Making the most of the British Airways American Express® Accelerating Business Card

This article is an advertisement feature by American Express

If you run your own business (including being a sole trader), there is some good news – American Express has recently reopened applications for the British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card.

This is a surprisingly generous product, offering an earning rate of up to 2 Avios on average per eligible £1 spent if you trigger the annual spend bonuses. No other Card, either from American Express or elsewhere, can match this*.

Factor in the generous sign-up bonus and the annual spend bonuses and you would earn 150,000 Avios in your first year if you spent £60,000. We review this in detail below, but here’s a quick summary of how this very attractive offer stacks up:

• 30,000 Avios Welcome Bonus when you spend £5,000 in your first three months as a new Cardmember
• 90,000 Avios by collecting 1.5 Avios for every £1 spent on purchases on £60,000 spend
• 30,000 Avios by earning 10,000 Avios every time you spend £20,000, up to three times a year

Even if you can’t manage this level of spending, you can earn a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios for spending £5,000 on the Card within three months. This bonus is available to new Cardmembers only.

Importantly, having a personal British Airways American Express Card does not stop you applying for the Card, and earning a sign up bonus, when spending on behalf of your business.

We wanted to take a look at exactly how this attractive earn rate works and what you could do with 150,000 Avios.

Important legal information

The representative APR is 108.4% variable, including the annual fee of £250 and with an assumed credit limit of £1,200. The representative APR on purchases is 28.5% variable.

You can find out more, and apply, here.

What is the British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Credit Card?

In 2019, American Express launched a new British Airways Credit Card for SME’s – the British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card (which we will now call “BA Amex Business” for short). 

The Card was relaunched in 2021 with a totally new earning structure. The package is a now a lot easier to understand, with the sign-up bonus, annual spend bonuses and day to day business spending all earning Avios.

After a hiatus in 2023, the Card is again open for new applications.

Is there a sign-up bonus?

Yes. The British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card comes with a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus if you are accepted for the Card and spend £5,000 on your business within the first three months of Cardmembership.

You qualify for the bonus as long as you haven’t held a British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card or any other American Express Business Card within the last 12 months.

You WILL receive the bonus if you currently only have personal American Express Cards. This includes the personal British Airways American Express® Cards.

What is the day to day earning rate?

There are two ways to earn points with the BA Amex® Business Card:

• You earn 1.5 Avios for virtually every eligible £1 you spend on the Card, plus
• You earn 2 On Business Points for every eligible £1 (double the standard rate of 1 point per £1) you spend with British Airways

On Business is the British Airways loyalty scheme for small businesses.  If you are not a member, please read our full review of British Airways On Business here.

The On Business website is currently suspended but the scheme is still operating as usual. To service your On Business account during this period and/or to redeem your On Business points call the On Business team on 0344 493 0748.

Earn an additional 30,000 Avios spend bonus

As well as earning 1.5 Avios for every eligible £1 you spend, you can also earn 30,000 Avios each (calendar) year as an annual spend bonus with the British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card.

Here’s how this works:

• You will receive 10,000 bonus Avios for every £20,000 of purchases you make on the Card
• You can earn this bonus up to three times per calendar year, meaning a maximum annual bonus of 30,000 Avios

This means that, if you spent exactly £20,000 or £40,000 or £60,000 on the Card, you would be earning an average of 2 Avios per £1. No other card, either from American Express or elsewhere, can match this.*

(If your spend is not quite up there, you can still benefit. Avios are collected as you spend, including when you hit the spending thresholds triggering the Avios bonuses, and transferred regularly so you will still be rewarded for lesser spend for your business).

How you could earn 150,000 Avios in your first year

Combining the sign-up bonus, the day-to-day earn rate and the spend bonus means if you spend £60,000 in your first year, you’ll earn 150,000 Avios. Here’s the breakdown:

• 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus
• up to 90,000 Avios from spending on the card (1.5 Avios x £60,000)
• 30,000 Avios annual spend bonus

Where could 150,000 Avios take me?

150,000 Avios gives you plenty of very attractive redemption possibilities.

You get the best value from your Avios by using them on flights so here’s a taster of how far you could go with 150,000 Avios**:

• Three return flights to Dubai in World Traveller (off-peak)
• One return flight to St Lucia in World Traveller Plus (peak)
• Three return flights to Santorini in Club Europe (off-peak)
• Three return flights to Malaga in Club Europe (peak)

You can see how many Avios are needed for each British Airways route in this article. The figures above assume you choose the ‘most Avios, least cash’ pricing option but you can mix and match as required based on your Avios balance.

Who can apply for the BA Amex Business Card?

There are few requirements to get the BA Amex Business Card.  To quote from the Amex website:

• The business has a current UK Bank or Building Society account
• You/The business have/has no County Court Judgements for non-payment of debt
• You are aged 18 or over
• You have a permanent UK home address
• You will pay the annual Cardmembership fee of £250
• You must earn at least £20,000 per year

For sole traders, you can give details of your personal bank account. There is no requirement for your business to be VAT registered.

Conclusion

If you have a small business, the British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card is well worth a careful look.

The annual spend bonuses for spending £20,000+ on the Card can really supercharge your Avios earning. You would earn 150,000 Avios in your first year, including the sign-up bonus, if you spent exactly £60,000.

If you continue to spend £60,000 a year on the Card, you will continue to earn 120,000 Avios each year. This is enough Avios for two return flights from London to New York in World Traveller (peak) plus taxes.

The Card has the same fee as the personal British Airways Premium Plus American Express® Credit Card. However, as you can hold both cards, even BA Premium Plus Cardmembers may want to apply for BA Amex Business, pick up the 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus and give the Card a try.

You can find full details, and apply, on the British Airways Accelerating Business website here.

*The statement that no other card can match an average earning of 2 Avios per eligible £1 spent is correct as at January 2024 and reflects Head for Points own research into all reward credit card products offered in the UK.

** These example are based on Reward Flight Saver pricing. To be eligible for Reward Flight Saver, you need to have collected at least one Avios in the past 12 months. If you are not eligible for Reward Flight Saver, you’ll be shown the standard reward flight price instead with full taxes, fees and charges. To  find out more about Reward Flights and/or Reward Flight Saver, visit here. All Avios amounts quoted were correct as January 2024. Reward Flights are subject to availability and schedules and airports are subject to change

Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibly 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 and will get a fee or commission for a successful application.