Collect up to 43,000 Avios and an upgrade voucher with Barclays Premier Banking and Barclays Avios Rewards

This article is sponsored by Barclays

The Barclays Premier Current Account¹ is the only UK current account with the option to collect monthly Avios to spend with British Airways through Barclays Avios Rewards².

(Frankly, if you earn £75,000 per year, it makes no sense to have a standard current account when a free Premier alternative is available!)

What do you get from Barclays Avios Rewards?

Barclays Avios Rewards is a reward scheme exclusive to Barclays Premier Banking customers. For £12 a month, you get:

• 1,500 Avios collected every month

• A ‘cabin upgrade voucher’ as an Anniversary Reward after 12 months (more details below)

• A joining bonus³ of 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, which means eligible customers could collect up to 43,000 Avios in the first year

This is very attractive – you will receive a British Airways upgrade voucher simply for keeping your free Barclays Premier Current Account open and paying for 12 months of Barclays Avios Rewards. There is no spend target to meet – you just need to remain a Barclays Premier Banking customer.

There are of course other benefits to being a Barclays Premier Banking customer, which you can see here, but for this article, our focus is on Avios and the upgrade voucher.

How does the upgrade voucher work?

The upgrade voucher will be triggered after you have been a Barclays Avios Rewards member for 12 months, and every 12 months thereafter, and is valid for travel taken within two years of the date of issue.

You can use the voucher to upgrade by one cabin class; either on return flights for one person, or a one-way for two people.

Upgrades can only be processed if there is Avios reward availability in the higher cabin. Additional taxes and charges may be due. Bookings cannot be upgraded to First class.

The voucher benefits are transferrable to another person but the flight must be booked from the ba.com account of the Barclays Premier member, who is responsible for paying the necessary taxes, charges and Avios.

And if you don’t want to use the voucher, you can choose 7,000 bonus Avios instead of the upgrade voucher. You need to make your choice in the Barclays app⁴ before your voucher is triggered annually.

Get 25,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus

New Barclays Premier Banking customers can collect up to 25,000 Avios as a joining bonus. To receive this, you’ll need to move your existing current account to a Barclays Premier Current Account via the Current Account Switch Service, within three months of joining Barclays Avios Rewards.

The sign-up page is here.

If you’ve had a Barclays Current Account for longer than four months but haven’t joined Barclays Avios Rewards, you can still collect a one-off joining bonus of 2,500 Avios when you join Barclays Avios Rewards.

How do you join Barclays Avios Rewards?

You will need to first check that you meet the criteria to join Barclays Premier Banking, you will need either:

• a gross annual income of £75,000 or more, paid into your account, or

• £100,000+ in savings with Barclays, eligible investments, or a mixture of both.

Once you have checked your eligibility, you can follow the steps below:

Step 1: Open a Barclays Premier Current Account through the Barclays app.

Step 2: Join Barclays Avios Rewards. Once you’ve opened your Premier Current Account, you can join Barclays Avios Rewards as an add-on.

Step 3: Complete a full switch to collect 25,000 bonus Avios. To qualify for the 25,000 Avios joining bonus, you’ll need to complete a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service within three months of joining Barclays Avios Rewards.

Conclusion

Barclays Premier Banking with Barclays Avios Rewards is worth a serious look if you meet the income or savings criteria.

Once you have an account, you can choose to add Barclays Avios Rewards and collect your 1,500 monthly Avios and choice of anniversary reward.

PS. Barclays Premier also comes with an Apple TV+ subscription⁵ included, which usually costs £8.99 a month.

You can apply for Barclays Premier Banking here.

Important information

1. To join Premier Banking, you’ll need to open a Premier Current Account with Barclays and either pay in a gross annual income of £75,000, or have at least £100,000 in savings with Barclays, in eligible investments, or a mix of both. Eligible investments are Investment ISAs, SIPPs or General Investment Accounts held through Smart Investor or Barclays Investment Solutions Limited.

2. You can opt in to Barclays Avios Rewards if you’re a Premier Banking customer or have a personal Wealth current account with us – you’ll need to register for the Barclays app and have a British Airways 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 with us. To access Barclays Avios Rewards in the Barclays app, you need to be over 18. You can join Premier Banking if you have an income of £75,000 or £100,000 held with us. T&Cs apply.

3. To qualify for the 25,000 Avios joining bonus, you’ll need to join Barclays Avios Rewards – within 4 months of opening your first Barclays current account. Then, you’ll need to complete a full switch of your old current account to them, using the Current Account Switch Service – within 3 months of joining Barclays Avios Rewards. You will then receive your joining bonus in the fourth month of Barclays Avios Rewards membership.

4. You need to be 18 or over to access these products or services using the app. T&Cs apply.

5. T&Cs apply. Must be activated in the Barclays app.