Advice needed: maximizing Avios points with Amex British Airways Premium Plus

[chris101]

Hi everyone,

I’m considering getting the Amex British Airways Premium Plus card to start accumulating AVIOS points for flights for a family of 5 (3 children aged 11, 10, and 7) next year. As a newcomer to credit cards and AVIOS, I would love some advice on how to maximize my card usage.

Here’s my current plan:

1. **Spending £3k in the Next 3 Months**: I aim to spend £3k in the next 3 months to obtain the 60,000 welcome AVIOS points.
2. **Supplementary Card**: I’ve added my wife with a supplementary card and have been advised that this should get us another 3k AVIOS points within 60 days.

My questions are:

1. **Should My Wife Get Her Own Amex Card?**
– Would it be beneficial for her to get her own Amex card to earn an additional 12,000 AVIOS points, or should we wait until after I’ve obtained the 60,000 points first?

2. **Downgrading the Card**:
– Once I’ve obtained the 60,000 points, would it be worth downgrading the card to a free version to avoid the annual fee?

3. **Annual Spend and Retailer Acceptance**:
– As a family, we are likely to spend around £30k annually, but I know that a number of retailers do not accept Amex. This may make it difficult to put all our purchases on the Amex card. Any tips on navigating this?

4. **Maximizing AVIOS Points Beyond Credit Card Usage**:
– Aside from other credit cards, what are the best ways to earn AVIOS points?

Here’s our current spending pattern:
– We shop with Ocado for groceries, spending £500 a month.
– We’ve started using Green Chef food prep service, which costs about £25 a week.
– For fuel, we currently use Esso but can switch to Sainsbury’s if it’s better for earning AVIOS points.

Our travel plans include long-haul trips to the Far East (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Reunion) and the Middle East (Qatar, Egypt). Next year, we plan to travel to Turkey, preferably staying in an all-inclusive hotel.

I appreciate any tips and suggestions on how best to leverage the Amex British Airways Premium Plus card and accumulate AVIOS points for our family travels. Thank you!

[phantomchickenz]

1. Yes, but only once you have triggered your signup bonus.

2. Possibly, but you miss out on the easier to obtain, and better 2-4-1 voucher

3. Everyone needs a non-Amex backup. Check out the Barclaycard Avios cards for this purpose.

4. Lots! You’ll need to spend more time reading through the articles and forums to get a good feel for things.

Welcome to the game, we were all beginners at one point.

[phantomchickenz]

This article in particular is worth a read if you haven’t had an Amex before – you can get quite a lot more than you may have thought: https://www.headforpoints.com/2023/01/03/maximise-american-express-signup-bonuses/

Also, what are you hoping to get from your Avios? A goal to aim for is important. For instance if you’re hoping to take your family of five to Sydney in Business Class you’re probably out of luck. If you’re happy with an economy trip to Europe for five, that’s much more obtainable. Avios are great, but they’re not the silver bullet – particularly for larger families.

[SteveJ]

@chris101 you’ve missed the 60k sign up bonus offer, it expired 11th June.