What are the benefits of the British Airways American Express (BA Amex)?
Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.
Why should you get the British Airways American Express credit card?
Today, I want to look at the top 10 card benefits you get if you apply for the free British Airways American Express credit card.
Here is the legal information we need to tell you:
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 5,000 Avios when you spend £1,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1 Avios per £1 spent
Other information:
- Receive a companion voucher, letting you book two flights for the Avios of one, when you spend £12,000 in a card year
- The companion voucher is only valid on Economy flights
- Annual fee: Free
Representative 24.5% APR variable
You will receive 5,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus on the free British Airways American Express card if you spend £1,000 within 90 days of signing up.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s British Airways American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held a Business American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the British Airways American Express card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the companion voucher and the other card benefits.
When you spend £12,000 on the British Airways American Express card, you receive a companion voucher entitling you to book two Avios redemption flights for the miles of one. This voucher is valid for one year. (Full taxes and charges need to be paid on both tickets.)
The voucher on the free British Airways American Express card can only be used on Economy flights.
You receive your voucher within a few days of reaching the spending target. You need to fly the outbound leg of your 2-4-1 flight before the expiry date of the voucher.
If you want more flexibility, the voucher issued with the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card is valid for two years, only requires £10,000 of annual card spend and is valid in ALL cabins including Business and First. The Premium Plus card also has a higher earning rate of 1.5 Avios per £1 on general spend and 3 Avios per £1 on spend with British Airways and BA Holidays.
The top 10 benefits of the free British Airways American Express card:
1. You receive 5,000 Avios points for signing up
The free British Airways American Express credit card comes with a very generous sign-up bonus worth 5,000 Avios.
(If the information box above shows a higher bonus, you will receive this. The box is automatically updated with the best deal available on the date you are reading this.)
You qualify for the bonus as long as you haven’t had a personal American Express card in your name (supplementary cards do not count) in the previous 24 months.
You need to spend £1,000 within three months to receive the bonus.
2. You receive one Avios for every £1 you spend on the card
There are a few exceptions (cash withdrawals do not earn points) but in reality virtually every £1 you spend will earn another point.
3. You receive a 2-4-1 voucher for economy Avios redemptions when you spend £12,000 in a card year
Within five days of spending £12,000 in your current card year, a voucher will be deposited in your British Airways Executive Club account allowing you to book two Avios flights for the points of one.
The voucher is only valid for economy class flights. If you want to redeem your Avios for flights in World Traveller Plus, Club World or First, you need to get the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card, because the voucher with that card is valid in all cabins.
You must pay full taxes and charges on both tickets. Your 2-4-1 flights must be on British Airways, not a partner airline.
You must book AND FLY THE OUTBOUND LEG of your 2-4-1 flight within 12 months of receiving the voucher. The voucher awarded with the British Airways Premium Plus Amex lasts for two years, which is one reason to consider the paid BA Amex card instead of the free version.
4. The card is free, for ever
Whilst the British Airways Premium Plus Amex has a £250 annual fee (but many excellent benefits), the free BA Amex is just that – free, for as long as you keep it.
5. There is no minimum income requirement
American Express does not have a minimum income requirement. As long as you earn more than you spend, you have a good chance of being successful in your application.
6. You can give your partner a free supplementary card
American Express will let you issue a free supplementary card to someone else, allowing their spending to earn Avios for you and count towards your 2-4-1 voucher.
Obviously you are responsible for paying the charges on the supplementary card, which are added to your monthly statement.
7. You can earn 500 bonus Avios for giving someone a free supplementary card
On a regular basis, American Express will offer you 500 bonus Avios for issuing someone with a free supplementary card.
It makes sense NOT to order a supplementary card during your initial application. Wait until Amex offers you an incentive to request one.
8. American Express runs regular generous cashback offers
Once your account is up and running, you will receive generous cashback deals from Amex. These are typically on the lines of ‘Get a £10 statement credit when you spend £50 at Tesco’.
It is relatively easy to save over £100 per year with these offers.
9. American Express has excellent customer service including a UK call centre
10. American Express has a well-designed app
You can monitor you balance and make a payment via debit card at any time. The core business of American Express is credit cards, and they know how to run them properly.
Conclusion
The free British Airways American Express card is a decent package for someone looking for a low risk entry into travel rewards.
You get a fairly good bonus of 5,000 Avios for signing up and the earning rate of 1 Avios per £1 spent is good. If you can get 1p+ per Avios when you redeem, this means you are getting back 1%+ on your spending.
You can sign up for the free British Airways American Express card, or find out more information, on the official website here.
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 5,000 Avios when you spend £1,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1 Avios per £1 spent
Other information:
- Receive a companion voucher, letting you book two flights for the Avios of one, when you spend £12,000 in a card year
- The companion voucher is only valid on Economy flights
- Annual fee: Free
Representative 24.5% APR variable
You will receive 5,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus on the free British Airways American Express card if you spend £1,000 within 90 days of signing up.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s British Airways American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held a Business American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the British Airways American Express card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the companion voucher and the other card benefits.
When you spend £12,000 on the British Airways American Express card, you receive a companion voucher entitling you to book two Avios redemption flights for the miles of one. This voucher is valid for one year. (Full taxes and charges need to be paid on both tickets.)
The voucher on the free British Airways American Express card can only be used on Economy flights.
You receive your voucher within a few days of reaching the spending target. You need to fly the outbound leg of your 2-4-1 flight before the expiry date of the voucher.
If you want more flexibility, the voucher issued with the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card is valid for two years, only requires £10,000 of annual card spend and is valid in ALL cabins including Business and First. The Premium Plus card also has a higher earning rate of 1.5 Avios per £1 on general spend and 3 Avios per £1 on spend with British Airways and BA Holidays.
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points and do not consider interest rates, service levels or any impact on your credit history. By recommending credit cards on this site, I am – technically – acting as a credit broker. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a credit broker.
SamG
Nick
Geoff 1977
blenz101
