Get £10 off a Ryanair ticket with Amex as it launches ‘Business Plus’

I don’t know how many American Express Platinum card customers fly with Ryanair.  Amex presumably has the data, and so there is probably a good reason why there is a new offer showing on my online account.

The first 8,125 customers to register will receive £10 statement credit when they book a Ryanair flight before 31st October.

The link to register is here.

Before you start wondering about excessive credit card fees, Ryanair has now reduced them to 2%.  For bookings under £250 – which is most of them – their card fees are now lower than British Airways.

There is no minimum spend.  If you have the offer on two of your Amex cards, you could save £20 on a return ticket by booking each leg separately and using a different card for each.

Ryanair launching new ‘business class’ frills

Ryanair announced ‘Business Plus’ last week.  Aimed squarely at the business travel market, it will allow travellers to change their tickets up to 40 minutes before departure and check in one piece of luggage for free.

‘Business Plus’ tickets will also receive free premium seating which guarantees a spot at the front of the plane or at an emergency exit row.  Fast Track security will also be included at selected airports including Stansted.

As The Telegraph reports, though, Ryanair has not entirely changed its spots.  If you do not tell the airline at the time of booking that you want a premium seat or will bring a suitcase, you will have to pay.

The most important bit of Ryanair news recently was overlooked.  It is slowly adding itself to the Global Distribution Systems such as Amadeus and Sabre, despite being required to pay a fee for this.  You will soon see Ryanair flights when searching on Expedia etc.

In terms of cracking the corporate market, this may have more of an impact than ‘Business Plus’ or similar efforts.  Many corporate travel bookers only book what their online system offers – few have memorised the entire Ryanair route network.  Travellers who are obliged to book the cheapest flight offered by their corporate booking system should be prepared.

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How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (September 2024)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

Booking flights on any airline?

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold earns double points (2 Membership Rewards points per £1) when used to buy flights directly from an airline website.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

You can apply here.

Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways Premium Plus American Express card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

You do not earn bonus Avios if you pay for BA flights on the free British Airways American Express card or either of the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.

You can apply here.

Buying flights on Virgin Atlantic?

Both the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard and the annual fee Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard earn double Virgin Points when used at fly.virgin.com.

This means 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card and 3 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card.

There is a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points on the free card and 18,000 Virgin Points on the paid card.

You can apply for either of the cards here.