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British Airways American Express bonuses increased to 9,000 & 25,000 Avios

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American Express has – yet again – increased the sign-up bonuses on the two British Airways American Express cards.

The Premium Plus version, with the £195 annual fee, now offers 25,000 Avios instead of 18,000 Avios. You must spend £3,000 within three months to receive the bonus.

The basic, free, card now offers 9,000 Avios instead of 3,000 Avios. You must spend £1,000 within three months to receive the bonus.

British Airways Premium Plus American Express

The representative APR on the Premium Plus card is 76.0% variable including the fee based on a £1200 credit limit. The representative APR on the free card is 22.9% variable.

My full review of the benefits of the Premium Plus card is here. Amex’s own home page is here.

My full review of the free card is here. This is actually the most improved deal jumping from 3,000 to 9,000 Avios. Amex’s own home page is here. Both reviews reflect these new bonuses and also include details of the higher ‘refer a friend’ bonus which is also available.

This increased bonus runs until 7th February 2017.  We are potentially heading into DFS sale territory here!  I am a little surprised that this deal was slipped out in the middle of August with little warning – it is possible that application volumes have fallen since the £195 fee was introduced.

Based on previous BA Amex promotions, there is a good chance that Virgin Atlantic will match this on its two credit cards in the next few days.


Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

Nectar American Express

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

American Express Platinum card Amex

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers.

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

Amex Platinum Business American Express

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express card

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending:

Barclaycard Select Cashback Credit Card

1% cashback and no annual fee Read our full review

Comments (87)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • Roger says:

    Can a free BA Amex holder refer BAPP to friends?

    • Genghis says:

      Yes

      • Roger says:

        How?

        I can only see link for feee card on my referral link section on Amex website.

        • mark2 says:

          They can change to BAPP when they get the email (or you give them link).

        • Keri says:

          mark 2 – if you look at the top right hand side of the opening page of your referral link – it does say:-
          Apply for a Different Card – which a picture of the Premium Plus Card …. you are able to click onto that and then that will take you to the Premium Plus Card request page

          🙂

  • Scottydogg says:

    So it runs until 17th of February ?
    Could work out perfect for me as I just cancelled a Black card last month but have a 2 for 1 on the account . If I take the card out in January and hit the spent limit of 10k , i’ll have two 2for1 vouchers on there . That’s good as we are a family of 4

  • roger says:

    OT, Any ideas on MR point welcome bonus for new Green IDC card by Amex?

    https://www.americanexpress.com/icc/eurodollar/personal-green.html
    The above link doesn’t say anything about welcome bonus.

    This 2014 article (https://headforpoints.com/2014/12/03/american-express-international-currency-dollar-euro-card/) says 60% bonus is now probably 30%, due to GBP/USD rate?

    • Rob says:

      I haven’t seen a bonus on those cards for ages – I do check now and then.

      And, yes, the bonus is now a lot lower. Only makes sense if you are moving a LOT of points or want Malaysia, Qatar or Jumeirah Sirius points which can’t be got via the UK scheme.

  • BOb says:

    Hi

    I have a Amex Platinum charge card, just waiting for the 20k upgrade bonus from Gold. Can I also get the Premium plus card at the same time and still qualify for the 25k bonus?

    • roger says:

      should, as BAPP is a credit card not a charge card like Amex platinum.

  • bryan says:

    Just called amex and checked again, I am definitely on the lower bonus with no chance to get put on the higher one. Quite a negative experience and first time Amex have disapointed

    • bryan says:

      ok replying to my own comments here but latest update I have had from amex

      ‘Although we are unable to change the welcome offer on your Card, you would be glad to know that I’ve been able to seek an approval from my manager to apply a credit of extra 6,000 Avios once you’ve met the spend threshold of £500 for welcome bonus on your account.

      All you need to do is respond to this email once you’ve met the spend threshold and I will immediately apply an additional 6,000 Avios on your account.’

      • harry says:

        Amex people really are excellent, I’ve always had brilliant service from them.

        Why can’t other customer-facing personnel learn the lesson? I can think of 2 other companies where the team are just as excellent – Laithwaites & HIFX – but then you start to scratch your head a bit.

  • roger says:

    I am trying to active PRGC, but it won’t let me add it to my existing account where i have another credit card.

    Tried cs and they seem to think I need to create another online account to be able to access that. Any ideas how do I link my new PRGC to an existing online account?

  • Stuart h says:

    does anyone know if a supplementary cardholder can earn the 2 for 1 voucher for their own use. thanks

  • Mark1980 says:

    OT slightly but what is club world redemption availability to Cape Town generally like? Thinking of applying for this for the 241 but no point if there’s little to no availability…

    • harry says:

      there’s always good availability if you can book enough in advance eg T-355 @ midnight is best

      BA guarantee 2+4 seats on every flight

    • Rob says:

      The guaranteed seats are there, not much else. Jo’burg plus Comair is easier.

    • Roger says:

      Worse than poor. I don’t want to book almost a year ahead, and the available seats – just 2 – are gone in minutes anyway. As Rob suggests, JNB is easier – twice daily with at least one an A380 – with JNB-CPT connections on BA Comair.

      I don’t bother any more. I’m buying revenue seats on QR these days.

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