Credit Card Freebie Loopholes
Return flights to Europe without it costing you a penny.

Perform a legal smash and grab raid on a credit card company right now and there's tonnes of freebies available; British Airways, BMI, Easyjet and more flights all around Europe, CDs and DVDs from Sony, a £15 Amazon Voucher, £25 in Nectar Points and more. Credit cards offer free gifts to new cardholders; sign up for the card, grab the freebie, and forget it!

• How to grab freebies
• BEST BUYS: The top freebies
• Return BA flight to Europe
• CDs and DVDs from Sony
• BMI Business flight to Russia
• Six bottles of wine
• European flight with Flybe
• £40 worth of Easyjet flights
• £15 Amazon Voucher
• £25 in Nectar Points
• Freebies and your credit score
• Beware of Balance Transfers
• Other Articles / Discuss

Getting free stuff the wrong way?

Other Freebie Articles Checklist
Freebies, Freebies, Freebies, Cashback Credit Cards, Stoozing: Free Cash From Credit Cards,
Anti-Virus Software, Office Software, Free Texts

Why are freebies offered?

Credit cards are so lucrative, companies are often willing to pay £40 - £80 to acquire a new customer: small potatoes compared to their potential profit from debts. This money materialises in a variety of ways; heavy advertising spend, interest free introductory 0% offers, and free gifts or inducements to sign up for the card.

Also earn cashback with every purchase.

Some cards pay up to 3% cashback on all spending on them; pay them off in full each month so you're not charged interest, and you can make serious money, see the Cashback Cards article.

How to grab credit card freebies

While cards offer freebies to newcomers, the gifts aren't actually doled out on application or acceptance; to trigger the freebie gift most providers require you to spend on the card.

Spend as little as possible

Thankfully most cards don't set a minimum spend trigger; provided any amount is spent on the card. The challenge is to spend as little as possible. Happily most supermarkets allow credit card payments for any amount so buy chewing gum, chocolate or (for health-conscious MoneySavers) an apple, and hey presto the freebie's yours.

Then pay off the balance in full

With the vast majority of credit cards, if you pay off the balance in full at the end of the month, you don't pay any interest so ensure that you do this.

For this reason, even if the card has a higher minimum spend freebie trigger, the same principle applies. Just do some of your normal spending on the card, and ensure you repay in full at the end of the month and you won't pay interest.

The Top Freebies

Many top freebie offers come through direct mailshots or e-mails; if you see these, check through the terms and grab ‘em. Yet a number of offers are currently available to everyone, my top picks are:

• 1,500 Free Airmiles enough for free BA returns to Ibiza, Malta and more
  
  Open a Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo card before April 30 and spend £10 on it, and you'll automatically receive 1,500 Airmiles. This is enough to exchange for a return flight to one of its 'Zone 2' destinations in Europe, with all taxes and charges included. Zone 2 includes Budapest, Faro, Stockholm, Ibiza, Cagliari and loads more, plus the flight can be booked on British Airways, making this more valuable than usual free flights deals on budget airlines; though you need to book at least one night in a hotel via airmiles too.
  
  Alternatively, 1,500 Airmiles can be redeemed for two all-in return flights to Zone 1 destinations, so you can pick from Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam and numerous UK airports, and go with a friend. To get the points, simply spend £10 (ideally on something you'd have bought anyway), pay the card off in full and the miles will credit within 30 days.
  
  As you need to book at least one night in a hotel through Airmiles it's important to check what they’ve got on offer for your destination. Prices aren’t dirt cheap as they tend to look at higher end hotels; yet the slight extra on the hotel is easily balanced out by the free return flight. For example hotels in Prague start at £30 a night and range up to £150. Yet those looking for super budget stays in hostels are probably better off using the Flightchecker and Cheap Flights articles to find their hotel.
  
  With Airmiles Duo you actually get two cards, one Mastercard and one Amex version. If you collect Airmiles anyway, the American Express card is the best way to do this, so worth sticking with once you've grabbed the freebie. However ensure you pay it off in full every month otherwise the interest you pay will outweigh the benefits - read Loyalty Schemes Tips and Tricks.
  
