Limited-Time: British Airways 85,000 Avios Bonus Returns—With Flight Discounts & Rebate Perks

by Gary Leff

I receive compensation for content and many links on this blog. Citibank is an advertising partner of this site, as is American Express, Chase, Barclays and Capital One. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners. I do not write about all credit cards that are available -- instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). Terms apply to the offers and benefits listed on this page.

I love to see increased offers for the British Airways Visa Signature® Card (See rates and fees) – mostly for nostalgia reasons. Back in 2009 this was the first card to ever make a 100,000 point initial bonus offer. Of course back in 2009 the points were worth a lot more, too! 2009 was also the Great Recession.

Chase has just come out broadly with a limited-time offer to earn 85,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. Let me tell you the key things to know here.

  • Card earn: Earn 3 Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL. Earn 2 Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel. That’s ok, hardly top of wallet stuff.

  • British Airways discount: Cardholders receive 10% off British Airways flights starting in the US when you book through the website provided in your welcome materials.

  • Companion award ticket: Every calendar year you make $30,000 in purchases on your British Airways Visa card, you’ll earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years.

Some of you will benefit from the 10% off, from the companion award ticket, and also from the statement credit against award surcharges ($100 – $200 per booking, up to $600 per year). Any rebate against surcharges helps!

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Editorial note: any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Comments made in response to this post are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. It is not the responsibility of advertisers Citibank, Chase, American Express, Barclays, Capital One or any other advertiser to ensure that questions are answered, either. Terms and limitations apply to all offers.

Comments

  1. It’s certainly not a crazy value proposition if you are redeeming Avios with BA for BA flights vs booking with AA. Although for whatever reason this just jogged my memory about the AARP member rate with BA – may have learned about that on this site as well! Current offer is $65 off econ/PE or $200 off club world – not bad if you are making a cash booking. Admittedly may not be as good as 10% off though. Pretty impressive that the 10% off is not just on the ticket price but includes taxes/fees/carrier surcharge: “Discount is valid on the total roundtrip or one-way purchase price, including taxes, fees and carrier charges, on mainline flights operated by British Airways.”

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