Best credit cards rated: Top for cashback, rewards and clearing debt

Release time：2024-05-21 12:16:00 Source：International Identities news portal

The best credit cards can help you boost your credit score, clear your debts faster, spread the cost of an expensive purchase and even earn a tidy sum in airline points or cashback.

Pick the wrong one, however, or fail to manage it correctly, and you can be left with a hefty bill and a credit rating in tatters.

So whether you are looking for cashback on your everyday spending, points to put towards your next flight, an interest-free balance transfer to help clear debts, or a card that doesn't charge you for usage abroad, the right credit card could be a game-changer.

This is Money has scoured the market and picked out the best credit card deals to help you make the most of your money.

Choosing the right credit card can make a meaningful difference to your spending power and your ability to budget. Just remember to pay it off each month to avoid charges 

We have chosen these cards because we think that they offer something that makes them stand out from the crowd. 

While they may not always have the absolute lowest rate or the longest special offer, our independent research has shown that they represent a good deal.

Best for cashback

Credit Card: American Express Platinum cashback everyday credit card  

Perks: There is no monthly or annual charge on this card.

It gives 5 per cent cashback on all spending for the first three months of card membership, up to a maximum of £100.

Each year thereafter, you'll receive 0.5 per cent cashback when spending up to £10,000 and 1 per cent cash back on everything you spend after that. 

As long as you spend a minimum of £3,000 in each given year, every full £1 you spend on purchases qualifies for cashback.

There is also a refer a friend offer. The person who does the referring earns £20 cashback whilst the person who is referred gets £10 cashback for the first £1 they spend. The limit for referral earnings is set at £150 a year. 

Warning: If you fail to pay it off each month you’ll be hit with a 29.4 per cent purchase rate.

In addition, some UK retailers don't accept Amex due to the fact that it charges them around 3 per cent for each sale they make. 

Being aware of where you can and can't use your American Express card is important - you can find out the places that accept Amex here.

There are now very few major chains that don't accept it. You are more likely to have an issue when in smaller shops throughout the UK.

The American Express Platinum cashback everyday credit card currently offers 5% cashback on any purchases for the first three months of card membership, up to a limit of £100

Credit card: American Express Platinum cashback credit card

Perks: Another offering from American Express, this card pays 0.75 per cent cashback on spending up to £10,000 and 1.25 per cent for everything over that amount in a given year.

Like the 'everyday' card detailed above, it offers 5 per cent cashback for the first three months - but with a higher limit of £125.

There is also a refer a friend offer. The person who does the referring earns £30 cashback whilst the person who is referred gets £25 cashback for the first £1 they spend. The limit for referral earnings is set at £150 a year.  

Warning: This card comes with a £25 annual charge. 

If you fail to pay it off each month you’ll be hit with a 29.4 per cent purchase rate.

As mentioned above, Amex is not accepted in all stores. But this is improving.

Verdict: If you're not a big spender and are wary of paying any annual charge then Amex's free cashback 'everyday' credit card might be best for you.

However, for those who expect to spend in excess of £10,000, the fee-paying option will ultimately prove more lucrative - particularly if you take full advantage of the introductory three month offer. 

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• Best current accounts: Top bank accounts for switching with rewards

Best for frequent flyers

Your choice of rewards card will largely depend on which airlines you prefer to use, because a combination of credit card and frequent flyer points will yield the best discounts. 

Credit Card: British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

Perks: The major crowd pleaser on this card is a free companion ticket on one flight booked with your Avios points. Card holders are eligible for this if they spend more than £10,000 a year. 

It means you can get two seats for the Avios points of one - although you still have to foot the bill for taxes, fees and charges on the 'free' seat. 

Sky-high rewards: You can earn Avios points with your own air miles when flying with the likes of British Airways, Aer Lingus and Iberia, and boost them with the BA Amex card

The sign-up bonuses are good, too. At the moment you get 25,000 bonus Avios when you spend £3,000 in your first three months of membership.

