Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

NEW: Get 100,000 bonus Avios for getting the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card and Premier Banking with Barclays Avios Rewards

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

This article has been sponsored by Barclaycard

UPDATE – APRIL 2024:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.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.

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

Yes, you read that right.

Barclaycard and Barclays have just launched what are, easily, the richest Avios promotional deals we have ever seen. If you only respond to one Avios collection offer this year, make it this one.

Full details are on the Barclays website here. I strongly recommend reading the information there alongside our article below.

The offer ends on 30th November 2022.

Get 100,000 bonus Avios for getting both the Avios Plus credit card and Premier Banking

This is a complex offer so we’ve broken it up into four articles:

…. plus the one you’re currently reading:

  • NEW: Get 100,000 bonus Avios for getting the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card and Premier Banking with Barclays Avios Rewards

One of these articles should be appropriate for your circumstances.

Only continue reading this article if you do not have Premier Banking with Barclays Avios Rewards and you do not have either of the Barclaycard Avios credit cards.

Full details of the different versions of this offer can be found on the Barclays website here.

Get 100,000 bonus Avios for getting the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card and Premier Banking with Barclays Avios Rewards

If you are new to Barclays, this is a truly exceptional offer. You are being offered 100,000 Avios – which is worth, in the worst case scenario that you turn it into Nectar points, £800 – for:

  • Opening a Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card (£20 monthly fee) and
  • Joining Premier Banking with Barclays Avios Rewards (£12 monthly fee), please see terms and conditions below

You will get £5 back into your current account every month you pay the fee for both products.

The 100,000 Avios bonus is on top of the standard sign-up bonuses for the two products.

You’ll need to keep both products for four months or more, starting from the date you open the last product. Eligibility and T&Cs apply.

Barclays Avios Rewards terms and conditions

Here are some key things to note about Premier Banking and Barclays Avios Rewards:

  • You can opt in to Barclays Avios Rewards if you’re a Premier Banking or Wealth customer with a personal current account with Barclays – you’ll need to register for the Barclays app and have a British Airways Executive Club account too.
  • There’s a £12 monthly fee and you have to opt out of Barclays Blue Rewards and go paperless for all your accounts and services.
  • To access Barclays Avios Rewards in the Barclays app, you need to be over 18.
  • To join and remain eligible for Premier Banking for free you need to have an income of £75,000 paid into a Barclays current account or £100,000 invested with Barclays. T&Cs apply.

Here is the legal information we need to tell you about the credit card:

The representative APR is 80.1% APR variable, including the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases is 29.9% variable.

How does the 100,000 bonus Avios offer work?

This is a little complicated because you need to apply for, and be accepted for, two different products to receive the 100,000 bonus Avios:

  • you need to apply for the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card via this link – this should be your first step, because you need to pass a credit check in order to be accepted
  • once accepted for the Avios Plus credit card, you need to join Premier Banking via this link
  • you need to activate the Barclays Avios Rewards add on – this costs £12 per month but comes with 1,500 Avios per month and a British Airways upgrade voucher* every 12 months

In return, you will receive:

From the Avios Plus credit card:

  • if you’re new to Barclaycard, you’ll collect 25,000 Avios if you spend £3,000 on the Avios Plus credit card in your first three months. T&Cs apply.
  • if you’re an existing Barclaycard customer who does not currently have either of the Barclaycard Avios cards, you’ll collect 5,000 Avios if you spend £3,000 on the Avios Plus credit card in your first three months. T&Cs apply.

From Barclays Avios Rewards:

  • you’ll receive 25,000 Avios with Barclays Avios Rewards if your Premier current account is the first current account you are opening with Barclays and you complete a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service within three months.
  • if you have been a customer with Barclays for four months or more already, you’ll receive 2,500 Avios as a joining bonus

On top of the two bonuses above:

  • you will receive an additional 100,000 Avios if you retain your Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card and Barclays Avios Rewards for at least four months

For clarity, holders of other Barclaycard non-Avios credit cards are able to get the 100,000 Avios bonus if they complete the steps above. You will receive a lower bonus of 5,000 Avios for taking out the Avios Plus credit card.

Click here for the full terms and conditions.

Let’s take a look at the benefits of the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card and Barclays Premier.

How does the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card work?

Even without the carrot of an additional 100,000 Avios bonus, the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card is an impressive product.

The representative APR is 80.1% APR variable, including the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases is 29.9% variable.

The core card features are:

  • A £20 per month fee
  • A sign-up bonus for new Barclaycard customers of 25,000 Avios if you spend £3,000 in the first three months
  • You get 1.5 Avios per £1 spent
  • You get a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher* if you spend £10,000 on the card within twelve months

Note that the fee is paid monthly and you can downgrade to the free card at any point, although you will lose the 100,000 Avios bonus if you do so within four months.

What happens if I am rejected for the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card?

In order to receive the 100,000 Avios, you need to be accepted for both the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card and Barclays Avios Rewards.

You should apply for the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card first and then, if successful, proceed to join Premier Banking and switch on Barclays Avios Rewards.

How does Barclays Avios Rewards work?

Once you are approved for the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card, you also need to join Premier Banking with Barclays Avios Rewards to receive the additional 100,000 Avios bonus.

Even without this offer, Barclays Premier – with the Barclays Avios Rewards add-on – is a good deal.

Barclays Avios Rewards is the rewards scheme for Premier Banking and Wealth customers with a personal current account. It is the only way to collect Avios from a UK current account.

This is how it works:

  • There is a £12 monthly fee for Barclays Avios Rewards
  • You receive 1,500 Avios per month
  • You receive a ‘cabin upgrade voucher*’ after 12 months (more details below)

What is important to remember about Barclays Avios Rewards is that – unlike a credit card reward – there is no spend requirement. Once you opt in to Barclays Avios Rewards you will receive monthly Avios and an annual BA upgrade voucher*.

