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Key Link: British Airways Visa Signature® Card lets you earn a total of 100,000 British Airways Avios. And if you’re strategic you can use those points twice.
Here’s the card’s signup bonus:
- 50,000 after $2,000 spend on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- 25,000 more after you spend $10,000 total on purchases within a year of account opening
- 25,000 more when when you spend a total of $20,000 on purchases within a year of account opening
I’ve had the card before but I am not a current cardholder and have not received a bonus for this card in the past 24 months.
This product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months.
I’d say an opportunity to earn a total of 100,000 Avios from the British Airways Visa Signature® Card with a $95 annual fee is one of the best deals out there right now, especially if you’re strategic with them.
That’s because if you’re going to put $20,000 in spend on the card to earn the full 100,000 Avios bonus, push farther and hit $30,000 spend and you will earn a companion award ticket called a ‘travel together’ ticket. That lets two people travel on the same award itinerary for the mileage cost of one ticket.
Spend $30,000, earn a 100,000 bonus, you’ll have 130,000 Avios which you can use for two passengers to travel on an award that would cost up to 130,000 Avios apiece.
You still pay taxes and fees for both passengers, and two award seats must be available in the ticketed cabin for both passengers as well. (And I’d argue that the fuel surcharges are worth it, I think of a first class award as a deep discount coach ticket that doesn’t earn miles, with a confirmed triple upgrade.)
The basic rules for the travel together ticket are:
- Each calendar year that you spend $30,000 on your British Airways Visa Signature Card, you earn a Travel Together Ticket valid for two years. Travel must begin by the expiration date of the certificate.
- Since the vouchers are valid for two years, if you earn one in each calendar year it is possible to have two vouchers in your account at the same time. You can use both on the same trip so that four passengers can travel for the mileage cost of two awards (plus taxes and fees).
- You can earn only one companion award ticket per British Airways Visa primary account. Spending $60,000 on the card does not earn two.
- All travel must originate in or return to the US.
- The person who earns the voucher (the visa cardholder) must be one of the passengers on the award ticket.
- Only flights on British Airways aircraft may be used on the award.
- Regular award space must be available for all passengers.
Let’s take a roundtrip Chicago, Boston, New York or Washington DC – London. One way in first class and one way in business runs 140,000 Avios total.
If you’ve got 140,000 Avios (and you can transfer points in from Chase Ultimate Rewards, such as from the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, or from American Express Membership Rewards) then you can book that ticket for two passengers.
British Airways First Class
British Airways first class isn’t one of the world’s best, though it’s tons better than business class. The cabin is gorgeous. And I find the smaller cabin (relative to business) to be much more restful.
The aircraft makes a difference as well, with the Airbus A380 better than the 777 better than the 747.
Want to do this award twice? Or travel much farther? Or travel with a family of 4? You can leverage the card and travel together tickets even more.
British Airways offers family accounts — you can set up your account with family members so you can pool your miles towards a single award.
This means you and a spouse, for instance, could each get the card. After meeting the minimum spend for to earn the full bonus on each card, you’d have a total of 240,000 Avios. Spend $30,000 on each card and you earn two travel together tickets and you have 260,000 Avios.
Even though these are split between two different accounts, you can spend them on one award ticket as though they were in a single account if you link the accounts together.
Creating a family account — which can be undone — means you can only redeem awards for people that are linked in the family account. And you can have up to 7 people in a family account, at the extreme if 7 people linked through a family account each got the card and earned the full bonus that would be 840,000 Avios to spend as though they were all in one account.
British Airways First Class
Although I like the card and in the past it was a good deal there are reasons why this is no longer a “go to” product to me:
1. Fuel surcharges – Tip of the iceberg.
2. Recent devaluation for USA Domestic short hauls (along with #3 below).
3. Lack of availability on many routes domestically with peak and off peak changes.
4. $20k or $30k in spending on this card doesn’t seem like a good choice compared to other cards. It used to be (see #5).
5. Changes in recent past where card used to pay 1.25 Avios per $1 but they did away with that.
6. Travel together ticket is OK but really hard to use in many cases as you have to use BA metal only from the USA which means everything goes through LHR (mostly) with heavy YQ (see #1) and in some cases taxes if you’re not careful.
So that I don’t sound negative these are the reasons to get the card:
1. For Avios use on short haul Europe awards (still a good deal).
2. For long haul flights from Brazil and I think the Philippines where fuel surcharges don’t apply.
3. For other other uses by getting the card and putting $10k in spending for 85k avios uses.
4. There is still some value if you have already churned your way through other cards or banks
5. Ability to move Avios between accounts and to partners like Iberia or Avios shopping program (Avios shopping doesn’t apply for most people in the USA sadly).
6. If your a frequent BA flyer and can put BA spending on this card.
I had this card for the exact same offer around 28 months ago. I earned 50k, more than 24 months ago, but the next two 25k bonuses were earned within the last 2 years. Do you think I would be eligible for this offer?
Roundtrip taxes for 2 will be over $2000 easily anywhere…
So you will be paying 140,000 plus over $2000 taxes and fees for 2 roundtrip tickets. It is NOT a screaming good deal. Especially when you have to spend $30,000. at a 2% cashback card that is another $600.
I have priced out some tickets to Europe, South Africa and Asia and my cash outlay would be more like $3000 dollars for 2 passangers. plus the avios.
Had the card, the worse card I have ever owned. Spent the requirements and got the travel together ticket. Never found two tickets in BA first from LAX-LHR in either direction in 18 months. Not once in 18 months, and I searched almost daily. BA has the worst award availability in first out of any airlines I have ever seen.
If you forget about the companion ticket and put the avios into an Iberia plus account you can get transatlantic business class from 34,000 avois each way. Taxes and surcharges less than $200 return. Although you have to fly to Madrid.
AirBerlin do very low tax redemptions as well, although they require more points and neither airline has first class.
It is a very bad deal.
I let 2 of me 2 for 1 coupons expire last year because there was no availability. I have 1 expiring this June same thing to availability. Fuel surcharges are ridiculous. If you could get availability it is $2300 to europe and over $3000 to asia etc..
My advice is only if you have maxed out all other programs use this as a last resort.
Forgot the travel together award, it’s good for the shorthaul US tickets. Can’t beat that deal!
Gary,
Did you respond to Aris and what were your thoughts? I have a similar situation.
Thank you.
I had 2 companion tickets and was able to use one, but never could find availability for the other one. For the one I did use, I had to fly myself to NYC and found availability NYC to Paris on Openskies business class.