There is also an additional referral bonus on offer. For every person you successfully refer to the card you will earn 9,000 Avios. By referrals alone you could accrue up to 90,000 points in a given year.

According to Amex, 90,000 points is enough for an off-peak return Economy flight to Sydney. 

meanwhile, 30,000 Avios is enough for a business class off-peak return flight from London to destinations including Amsterdam, Geneva and Milan, plus £1 per person.

Cardholders can get automatic enrolment to the British Airways Executive Club, which includes priority on standby waiting lists, 24/7 support when traveling outside the UK through Global Assist, and travel accident insurance of up to £75,000 on public transport when booked with their Amex card.

You get 1.5 Avios points for every £1 you spend and you also get 3 Avios points for every £1 you spend with British Airways or BA holidays.

According to British Airways, you can book a Reward Flight starting at just £1 and 18,500 Avios, or you can reduce the cash price of your flight with as little as 1,000 Avios.  

Do you need to clear existing debt?

Before you think about signing up for a new card to use for spending, you should make sure that your existing debts are in order. 

If you've racked up a load of debt and have decided to make a fresh start on tackling it, zero per cent balance transfer cards could be the way to go.

Moving your debt to an interest-free card means that you can freeze the size of your debt, rather than continually playing catch-up as interest piles up.

Make sure you stick to the rules and clear your debt within the time period, otherwise you could be hit with high interest rates. 

The reason credit card firms offer interest-free periods is because they manage to catch so many people out. 

It will really depend on how far you are intending to travel though. A Reward flight to North America for example starts from £100 and 50,000 Avios. 

You can also get a two-for-one Companion Voucher when you spend £10,000 each membership year on the Card, which you can use to take a companion with you.

Companion Vouchers can only be redeemed on available reward flights. 

Warning: It's worth bearing in mind the number of Avios required jumps around depending on peak and off peak dates, the airline you fly with and how much cash you want to put towards it.

More importantly however, this card comes with a hefty £250 annual fee.

Remember to pay it off each month or you will face a 29.4 per cent purchase rate. 

Verdict: If you are a big spender and a frequent flyer, this card is one of the most lucrative deals on the market.  

But if you don't want to pay an annual fee, there is a free alternative in the British Airways American Express card. 

The sign-up perk for this card is much less generous. Only 5,000 BA Avios points after you spend £1,000 in the first six months.  

Credit card: Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard 

Perks: Those who qualify for the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard can bag themselves a sign-up bonus of 50,000 Avios points until 30 May 2023.

After that the sign-up bonus returns to a more normal 25,000 Avios 

To qualify, new cardmembers need to spend £3,000 within the first three months.

On top of the introductory offer, cardmembers will collect 1.5 Avios for every £1 spent on eligible purchases.

Those who spend £10,000 on the card within 12 months can also choose between a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher to use on a Avios Reward Flight booking, or 7,000 bonus Avios.

Rob Burgess - editor of website Head for Points - says that Barclaycard's two Avios mastercards are the most rewarding non-Amex travel credit cards on the market and arguably the most valuable Visa or Mastercard credit card in the UK.

It also gives access to over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide at a discounted rate of £18.50 per lounge pass, per person and also up to five months of Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+ and Apple Arcade for free. 

Warning: The card won't be for everyone, however. Existing cardmembers are not eligible while the card also comes with a £20 monthly fee, which may put some people off.

Anyone who previously canceled a Barclaycard Avios credit card in the past will be eligible as long as there has been a 24 month gap.

Those who have had any other Barclaycard will be eligible only if they have canceled their non-Avios Barclaycard more than six months ago.

Verdict: If you don't want to pay any fee at all, there is also a special offer of 10,000 Avios on the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard, for those who spend £1,000 in three months.

Anything else?

For those who are frequent flyers on Virgin Atlantic it may be worth checking out the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Credit Card.

You can earn 15,000 bonus Virgin Points if you make a purchase using your Reward + Credit Card in the first 90 days. There’s no minimum spend.

