The credit card provider has partnered with Avios to launch two new credit cards for both new and existing Barclaycard customers where they can collect the reward currency when making purchases.

New customers to the Barclaycard Avios credit card can receive 5,000 Avios if they spend £1,000 in the first three months and can collect one Avios per £1 spend. Existing customers who switch to this card collect 1,000 Avios if they spend £1,000 in the first three months.

It comes with a 23.9% APR Representative (variable) rate.

For new sign-ups to the Barclaycard Avios Plus card (£20 a month fee), they’ll receive a welcome bonus of 25,000 Avios if they spend £3,000 in the first three months.

That’s the equivalent of a return flight to Faro, Palma or Milan. They’ll also collect 1.5 Avios for every £1 spent on eligible purchases.

Existing customers who switch to this card collect 5,000 Avios if they spend £3,000 in the first three months. It has a 72.4% APR Representative (variable) rate.

Other perks include an annual cabin upgrade voucher for reaching a specific spending milestone (£20,000 spend in 12 months for Avios credit card users, £10,000 spend in 12 months for Avios Plus credit card users), as well as Barclaycard’s Entertainment perks – which offer up to 10% off pre-sale tickets, food and drinks at selected venues and events with Barclaycard Entertainment.

‘Most generous credit card’

Rob Burgess, editor of frequent flyer site Head for Points said: “These are, hands down, the most generous Visa or Mastercard credits cards available in the UK.”

Burgess said: “Bizarrely, the cards are also amazing value for people who never go near an aircraft.

“The ability to transfer Avios points to Nectar points at a rate of 1 to 1.6 means that the free Barclaycard Avios card yields 0.8% in shopping vouchers.

“This is 300% to 400% more than the typical UK cashback Visa or Mastercard – the Amazon, John Lewis and Marks & Spencer credit cards only pay 0.2% to 0.25% back on general spend.”

He added that for anyone with the free British Airways American Express credit card, they may want to consider switching to the free Barclaycard Avios credit card to “make life easier”.

“All Amex cardholders need to carry a Visa or Mastercard around for places where Amex is not accepted. Swapping your Amex for the free Barclaycard lets you slim down your wallet or purse and reduce the number of monthly card bills you receive.”

Another point is that as Avios Plus charges the card fee monthly, rather than annually, “nothing stops you getting the Avios Plus card for a few months whilst you earn the 25,000 Avios sign-up bonus and then swap to the free card”.

However, he said that while the paid-for credit card is good for big spenders, especially in the first year with the 25,000 Avios sign-up bonus, “from year two onwards, you need to do the maths on whether the paid card still works for you”.