  Freebie: 1500 Airmiles, Min. Spend Trigger: £10, Taxes Included: YES, Other: Must book 1 night's hotel with Airmiles
  
  
• CDs & DVDs, a CD Walkman or Playstation 2 game

  Open a Sonycard and spend anything on it within 90 days and you'll automatically receive 4,000 Pulsebeats, Sony's rewards scheme. This is enough points to redeem for a two CDs or DVDs, a CD Walkman and certain Playstaion 2 and PSP games (see the Pulsebeats catalogue). To qualify for the points, simply buy anything on the card, pay it off in full to ensure there’s no interest and it’s totally free.
  
  It has quite a good balance transfer offer too; allowing you to shift debt to it at 0% for 12 months,though there is a 3% fee. This is a competitive, though not quite market leading, offer. However, if you are going to grab the freebie and shift the debts, ensure your purchase is paid off in full before you do the balance transfer (see full explanation why).
  
  Freebie: 4,000 Pulsebeats, Min. Spend Trigger: NONE




• Free BMI Business flight to Russia or Turkey
  
  Get a BMI Amex card, do £250 of your normal spending on it within 90 days, and you'll get 20,000 of BMI's 'Destination Miles'. These can be redeemed for a return business-class flight to Russia, Turkey, Majorca and others (see what you can get). A normal flight to one of these 'Zone 2' countries costs 12,000 miles, but for 18,000 you can upgrade to business. Alternatively, you can get two flights to a closer destination such as France, Germany or within the UK.
  
  You will have to pay any taxes and charges for the flight, but this is still a great deal. This also has a decent balance transfer offer of 0% for 12 months with a 3% fee (see the Balance Transfer article for how this compares), but always ensure the balance is entirely cleared before you switch any debts to it.


Freebie: 20,000 BMI miles, Min. Spend Trigger: £250, Taxes Included: NO


• Six bottles of wine if you're a First Direct customer.
  
  If you're a First Direct 1stAccount customer, apply for a First Direct card before 31 March 2008, and if you are accepted, you'll be sent a case of six bottles of wine from Laithwaites. This one is a rarity as no spend at all is required on the card; simply get it and you should receive the wine in about eight weeks.
  
  The card has a balance transfer offer, allowing you to shift existing debts to it at 2.9% for six months, with a 2.5% fee. While it's easily beatable (see Best Balance Transfers), with the Credit CrunchThe Credit Crunch

  This is the name given to the current phenomena that banks and other big financial institutions are struggling to find money to borrow. As they can’t find money to borrow they’ve less to lend out, which means the cost of debt is increasing, and its availability is decreasing. In other words it’s getting more difficult and more expensive to borrow.

  
  Close looming large, if you've debts it's sensible to take full advantage of any cheaper credit you get. However, if you do use the balance transfer offer, don't spend anything or it could end up costing you big (see full explanation why).
  
  This deal could close more quickly, in the past First Direct has closed loopholes down at speed, so do check the offer’s still there when you click it. Plus scan the terms and conditions to ensure it hasn’t changed.
  
  Freebie: 6 bottles of wine, Min. Spend Trigger: NO SPEND REQUIRED



• Free European Flight with Flybe
  
  Grab Flybe's credit card and once you've spent anything on it you'll be sent a voucher for a return flight on any of its European routes. Taxes aren't included, so you'll have to pay these; but the beauty here is that there's no minimum spend. Buying a bag of crisps (or an apple for the health conscious!) still qualifies for the freebie. Just make sure you pay the card off in full to ensure no interest.
  
  Freebie: Free European light Voucher, Min. Spend Trigger: No Minimum, Taxes Included: NO
  
  
• £40 worth of Easyjet flights
  
  Open an Easyjet Mastercard* (from Citibank), spend £250 within 90 days and 4000 reward points will credit on your account. These are worth £40 when you make a purchase from the Easyjet website; so you can use them as full or part payment towards flights (the fare or the tax), as well as hotels, car hire, travel insurance and more. However, make sure you read the full articles on these before buying them from Easyjet: Cheap Hotels, Cheap Car Hire, Travel Insurance. If you don't use the full 4,000, the points remain on your account for up to twelve months.
  
