Nine good reasons to get the no annual fee British Airways American Express Credit Card
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Why should you get the British Airways American Express® Credit Card?
For the benefit of new readers to Head for Points, I want to run through the benefits of the British Airways American Express Credit Card in this article. Even though it is aimed at newcomers to the card, it is possible that existing Cardmembers may also have forgotten some of the perks.
The serious legal stuff about the British Airways American Express Credit Card:
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 5,000 Avios when you spend £1,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1 Avios per £1 spent
Other information:
- Receive a companion voucher, letting you book two flights for the Avios of one, when you spend £15,000 in a card year
- This sum is reduced to £12,000 until 1st November 2024
- The companion voucher is only valid on Economy flights
- It can be used on British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus
- Annual fee: Free
Representative 31.0% APR variable
You will receive 5,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus on the free British Airways American Express card if you spend £1,000 within 90 days of signing up.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s British Airways American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held a Business American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the British Airways American Express card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the companion voucher and the other card benefits.
When you spend £15,000 on the British Airways American Express card, you receive a companion voucher entitling you to book two Avios redemption flights for the miles of one. This voucher is valid for one year. (Full taxes and charges need to be paid on both tickets.)
This sum is reduced to £12,000 if you can achieve it by 1st November 2024.
The voucher on the free British Airways American Express card can only be used on Economy flights.
The voucher can be used for Avios bookings on British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus.
You receive your voucher within a few days of reaching the spending target. You need to fly the outbound leg of your 2-4-1 flight before the expiry date of the voucher.
If you want more flexibility, the voucher issued with the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card is valid for two years, requires the same £15,000 of annual card spend and is valid in ALL cabins including Business and First. The Premium Plus card also has a higher earning rate of 1.5 Avios per £1 on general spend and 3 Avios per £1 on spend with British Airways and BA Holidays.
You need a minimum personal income of £20,000 to apply for the card.
All applications are subject to approval. Applicants must be 18 years or older and UK residents.
Nine good reasons to get the British Airways American Express Card:
1. You receive 5,000 Avios for signing up
The no annual fee British Airways American Express Credit Card comes with a generous sign-up bonus worth 5,000 Avios.
You qualify for the bonus as long as you haven’t had a personal American Express Card in your name (Supplementary Cards do not count, cards from Lloyds or MBNA do not count) in the previous 24 months.
You need to spend £1,000 within the first three months of Cardmembership to receive the bonus.
5,000 Avios plus £12.50 is good for a one-way off-peak economy flight to domestic destinations or cities such as Hamburg, Zurich, Prague, Nice, Milan Amsterdam, Dublin and Brussels*. Before you go, please check all Government Guidelines to ensure you’re OK to travel.
However, with the extra Avios you will earn from your day to day spending, you may soon have enough for a return trip, a trip in business class or a trip to a long-haul destination.
2. You receive one Avios for every £1 you spend on the card
You will collect 1 Avios for virtually every £1 you spend on the card. The exceptions generally relate to cash and pseudo-cash transactions, such as using your card for cash withdrawals **.
1 Avios per £1 is a generous Avios-earning rate for a credit card which has no annual fee.
3. You receive a companion voucher for Avios redemptions when you spend £20,000 within your anniversary year
Within 10-15 working days of spending £20,000 in your current card year, a companion voucher will be deposited in your British Airways Executive Club account allowing you to book an additional Avios flight fare, on the same flight and cabin, for the points of one. You must pay full taxes and charges on both tickets, however. ***
Your companion voucher flights must be on British Airways, not a partner airline, and must start in the UK. If you book a one-way flight, it must be a one-way flight FROM the UK.
You must book AND FLY THE OUTBOUND LEG of your companion voucher flight within 12 months of receiving the voucher.
Note that the voucher awarded with the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card lasts for two years, which is one reason to consider the paid British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card instead.
4. The card has no annual fee
Whilst the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card has a £195 annual fee (but many excellent benefits as our full BA Premium Plus Amex review shows), the ‘no annual fee’ British Airways American Express Credit Card has, well, no annual fee.
