Which card to pick?

[PumpkinCupcake]

I’ve had the Amex gold a few times over the years, and the last time I was the primary card holder was in July 2023 before I referred by husband and cancelled. He still has his card, but we recently realised it was downgraded and so we no longer get the free airport lounge passes. We’re going away at the end of April so I’m hoping to get some lounge passes back so that we can use them. Can anyone offer any advance on which card would be the most suitable to take?

I always pay off in full. We live in Northern Ireland and normally fly from Dublin, so Aer Lingus are our airline of choice (I’m not sure we can use many other airlines for direct flights). I have to pay the balance of our (Disney) holiday next month, so will be making a large payment of around 5.5k which I will be using the card for towards any bonuses.

I’d looked at the BA companion voucher card, but I’m just not 100% sure how it works as in, is the companion ticket actually free, or do you have to pay taxes etc on top of that? We have two very young kids so we’re only ever going to be flying economy and would prefer to be using any additions to ‘save’ money, rather than get a better seat. Because of this I’m also unsure whether it would be worth the £300 annual fee for us?

I think I’ll miss out on the sign up offer for the preferred gold because I’ve held a card within the last 24 months unfortunately, and I don’t really want to delay getting the card due to the upcoming large payment for the holiday and want to easily hit any sign up bonuses.

[BBbetter]

Would you be eligible for Barclaycard avios card? Probably get the free card and work towards the 20k target until you wait for gold SUB eligibility? You can choose 9k avios if you dont need the voucher.
I agree a BAPP costing £300 may not make sense for a family of 4 that will be travelling in economy only.
If you travel a lot, the lloyds mastercard could be useful – you can get an additional card and therefore two lounge visits at a time or use them at an airport restaurant for credit against the bill.