What are the benefits of the free British Airways American Express (BA Amex) credit card?
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Why should you get the free British Airways American Express credit card?
Today, I want to look at the top 10 card benefits you get if you apply for the free British Airways American Express credit card.
You can apply for the card here.
Here is the legal information we need to tell you:
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.
The top 10 benefits of the free British Airways American Express card:
1. You receive 5,000 Avios points for signing up
The free British Airways American Express credit card comes with a very generous sign-up bonus worth 5,000 Avios.
(If the information box above shows a higher bonus, you will receive this. The box is automatically updated with the best deal available on the date you are reading this.)
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) in the previous 24 months.
You need to spend £1,000 within three months to receive the bonus.
2. You receive one Avios for every £1 you spend on the card
There are a few exceptions (cash withdrawals do not earn points) but in reality virtually every £1 you spend will earn 1 Avios.
3. You receive a 2-4-1 voucher for economy Avios redemptions when you spend £12,000 in a card year
Within five days of spending £12,000 in your current card year, a voucher will be deposited in your British Airways Executive Club account allowing you to book two Avios flights for the points of one.
The voucher is only valid for economy class flights. If you want to redeem your Avios for flights in World Traveller Plus, Club World or First, you need to get the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card, because the voucher with that card is valid in all cabins.
You must pay full taxes and charges on both tickets. Your 2-4-1 flights must be on British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus.
You must book AND FLY THE OUTBOUND LEG of your 2-4-1 flight within 12 months of receiving the voucher. The voucher awarded with the British Airways Premium Plus Amex lasts for two years, which is one reason to consider the paid BA Amex card instead of the free version.
4. A solo traveller can now use the voucher to travel at a 50% Avios discount
Following recent changes, the annual voucher now has real value for solo travellers as well as couples and families.
Someone travelling on their own can use their 2-4-1 companion voucher to book a flight for one person for a 50% discount on the usual number of Avios. Full taxes and charges must still be paid.
5. The card is free, for ever
Whilst the British Airways Premium Plus Amex has a £250 annual fee (but many excellent benefits – see our British Airways Premium Plus card review), the free BA Amex is just that – free, for as long as you keep it.
6. There is a low minimum income requirement
You can apply for the card with a minimum personal income of just £20,000.
7. You can give your partner a free supplementary card
American Express will let you issue a free supplementary card to someone else, allowing their spending to earn Avios for you and count towards your 2-4-1 voucher.
Obviously you are responsible for paying the charges on the supplementary card, which are added to your monthly statement.
8. You can earn 500 bonus Avios for giving someone a free supplementary card
On a regular basis, American Express will offer you 500 bonus Avios for issuing someone with a free supplementary card.
It makes sense NOT to order a supplementary card during your initial application. Wait until Amex offers you an incentive to request one.
9. American Express runs regular generous cashback offers
Once your account is up and running, you will receive generous cashback deals from American Express. These are typically on the lines of ‘Get a £10 statement credit when you spend £50 at Tesco’.
It is relatively easy to save over £100 per year with these offers.
10. Good service – American Express has excellent customer service including a UK call centre, and a well-designed app
You can monitor you balance and make a payment via debit card at any time. The core business of American Express is credit cards, and they know how to run them properly.
Conclusion
The free British Airways American Express card is a decent package for someone looking for a low risk entry into travel rewards.
You get a fairly good bonus of 5,000 Avios for signing up and the earning rate of 1 Avios per £1 spent is good. If you can get 1p+ per Avios when you redeem, this means you are getting back 1%+ on your spending.
You can sign up for the free British Airways American Express card, or find out more information, on the official website here.
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.
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.