If you spend £10,000 within twelve months on your Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card, you could get a second upgrade voucher* each year. This would allow you to:

  • upgrade a return flight, in both directions, for two people travelling together, or
  • upgrade a flight in one direction for four people travelling together

To join Barclays Premier Banking for free, you will need an income of £75,000+ OR at least £100,000 saved or invested with Barclays.

You’ll receive 25,000 Avios if you are opening your first account with Barclays and complete a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service within three months. If you have been with Barclays for four months or more, you’ll receive 2,500 Avios as a joining bonus.

Get 100,000 bonus Avios for getting both the Avios Plus credit card and Premier Banking

Conclusion

This article is aimed at people who:

  • have not yet taken out a Barclaycard Avios credit card, and
  • have not joined Premier Banking with Barclays Avios Rewards

If you are new to the Barclaycard Avios credit cards and new to Premier Banking with Barclays Avios Rewards, you could receive multiple Avios bonuses with this offer:

  • You’ll receive 25,000 Avios if you’re opening your first account with Barclays and complete a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service within three months and switch on Barclays Avios Rewards.
  • If you’re new to Barclaycard, you’ll collect 25,000 Avios if you spend £3,000 in your first three months on the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card. T&Cs apply.
  • You will receive 100,000 Avios as an additional bonus for applying for both products (requires both products to remain open for four months) by 30th November 2022

The bonus for Barclays Avios Rewards is reduced to 2,500 Avios if you have an existing Barclays current account and are upgrading. You will still receive the 100,000 Avios bonus if you meet all of the other criteria and apply by 30th November 2022. T&C apply.

The bonus for the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card is reduced to 5,000 Avios if you spend £3,000 in your first three months if you have an existing non-Avios Barclaycard credit card. You will still receive the 100,000 Avios bonus if you meet all of the other criteria and apply by 30th November 2022. T&C apply.

Find out more on the Barclays website

You can find out more, and apply, on this special page of the Barclays website.

Remember to apply for the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card before you join Premier Banking with Barclays Avios Rewards, just in case you are not accepted for the credit card.

*Cabin upgrade vouchers must be used on Avios reward flight bookings. Reward flights and cabin upgrades are subject to availability. Taxes, fees and carrier charges per person apply. Additional terms and conditions apply to the use of the cabin upgrade voucher, please go to here for more information.

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.

Comments (335)

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

  • Steve says:

    If £75k salary is paid in a different account and this is then manually transferred to Barclays will it be ok? I assume £20 fee won’t be charged either?

    • Rob says:

      Should be fine but you still need to close down another current account via the switch service.

  • Jeff says:

    Overall then, what do you think? Is it worth getting into all this “trouble” of applying for the card, waiting for approval, applying for premier account, waiting for approval or ID check appointment, transferring salary payment into the account and close it 4 months later for the sake of 100k avios?

    • Rob says:

      Obviously this depends on how much effort you’re willing to go to for (minimum) £1,200 which is the min value of 150,000 Avios if you transfer to Nectar. As you’re a 40% taxpayer its the equivalent of getting a £2,000 bonus at work.

  • Danny says:

    Sorry if I missed this but do you have to spend £3K on the credit card in order to qualify for the 100,000 Avios? Or is that just for the 25K/2.5K bonus?

  • robato says:

    I saw some people getting emails confirming they’ve met the criteria for the bonus and the date when they will get it. How soon after everything is set up does the email come through?

  • Scott says:

    I am currently only earning around £50k per annum from salary but I have rental income from properties which gives me well over the £3,330 Barclays state you need each month. How do they treat rental income? Thanks

  • Gulz says:

    Finally I decided to look to getting this. I already have a Hilton Barclaycard. The eligibility check tell me that I need to switch my existing barclaycard to the avios plus card. Based on this article it seems that I could take out the avios plus in addition to my hilton card. Which one is true?

    • Rob says:

      Both are untrue. You are stuffed. Hilton holders cannot swap to any card due to a non-compete clause.

  • Yas says:

    Can you please confirm if you are required to do a current account switch or simply open a premier account? I cannot see the requirement to switch on their website, simply to open both products.

    • Rob says:

      The published terms are not well written. My personal view is that Barclays has no intention of handing over £1,000 to someone who spends 5 minutes opening a bank account and not using it. If you don’t get the bonus you would be in your rigbts to lodge a formal complaint against them. Would you win? No idea. If you kept screenshots of every page promoting the deal then perhaps you would if it was not totally clear, but it is also true that the ombudsman might decide that this was clearly not the intention of the offer.

      It is worth noting that, for example, CEDR arbitration cases against British Airways are now generally going in favour of the airline because the arbitrator believes that people are now taking advantage, irrespective of the legal grounds for a claim.

  • Malc says:

    Hi Rob
    Apologies if I’ve missed this scenario in prev comments

    Me/ partner already have premier joint account – he is only one of us who earns 75k+
    He has barclays Avios rewards on this joint account and also holds elite Mastercard.
    I upgraded my existing card to elite Mastercard
    He opened a 2nd premier current account in his name only so I can register the Avios rewards on joint account and he can set up on new single account.

    The Barclays website only seems to gives him option to cancel Avios rewards- when in fact he just wants to designate to a different ( single ) account .

    I believe if he can change accounts and I can manage to enroll avios rewards – I’ll meet the conditions for the 100k bonus .

    However , want to make sure he wont lose any vouchers that are already showing on BA and will his 12 month upgrade period reset if he changes account ?

    Any ideas on the mechanics of how we do this appreciated – Thanks

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

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.