Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Last chance to apply for the BA Amex cards before the sign-up bonus drops

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UPDATE – DECEMBER 2024:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.  We produce a monthly directory of the top UK travel credit card offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Credit Cards’ menu above.  Thank you.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. Click here to apply.

Keep up to date with the latest UK credit card bonuses by signing up for our free daily or weekly newsletters.

A quick reminder that the ‘higher than usual’ bonuses on the British Airways and British Airways Premium Plus American Express cards end at midnight on Wednesday 11th.

The Premium Plus version, with the £150 annual fee, is offering 25,000 Avios instead of 18,000 Avios.

The basic, free, card is offering 9,000 Avios instead of 3,000 Avios.

British Airways Premium Plus American Express

My full review of the benefits of the Premium Plus card is here.  Please read it before applying.

My full review of the free card is here. This is actually the most improved deal jumping from 3,000 to 9,000 Avios.

Depending on how quickly you can spend the £1,000 (free card) or £3,000 (Premium Plus) to trigger the bonus, you may be able to get the sign-up bonus into your British Airways account in order to make a redemption before the Avios rates go up on April 28th.

Your Avios are sent across six days before your statement date so you would need to make the qualifying spend within the first six weeks of having the card in order to ensure that the bonus goes across on your 2nd statement in mid April.

The representative APR on the free card is 15.9% variable.

The representative APR on the Premium Plus card, including the annual fee, is 56.4% variable based on a notional £1200 credit limit.

best travel rewards credit cards

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 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

Get 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

Huge 80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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 9th December 2024, there are EXCLUSIVE sign-up offers for our readers on the two Capital on Tap small business Visa cards. You can earn 20,000 points on the Business Rewards card and 30,000 points on the new Pro card. Click here to apply.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up 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 Pro Visa

30,000 points (TO 9TH DECEMBER) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

20,000 points (ONLY TO 9TH DECEMBER) Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios 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 when you spend at least £2,000 per month.

Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card

Get 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month* 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.

  • James says:
    10 Feb10 February 05:50

    Hi Raffles,
    Do you think it is going to increase again, or is it gone for good – this seems to be a cyclic deal from memory? I also recall them doing 40k on the premium plus once?

    Thanks

    • Polly says:
      10 Feb10 February 06:05

      We hope! Just doing mine this instant, partner referred so we get 35k at least for now. When was it 40k, that was fab!

    • Rob says:
      10 Feb10 February 08:23

      It will definitely be back in a few months.

      It may even get extended again tomorrow – they did this once last year – although as the current offer has been running for 3 months it probably needs to be rested.

  • RIccati says:
    10 Feb10 February 06:39

    Anyone knows the current promo code for AMEX Gift Cards (waving £2.95 fee per card & shipping) if there is one?

  • Squeezed says:
    10 Feb10 February 07:55

    I thougth one of the uses of the premium card is being able to redeem 2 vouchers on the same booking so the card holder and 3 passengers can go. And on the standard one only the card holder and one passenger ?

    • Rob says:
      10 Feb10 February 08:20

      Correct.

    • mark2 says:
      10 Feb10 February 08:50

      Sort of.
      A PP 241 is valid for two years rather than one year for free card; you also have to spend twice as much to qualify on the free card. So, for PP, if you manage your spending so that you qualify right at the end of the first year and then qualify in the second year you will have two vouchers for more than a year.
      Or a couple can have a card each.

  • Jonathan says:
    10 Feb10 February 10:56

    Can I just check that as I 2nd card holder on my wife’s BA PP Amex card if I apply for one will I still be eligible for the intro offer if accepted? I’ haven’t been a primary card holder for well over a year.

    Thanks in advance
    Jonathan

    • Grimz says:
      10 Feb10 February 12:00

      Jon – if you are the supplementary card holder on your wife’s account and you haven’t had the card in the last 6 months then apply now! Its your wife’s account so makes no difference. Even order a supp card for her on your account.

  • flyforfun says:
    10 Feb10 February 13:15

    I’ve just referred a friend. Does he have to apply by midnight Wednesday, or is the fact that I’ve referred him in time enough?

    • Polly says:
      10 Feb10 February 13:54

      Must apply by end of 11th midnight, referral is not an application, so tell them get a move on, and they must use the link amex email them with!

    • Rob says:
      10 Feb10 February 14:15

      The referral system seems to be playing up for the last 3-4 days – it is taking an age to get anything back from Amex and often nothing at all

      • Polly says:
        10 Feb10 February 14:22

        Ours worked immediately today, hubby referred me, and my application was in ten minutes later. Maybe it’s improved last day or so….

  • boi says:
    10 Feb10 February 17:25

    Any ideas on how to maximise savings if have avios upgrade voucher (from llyoyds card) and two 241 BAPP voucher as family of 5?

    • mark2 says:
      10 Feb10 February 17:45

      What is your preferred route and class?

      • boi says:
        10 Feb10 February 18:22

        UK-JNB in CW.

      • mark2 says:
        10 Feb10 February 18:56

        Presumably use 241 with Avios to book four CW seats for the price of two and then book another CW eat for WT+ Avios and the upgrade voucher.
        Subject to your having the (large number of) Avios and five seats being available, so probably need to book 354 days before you want to go.

        • mark2 says:
          10 Feb10 February 19:02

          I think that you will have to book the 241 with BAEC and upgrade with Avios, so a phone in each hand.

          • boi says:
            11 Feb11 February 12:44

            Thanks for reply.
            The thing is the avios voucher says the person named on the voucher should be one of the passengers. Then the BAPP also states same thing. so if they are both in my name then cant book for the 5th person with the avios voucher while I avail of the BAPP voucher.

            What do you mean by booking with BAPP the upgrade with avios? do you mean book WT+ with BAPP then upgrade? but that will only upgrade for one person.

            Booking with two 241 for 5 people only requires 300K avios which I managed this year and now I am planning for next year holiday. Its just that I also have the avios voucher as well.

          • mark2 says:
            11 Feb11 February 13:06

            I meant that you will have to book with both call centres hence two phones.

  • David says:
    11 Feb11 February 10:44

    If my partner and I both held the BA PP Amex and we both hit £10k within the year – would we have 2 companion vouchers showing in a pooled BA Avios family account?

    Currently we have separate Avios accounts – however would it be worth merging to obtain this benefit?

    • Rob says:
      11 Feb11 February 15:35

      Yes, although the vouchers are not pooled and remain under the control of the named owner who must be a named passenger (unless the same person has 2 vouchers, in which case both can be used at once for them and 3 other passengers.)

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

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