I had previously written off the British Airways Avios loyalty program when it came to premium-cabin awards flights between the U.S. and Europe because of the airline's outrageously high fuel surcharges.
Statement credits against those taxes and fees are one potential remedy provided by the British Airways Visa Signature Card.
The British Airways Visa Signature Card, the only co branded credit card that British Airways offers in the United States, is one of several attractive credit card alternatives from international airlines that are frequently disregarded.
It includes a $95 annual cost, which is not discounted the first year, and does not include features offered by most airlines, such priority boarding or a free checked bag.
Nevertheless, owing of its big sign-up bonus and money-saving benefits, it's one of the more valuable airline cards available.
Let's investigate whether or not the card merits a place in your wallet.
Who is this card intended for?
You can receive significant savings in the form of yearly statement credits of up to $600 to offset award taxes and fees if you frequently redeem Avios for British Airways flights between the United States and London.
Even if you don't prefer British Airways for transatlantic travel, you should still think about getting the card because of its great sign-up bonus. This benefit is particularly useful for individuals who frequently book American Airlines' last-minute or short-haul awards.
One crucial point: The British Airways Visa Signature Card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule, just like other cards that Chase issues.
Even if you have a practically flawless credit score, if you have opened more than five credit cards in the last 24 months (from all banks, not just Chase), your application will be automatically denied.
Sign-up incentives
Up to 100,000 Avios are offered as a sign-up incentive for the British Airways Visa Signature Card.
Earn 25,000 Avios after spending $20,000 in the first 12 months of account opening, and 75,000 Avios after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account creation.
Consider the opportunity cost of using this card as opposed to other cards that provide you important bonus rewards on items like eating and travel before you switch all of your spending to them.
Perks
The benefits that the card does offer, albeit lacking many of the typical co branded airline card features like a free checked bag and priority boarding, can nevertheless save British Airways travelers a significant sum on cash and award tickets.
• Credit on the award ticket statement.
When you book a reward flight to London on British Airways and pay taxes, fees, and charges with your British Airways Visa Signature Card, you will receive a statement credit three times per year of $100 for Economy (World Traveler) and Premium Economy (World Travel Plus) seats or $200 for Business (Club World) and first-class seats.
• Absence of foreign transaction costs
It's fairly simple: You can buy things abroad without incurring additional fees.
• Benefits of Visa Signature.
As a Visa Signature card, the BA Visa Signature comes with benefits like access to the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection, secondary vehicle rental insurance, purchase protection, extended warranty protection, and lost/delayed baggage insurance.
• 10% off select cash tickets on British Airways flights when made in a specific way
Earning
On the earnings front, the card excels most other cobranded airline cards.
The British Airways Visa Signature Card offers 3x Avios for every $1 spent on purchases made with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL as opposed to the majority of airline cards that only offer 2x miles for every dollar spent with the carrier.
Additionally, if hotel accommodations are booked directly with the hotel, 2x Avios are awarded for every $1 spent.
Earn 1 extra Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases as well.
Redeeming
The best usage for Avios are occasionally for partner awards since British Airways levies significant fees and surcharges on certain of its own international reward tickets.
You may use your points to fly with more than a dozen Oneworld alliance carriers, including American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Iberia.
Additionally, British Airways doesn't charge any close-in booking fees on last-minute rewards, in contrast to several other airline programmes, such as American Airlines.
Short-haul awards are one of the program's largest sweet spots because of British Airways' distance-based award chart.
For award trips that are 651 to 1,151 miles in length, the program only costs 9,000 miles, and for business, 16,500 miles.
However, for domestic awards that span more than 500 miles, partner American Airlines frequently demands 12,500 and 25,000 miles, respectively.
So, for instance, using the British Airways Avios program can result in a more than 30% discount on an American Airlines journey from New York (JFK) to Miami (MIA).
(Even better, American Airlines has a reputation for often operating long-distance international aircraft on local flights.)
Alternately, you could use your miles to book nonstop flights for just 13,000 Avios each way from West Coast destinations and as far east as Phoenix to the Hawaiian Islands.
You might be able to get even more value out of your Avios by moving them to another Avios program, depending on the reward.
Avios can be exchanged between British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus with a few restrictions since they are the three airlines' mileage currency.
Iberia frequently provides cheap award redemption rates, including business class to Europe, for just 25,500 miles one way. Iberia frequently charges much fewer taxes and levies than British Airways.
Additionally, Iberia wins for some connecting routes since its fees are calculated based on total miles flown rather than per segment.
Which credit cards compete with the British Airways Visa Card?
British Airways is a 2:1.5 transfer partner of Capital One, a 3:1 transfer partner of Marriott, and a 1:1 transfer partner of both American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards.
As a result, amassing Avios with credit cards is relatively simple.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has a $95 yearly fee and offers 5x points for travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, 3x points for dining, 3x points for streaming services, 3x points for online grocery purchases (aside from Walmart and Target), 2x points for all other travel, and 1 point for every other purchase.
When using the Chase Sapphire Preferred over the British Airways Visa, you will receive an effective return of 10% on British Airways airline purchases because Chase Ultimate Rewards points are valued at 2 cents each.
Due to the fact that travel and dining are both widely defined to cover products like public transportation and meal delivery services, even if the Chase Sapphire Preferred return is slightly smaller, it gets bonus points on a much larger number of purchases.
60,000 bonus points are presently being offered by the card after spending $4,000 on purchases during the first three months of account opening.
You have a tonne of options because those points may be transferred to airlines in all three major alliances.
The American Express® Gold Card
The $250 annual fee for the American Express® Gold Card (see rates and fees) is higher, but it also comes with better earning rates and a wealth of benefits that more than make up for it, such as up to $120 in annual dining credits (enrollment required).
The card offers 4x points for every $1 spent at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per calendar year at U.S. supermarkets; after that, 1x point per $1), 3x points for every $1 spent on flights booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel, and 1x point for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
British Airways will accept the Membership Rewards points you earn with this card at a 1:1 ratio.
60,000 Membership Rewards® points are presently being offered for using the card after making $4,000 in eligible purchases within the first six months.
Check your eligibility for a better 75,000-point welcome offer using the CardMatch Tool (offer subject to change at any time).
Those points can be transferred to airlines participating in all three main alliances, just like with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, providing you a lot more freedom.
The Iberia Visa Signature Card, which is also offered by Chase, may make sense to closely examine if you want to earn a lot of Avios but aren't especially invested in the British Airways-specific advantages of the British Airways Visa.
You are eligible to earn up to 100,000 Avios with the Iberia card.
Earn 25,000 Avios after spending $20,000 in the first 12 months of account opening, and 75,000 Avios after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account creation.
In conclusion
In the world of travel rewards, it's crucial to diversify your portfolio of loyalty currencies, and the British Airways Visa Signature offers a great method to do so.
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