Get 43,000 Avios and an upgrade voucher with Barclays Avios Rewards

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I want to spend some time today and next week looking again at the new Barclays Premier and Barclays Avios Rewards partnership, so you can see if it is worth signing up.

When we first covered this in March, it was being slowly rolled out. Barclays Avios Rewards is now fully up and running and Barclays is now allowing you to open a Barclays Premier account online – click here.

There is a 25,000 Avios bonus for signing up.

Barclays Premier is the only way to earn Avios from a UK current account.

What is important to remember about Barclays Avios Rewards is that – unlike a credit card reward – there is no spend requirement. As long as you move your current account to Barclays Premier, pay in your salary and opt in to Barclays Avios Rewards you will receive a monthly bonus and an annual BA upgrade voucher.

You will earn 43,000 Avios in your first year including the 25,000 Avios bonus for joining Barclays Premier.

What is Barclays Avios Rewards?

Barclays Avios Rewards is a new rewards scheme for Barclays Premier Banking and Barclays Wealth current account holders.

Here are the headline details:

There is a £12 monthly fee for Barclays Avios Rewards

You receive 1,500 Avios per month

You receive a ‘cabin upgrade voucher’ after 12 months (more details below)

There are bonus points if you have other products, including:

Mortgage – 700 Avios per month, with a one-off bonus of 2,000 Avios when taking out a mortgage

Life cover – 150 Avios per month for the first 12 months (500 Avios if critical illness cover is included)

Home cover – 75 Avios per month for contents insurance, 75 Avios per month for buildings insurance, 150 per month for combined cover, all payable for the first year of cover only

How does the upgrade voucher work?

The upgrade voucher will be triggered after you have been a Barclays Avios Rewards member for 12 months, and every 12 months thereafter.

It will appear in your Executive Club account within five days of your 12th monthly membership fee being paid.

The voucher will be valid for travel taken within two years of the date of issue.

You can use the voucher to upgrade, by one cabin class, a return Avios Reward Flight for one person, or a one-way Avios Reward Flight for two people.

Upgrades can only be processed if there is Avios reward availability in the higher cabin. Additional taxes and charges may be due. Bookings cannot be upgraded to First class.

The terms and conditions of the voucher are here.

We will do a full article looking at the upgrade voucher in a day or so. As Barclays Avios Rewards is less than a year old at present, no-one has yet received a voucher so there is no practical experience of using them.

Are you eligible for Barclays Avios Rewards?

Barclays Avios Rewards is only open to Barclays Premier Banking and Wealth customers.

To open a Barclays Premier Banking account, you will need an income of £75,000+ OR at least £100,000 saved or invested with Barclays.

You can also apply by opening a current account with Barclays Wealth, which is open to people with over £500,000 of investable assets.

Get 25,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus

New Barclays Premier Banking or personal Barclays Wealth customers will receive a 25,000 Avios joining bonus. To receive this, you’ll need to move your existing current account to Barclays via the Current Account Switching Service, within 3 months of joining Barclays Avios Rewards.

The sign-up page is here.

Existing Barclays customers will receive a one-off bonus of 2,500 Avios when they join Barclays Avios Rewards.

Conclusion

Barclays Avios Rewards is worth a serious look if you meet the £75,000 income criteria or are willing to move £100,000 of savings to Barclays.

You will receive, in your first 12 months:

25,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus

18,000 Avios via your 12 x 1,500 Avios monthly bonuses

A potentially very valuable upgrade voucher

….. for a total cost of just 12 x £12 monthly fees. After the first year, it remains a good deal in my view – you will be paying £144 for 18,000 Avios and an annual upgrade voucher.

You can find out more, and apply, on the Barclays Premier website here. Online applications are now possible.