Earn 1.5 Virgin Points for every £1 you spend on everyday card purchases. And 3 points for every £1 you spend with Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Holidays.

The card does come with a £160 annual fee however and a 26.9 per cent purchase rate if the balance isn't paid off each month.

You can find out more about the Virgin Rewards scheme here. For the free alternative there is also the Virgin Atlantic Reward Credit Card.

Best for overseas spending

Credit card: Halifax Clarity credit card

Perks: This card has no extra charges for spending abroad, and it charges low interest when withdrawing cash anywhere in the world.

Any money spent abroad will be set by the Mastercard exchange rate on that day. 

There is also £20 cashback on offer for the first purchase made within 90 days of account opening, with cashback paid within 180 days of transaction being made.

Plus it's a Mastercard, which means conversion rates are much better, whilst Section 75 protection applies to overseas transactions too. 

This means the card provider protects purchases over £100 free of charge (and under £30k subject to your rights under CCA).

A specialist travel credit card won't charge you extra for spending abroad

There is also no annual fee - so there are zero extra costs as long as you pay off your balance in full every month.

Warning: You will begin paying interest if you make cash withdrawals. This equates to about 7p per £100 per day – so worth trying to minimise these.

Interest is also charged immediately at the card's standard rate of 22.9 per cent on spend abroad or in the UK. You can minimise the cost by repaying in full as soon as possible.

To avoid being charged interest on spending you'll need to ensure you pay off the card balance in full each month.

ATM cash withdrawals are confirmed at the set amount 28.94 per cent.

You may be charged £12 if you pay your balance late, have a payment returned or go over your limit.

Credit card: Barclaycard Rewards 

Perks: There is no annual charge and no fees when using the card abroad, and you’ll be able to withdraw cash from an ATM without any charges.

The card comes with 0.25 per cent cashback on your everyday spending.

Dream holiday: A specialist travel credit card won't charge you extra for spending abroad 

You can also get up to five months of Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple News+ and Apple Arcade for free, with your new Barclaycard - although this continues as a paid subscription after trial.

Warning: Remember to pay it off in full each month or you'll be stung with a 25.9 per cent purchase rate. 

Best for Balance transfers

Credit card: Virgin Money 31 month balance transfer card

Perks: This card offers the longest 0 per cent interest period of any balance transfer card currently on the market.

There is also 0 per cent interest on purchases for 3 months from account opening and no monthly account fee.

Warning: The card does come with a hefty balance transfer fee of 3.5 per cent. That would equate to £3.50 on every £100 transferred.

After the 0 per cent period the APR rises to 23.9 per cent.

Credit card: NatWest or RBS 30 month balance transfer card

Perks: 0 per cent interest on balance transfers for 30 months from account opening.

There is also 0 per cent interest on purchases for 3 months from account opening and no monthly account fee.

Warning: There is a transfer fee of 2.99 per cent and the minimum transfer you can make is £100. 

After the 0 per cent period the APR rises to 23.9 per cent.

Credit card: NatWest Balance Transfer Card for 19 months

Perks: This is the longest fee free option, offering 0 per cent interest on balance transfers for up to 19 months.

This offer is available on purchases made and paid off in full in the first 3 months of opening your account.

Warning: The minimum balance transfer amount is £100. Balances transfers must be made within 3 months of account opening.

After the 0 per cent period the APR rises to 23.9 per cent.

Credit cards offer a host of rewards - including points that can be used towards flights

Verdict: Virgin Money 31 month balance transfer card's offer is the best for those needing the longest time period possible.

However, for those who don’t require such a long period of time it might be sensible to opt for NatWest's 19 month 0 per cent card. This is the longest period on offer without a balance transfer fee included.

Best rewards cards for supermarkets

Store card membership: Tesco Clubcard Plus

Perks: If you subscribe to Clubcard Plus you get 10 per cent off your groceries in-store, twice a month, as well as 10 per cent off F&F all the time.

