Should you cancel your British Airways Premium Plus Amex card if you can’t spend £15,000?
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As we reminded you on Friday, from 1st November 2024 you will need to spend £15,000 per year to receive a 2-4-1 companion voucher on either of the British Airways American Express credit cards.
Yesterday, I looked at what holders of the free British Airways American Express card should do if they can’t spend £15,000 per year – click to read.
Today I want to look at what holders of the British Airways Premium Plus American Express should do if they can’t spend £15,000 per year.
It’s actually a very simple answer.
If you can’t spend £15,000 on the Premium Plus card, get rid of it. No ifs and no buts.
It’s not up for debate.
In this scenario, why are you holding the card? There are two better options open to you:
- Get the £20 per month Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard – you earn the same rate (1.5 Avios per £1) and, as a Mastercard, it is accepted in more places than American Express. You save £60 per year in annual fees. You are reducing the cards in your wallet or purse, because everyone needs a back-up Visa or Mastercard for their Amex anyway. You won’t struggle to hit £10,000 to trigger the annual upgrade voucher, especially as you can add your annual non-Amex spending to what you currently spend on your Premium Plus Amex.
or
- Get the free American Express Rewards Credit Card – you earn at a lower rate (1 Avios per £1, if you choose to convert the Membership Rewards points into Avios) but you can also convert your points into many other airline or hotel loyalty programmes. The lower earning rate EASILY justifies the £300 you’re saving on the Premium Plus annual fee.
I do not recommend downgrading to the free British Airways American Express card for reasons I will explain.
Option 1: Should you swap to the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard?
If you can’t spend £15,000 on the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card, there are a LOT of good reasons to switch to the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard. For example:
- ALL Amex cardholders need a back-up Visa or Mastercard, and if you have a British Airways American Express then one of the two Barclaycard Avios Mastercards has ALWAYS been your obvious companion
- The annual fee is lower – £240 per year vs £300 per year on the Premium Plus Amex – even though the earning rate on non-BA spending is the same (1.5 Avios per £1)
- After two years away you’d be able to apply for American Express cards again and start picking up fresh sign-up bonuses
- Whilst you may not be able to spend £15,000 to earn the voucher on the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card, you should be able to spend £10,000 on the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard if you put all your spend there. You were already spending £10,000 on your Premium Plus Amex and you can add in all your non-Amex credit card spending too.
- The upgrade voucher on the Barclaycard Avios Mastercard isn’t as good as the 2-4-1 companion voucher on the Premium Plus American Express – but if you can’t spend £15,000 to trigger the latter, who cares? This is how the Barclaycard upgrade voucher works.
- If you’ve not applied for a Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard before, you would qualify for a 25,000 Avios sign-up bonus
One thing to remember ….
If you have an existing unused 2-4-1 companion voucher, you will need access to an American Express card to pay the taxes and charges when you use it.
It doesn’t need to be in your name (Amex doesn’t do name verification so your name can still go in as cardholder) and it doesn’t need to be a British Airways American Express, but you will need access to an Amex card of some sort to book.
Option 2: Should you swap to the free American Express Rewards Credit Card?
You may want to remain within the American Express ecosystem. Perhaps you like the referral bonuses or the cashback offers?
Your initial thought was probably to downgrade to the free British Airways American Express card. I don’t recommend that, since you aren’t spending enough to trigger the 2-4-1 companion voucher.
(Under no circumstances should you keep your Premium Plus card if you can’t spend £15,000. OK, you earn an extra 0.5 Avios per £1 spent, but as you’re spending under £15,000 then logically this benefit gets you fewer than 7,500 extra Avios per year. You’d be crazy to pay a £300 annual fee just for that.)
Instead, I suggest that you swap to American Express Rewards. It’s free for life and earns 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent.
What you get with the American Express Rewards Credit Card is flexibility.
Yes, you can use your points for Avios. You can send them over to BA via the Amex website and they will arrive within 24 hours.
However, you have other options. Membership Rewards points can also be sent to Virgin Atlantic, Flying Blue, Emirates, Etihad or Delta among other airline partners. You can also send them to Hilton Honors (1:2), Marriott Bonvoy (2:3) and Radisson Rewards (1:3). You can convert them to Club Eurostar (15:1). You can even use them for shopping vouchers. You can see the airline partners here.
The American Express Rewards Credit Card gives you more choice. You can still take Avios if you want, and at the same 1 Avios per £1 earning rate. If you suddenly decide that you want hotel points, or that Virgin Points make more sense, or even that you want to abandon Avios altogether, you can. Simply move your Amex points somewhere else instead.
If you downgrade to the free BA Amex card, your points are sitting in Avios from Day 1 and you can’t do anything else with them. If Avios devalues its rewards, if BA stops flying your preferred route, if reward availability suddenly gets a lot harder to find, if Reward Flight Saver fees jump up, if new surcharges get added ….. you’re stuck. Your only way out is via a transfer to Nectar points at a poor rate of 0.5p per Avios.
There is literally no area where the free British Airways card outperforms the Amex Rewards Credit Card if you are not triggering the 2-4-1 voucher. You don’t even get bonus Avios when paying with the free BA Amex at ba.com – this is a benefit that only comes with the British Airways Premium Plus card.
And, of course, after two years without a British Airways American Express card you’d be able to re-apply for Premium Plus and pick up a hefty sign-up bonus.
Even better, this card gets Amex cashback offers for other airlines such as the recent £350 United Airlines deal. British Airways Amex cards are blocked from getting cashback deals with other carriers.
Conclusion
The sharp jump from £10,000 to £15,000 per annum to trigger your annual British Airways Premium Plus American Express voucher is going to mean that a lot of people no longer make the cut.
