Review: the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

This is our review of the British Airways American Express Premium Plus credit card.

It is part of our series of articles looking at the major UK loyalty credit cards and discussing whether or not they are worth applying for. These articles are linked to the relevant sections of the ‘Credit Cards‘ area in the menu bar. Our other UK airline and hotel credit card reviews can be found here.

Key link: British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card application form

Key facts: £300 annual fee

The representative APR is 137.8% variable, including the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases is 30.0% variable.

Reward credit cards generally have high interest rates and are not suitable for anyone who does not pay off their full balance each month. If you do not clear your balance, you should look for a non-rewards credit card with a low interest rate.

About the BA Premium Plus card

The British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card is issued directly by American Express. This analysis is focused on the paid version of the card – I reviewed the free British Airways American Express Credit Card in a separate article.

What is the BA Premium Plus sign-up bonus?

You receive 30,000 Avios when you spend £6,000 within three months.

What are the rules for qualifying for the sign-up bonus?

The British Airways American Express Premium Plus sign-up bonus is only available to customers who have not 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’.

You will definitely receive the bonus if you have had (or still have) a Gold, Platinum, Marriott or Nectar American Express card, or a Business card, in the last 24 months. As long as you haven’t had one of the British Airways American Express cards, you’re OK.

If you do not qualify for the bonus, you can still apply.  You still receive the other card benefits including the 2-4-1 Companion Voucher.

Any other benefits?

Very much so!  When you spend £15,000 in a card year, you receive a Companion Voucher entitling you to book two Avios redemption flights for the points of one. This voucher is valid for two years.

The voucher can be used on:

• British Airways
• Iberia
• 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.

If you are a solo traveller, you can use the voucher to get a 50% discount on the Avios required for a flight for one person..

On British Airways, vouchers get you access to a wider pool of Club World long-haul business class seats than other Avios members. This makes it substantially easier to redeem for business class flights.

Note that taxes and charges are due at the standard rate on all tickets booked with a Companion Voucher. The discount only applies to the Avios element.

The voucher will show in your ba.com account within 3-4 days of passing the £15,000 spend threshold.

To summarise the key benefits of the Companion Voucher:

• you get ‘book one, get one free’ when you book two Avios seats in any cabin, although full taxes and charges are due on both tickets

• alternatively, a solo traveller can get a 50% Avios discount on one return ticket (there is no discount on the taxes and charges)

• you can fly on British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus

• extra British Airways business class seats are made available to people redeeming a 2-4-1 Companion Voucher which are not available for other Avios users

• you have two years to travel after receiving your voucher

What is the BA American Express Premium Plus annual fee?

The British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card has an annual fee of £300.

You can claim a pro-rata refund on the annual fee at any time if you cancel. American Express was planning to remove this option in 2024 but the plans were dropped and no changes were made.

What do you earn per £1 spent on the card?

You receive 1.5 Avios per £1 spent on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card.

This is 50% more than you would earn on the free British Airways American Express Credit Card.

You receive double Avios (3 per £1) when booking flights or holidays directly with British Airways. This benefit is only available on the Premium Plus card.

What is an Avios point worth?

How long is a piece of string!

This article is my best attempt to calculate the value of an Avios point. You should target 1p to 1.75p per point.

Is the BA Premium Plus a good card to use when travelling?

As Amex adds a 2.99% foreign exchange fee, you might want to get a separate free credit card to use abroad.

Unfortunately there are no credit cards with 0% foreign exchange fees worldwide which earn airline or hotel points. (The Virgin Atlantic credit cards have 0% FX fees in the Eurozone.)  One option is to get a free card from Currensea. Currensea is a simple but clever idea. You pay abroad with your Currensea Mastercard debit card. Currensea translates the cost to Sterling with just a 0.5% fee (83% less than Amex charges) and withdraws the money from your bank account. You can find out more about Currensea by clicking here. Currensea is free so there is no risk in giving it a try.

Other points to note

If you have the Premium Plus card, you can downgrade to the free version at any time and get a pro-rata refund. You may want to do this if you have triggered your 2-4-1 voucher but not yet redeemed it, and do not want to continue paying the annual fee.

You can apply for the card with a minimum personal income of just £35,000. This is low for a premium credit card.

Is this card better than the £240 Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard?

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched a premium Avios Mastercard (apply here) with a generous sign-up bonus:

This is fundamentally the same package as the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card:

• you earn 1.5 Avios per £1 spent on both cards

• both have a similar Avios bonus (25,000 with Barclays, 30,000 with Amex)

• both trigger an annual voucher (£10,000 of spend with Barclaycard, £15,000 with Amex).

On the upside, Mastercard is accepted more widely than American Express and the Barclaycard annual fee is £60 lower.

The key difference is in the terms of the annual voucher. The Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard gives you an annual upgrade voucher for an Avios flight on British Airways. You can upgrade a return flight for one person or one leg of a return flight for two people. Read our Barclaycard Avios Plus review for the full terms.

For most couples, the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card will be more valuable than the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard.

The 2-4-1 Companion Voucher is more valuable than the Barclaycard upgrade voucher.

This is partly because you save more Avios with the Amex voucher, partly because the Amex voucher opens up additional business class Avios seats and partly because the Amex voucher is the only one which can be used in First Class.

Importantly, remember that even if you do get the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card, nothing stops you also getting Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard and then cancelling it once you have received the 25,000 Avios bonus.

If your credit card spending is high enough, you may want to get and keep both cards.

What is the best Visa or Mastercard to use alongside the Premium Plus Card?

American Express is widely accepted, but not everywhere takes it.

We recommend the FREE Barclaycard Avios Mastercard to use where American Express is not accepted:

You can apply for the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard here.

However, you may wish to start by applying the for the paid version:

…. and then downgrading when you have received the 25,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

You can apply for the paid-for Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard here.

How else can you earn Avios points from an Amex card?

Don’t forget the less obvious options.

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card offers 20,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up and is FREE for the first year. These convert to 20,000 Avios points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express usually offers 50,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up. These convert to 50,000 Avios points. It has a £650 fee, refunded pro-rata if you cancel.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

Conclusion

The sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card is an excellent offer, especially as the card fee is refundable pro-rata if you choose to cancel during the year.

The higher sign-up bonus – plus the 50% higher earning rate on your spending – makes the Premium Plus card better than the free BA Amex card, at least for the first year. If you later trade down, remember that the 2-4-1 Companion Voucher on the free card can only be used on Economy flights.

In terms of on-going earning, 1.5 Avios points and the 2-4-1 Companion Voucher when you spend £15,000 make this the most valuable package on the market for your long-term spending as long as you are confident of hitting the £15,000 target. If you won’t spend £15,000 on the card each year then the value of the Avios earned will not justify the annual fee.

Solo travellers can benefit from the 2-4-1 Companion Voucher as British Airways allows vouchers to be used for a 50% discount on one ticket. If you are a solo traveller, you should also consider the upgrade voucher that comes with the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard.

The application form for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card can be found here.

(Want to earn more miles and points from credit cards?  Click here to visit our dedicated airline and hotel travel credit cards page or use the ‘Credit Cards’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

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.