Four top cards that pay you to shop

ACCORDING to Rob Burgess, editor of Head for Points, a credit card signup battle has broken out.

Here are four other cards he believes are worth taking a look at:

1. The new Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard offers a 25,000 Avios signup bonus, if you spend £3,000 in the first three months. This card costs £20 per month.

2. British Airways has also launched a 20,000 Avios sign-up bonus on its free card.

The British Airways American Express card has a representative variable APR of 28.1 pc, and the offer ends on February 21. You have to spend £1,000 in the first three months, rather than £3,000 with the Premium Plus card, so it might be worth considering if the larger spend target is out of your budget.

However, if you have had any personal American Express cards in the past 24 months, then you will not qualify for the bonus.

3. If you want a good rewards card which has other options apart from travel rewards, the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold remains your best bet, says Mr Burgess. After 12 months, however, you will have to pay a £160 fee.

You can earn 20,000 American Express points when you spend £3,000 in the first three months.

These points are transferrable into travel reward schemes, including Avios, but are also redeemable for Amazon credit and retail gift cards.

4. The best cashback card at the moment is not a credit card, Mr Burgess says, but the debit card issued by U.S. bank Chase with its UK bank account.

This gives you back 1 pc on all spending over a year and is also free to use outside the UK.