Good British Airways credit cards launch in Europe – why aren’t fintech firms entering the UK?

New British Airways credit cards launched in France and Italy last week.  Whilst most of us won’t be able to apply for them, it is always worth keeping an eye on what benefits the airline is offering in other markets.

What is interesting is how aggressive these cards are, given that France and Italy have been impacted by the 0.3% interchange fee caps in the same way as card issuers in the UK.

There are two French versions.  The basic card offers:

• Annual fee of €24
• 4,000 Avios on signing and a further 2,000 Avios after spending €2,000
• 8 Avios per €10 on general purchases
• Double Avios on BA, Aer Lingus, Iberia, LEVEL and Vueling spend
• 10% discount on all British Airways flights

The Premium card offers:

• Annual fee of €96
• 8,000 Avios on signing and a further 2,000 Avios after spending €2,000
• 10 Avios per €10 on general purchases
• TRIPLE Avios on BA, Aer Lingus, Iberia, LEVEL and Vueling spend
• 10% discount on all British Airways flights

This is an exceptionally generous earning rate for a Visa card compared to the UK Avios offerings.  The basic card offers the equivalent of 1 Avis per £1.12 spent.  The premium card offers the equivalent of 1 Avios per 89p spent.  This is excellent.

The Italian cards are very similar.

There are, again, two versions.  The basic card offers:

• Annual fee of €49
• 4,000 Avios on signing
• 1 Avios per €1 on general purchases
• Double Avios on BA, Aer Lingus, Iberia, LEVEL and Vueling spend
• 10% discount on all British Airways flights

The Premium card offers:

• Annual fee of €95
• 10,000 Avios on signing
• 1 Avios per €1 on general purchases
• TRIPLE Avios on BA, Aer Lingus, Iberia, LEVEL and Vueling spend
• 10% discount on all British Airways flights

This is another excellent package although the earn rates are a bit odd.  Since you earn the same base rate of 1 Avios per €1 on the €49 and €95 cards, the only reason to get the Premium version is if you spend substantial amounts on IAG flights.

Why aren’t we seeing such deals in the UK?

If you want to earn Avios from a UK Visa or Mastercard, your current options are all FAR worse than the deals above.  I run through the options in this HfP article.

Having spent some time recently with a very niche start-up UK credit card issuer, I am convinced that the UK credit card market has simply grown fat and lazy on the oversized profits available before the interchange fee caps came in.

I know that one travel group we follow asked five different UK card groups to pitch for its credit card contract.  Four of the companies approached refused to do so, and the contract was awarded to the only party who bothered to show up.

But where is the competition?  Venture capital investors have poured huge amounts of money into Monzo, Revolut, Starling etc ….. companies offering online current accounts, a sector which has never even made much money for incumbent banks. 

Who is out there pumping money into start-up credit card companies, a sector which has always been very profitable?  The firm I met, which already has niche cards in issue, has just a handful of staff.  Their entire office takes up less space than the lobby of our WeWork building.

It is all very odd.  The only block to launching credit cards is the capital for your loan book, which lenders appear to be very nervous of providing to start-ups.  From my discussions this money is not easy to find because, unlike venture capital, it does not deliver equity-style returns to funders.  The BA Amex cards – which admittedly are far bigger than competing products – do £1bn per month of billings.  Finger in the air, I would estimate you would need a £3bn ‘float’ to run this card even though very few cardholders pay interest.

At the moment, we have the following companies who used to have, but have now dropped (at least for new applicants), UK airline and hotel credit cards:

• Flybe
• Ryanair
• easyJet
• United Airlines
• American Airlines
• Etihad Airways
• Emirates
• Hilton
• Marriott

Who is going to come into the market to meet the demand which is clearly there?  It is quite clear, from what is happening in Europe, that the view that ‘0.3% interchange means you can’t make money’ is nonsense.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review