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Why some people are missing their 15,000 Avios BA Amex loyalty bonus

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I wrote earlier last week about the generous bonus of 15,000 Avios points which British Airways has awarded to anyone who has held a British Airways American Express card since it launched in 2001.

Well, not quite ‘anyone’.

I have had a few emails from people who have held the card since 2001 and have not received the bonus.

BA Premium Plus American Express card BAPP

Almost all of these people have one thing in common:

At some point between 2001 and today, they upgraded from the free BA Amex to the Premium Plus card.

So, the situation is:

If you have had the free card for 15 years, and are actively using it, you got 15,000 Avios

If you have had the Premium Plus card for 15 years, and are actively using it, you got 15,000 Avios

If you upgraded or downgraded from one card to the other during the past 15 year, you did NOT got a bonus

I genuinely do not believe that British Airways intended this to happen.  They will have asked Amex for a list of everyone who has held a card continuously since 2001 and this will have excluded people who upgraded or downgraded during that time.

Plenty of Avios, Amex and BA employees will read this, so hopefully they can take another look and issue the bonus to those people who do deserve it but have been tripped up on a technicality.

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 (75)

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

  • NFH says:
    21 Nov21 November 14:59

    I have the Premium Plus card with no annual fee because I also have a Platinum Card. I started spending on the Premium Plus card in February 2001 and have used it every month since then. I didn’t receive the 15,000 Avios. Yesterday I phoned Amex, who knew about this but said I needed to speak to BA. When I phoned the Executive Club today, I got through to someone who knew nothing about this. She consulted senior colleague. She then asked if I had switched between card types (I hadn’t) and whether I had read about this on Head for Points! She said she would send a request to their back office to get the points credited.

  • Kevin says:
    21 Nov21 November 16:32

    I too haven’t received the 15,000 Avios bonus, despite having my card since Feb 2001. I spoke with Amex and BA, neither of whom seemed to know anything about the bonus! However, BA said it would investigate and get back to me within 7 to 10 days.

  • Canuck says:
    21 Nov21 November 16:37

    I’m not sure why companies offer these bonuses. There’s always a group of people who don’t get their share and then vent their “furious” reactions like this. Companies are going to be less inclined to give out freebies in future to avoid the hassle.

  • Jeff says:
    21 Nov21 November 17:19

    I have had the Premium Plus card since 2001 and it has always been very active, but I received no loyalty bonus. Called Amex who told me to call BA as it was their promotion (it was the second call the agent had received today on this subject!). BA Exec Club say they know nothing about it and to call Amex as they are the card issuer!!

  • Kevin says:
    21 Nov21 November 18:05

    Rob – given that this seems to be a complete mess by BA and/or Amex, is there anything in writing that you are able to post that we can use to “prompt” BA/Amex if the 15,000 Avios fails to appear please?

  • Doug M says:
    21 Nov21 November 23:04

    OT. Does anyone know if you book a BA flight through Avios using the Lloyds upgrade voucher does that count as BA spend by Amex?

  • Wyvern says:
    21 Nov21 November 23:30

    Have Premium Plus continuously since 2001 and no bonus. Only change was a change to the account number halfway thorough this period due to having to have a 9th replacement card in between the regular replacement ones.

    • Chris Rasteiro says:
      22 Nov22 November 07:37

      That’s not a valid reason. I’ve had many replacement cards (ice scraping windscreens 🙂 ) and received the bonus.

  • Rich says:
    22 Nov22 November 08:31

    Rob I’m not sure this is 100% correct – I had the free card for c. 5 years and took out the premium plus card about 10 years ago and got the 15k points. And judging by some of the other comments it seems those who have so far missed out are victims of something quite random!

    • Rob says:
      22 Nov22 November 12:10

      It is not the full story, but at least 2/3rd of people who have complained about not getting it are people who upgraded at some point.

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

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