The credit cards that give you something extra

These credit cards offer everything from Amazon gift certificates to free credit checks, just for taking out the card.

I’m a sucker for a freebie. That’s probably why my wallet is filled with loyalty cards. Whether it’s Clubcard points for shopping at Tesco, Waterstones points when buying books or my Co-op members card, wherever I spend money I tend to get something in return.

But it’s possible to get a little extra from the card you use to do that spending too.

Amazon gift certificate

Take out the Vanquis Bank Aquis Visa and you’ll get a £10 Amazon gift certificate, absolutely free.

The card is designed for those borrowers with a patchy credit record, or no credit history at all. You start with a credit limit of up to £1,000, but you can increase this every four months up to £3,000.

Be warned though, you’ll want to pay your balance off in full each month or else you’ll be walloped with a 29.8% interest rate!

Free credit checks

Take out a credit card with Aqua and you’ll benefit from access to your credit report, powered by Noddle, absolutely free.

Your rating is updated monthly so you can keep track of how your score is improving.

Aqua offers cards for borrowers looking to improve their credit score, such as the Classic MasterCard which has an APR of 29.7% and the Advance MasterCard, which starts with a rate of 34.9% but cuts this 5% each year until it hits 19.9% so long as you pay on time and don’t exceed your credit limit.

Free flights

There are a number of credit cards aligned to the various air mile programmes, and many of them offer an initial joining bonus.

For example, if you sign up for the either of the Avios Duo credit cards from Lloyds before 15th September, you could pocket between 15,000 and 20,000 Avios, which could be exchanged for all sorts of different free flights. For more on the cards, read Last chance to get up to 20,000 bonus Avios with the Lloyds TSB Duo credit cards.

With the Avios Duo cards, as with other travel-themed cards, that bonus is dependent on you spending a certain amount in the first couple of months. For example, with the British Airways American Express card you need to spend £500 in each of the first three months with the card to qualify for a bonus 3,000 Avios.

Similarly, the White and Black cards from Virgin Atlantic give you 3,000 and 6,000 bonus miles respectively when you make your first purchase. You need 7,500 miles just to get an economy flight to Manchester though, so you'll need to do lots of spending on the cards before you can enjoy free flights to somewhere sunny.

Reward points

If you aren’t interested in free travel, there are other loyalty schemes where you can get bonus points with the right credit card.

NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland will give you 2,500 YourPoints when you take out a YourPoints World MasterCard, and a further 2,500 points each year. The points can be redeemed for all sorts of goodies, from shopping vouchers to spa experiences. For 2,500 points or less you could get a £10 Goldsmiths voucher, a Gourmet Society Discount Card, or a £10 theatre voucher.

However, as with the travel credit cards, many require you to spend a certain amount before you qualify for the bonus.

For example, the Barclaycard Freedom Rewards Visa will give you 17,500 Freedom points (worth £30) if you spend £500 in the first three months. These can be redeemed at retailers such as Amazon, M&S and Boots.

Then there’s the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card, which will give you 20,000 Membership Reward points if you spend £2,000 across the first three months with the card. That could be exchanged things like a flight to Istanbul with British Airways, a set of Bose Around-Ear headphones or a £100 Spafinder gift card. Be warned though, this card is a charge card, meaning that you need to pay the balance off in full every month.

Finally, there’s the American Express Nectar credit card, which will hand over a bonus of 10,000 Nectar points – worth £50 - when you spend £1,000 on the card across the first three months.  

More on credit cards:

Last chance to get up to 20,000 bonus Avios with the Lloyds TSB Duo credit cards

Best credit cards if you have a bad credit history

The best 0% balance transfer credit cards

The best 0% purchase credit cards

The best cashback credit cards