  Freebie: 4000 Easyjet points, Min. Spend Trigger: £250, Taxes Included: NO
  
  
• Amazon £15 voucher
  
  New holders of the Amazon Credit Card will receive a free gift voucher when they spend on it. Apply for the card, and once you have spent on it, you'll receive 1500 Amazon Points. These can be redeemed for a £15 voucher which can be spent on any of Amazon's goods (i.e. books, CDs, DVD players etc), except its second hand stuff.
  
  This card also has a six month introductory 0% offer on purchases which, while not a market leader (see the Best Card For Spending article) isn't bad in the short term. If you use this feature then remember to pay it off in full or transfer the balance before the 0% period ends, so the interest rate doesn't shoot up.
  
  Freebie: £15 Amazon Voucher, Min. Spend Trigger: No Minimum
  
  
• £25 in Nectar Points

  Sign up to the Amex Nectar* card, spend £200 on it in the first ninety days, and you'll get 5,000 points. These are worth around £25 and can be spent on anything in the Nectar catalogue (read Loyalty Schemes: Tricks to get more, to see how to maximise the value of these). As long as you spend the £200 on items you would have bought anyway (food shopping, for example), this is £25 for free.



Freebie: 5,000 Nectar points, Min. Spend Trigger: £200


• More Free European Flights
  
  Two more airlines have offers similar to the other free flights deals. BMIBaby's* credit card gives a European return flight voucher once you have spent £100 on it in the first 90 days, while Ryanair* does the same once you've spent £250. With both of these, you still have to pay the taxes.


Freebie: BMIBaby European Flight Voucher, Min. Spend Trigger: £100, Taxes Included: NO

Freebie: Ryanair Flight, Min. Spend Trigger: £250, Taxes Included: NO


• Others
  
  Some of the other freebies available are mostly through bonus reward scheme points given on application. These include the GM card's*100 points, use-able as a £100 discount off a new Vauxhall car, and AOL Amex card's* free CD . If you spot any more top freebies, discuss them.
  
  
  
  Find out as soon as new freebies are available
  

How freebie grabbing hits your credit score
Every time you apply for credit it has an impact on your credit score – and thus your ability to get further new credit (see the Credit Rating: Understand and improve yours article). Yet if you've a good credit history there's no need to be unduly worried. There are no hard and fast rules, but many have successfully applied for ten cards without problem.

It's not how many, but how often that counts.

Each time you apply for a card, a search is added to your credit file. Lots of these in a short space of time will shoot down your credit score; the overall number of applications is less important than the frequency. Therefore if you're grabbing multiple freebies, after the first couple of applications, spread others out every few months. Other factors that count include total debts, repayment history and income.

Cancel old unused cards

Once you've decided you're not going to use a card any more, ensure you cancel it. That means actually calling up the card company and requesting the account is closed, not just cutting the card up. This is because having high available credit can diminish your credit score, not just the amount of outstanding debt.

Beware of Balance TransfersCards which offer a sign-up freebie, also tend to offer cheap balance transfer deals. A balance transfer means the new card pays off the debts on old cards for you, so you owe it the money, hopefully at a cheaper interest rate (see the Balance Transfers article).

Doing spending and balance transfers together is dangerous

The cheap balance transfer rate usually doesn't apply to any debts accrued from spending. If you do both, any repayments are usually allocated to repaying the cheap debts first, so your expensive debts from spending are trapped, quickly accruing interest, unable to be paid off until all the balance transfer debt is repaid.

If you spend on a card you've balance transferred debts to, it'll cost you a lot more than you think, so be careful.

Spend just £1 and it's not a problem

Having scared you, now let me calm it down a little. Providing your spending is only the £1 or so needed, in this case the interest you're charged will be negligible, so I wouldn't worry too much. Even better, spend for the freebie first, then pay off the bill in full. Once the card's clear, do the balance transfer the following month to avoid the problem.

Always double check the product details before signing up to them
Spotted a brokenlink/out of date info? Let me know at brokenlink@moneysavingexpert.com

LINKS THAT HELP THIS SITE (all have a * in above article)
(this has no impact on product or recommendation - see explanation below)

GM, Amex Nectar, Easyjet Mastercard, BMIBaby AOL Amex, Ryanair

LINKS THAT DON'T HELP THIS SITE
(please only use if necessary)

No * Link Available:

First Direct, Sonycard, Amazon, BMIBaby, Lloyds TSB, Flybe's, BMI Amex