Credit Card Freebies £100 vouchers, free Europe flights and more

TWO BA Paris returns, or £100 gift cardsYou pay taxes on flights. It's a CHARGE card, not credit card

Rather surprisingly, this is a charge card not a credit card. But, accepted new Amex Preferred Rewards Gold* charge card holders get 20,000 Rewards points when they spend £2,000 in the first 3 months. It usually has a £125 annual fee, but for now is fee-free in the first year. To avoid paying £125, diarise to cancel before year two starts.

What can 20,000 pts get you? Two short BA return flights, incl Paris, Milan, Berlin (you pay c.£30/person taxes) or one longer, eg, Istanbul. Alternatively, £100 in gift cards for Amazon, M&S;, Homebase, PC World and more.

Alternatively, just add the points to your current stash. They can be converted into 10 frequent flyer programmes (including Avios and Virgin Atlantic), or five hotel reward schemes, among other things.

How do CHARGE cards work? Charge cards allow you to spend on them, but require you to pay off in full at the end of EVERY month - set up a direct debit to ensure you don't forget. There's no interest charged, but there's a £12 fee - and a default on your credit file - if you fail to fully repay within 10 days of getting your statement.

You will need an income of £20,000+ to be considered for this product, and you will be credit scored. The charge card is accepted in all retailers that take Amex (see our Who takes Amex? forum discussion). One supplementary card (for a partner/friend) is provided free, though any more will cost £45.

18k Avios. 2x Eurostar returns Or two 'zone 1' flights to Milan or Nice (plus taxes)

Apply successfully for the Lloyds Duo Avios* and you'll get an 18,000-point Avios voucher if you spend £500/mth in the first three months.

This can be redeemed for two Eurostar tickets to Paris or Brussels, or two BA flights to 'zone 1' destinations including Milan and Nice (see full Avios redemption chart). You just pay £27/return flight taxes, as long as you've collected an Avios point in the past year (no taxes to pay on Eurostar).

However, you must also book one night in a hotel via Avios. These are decent, but not the cheapest. We've found a selection for around £70/night in a few destinations.

You can only use the voucher for one booking, so any remaining miles will be lost if you book something costing less than 18,000. It can be used for more than one passenger and is valid for 12 months.

Free European flight with Flybe Excludes taxes and charges

Grab Flybe's credit card and once you've made one purchase, 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 plus is that there's no minimum spend.

There's a 12 month 0% balance transfer offer on the card, but the high 5% fee makes it a bad deal - see Balance Transfer Deals for the best card.

We've also heard reports that finding flights to book with these vouchers can be difficult due to poor availability - and you have to call an expensive phone number too - so bear this in mind. Please let us know your feedback.

More European flights Free Ryanair flight (except taxes) after £100 spend

Another airline has a similar offer to the other free flights deals. Ryanair gives you a free European flight once you've spent £100, though you still have to pay the taxes. It has a high 19.9% representative APR.

The card also offers 12 months' 0% on balance transfers, with a 2.99% one-off fee, though this can be beaten by the Top Balance Transfer Cards. Don't use it for both spending and balance transfers, as it could be costly - see below for more details.

Free £30 voucher with £500 spend Spend in high street/online retailers

The Freedom Rewards Barclaycard* gives 10,500 points, enough for a £30 voucher, when you are accepted and spend £500 on the card in the first three months. So do your normal spending on it and grab the freebie.

In addition, you earn one point for every £1 spent, two per £1 at supermarkets and petrol stations and three per £1 in a few selected partner retailers. But a £5 voucher - which can be used at around 70 retailers including Boots, Amazon & M&S; - requires a big 1,750 points after the initial bonus, and Top Cashback Cards beat this.

Unusually with Barclaycard, this card is open to people who already have a card with them. Ensure you pay off in full every month to avoid the 18.9% representative APR, or that will wipe out any reward point gains.

Barclaycard have also brought out a version of the Freedom Rewards* card for those with a more limited credit history. The offers and points accrual are the same, but the representative APR is a higher 24.9% so it's even more important to repay in full.

Free £10 voucher (incl Amazon, Boots, M&S;) Spend in lots of big name retailers

The RBS* YourPoints World card gives you 2,500 points when you successfully apply and on the card's anniversary every year afterwards. 2,000 points is enough for a £10 voucher for retailers including Amazon, Boots and M&S.;

No spend at all is required to trigger the free points, just acceptance. You can continue to earn points as you spend, though they can be beaten by other top Cashback Cards.

A real bonus of this card is it also gives you 15 months 0% on purchases, although this can be beaten - see 0% Credit Cards. After the 0% period ends the rate jumps to 17.9% representative APR, so ensure you've repaid in full by then or are ready to switch away.

Free £15 Play.com voucher Buy CDs, DVDs, games etc from Play.com

Update 21 Jan 2013: Play.com no longer sells direct, and has become a marketplace for other sellers. But the credit card - and its points offer - remain available and there are no current plans to discontinue the card.

Open a new Play.com credit card, and spend £150 on it within 90 days, and you'll get 1,500 Playpoints, redeemable for a £15 voucher to spend on the Play.com website, which sells CDs, DVDs, games, books and electricals.

You get 9 months 0% on spending when you take out the card, meaning you needn't repay the balance in full straight away. But make sure whatever you spend is fully repaid by the end of the interest free period, as it goes to 16.9% representative APR afterwards. You always need to pay the monthly minimum payment too.

There's also a balance transfer offer: 6 months 0% with a small 1.5% fee (see the Balance Transfers guide for how this compares). But avoid using this card for both spending and balance transfers. This breaks the golden rule and could cost you big.

Free 10,000 Nectar points Must spend £1,000 in first three months

Sign up to the Amex Nectar* card, spend £1,000 on it in the first three months, and you'll get 10,000 points. These are worth around £50 and can be spent on anything in the Nectar catalogue.

A small selection of retailers give 1p per point, making this freebie worth £100 at Legoland, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington, Madame Tussauds and Warwick Castle (read Loyalty Schemes for ways to max these).

As long as you spend the £1,000 on items you would have bought anyway (food shopping, for example), this is up to £100 for free. The 19.9% representative APR means you should make sure you pay the card of in full each month.

Free £15 Lastminute.com credit Reward points given after £250 spending

Those who get accepted for the Lastminute.com credit card and spend £250 within 90 days will get 1,500 points. They're worth £15 at Lastminute.com.

It also has 0% on spending for nine months and six months on balance transfers (with a 2.5% fee), but these can be easily beaten by other best buys. The standard interest is 18.9% representative APR.

Others Find out when new freebies are available

Some of the other freebies available are mostly through bonus reward scheme points given on application. If you spot any more top freebies, discuss them.

Find out as soon as new freebies are available

In the past Caribbean flights, MP3 players and £50 shopping vouchers have been briefly offered, among other things. Yet they come and go quickly. To ensure you don't miss them, sign up to my free weekly Martin's Money Tips email, which includes all top MoneySaving freebies.

For other types of credit card benefits, including free extended warranties and ID fraud protection, see the Credit Card Perks guide.