The BA American Express interest rate goes up, and why I hope you couldn’t care less

If you have a British Airways or British Airways Premium Plus American Express card, you should have received a letter in recent weeks informing you that the interest rate on purchases was increasing to 22.9% APR variable.

As of yesterday, this rate is also being applied to new applications.  On the free BA card, the rate has jumped by a whopping 7% from 15.9% to 22.9%.

The sign-up bonus on the cards has also increased, but I want to cover that tomorrow in a separate article.

The headline rate on the Premium Plus card is now a whopping 60.7% APR variable, because credit regulations mean that Amex has to factor the £150 annual fee into the calculation.

I am hoping that you couldn’t care less about this change.

If you pay interest on your credit card, you should NOT be using a ‘miles and points’ card for your spending.  These cards are good for sign-up bonuses and are good for rewarding your on-going spending, but in general they do not offer a good deal on interest rates.

A quick look at Moneyfacts shows a long list of credit cards which offer 0% interest deals on purchases.  At the time of writing, there is a 24-month interest free deal from Virgin Money which tops the list.  If you are paying interest on your credit card balance, this is a far better deal for you than earning a few miles but paying 22.9% interest for the privilege.

There is only one ‘miles earning’ card that I know of which offers 0% on new purchases.

This version of the Tesco Clubcard Mastercard (click) offers 0% interest for 28 months on new purchases.  The interest rate is 18.9% variable after 28 months.

You would also earn 1 Clubcard point for every £4 you spend.  This equates to 2.4 Avios per £4 spent if you convert your Clubcard points across to British Airways.

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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:

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.

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.

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.