American Express and British Airways today launched new offers for new and existing Cardmembers, aimed at customers eager to boost their Avios balances.
New members will receive a “welcome bonus” of up to twice the usual number of points, while existing cardholders will receive up to 12,000 Avios points when referring a friend who signs up for a new card.
New cardholders who sign up for the British Airways American Express credit card will receive a bonus of 10,000 Avios points, double the usual 5,000 points sign-up bonus.
New Deals: New and existing Amex and BA cardholders can boost their Avios balances
The enhanced Welcome Bonuses for BA Executive Club members can be accessed via an email from BA which will be sent throughout the promotion period and when the BA Executive Club member logs into their account.
If a new member is invited by an existing cardholder, the new member will earn an additional 12,000 Avios, which is double the usual 6,000 Avios.
An existing cardholder who invites a friend to join gets an additional 6,000 Avios, up from the 4,000 previously awarded.
Most promotions will run until February 28th, but some end on February 22nd.
There is also an exclusive offer for British Airways Executive Club members, who will get 20,000 Avios when they take out a British Airways American Express credit card, up from the usual 10,000 Avios awarded. This offer is only available until February 22nd.
To qualify for these rewards, new cardholders must spend £1,000 in the first three months. Spending on the card also provides 1 Avios for every £1 spent plus welcome bonuses.
New and existing American Express Premium Plus cardholders will see even greater rewards during the promotion period.
New Premium Plus cardholders will receive an additional 40,000 Avios during the promotion period, which is a 60% increase over the usual welcome bonus of 25,000 Avios.
In addition, new Premier customers invited by an existing cardholder will receive 42,000 Avios, up from 26,000 Avios outside the promotion period, with existing cardholders receiving a bonus 12,000 Avios, up from 9,000 Avios.
American Express added: ‘There is an exclusive offer for British Airways Executive Club members, who will receive an additional 45,000 Avios, plus 15,000 more Avios than they normally get. This offer is available until February 22, 2022.”
Offers: New and existing American Express Premium Plus cardholders will see even greater rewards during the offer period
All rewards on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card are based on the new cardholder spending £3,000 in the first three months.
Spending on the card provides 1.5 Avios points for every £1 spent plus welcome bonuses.
Maggie Boyle, vice president of American Express, said: “As we look ahead to next year, people remain optimistic about the prospect of traveling abroad with friends and family.
That’s why we’re kicking off the year by launching some exciting offers for new and new British Airways American Express card members. By offering significant increases on Avios with these limited-time offers, we’re helping them take off and extending our support for their travel aspirations in 2022.”
The British Airways American Express credit card has a representative annual rate of 24.5 percent, which is variable, and for British Airways American Express Premium Plus cardholders, the rate is 101.1 percent, which again is variable.
The fee for the American Express Premium Plus Card for British Airways is £250.
Before you take the plunge and apply for a new credit card, it pays to shop around and think carefully about what you really need from the card.
For some, cash back may be better than Avios points, for example. It’s important to play the rules of the game – pay off the balance as you go, or you’ll be shocked by the exorbitant interest charges that will affect any Avios rewards.
Also, applying for a large number of credit cards at once can hurt your credit rating, so think carefully before jumping in.
Are these offers as good as they sound?
These are exceptionally generous offers for anyone who qualifies for the bonus, though you need to read the Amex small print to make sure you qualify, said Rob Burgess, editor of the Avios website headforpoints.com.
We value Avios at 1p+ when spent right, so getting 10-12,000 from a free credit card or 40-45,000 from a £250 credit card is worth it, even if you don’t keep the cards long-term.
The £250 card became even more valuable in 2021 when British Airways started making additional Business Class reward seats available to cardholders.
If you earn enough Avios points to redeem for Business Class, it’s now even easier for Premium Plus Amex holders to find award seats when they use the companion coupon that comes with the card.
American Express also offers a prorated fee refund when the card is cancelled. Get bonus Avios 40-45,000 on a Premium Plus Card, cancel after three months and you’ll get 75% of the £250 annual fee back. You’ll get loads of Avios for very modest expenses.
There are a number of other excellent Avios offerings in the financial services space that are available at the moment.
High earners can get 43,000 Avios in their first year if they migrate to a Barclays Premier checking account and activate Barclays Avios Rewards.
Nutmeg Pension and Isa currently offer up to 300,000 Avios if you open an investment account with them.
There’s also an exclusive offer at headforpoints.com for small business owners through February 4, offering up to 30,000 Avios with the Visa Capital On Tap Business Rewards credit card.
While you may not be flying much right now, if you put in a little effort now, you could score enough Avios for the flight of a lifetime later in 2022.
“It’s also worth noting that since you can convert 1 Avios point into 0.8p of Nectar points, you can still get a good payout even if you don’t end up redeeming the flights.”
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