50,000 British Airways Avios

Posted by Noob Master on Apr 11, 2012 in Avios, British Airways, Credit Cards, Deals, Noob, Uncategorized | 11 comments

Here we go again.

Apply Now: British Airways Visa Signature® Card

Disclaimer: I do receive a referral if you use my link. Only use my link if you are satisfied with the service I provide.

the details

Here are the details for the British Airways Avios Card

other perks

The British Airways Visa is a great card to travel with because of the 0% foreign transactions fee. I HATE the idea of paying the 3% some cards charge you just to use out of the States. Redic. That’s why I always use a card with this feature when I’m traveling abroad.

Also, if you are in Europe and you need to have a chip and pin card (a lot of European establishments are moving toward this) then the British Airways Visa can save the day. It has smart technology….so sophisticated. Seriously, it’s a good idea to have a credit card that has the new chip and pin technology if you plan on crossing the pond.

If you are a high roller, then you will receive a companion pass ticket when you spend 30k in one year. The companion ticket is good for a second ticket on British Airways metal flights that originate in the States. You will only be responsible for taxes.

BIG PERK: British Airways Avios points can be transferred into household accounts. I love when I can transfer points into my wifes account and vice versa. All points should have this feature.

ALSO, British Airways is a transfer partner of Chase’s Ultimate Rewards. This is great if you need to top off your BA account, because you have the option to move some of your Ultimate Rewards points over. You can also transfer Amex Memebership Reward points into your BA account. In fact, you can do so right now and get a 50% bonus. Cha Ching. In the last week, there have been rumors of Citi Thank You points being able to be transferred into British Airways as well. This hasn’t happend yet, but may be coming soon.

finding value in avios

Last year, British Airways changed their whole rewards program. These changes almost led to a lynching of British Airways and even coined the term “adios” points. Nine months later, the frequent flying and rewards traveling community have discovered there are some incredible ways to get value out of your Avios points.

For instance, British Airways now charges a “fuel surcharge” on MOST award tickets; the beauty to finding value in the British Airways programs is knowing which flights will NOT have a fuel surcharge. There are plenty of options out there, so don’t despair. Also, British Airways has gone to a “distance based” award chart. This plainly means the more miles the flight, the more expensive. This means flying to Europe with Avios probably isn’t going to be the best way to utilize your Avios points. However, this makes flying shorter distances a GREAT use of Avios points.

Since British Airways is in the One World Alliance, you can fly on these airline partners:

• Air Berlin
• American Airlines
• Cathay Pacific
• Finnair
• Iberia
• Japan Airlines
• LAN Airlines Argentina, Ecuador, Express, Peru
• Qantas
• Royal Jordanian
• S7

American Airlines is a partner, and you can book American Airline flights easily using Avios points on the British Airways website. This is a huge perk. The American Airlines flights are best used for short distances and are a great value. If a one way segment is under 649 miles, then it’s only 4,500 Avios points. A roundtrip award ticket would then cost you 9k Avios points! Not bad.

As I stated earlier, there are Airline partners that don’t charge a fuel surcharge fee. They are:

• American Airlines flights in North America
• Lan Airlines and American Airlines flights to South America

There are some really great opportunities here to find true value in Avios. It may not be in finding flights to Europe, but intra Europe short-distance flights are a great value with Avios program.

but i just got a chase card

Chase is definitely making it hard on us. They have almost ALL the best offers and last week we saw a flurry of them. I also know that many people have recently applied for the Sapphire to get the 50,000 before it disappeared. So what to do? Well, if you haven’t applied for a Chase card in over 3 months, then you are due. But there are other Chase offers out there that still may make more sense for you (such as the Sapphire and the Ink Bold 50k), so weigh your options, especially if you are planning on international travel.

If it’s been less than a month since you applied for your last Chase card, then it’s too soon to apply UNLESS it had been over 6 months since you had applied for a Chase card before then. It will definitely take calling the reconsideration number, but your chances should still be pretty good. Usually you can get two Chase cards in a month if you hadn’t applied for a Chase card in awhile. But your miles may vary.

I hold 5 Chase cards and apply for a new one every 3-4 months.

Note: If you previously held the British Airways Card in your wallet, you will not be eligible for this NEW offer.

wrap up

I wouldn’t recommend getting the British Airways Visa as your one and only rewards credit card. However, it’s always great to diversify and if you live near an American Airlines hub city then the BA Visa is a no brainer.

The British Airways card is really an upfront 50,000 offer that costs you $95 and gives you the opportunity to earn another 50,000 Avios points by spending $20k in 12 months. I think receiving 50,000 points on first spend for $95 is a great value. I plan on signing Jordan up for this card in the next couple days. I also think we will shoot for the additional 25,000 Avios points by spending 10k in 12 months. That’s 87,500 Avios points (adding in the 10k spend x 1.25) that I will be using on American Airlines or Lan. I can do things with 87.5k American Airlines miles.

Avios points can pack some real value, but you have to know how to use them. I hope this post helps give some basic Avios understanding. I will also be rolling out some more in depth posts on how to maximize your Avios points. Stay tuned.

— Noob Master