You can have a healthy salary but knock out rent / mortgage payments, non-Sterling holiday payments (avoid Amex’s 3% fee!) etc and you can still struggle to hit £15,000 of American Express spending.
Whether you get the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard at £20 per month:
- usable everywhere
- upgrade voucher if you can spend £10,000 (which should be easy as you were previously spending £10,000 on your Amex)
- opens the door to returning to Amex in 24 months to get a fresh sign-up bonus
- thins out your wallet or purse, since you need a Visa or Mastercard anyway as a fall back
- keeps earning Avios at 1.5 per £1 spent with a £60 annual fee saving – albeit you don’t get double Avios on BA spending
….. or the free American Express Rewards Credit Card:
- free for life, saving a whopping £300 on the new Premium Plus annual fee
- earns Avios at a lower rate (1 per £1 spent) but more than generous enough given the £300 you’re saving on fees
- opens the door to returning to British Airways Premium Plus in 24 months to get a fresh sign-up bonus
- gives you FAR more flexibility in using your points, as you can also move them to many other airline schemes, plus various hotel programmes, Club Eurostar and for shopping vouchers
…. either is a better choice than the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card if you spend under £15,000 per year and will no longer receive a 2-4-1 companion voucher.
Our full review of the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard is here and you can apply here.
Our full review of the American Express Rewards Credit Card is here and you can apply here.
Interest rate information and key links
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
Other information:
- Receive an Avios upgrade voucher when you spend £10,000 in a card year
- Upgrade a return BA flight for one person or two one-way flights for a couple
- Annual fee: £240, charged at £20 per month
Representative 80.1% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £20 monthly fee. Interest rate on purchases 29.9% APR variable.
You will receive 25,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus on the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard credit card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days of signing up.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous six months, have held any other Barclaycard credit card. You must also have not held either of the Barclaycard Avios credit cards in the previous 24 months.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s Barclaycard account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous six months, you have had a British Airways American Express credit card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the upgrade voucher and the other card benefits.
When you spend £10,000 on the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard, you receive a voucher entitling you to:
- book a return Avios flight for one person, paying the Avios of the next lowest cabin (ie book Club World but only pay the World Traveller Plus Avios requirement)
- book a one-way Avios flight, or one leg of a return flight, for two people, paying the Avios of the next lowest cabin
The voucher is valid for two years. Full taxes and charges need to be paid on both tickets, based on the cabin you fly.
The voucher cannot be used to fly in First Class.
The voucher can be used for anyone, as long as the booking is made from the Avios account of the cardholder.
You receive your voucher within five days of reaching the spending target.
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 an Avios upgrade voucher when you spend £20,000 in a card year
- Upgrade a return BA flight for one person or two one-way flights for a couple
- Annual fee: Free
Representative 29.9% APR variable
You will receive 5,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus on the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard credit 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 six months, have held any other Barclaycard credit card. You must also have not held either of the Barclaycard Avios credit cards in the previous 24 months.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s Barclaycard account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous six months, you have had a British Airways American Express credit card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the Barclaycard Avios Mastercard even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the upgrade voucher and the other card benefits.
When you spend £20,000 on the Barclaycard Avios Mastercard, you receive a voucher entitling you to:
- book a return Avios flight for one person, paying the Avios of the next lowest cabin (ie book Club World but only pay the World Traveller Plus Avios requirement)
- book a one-way Avios flight, or one leg of a return flight, for two people, paying the Avios of the next lowest cabin
The voucher is valid for two years. Full taxes and charges need to be paid on both tickets, based on the cabin you fly.
The voucher can be used for anyone, as long as the booking is made from the Avios account of the cardholder.
The voucher cannot be used to fly in First Class.
You receive your voucher within five days of reaching the spending target.
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 30,000 Avios when you spend £6,000 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
- 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 138.5% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £300 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 30.4% APR variable.
You will receive 30,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card if you spend £6,000 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 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.
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 5,000 Avios when you spend £2,000 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
- A solo traveller can use it for a 50% discount on the Avios for one ticket
- The companion voucher is only valid on Economy flights
- It can be used on British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus
- Annual fee: Free
Representative 30.4% APR variable
You will receive 5,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus on the free British Airways American Express card if you spend £2,000 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.)
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.
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 10,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £2,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios and Virgin Points
- You can also convert to other airlines, Eurostar and hotel schemes
Other information:
- Your best choice if you want a ‘free for life’ card which earns Membership Rewards points
- A good choice if you want to close a Gold or Platinum card but keep your points intact
- Annual fee: Free
Representative 30.4% APR variable
You will receive 10,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on the American Express Rewards card if you spend £2,000 within 90 days of signing up.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
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 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 American Express Rewards card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You may want to do this if you are thinking of swapping your Preferred Rewards Gold or Platinum card for a free alternative, and would prefer to keep your existing Membership Rewards points balance alive.
American Express Rewards is the only ‘free for life’ American Express card which lets you collect Membership Rewards points.
We do NOT recommend this card if you would also qualify for the sign-up bonus on American Express Preferred Rewards Gold. The Gold card is free for the first year, comes with four free airport lounge passes and £120 of Deliveroo credit and has a higher sign-up bonus of 20,000 points.
The best reason to get American Express Rewards is if you are coming to the end of your free first year with American Express Preferred Rewards Gold, or no longer want to pay the fee on The Platinum Card, but want to keep your Membership Rewards points intact.
You need a minimum personal income of £20,000 to apply for the card.
PS. If you are reading this but are not a regular Head for Points visitor, please consider signing up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters. They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and deals to improve how you travel. To sign up, visit this page of the site or click any of the ‘Subscribe’ links on this page. Thank you.
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – January 2025 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Earning miles and points from small business cards
If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:
American Express Business Platinum
50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review
Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month.
Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card
Get 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month* Read our full review
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