Collect 1 point for every £1 you spend in-store and online. On fuel, it's 1 point for every £2 you spend.

Every 250 Clubcard points you collect will give you £2.50 in Clubcard vouchers.

M&S Club Rewards is exclusively available to M&S Credit Cardholders.

It’s also worth noting that Tesco Clubcard customers benefit from an array of discounted prices when grocery shopping.

Tesco claim you can save up to £40 a month. 

Warning: It comes with a £7.99 monthly fee which will eat into your annual gain.

Store card membership: M&S Club Rewards

Perks: This card from Marks & Spencer provides a host of benefits including unlimited next day delivery for M&S online purchases, additional reward points on M&S shopping and overseas spending, and a plethora of vouchers.

You’ll also receive 2 extra rewards points per £1 spent in M&S when using your card online and in-store on top of the rewards points you earn already.

M&S claim you'll enjoy perks worth over £240 per year on average.

What to watch out for: The £10 monthly charge will eat into your annual gain.

This is also exclusively available to M&S credit card holders.  

Protecting your money

Another major bonus with rewards cards is the consumer protection you are entitled to, under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Put simply, if you use the credit card to buy something worth more than £100, here or abroad, the card issuer is equally liable if something goes wrong.

Best overall rewards card

Credit card: American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card

Perks: . The person who does the referring earns 6,000 Rewards points per referral whilst the person who is referred gets 22,000 when they spend £3,000 in the first three months of having the card. The limit for referral earnings is set at 90,000 points a year. 

According to Amex, 90,000 points is enough for an off-peak return Economy flight to Sydney.

For those who don't sign up using the referral bonus you can still earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend £3,000 in their first three months. 

It's worth noting that you either benefit from the standard sign up bonus or the referral bonus - you won't be able to get both. 

20,000 points is enough for a £100 gift card or £90 worth of Amazon purchases. For frequent flyers, it can also be converted into Avios points.  

For those who don't sign up using the referral bonus you can still earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend £3,000 in their first three months.

You get 1 Membership Reward point for every £1 you spend plus get up to 12,500 bonus points a year. Then use your points to offset virtually anything you’ve bought on your Card, or redeem with a range of shopping, travel and lifestyle partners. 

There is also the added benefit of getting £5 back twice every month by spending on Deliveroo.

Finally, you can take advantage of two complimentary lounge visits per year at over 1,300 airport lounges globally.

Warning: It comes with a £160 annual fee after the first year. However, if you cancel before your first year is up, you'll essentially have enjoyed this card for free.  

If you fail to pay your balance off each month, you'll be hit with a 29.4 per cent purchase rate. 

Verdict: If you make full use of the perks, then this card could be a highly lucrative option, even with the £160 fee. 

Credit card: The Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Perks: Barclaycard's Avios Plus credit cards offer customers the opportunity to collect Avios points for every £1 they spend.

Avios points are a way for you to turn your everyday spending into flights with BA, Aer Lingus, Iberia, among other airlines.

Those who opt for the Barclaycard Avios Plus will collect a whopping 50,000 Avios (as mentioned above) if they spend £3,000 in the first three months.

Barclaycard's two credit cards offer customers the opportunity to collect Avios points for every £1 they spend.

However this offer ends on 30 May 2023 and thereafter the introductory offer goes back to 25,000 Avios.

They also get a return on their spending - 1.5 Avios for every £1 spent.

On top of accumulating Avios points, if you spend £10,000 within 12 months, you'll receive a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher to use on an Avios Reward Flight booking.

You can also get up to five months of Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple News+ and Apple Arcade for free with the new Barclaycard - although this turns into a paid subscription after the trial so you'll need to cancel if you wish to avoid being charged thereafter. 

Warning: The £20 monthly fee for the Barclaycard Avios Plus - £240 a year may be too terrifying for some to stomach.

It's also worth noting that if you fail to pay the balance off each month you will be hit with a 27.9 per cent purchase rate.

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