Cancel free BA card to apply for BAPP – how long to wait?

[mzb]

With recent announcements, the value of the 241 voucher in my mind has significantly increased, and I think it’s time for me to ditch my Gold card and move to BAPP.
I have an old BA (free) card, I could attempt to upgrade but noticed that I am half way through the collection year. Assuming an upgrade is successful, I would imagine the collection year doesn’t reset and I would struggle to spend £10k before June.

Instead I am thinking of closing the free BA card, and reapplying for a BAPP (Player 2 would refer me as well) in order to start the counter from scratch. How long do I need to wait between cancelling and reapplying? I do not care about waiting 24 months to get the sign up bonus.

[NeilP57]

My own experience was that I was successful in applying for a BAPP circa 6 weeks after cancelling my free BA Amex card.

I had cancelled my card in error (got mixed up in my strategy between my cards and my wife’s cards) so decided to avoid the referral route for a few extra Avios for the referral from my wife’s account. Having the BAPP approved and opened was sufficient reward, albeit with a significantly lower credit limit to the recently cancelled card (£17k down to £4.5k – ouch!)