard Avios Mastercards are better value when you factor in the fees and the annual upgrade voucher. The HSBC cards are only worth getting if you think that you may want to convert to one of the other travel partners:
- Asia Miles
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Finnair Plus
- Flying Blue (Air France KLM)
- IHG One Rewards
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- TAP Miles&Go
- Wyndham Rewards
Whilst there are two hotel groups on this list, IHG and Wyndham, it is not worth converting to them. Because the transfer rate is the same for all partners, you are better off with airline miles. In general 1 airline mile is worth 2-3 IHG or Wyndham points.
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 60,000 HSBC points as a sign-up bonus
- This is a special offer to 29th May 2025
- Earn 3 HSBC points per £1 spent in Sterling
- Earn 4 HSBC points per £1 spent in foreign currency
- Points convert at 2:1 into Avios or 12 other programmes
Other information:
- Only available to HSBC Premier account holders
- Receive free airport lounge access with Priority Pass
- Annual fee: £290
Representative 100.2% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £290 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 29.9% APR variable.
The sign-up bonus on the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard is 60,000 HSBC points.
This is a special offer when you apply by 29th May 2025.
You receive 60,000 HSBC points (worth 30,000 Avios or other airline miles or hotel points) for spending £2,000 within three months. You will receive the bonus within 60 days of reaching the £2,000 spend target.
The annual fee is £290.
There is no restriction on receiving the bonus if you have previously held the card, as long as you cancelled it over six months ago or are upgrading from the free HSBC Premier Mastercard.
The points earned with the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard can be transferred to various airline and hotel loyalty schemes – Asia Miles, British Airways Club / Avios, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Finnair Plus, Flying Blue (Air France KLM), Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, TAP Miles&Go and Wyndham Rewards.
They can also be redeemed for other items including retailer gift cards.
Cardholders can access any airport lounge in the Priority Pass network for free. No guests are allowed, but you can get your partner a supplementary credit card on your account for an annual fee of £60. Children would be charged at £24 per visit.
You can access airport security fast track lanes at participating airports worldwide. No guests are allowed, but you can get your partner a supplementary credit card on your account for an annual fee of £60.
You need to be a HSBC Premier current account holder to apply for this card. HSBC Premier comes with a range of additional benefits including comprehensive travel insurance.
The World Elite card has a £290 annual fee but comes with a sign-up bonus worth 20,000 Avios for spending £2,000, free airport lounge access and earns 1.5 Avios per £1 spent.
However, this is the same rate as the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard which has a £50 lower annual fee – and the Barclaycard comes with an annual British Airways upgrade voucher.
Visa and Mastercards earning hotel points
Your only dedicated hotel card option:
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 10,000 points when you spend £2,500 in foreign currency within six months
- Earn 1.5 Hilton Honors points per £1 spent in the UK
- Earn 3 Hilton Honors points per £1 spent in foreign currency
- Get a 50% bonus when you spend at Hilton hotels
Other information:
- Receive Gold status in Hilton Honors for as long as you hold the card
- This gets you free breakfast (or a cash credit in the USA) on every Hilton stay
- You pay NO FX fees when spending in a foreign currency
- Annual fee: £150
This is a debit card, not a credit card. Transactions are automatically recharged to your existing UK current account.
You will receive 10,000 Hilton Honors points if you spend £2,500 in foreign currency during your first six months.
You are still OK to apply for the card, and receive the bonus, if you have the (closed to new applicants) Hilton Honors Barclaycard or the standard Currensea debit card (Currensea also operates the Hilton Honors Plus debit card).
You will receive Gold status in Hilton Honors for as long as you hold the card.
The key benefits of Gold status are an 80% bonus on base points on every Hilton Honors stay, ‘preferred’ room upgrades of some sort (often a higher floor or better view, not necessarily next category up) and free breakfast for two people (or a daily cash credit towards food or drink spend in the US).
You can withdraw £500 per month from ATMs outside the UK without paying any FX fees, with a 2.5% FX fee thereafter. You cannot use the card in ATMs in the UK.
Hilton Honors jumped back into the co-brand card market in 2024 with two DEBIT cards, issued by Currensea. You can apply here.
There are six reasons why these cards are interesting:
- you receive Hilton Honors elite status for as long as you hold the card (Silver on the £60 card, Gold on the £150 card) which is triggered instantly when you activate your debit card
- Gold status comes with free breakfast at most Hilton Honors brands, meaning that the annual fee for the premium card can pay for itself quickly
- the cards come with a small sign-up bonus (2,500 points on the £60 card or 10,000 points on the £150 card) triggered by foreign currency spend
- because these are debit cards, the money for each transaction is immediately taken from your linked UK current account – you don’t have any running balance
- because they are debit cards, you don’t need to pass a credit check and there is no minimum income requirement – they are especially well suited to the retired, students or anyone else who does not have employment income to qualify for a credit card
- these cards are great for spending abroad – you pay just 0.5% FX fee on the £60 card and 0% on the £150 card, versus a typical 2.99% FX fee on most credit and debit cards
The earning rate on the cards isn’t great, and varies depending on whether you are spending in £ or foreign currency and whether you are spending in a Hilton hotel or not. Core UK non-Hilton spending earns 1 point per £1 on the £60 card and 1.5 points per £1 on the £150 card.
Here are summary details of the £60 card:
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 2,500 points when you spend £1,000 in Sterling or foreign currency within three months
- Earn 1 Hilton Honors point per £1 spent in the UK
- Earn 2 Hilton Honors points per £1 spent in foreign currency
- Get a 50% bonus when you spend at Hilton hotels
Other information:
- Receive Silver status in Hilton Honors for as long as you hold the card
- Pay just 0.5% FX fee when spending in a foreign currency
- Annual fee: HALF PRICE offer of £30 until 30th April 2025
This is a debit card, not a credit card. Transactions are automatically recharged to your existing UK current account.
You will receive 2,500 Hilton Honors points if you spend £1,000 in Sterling or foreign currency during your first three months.
You are still OK to apply for the card, and receive the bonus, if you have the (closed to new applicants) Hilton Honors Barclaycard or the standard Currensea debit card (Currensea also operates the Hilton Honors debit card).
You will receive Silver status in Hilton Honors for as long as you hold the card. The key benefits of Silver status are a 20% bonus on base points on every Hilton Honors stay, free bottled water at most Hilton brands and eligibility for ‘5 nights for the points of 4’ when redeeming.
You can withdraw £250 per month from ATMs outside the UK for a low 0.5% FX fee, with a 2.5% FX fee thereafter. You cannot use the card in ATMs in the UK.
For completeness, it is worth noting that Virgin Points earned via the two Virgin Atlantic cards above can be transferred at 2:3 into Hilton Honors and 1:1 into IHG One Rewards. There is a minimum transfer of 10,000 Virgin Points.
Conclusion
After a few thin years prior to 2022, these are good times for anyone looking for a new Visa or Mastercard with travel rewards.
The two Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards are EXCELLENT products and you are very likely to want to add one to your purse or wallet. The Virgin Atlantic cards also offer good value to anyone who is confident that they know how to maximise the value of Virgin Points, which admittedly is trickier following the move to dynamic redemption pricing.
We strongly recommend looking at the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard – click here – with its bonus of 25,000 Avios.
The situation is less exciting if you are looking for hotel points. The two new Hilton Honors debit cards are great if you want instant elite status and excellent FX rates, but the earning rate is weak for UK spend.
Further reading: click here for our full directory of the best airline and hotel credit cards and click here to see all of our airline and hotel credit card reviews.
PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.
In 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Earning miles and points from small business cards
If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:
American Express Business Platinum
50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review
Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
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