One of the things I despair of every now and again is the state of the UK Credit Card market when it comes to airline bonuses. Well it seems AA and MBNA have come to the table with something quite interesting, with the possibility of earning 35,000 AA Miles.
- 5,000 AAdvantage bonus miles when you make a card purchase within the first 90 days
- 10,000 AAdvantage bonus miles when you spend over £1,500 within first 90 days
- 20,000 AAdvantage bonus miles when you spend a minimum of £5,000 within first 180 days
Note the spends are not cumulative, so you’ll need to spend £5,000 over the 180 days to qualify for the full 35,000 points.
The account offers a two card – one bill soultion (offering an American Express card that earns 1.5 AAdvantage miles for every £1 spent and a Visa Card that offers 1.5 AAdvantage miles for every £2 spent).
A useful feature on this card is that American Airlines bookings made through AA.com attract 0% interest for 12 months from the date the account is opened.
Miles can be redeemed on AA, BA, OneWorld Partners and all the usual suspects through the AAdvantage programme.
You can apply for the card at https://apply.mbna.co.uk/UKNeoCCapp/entry?sc=1UALAMEIES0017M&mc=UAEAME001HG (please read the statement at the end of this post). The offer closes on 31st May 2013.
Head for Points has the full value proposition and what you can do with those miles – and spend time going through his article as it has a very detailed analysis.
Now, to some, £5,000 (~$7,500) doesn’t sound a lot. To others, it can be a substantial amount of money. If your credit rating can handle this, and you have a spend of ~£900 a month going though the card (be it actual or manufactured spend), go for it. If your situation is other than mostly perfect, I’d exercise caution with this, and ensure you can pay back what you’ve spend on the card each month – otherwise the interest on the card (17.9%APR) could wind up costing more than the miles you’ve earned.
Note that if you’re an MBNA Card Holder already (eg Virgin Flying Club Credit Card, Miles and More Credit Card, BMI Credit Card, United Mileage Plus Credit Card, etc etc), you might not get this card, or you’ll have to phone MBNA up to rebalance your limits – your luck may vary as it always tends to when it comes to MBNA.
If you’re thinking of AA miles or a oneworld redemption – this could be a great card to load up with and spend on for the next 6 months.
IMPORTANT: I’ve provided a direct link to the MBNA American Airlines Credit Card at https://apply.mbna.co.uk/UKNeoCCapp/entry?sc=1UALAMEIES0017M&mc=UAEAME001HG
There is no affiliate kickback on this and this link is provided for your information only. I do NOT benefit from the link above.
Please note, the information above does not constitute financial advice and you should always do your own research on top to ensure it’s right for your specific circumstances, and may impact on your credit score. So don’t blame me if you overspend on a card and they come hounding after you. If in doubt – seek appropriate financial advice.
Those who are considering applying should bear in mind you’ll need to be resident in the UK to get one, and probably have reasonable banking references. Oh – and trust me, this is good for credit card offers in the UK compared to some of the derisory offers that are out there.
Thanks for the link to my Head for Points post. What is not really mentioned in it, because I didn’t think of it at the time, is to take advantage of the 0% offer on AA flight purchases.
No reason you can’t book a refundable £5k AA flight, sit on it for however many months it takes for the bonus to trigger, and then refund it. 0% interest so you get everything back.
If I did that MBNA would probably have the red alert klaxon playing VERY loudly… 😉
PS. You are a bit negative on the state of UK card sign-ups. After the US, it remains the best market in the world for deals even though UK deals are markedly poorer than in the States.
Any German etc would love to get his hands on even a fraction of the deals Brits can access.
Well if I had a week or so, I’d evaluate other markets. Hmmm. There’s an idea for something “different” to do…
Compared to the US market – we don’t do too well. At least we excel in other places….
I wish UA would step up to the plate. As a UA 1K, I can’t upgrade award flights without a UA card, and you can’t get that type of card in the UK. Most frustrating.
The UA Card always seemed a poor deal to me in the UK compared to the US version of the card… And it was only worth signing up when the bonus was high…
Hey it’s still a toss-up between UK and Canada!