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Amex BA card: BIGGEST EVER Avios bonus. Should you sign up?

There are 70,000 Avios up for grabs until 21 February – it's the largest joining bonus ever. Here's what you should know before signing your name on the dotted line.

Published by
Raph Giacardi·01/02/2023
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American Express have their best-ever deal to sign up for a British Airways Premium Plus credit card: 70,000 bonus Avios. That's enough for a return ticket to Australia and double what they usually offer.

Should you get it? We tell you everything you need to know.

70k Avios – what's the catch?

Getting free Avios is great – but there are a few strings attached:

  • The BA Premium Plus card comes with a £250 annual fee – take that into consideration before applying

  • You’ll need to spend £3,000 in the first three months to get the bonus Avios – if you don’t think you’ll manage, do not sign up

  • The APR is an eye-watering 107.7% – if you’re not the type to pay your full due balance on time every month, you should steer well clear

  • One of the card's main benefits, the Companion Voucher (more on that later), requires spending £10,000 on the card every year – if that's too much, avoid this card

  • You’ll need to be or become a member of BA’s Executive Club – but it’s free to join

What's the good stuff?

If the above doesn't faze you, here's what the card gets you:

  • 70,000 bonus Avios after three months (as long as you spend those £3,000)

  • An additional 1.5 Avios for every pound you spend on the card

  • Three Avios for every pound you spend on the card at BA.com

  • A Companion Voucher if you spend £10,000 on the card over one year

A companion what?

Companion voucher! You'll get one per year, as long as you spend at least £10,000 on the card every year.

What does it do? Two things:

  • When travelling with someone, it’s pretty much a 2-for-1 on a reward flight. So, if your reward flight costs 40,000 Avios, the person travelling with you will get the same tickets for zero additional Avios

  • If you travel alone, it’s a straight 50% cut in the number of Avios needed. So, in the example above, instead of 40,000 Avios, your flight would cost 20,000 Avios

Note: You’ll still need to pay a cash amount for taxes, fees and carrier charges for you and your companion.

Sounds good, but is it?

Let’s make a simple calculation. Let’s say you spend the required minimum of £10,000 (including £3,000 in the first three months) in one year to qualify for the companion voucher. Nothing more. At this point, your Avios balance will be:

  • 70,000 bonus Avios

  • 1.5 Avios x £10,000 = 15,000 Avios

Total: 85,000 Avios and a Companion Voucher

This is enough for you and your companion to book:

  • Return Economy flights to Sydney (65,000 Avios using the Companion voucher)
    BA’s entry price for these flights: £1172 per person, return

  • Return Premium Eco flights to San Francisco (65,000 Avios using the Companion voucher)
    BA’s entry price for these flights: £938 per person, return

All you’ll have to pay is the cash amount for taxes, fees and carrier charges for you and your companion.

Anything else?

A credit card linked to an airline reward programme is a great way to score cheap flights as you accumulate points with your daily purchases. We’re big fans here. In fact, one of our pirates has this very card and recently flew First Class to Tokyo with his partner thanks to the reward Avios.

But, as with all credit cards, make sure you don’t fall into debt because of it. This is particularly relevant here: this card’s APR is GIANT – you MUST pay the full due balance on time EVERY MONTH. Otherwise, no amount of free Avios will make up for those charges.

Still interested? You can apply here. This offer is valid until 21 February.

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