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Reminder: British Airways American Express bonus offer ends May 21st

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Just a quick reminder that the current sign-up offer on the two British Airways American Express cards ends in two days:

The Premium Plus version, with the £150 annual fee, currently offers 25,000 Avios instead of 18,000 Avios. You must spend £3,000 within three months to receive the bonus.

The basic, free, card currently offers 9,000 Avios instead of 3,000 Avios. You must spend £1,000 within three months to receive the bonus.

British Airways Premium Plus American Express

My full review of the benefits of the Premium Plus card is here.

My full review of the free card is here.

For clarity, the only people who cannot get the bonus on this card are those who have cancelled a BA Amex in the last six months.

You are OK if you have (or have recently cancelled) a Lloyds Avios Rewards card, an Amex Gold, Amex Platinum, SPG Amex or any other American Express, MBNA or Lloyds-issued Amex.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.

Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card

1% cashback uncapped* on all your business spending (T&C apply) Read our full review

Category

British Airways American Express

Comments (33)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Diane says:
    19 May19 May 06:55

    Would just like to say that thanks to Headforpoints as yesterday I booked 2 First Class returns to Chicago using my BA Amex and. 2-4-1. We are so chuffed as I never thought I would afford to fly Business, never mind First. I been bitten by Miles Collecting bug and already holding off triggering our next 2-4-1 and planing where we would like to go next – East I think !
    Thanks Raffles.

  • Jason says:
    19 May19 May 07:11

    Does the cardholder have to be on one of the flights, where a 241 is used, or can anyone in a household account use the voucher?

    • Alan says:
      19 May19 May 08:35

      No, I’m afraid the cardholder has to travel on the booking (plus it must be on BA metal and leave from the UK, although one-way and open-jaw are both allowed)

  • Kipto says:
    19 May19 May 07:18

    I have the premium plus card and my wife is a supplementary card holder. Would there be an issue if she applies in her own right for this card and in doing so would I have to cancel her from being a supplementary card holder on my card or could she remain as a joint card holder ?

    • Jonny says:
      19 May19 May 08:31

      She can have her own card and remain a supplementary cardholder on your account. As I assume you had planned, it is well worth referring her yourself!

    • Rob says:
      19 May19 May 10:24

      No problem at all with her getting her own card.

      She can also remain a supp on yours.

      Perhaps more importantly, if you are bigger spender, you can also become a supp on her card which would help push her towards the £10k 241.

  • Jonny says:
    19 May19 May 08:30

    Bit of an aside but around this time last year the SPG Amex bonus was upped to 20k pts- anyone (Raffles?) know if we’re likely to get a repeat this year?

    • Rob says:
      19 May19 May 10:22

      In 2011 it was November only. In 2012 it was November only. In 2013 it was in May and November. Looks like 2014 may be November only again!

      I only get 24-48 hours advance notice anyway, if that. I have had no notice, for eg, about what is happening to the BA Amex bonuses after Wednesday.

      Even if I do get notice, I am not allowed to announce it and can only – as I did last year at one point – run a post saying ‘I really do not recommend applying for this credit card in the next 2 days’!

  • Gabbai says:
    19 May19 May 09:46

    I have the free card. If I apply for the paid card [and get it and make the spend] will I get the 25K bonus?

    • Rob says:
      19 May19 May 10:14

      No. You would need to cancel the free card and wait 6 months then apply.

      You can get an Amex Gold and the bonus on that card (20-22,000 Avios) even though you have a BA Amex.

  • Chris says:
    19 May19 May 09:56

    Does anyone know for sure what happens if you cancel the BA amex after triggering the bonus but without spending the 2-4-1?

    I’ve triggered the voucher and it shows in my BA account i just want to know for definite if it would be safe if i cancelled the credit card

    • Polly says:
      19 May19 May 12:10

      And then, only after you have actually made your 2 4 1 booking, paid the taxes etc can you then cancel the free card. Then wait 6 months and get referred for the BAPP again.

  • Diane says:
    19 May19 May 11:36

    Chris, you need to call them and ask to be downgraded to the free card. When using your 2-4-1 you need to pay the taxes using that card.

    • Rob says:
      19 May19 May 12:14

      No you don’t, despite what BA and Amex say. You need to use an Amex card to pay the taxes, because ba.com greys out every other payment option. Any old Amex will do the job though.

      • Diane says:
        19 May19 May 12:20

        But you still need to downgrade to The Blue card don’t you ? I did ask specifically to pay with another BA card and was told I needed to pay with my card against the 2-4-1. Maybe another operator on another day would gave said different, but I was so happy to have got ten the flights I wasn’t that concerned.

      • SurbhiM says:
        20 May20 May 19:28

        Hi Raffles, does BA.com charge a credit fee if you you the BA Amex card to book a flight? I want to book a ticket towards my minimum spend to trigger the bonus but don’t want to be out of pocket too much.

        • Rob says:
          20 May20 May 22:06

          Yes, £4.50.

          You can avoid this by selecting ‘Ukraine’ instead of ‘United Kingdom’ in the dropdown menu when it asks where your credit card is registered. It will hard-code Ukraine in the address form. Don’t worry, it will still go through. (Only works with an Amex.)

  • nerd. says:
    19 May19 May 12:09

    Is there a referral scheme for this card? My other half has one so if she can refer me and get extra that would be even better.

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