Get 25,000 Avios with British Airways Premium Plus Amex
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The British Airways American Express Premium Plus credit card offers you a very attractive sign-up bonus of 25,000 Avios.
The card also comes with a hugely valuable long term benefit. You receive a companion voucher each year when you spend £10,000 on the card. This allows you to book two British Airways, Aer Lingus or Iberia reward seats for the Avios of one. Full taxes and charges are required for both seats.
A solo traveller can use the voucher to save 50% on the Avios required for one ticket on British Airways, Aer Lingus or Iberia.
Day to day, the card also offers great value. You earn 1.5 Avios per £1 spent.
Key legal information:
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 25,000 Avios when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1.5 Avios per £1 spent
- Earn 3 Avios per £1 spent with British Airways and BA Holidays
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 is reduced to £10,000 until 1st November 2024
- A solo traveller can use it for a 50% discount on the Avios for one ticket
- The voucher is valid in any cabin
- It can be used on British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus
- Annual fee: £300
Representative 139.9% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £300 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 31.0% APR variable.
You will receive 25,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days of signing up.
To qualify for the bonus, you must not have held the British Airways Premium Plus or the free British Airways American Express cards in the previous 24 months.
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 any other American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the British Airways Premium Plus card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the companion voucher and all of the other card benefits.
When you spend £15,000 on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card, you receive a companion voucher entitling you to book two Avios redemption flights for the miles of one.
Alternatively, a solo traveller can use the voucher for a 50% reduction on the Avios required for one ticket.
This sum is reduced to £10,000 until 1st November 2024.
This voucher is valid for two years. Full taxes and charges need to be paid on both tickets.
This voucher is the most valuable perk available in the UK airline and hotel credit card sector in my view. It could save you 150,000 or more Avios when used for a long-haul redemption in a premium cabin.
The voucher with the Premium Plus card is far more powerful than the voucher given with the free British Airways American Express card. You need to spend the same £15,000 to receive it. More importantly, the Premium Plus voucher is valid for two years and is valid in ALL cabins. The voucher on the free British Airways American Express card is only valid for one year and can only be used for Economy flights.
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.
The voucher can be used for flights on British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus.
You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.
This article was updated on 1st April 2024, and all of the information is correct as of that date. Ignore the original publication date shown.
What is the BA Premium Plus sign-up bonus?
You receive 25,000 Avios when you spend £3,000 within three months.
To qualify for the bonus, you must not have held a British Airways or British Airways American Express Premium Plus card in the previous 24 months.
You WILL definitely receive the bonus if you are only a supplementary cardholder on someone else’s American Express card. As far as Amex is concerned, that card belongs to the primarily cardholder and does not make you an ‘existing cardholder’.
If you do not qualify for the bonus, you can still apply. You still receive the other card benefits including the 2-4-1 voucher.
And you can earn a companion voucher …..
When you spend £10,000 in a card year on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card, you receive a 2-4-1 companion voucher. This entitles you to book two Avios redemption flights for the miles of one. This voucher is valid for two years and is valid for travel in all cabins.
You can use your companion voucher to book flights on British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus.
This voucher is the most valuable perk available in the UK airline and hotel credit card sector in my view. It could save you 150,000 or more Avios when used for a long-haul redemption in a premium cabin.
British Airways Premium Plus American Express companion vouchers get access to additional long-haul Business Class (Club World) seats. You will be able to book seats which are not available to standard Avios collectors and it will make it far easier to get seats on the dates you want. Click here for more details.
Travel solo?
Not a problem. Following recent changes, you can also use your companion value to get a 50% discount on the Avios required for a reward seat for one person.
This is also valid on British Airways, Aer Lingus or Iberia, in all classes.
What do I earn per £1 spent on the card?
You receive 1.5 Avios per £1 spent on the card. This is a very strong earning rate – there is no credit card in the UK which earns more than 1.5 airline miles per £1.
You receive double Avios (3 per £1) when booking flights or holidays directly with British Airways.
What is the annual fee?
The annual fee for the British Airways American Express card is £300.
For the first year you are getting good value due to the 25,000 Avios sign-up bonus. As long as you are triggering the 2-4-1 companion voucher each year, you are likely to find it worthwhile renewing for Year 2 and beyond.
Conclusion
The sign-up bonus of 25,000 Avios on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card is an impressive offer.
The higher sign-up bonus – plus the 50% higher earning rate on your spending – makes the Premium Plus card better than the free card. You also need to remember that the 2-4-1 voucher on the free BA Amex can only be used on Economy flights. If you want to redeem your 2-4-1 voucher in a premium cabin, you must have the Premium Plus credit card.
In terms of on-going earning, 1.5 Avios points and the 2-4-1 voucher when you spend £10,000 make the most valuable package on the market for your long-term spending as long as you are confident of hitting the £10,000 target.
If you won’t spend £10,000 on the card each year then the value of the Avios earned will not cover the annual fee. It is worth getting the card for a few months to earn the sign-up bonus but you should downgrade to the free card, earning 1 Avios per £1 spent, after that.
You can apply for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card, or find out more information, here.
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.