5. You can give Supplementary Cards to others at no extra cost, so you can receive your companion voucher more quickly
American Express will let you issue Supplementary Cards at no extra cost to someone else, subject to approval, allowing their spending to earn Avios for you and count towards your companion voucher.
You are responsible for paying the charges on the Supplementary Card which are added to your monthly statement.
6. You can earn 1,000 bonus Avios by adding someone to your Account
American Express will offer you 1,000 bonus**** Avios for issuing your first Supplementary Card if you add it via this page of the American Express website, subject to approval.
Adding a Supplementary Card***** allows you to collect Avios, get your companion voucher quicker and ultimately flights more quickly by allowing more of your family or household spend to be put on the card. Remember that the primary Cardmember remains liable for all charges on Supplementary Cards.
7. American Express runs regular great cashback and Avios offers
Once your Account is up and running, you can take advantage of great cashback and Avios offers from American Express. These are typically on the lines of ‘Get a £10 statement credit when you spend £50 at Tesco’.
I find that it is relatively easy to save over £100 per year with these offers, especially during the regular ‘Shop Small’ promotions to encourage you to visit local independent retailers. I recently received £50 cashback for spending £200 at Hilton hotels, for example, although as offers are targeted you can never be certain what you will get.
Even better, many of the offers are also available to your Supplementary Cardmembers. This means that you can benefit more than once across your household.
8. You can earn bonus Avios by inviting your friends
Via its long established ‘Invite a Friend’ programme, British Airways American Express Cardmembers can earn at least 4,000****** bonus Avios for each friend they invite to American Express if they are approved for a card. This puts you even closer to your next reward flight.
Your friend benefits too, receiving a higher sign-up bonus of 6,000 Avios if they spend £1,000 within the first three months of Cardmembership. This puts them even closer to their next reward flight (terms and conditions apply). Note that they are not eligible for any Welcome Bonus if they have held or hold any personal American Express Card in the past 24 months.
9. American Express has a well-designed App
You can monitor your balance and make Account payments via debit card at any time from your smartphone. The core business of American Express is credit cards, and they know how to run them properly.
You can also sign up for Amex’s exclusive cashback and Avios offers directly from the App as well as easily check which offers you have already signed up for.
Conclusion
With no annual fee, the British Airways American Express Credit Card is a good package for someone looking for a low risk entry into travel rewards. You get a decent bonus of 5,000 Avios for signing up and the earning rate of 1 Avios per £1 spent is excellent for a card with no annual fee.
You can sign up for the no annual fee British Airways American Express Credit Card, or find out more information, on the official website here.
*To be eligible for Reward Flight Saver, you need to have collected at least one Avios in the past 12 months.
**Avios are not earned on Balance Transfers, Cash Withdrawals, American Express Travellers Cheques purchases, Foreign Exchange, interest, any spending in excess of your credit limit, charges for returned payments, late payment or referral charges and American Express Credit Card finance charges
***See more details here: https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/collecting-avios/credit-cards/uk
****The bonus Avios offer is valid for the first approved Supplementary British Airways American Express Credit Card only. Please note, in rare circumstances it may take up to 90 days for the 1,000 bonus Avios to be applied to your Account. You may apply for several Supplementary Cards but you will only receive the 1,000 bonus Avios for the first approved Card. You will not receive this bonus if you have ever received it before. This offer is subject to change and may be withdrawn at any time.
*****Up to 99 Supplementary Cards are complimentary on the British Airways American Express Credit Card, subject to approval. Supplementary Cards can be requested for anyone aged 18 or over. If approved, you will be responsible for any spending on your Account made by the Supplementary Cardmember.
******Terms and Eligibility Apply. Log in to your American Express Account or App to see the latest referral offer available.
American Express Services Europe Limited has its registered office at Belgrave House, 76 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9AX, United Kingdom. It is registered in England and Wales with Company Number 1833139 and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
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Copyright © 2020. American Express Company. All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.
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