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

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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.

  • Jeff says:

    How accurate is Barclays with 6-month gap? I believe I closed my BC Avios Plus on 18th April. Is it safe to apply today?

  • SJJ says:

    I’ve just had a very awful experience with this offer which I thought I would share here to help people with previous questions.

    Background: I earn well over the qualifying amount and have held a low rate ( 6.5% ) Barclaycard Platinum for more than 10 years. In addition, I have full credit score.

    1. I switched my Platinum credit card for the Avios Plus via the ‘Barclaycard’ app. Forgoing 6.5% rate for a £20 per month fee card with high APR. This took 10 days to complete.
    2. At the same time, I opened a dummy current account to enable a later current account switch if I chose. This was because I did not want to close a longstanding building society.
    3. Once my credit arrived, I downloaded the ‘Barclays’ app and applied for Premier Account, however at the last step I was told I needed to go into branch to complete ID check.
    4. I called Barclays to make an appointment, but they couldn’t get me in until December/January. Luckily, I was able to get a cancellation appointment at a branch 8 miles away.
    5. I drove 8 miles to the branch to show ID. I was asked if I would be paying my salary into the premier account, I said I would be transferring by standing order. I was informed it must be paid directly from my employer otherwise they would not offer me Premier banking. I agreed to migrate my salary via payroll.
    6. I was then informed I had been rejected for all Barclays current accounts as I did not meet their internal credit checks. The lady advised me that although she couldn’t share reasons it may be because I had just upgraded my Platinum credit card to Avios Plus, to which I informed her this was a requirement of the Avios offer.
    So, after 10 days waiting for the card upgrade and a 16-mile round trip, I am now left with a very high APR £20 per month credit card and a mark against my credit history.
    I can only think it opening a second (dummy) current account might have been flagged against me.

    Hope this helps anyone questioning the salary requirements. Barclays clarified that it must be paid directly from the employer and transfers in are not eligible. Without agreeing to this in branch, they wouldn’t even contemplate opening the account.

    • Rob says:

      That’s bizarre. Who gets refused for a current account?

      Barclays even set the promo up like this (card first, then current account) because only the first step was likely to prove a problem.

      • sjj says:

        I know, very odd. I’m trying to sort it out with customer services but they weren’t sure what has happened either.
        Trying a different approach, I went through the application online for a basic account (to upgrade later) and was after completing checks was offered a premier account. Selected this and was again referred to branch as they couldn’t process it.

        I did get slightly different message from customer services on salary and was advised it shouldn’t matter how the money arrives in the account as long as their is regular ingoing deposit.

      • Yas says:

        The same thing has happened to my girlfriend, she has had a mortgage with barclays for the last 5 years, a perfect credit score she checked with experian and even got accepted for the avios plus card.

        When she applied for the current account, they denied her for the same reason…. it is bizarre!

        She has gone into a branch to ask them to look into it and they’ve submitted a complaint/request to review it but not holding our breathe.

        Been a really poor experience.

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

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