British Airways just announced that the 100,000 point credit card offer is back for a limited time! It has been quite some time since we’ve seen this offer, so I am glad to see it finally return. It is a tiered offer:
- Earn 50,000 bonus points after $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- Earn 25,000 bonus points after $10,000 in purchases within the first year of account opening
- Earn 25,000 bonus points after you make an additional $10,000 in purchases within the first year of account opening
To earn the entire 100,000 bonus points you’ll need to spend a total of $20,000 within the first year of account opening. By no means impossible, but definitely a bit higher then many of the other offers out there. You do have an entire year, however, and there are many manufactured spend opportunities that come throughout the year. This card comes with a $95 annual fee a year and is NOT waived the first year.
I personally am a big fan of the British Airways Avios program. Redeeming miles works very differently then other loyalty programs so I recommend reading my British Airways blog series prior to applying for the card. And remember, British Airways is part of the OneWorld Alliance so you can use your British Airways Avios points on many partner airlines, including American!
While redeeming your points for a flight from the US to London will result in hefty taxes (including flights with a layover in London), there are some amazing opportunities to redeem your points which require minimal points and taxes are low. My top redemption opportunities include:
- Using your British Airways Avios flights for American Airline domestic flights. Specifically short-haul flights that only cost 4,500 Avios points one way – for example New York to Toronto or New York to Ft. Lauderdale for 7,500 points
- Flying from Boston to Dublin, Ireland on partner airline Aer Lingus will only cost you 25,000 Avios points roundtrip in coach. This route is also available from Chicago and JFK for 40,000 points. You can then fly to other parts of Europe from Dublin if you desire.
- Flying from Chicago, New York, Boston, or Miami to Madrid on either American Airlines or Iberia Airlines. You can transfer your British Airways points to Iberia’s “Avios” loyalty program and then redeem your points at a 1:1 rate. This will reduce the fuel charges significantly and you can redeem just 40,000 points + $124.79 in taxes. You can also do this for a flight to Barcelona although your fees might be about $20 more (direct flights to Barcelona are only from NY and Miami).
I personally got this card a few years ago, although I do not use it for everyday spend and ultimately ended up canceling it as I was paying too much an annual fee. I’ll write more about this card and the British Airways program over the course of the week.
Let m know if you have any questions!
Key Links:
- British Airways Visa Signature Card: Earn up to 100,000 points over the course of 12 months. Earn 50,000 bonus points after $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening + earn 25,000 bonus points after $10,000 in purchases within the first year of account opening + earn 25,000 bonus points after you make an additional $10,000 in purchases within the first year of account opening. $95 annual fee.
Note: This post does not contain affiliate links. As always, I want you to travel on a deal!
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Do you think it`s a short-term promotion?