Bigger bonus could make your dream holiday happen sooner.
The British Airways American Express credit cards just got a whole lot better.
That’s because the bonus Avios on offer on both the British Airways American Express and the British Airways American Express Premium Plus have been ramped up.
So if you’re looking for a way to boost your Avios in order to save money on your next holiday, look no further.
British Airways American Express
The changes mean that when you spend £1,000 in your first three months with the British Airways American Express you get 9,000 bonus Avios instead of 3,000.
That’s enough Avios for a return flight from London to around 46 destinations including Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen and Prague.
The card also allows you to earn one Avios for every £1 spent and offers a companion voucher each year you spend £20,000 or more.
The card is fee free and come with a representative APR of 15.9%. But you’ll need a household income of £20,000 and no history of bad debt to apply.
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
Meanwhile those that go for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus can get 25,000 instead of 18,000 bonus Avios when they spend £3,000 within the first three months of taking out the card.
That’s enough Avios for a return flight from London to over 100 destinations including Cairo, Athens, Istanbul, Marrakech, Dubrovnik and Barcelona.
The card also allows you to earn 1.5 Avios for every £1 spent as well as three Avios for every £1 spent on British Airways flights and holidays. You’ll get a companion voucher each year you spend £10,000 or more.
However you’ll have to pay an annual fee of £150 and the card comes with a representative APR of 56.4 %. Again you’ll need a household income of £20,000 to apply and no history of bad debt.
How the cards compare
You won’t find a better Avios bonus with any other credit card right now, but you may still prefer to go for a different Avios credit card.
That’s because some accounts also come with a MasterCard with which to rack up Avios (good for the times when American Express isn’t accepted) as well as interest-free periods on balance transfers and purchases.
The Lloyds Avios Reward Credit Card, for example, allows you to earn 1.25 Avios for every £1 spent on the Amex or for every £5 spent on the MasterCard. It also offers a flight upgrade voucher each year you spend £7,000, has no foreign transaction fees, double Avios for six months on the Amex card and comes with 0% on balance transfers for 28 months (with a 3% transfer fee) and purchases for 12 months. However it attracts a £24 annual fee. The representative APR is 18.9%.
[SPOTLIGHT]The Lloyds Bank Premier Avios, TSB Avios and TSB Premier Avios also come with two cards to earn Avios with and interest-free periods on balance transfer and purchases.
For those that collect Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles there are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which come with big bonuses for new sign-ups.
The Virgin Atlantic White Credit Card Account offers 3,000 Flying Club Miles with your first purchase. The account comes with an Amex and a Visa credit card. You’ll get one Flying Club Mile for every £1 spent on the Amex or one for every £2 spent on the Visa. The card is fee free and comes with six months 0% on balance transfers (with a 2% transfer fee). The representative APR is 17.9%.
The Virgin Atlantic Black Credit Card Account offers a whopping 18,500 bonus Flying Club Miles with your very first purchase. You’ll get two Flying Club Miles for every £1 spent on the Amex and or one for every £1 spent on the Visa. The card also comes with six months 0% on balance transfers (with a 2% transfer fee) but the card comes with a £140 annual fee. The representative APR is 18.9%.
Get the perks while you can
In recent weeks there has been a trickle of providers scaling back their credit card promotions thanks to a European Parliament ruling to cap interchange fees which comes into force later this year.
Capital One has scrapped its cashback credit cards, while Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest have dumped their YourPoints reward scheme.
It’s anticipated more credit card providers may have to follow suit, though for the first three years the cap will not apply to American Express-issued cards, so they should be a safe bet for now. However, eventually we could see these perks drying up too.
More on credit cards:
The best cashback credit cards