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British Airways American Express sign-up bonuses increased to 9,000 & 25,000 Avios

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American Express has – yet again – increased the sign-up bonuses on the two British Airways American Express cards.

The Premium Plus version, with the £195 annual fee, now 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 now 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

The representative APR on the Premium Plus card is 76.0% variable including the fee based on a £1200 credit limit. The representative APR on the free card is 22.9% variable.

My full review of the benefits of the Premium Plus card is here. Amex’s own home page is here.

My full review of the free card is here. This is actually the most improved deal jumping from 3,000 to 9,000 Avios. Amex’s own home page is here. Both reviews reflect these new bonuses and also include details of the higher ‘refer a friend’ bonus which is also available.

This increased bonus runs until 7th February 2017.  We are potentially heading into DFS sale territory here!  I am a little surprised that this deal was slipped out in the middle of August with little warning – it is possible that application volumes have fallen since the £195 fee was introduced.

Based on previous BA Amex promotions, there is a good chance that Virgin Atlantic will match this on its two credit cards in the next few days.

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

15,000 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 (87)

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

  • Boi says:
    19 Aug19 August 09:13

    Just wondering…. I have the 2-4-1 voucher earned earlier in the year, card cancelled. If I reapply and spend another 10K, will I earn another voucher?

    And if I do….can I use the 2 vouchers to book reward flights for 4 people at half miles? In the same booking….

    • Rob says:
      19 Aug19 August 09:15

      If you have 2 vouchers you can use them for 4, yes. Not sure about the first question – I guess you are ok.

  • harry says:
    19 Aug19 August 09:14

    O/T talking about timing, most of you who got the T life ins for the points will now be receiving your 4th points instalment, time to cancel DD so that you can rinse & repeat in 12 months’ time

  • Keri says:
    19 Aug19 August 09:34

    hi Rob,

    Could you refer my husband for the basic American Express card, please ?

    Thank you 🙂

  • Lee says:
    19 Aug19 August 10:18

    Hi Rob,

    Could you send me over a referral, please?

    Thanks!

  • Lucas says:
    19 Aug19 August 10:25

    Two questions:
    1) If I cancelled BA free card a month ago, when is the earliest I can apply for new one?
    2) If I already have SPG and Preferred Gold card, can I also apply for BA?

    Thanks in advance for advice!

    • Genghis says:
      19 Aug19 August 10:27

      1) 6 months from the date you cancelled so I guess around 5 months’ time.
      2) Yes

      • Genghis says:
        19 Aug19 August 10:28

        1) Or rather you can apply almost immediately I believe if you do not want to get a bonus but to get a new sign up bonus it’s 6 months.

  • Moktar says:
    19 Aug19 August 10:49

    I am not interested on the 2for1 voucher but just the sign on bonus – is the BAPP card recommended? Ie – Spend 3k in 3 months and then cancel to get prorata refund?

  • george says:
    19 Aug19 August 10:53

    OT but Raffles, I believe in your review of the Amex Gold Charge card you need to correct the following:
    (from amex site) Three Membership Rewards points for virtually every £1 spent at amextravel.co.uk
    Your review says 2 MR pts.

    As far as the Amex Gold credit card goes, does it earn any bonus MRs at all (like for FX spend or airline spend)?

    • Rob says:
      19 Aug19 August 11:53

      Thanks, will fix.

      Not sure about the credit card.

    • roberto says:
      19 Aug19 August 12:17

      Amex gold pays 1MR per £ spent. 1MR if you spend in an overseas currency and a further 1MR bonus on air fares. I got 29000 avios two days after the card arrived with an overseas airline spend plus sign up bonus and my wife got the referal bonus to boot.. Was a big day in this particular hobbyist week..

  • Bob says:
    19 Aug19 August 12:45

    Hello,

    Is british airways avios best way to spend Amex rewards points?
    Shall just transfer my 20.000 amex gold rewards points to ba avios without looking to other options?

    Thanks.

    • roberto says:
      19 Aug19 August 12:48

      Unless you need them now it’s best to leave alone in my mind as (1) there could be a bonus in the future and (2) they are exchangeable with other FF programs not just avios.

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