NEW: Get 25,000 Avios points for opening a Barclays Premier Account
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British Airways Executive Club and Barclays Bank have launched a limited-time offer.
Until 19th November, you will receive 25,000 Avios if you open a Barclays Premier Current Account.
Full details are on this page of the Barclays website.
Note that 19th November is NOT the last date to apply. Your switch must be completed by then, and it will take seven working days to complete. You need to apply by early November to be guaranteed the Avios.
How do I qualify for Barclays Premier?
The good news is that Barclays Premier is FREE.
The bad news is that there are relatively high eligibility criteria for opening a Barclays Premier Current Account.
You must have:
an annual gross income of £75,000 or more paid into a Barclays current account
or
£100,000 or more saved or invested with Barclays
If you are self employed or not on PAYE for some other reason, you can probably get away with a lower income requirement. £75,000 gross is the equivalent of £50,000 net, and as long as £50,000 is going into the account each year I assume they will be happy.
You must also do a FULL switch in order to earn the Avios. This means that you must use the official switching service jointly run by the banking industry, which will automatically transfer over all of your existing direct debits and standard orders.
What are the benefits of Barclays Premier?
Very little it seems, looking at the website. This compares badly with HSBC Premier which offers comprehensive travel insurance.
You will, however, get paid for keeping your account open!
Register for Barclays Blue Rewards and, in your first year, you will be paid £21 per month (£252 over the year) as long as two direct debits leave your account each month. There is a £4 monthly fee for Blue Rewards, so your net gain over the year is £204.
After the first year, this drops sharply. You receive £7 per month for having two active direct debits, but the £4 monthly fee reduces this to a net £3. You are therefore being paid £36 per year for keeping your account open.
You can find out more about Barclays Blue Rewards here.
Do I earn Avios going forward?
Er, no.
This is the odd thing about this promotion.
HSBC Premier offers two fantastic credit cards to its customers which are the most generous way of earning Avios from a Mastercard or Visa.
The free HSBC Premier Mastercard, reviewed here, earns 0.5 Avios per £1 spent
The paid-for HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard, reviewed here, earns 1 Avios per £1 spent and gives you free airport lounge access
Eligibility criteria for HSBC Premier are very similar to Barclays Premier.
Where should I switch?
If you had been thinking of upgrading your current account to a ‘Premier’ package, you now have a couple of options.
You can move to Barclays Premier before 19th November and pick up 25,000 Avios, but not earn any Avios going forward – you will, however, earn £204 net over the first year via Barclays Blue Rewards as long as you register and have two active direct debits
or
You can move to HSBC Premier and pick up a £175 switching bonus (see here) and earn Avios via their generous credit cards – you also benefit from free HSBC Premier travel insurance
You could do both, of course. Move to Barclays Premier now to pick up the 25,000 Avios and £204 ‘profit’ from Blue Rewards in Year 1 and then, in 12 months, move to HSBC Premier to access their generous credit cards.
You can find out more about the Barclays Premier / Avios offer here. Remember that the closing date of 19th November is NOT the real closing date – your full banking switch must be completed by then and this could take seven working days.
PS. If you already have a Barclays Premier account, you should have been emailed a special BA discount code worth £75 off a £400 long haul booking. Full details are on ba.com here.
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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 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
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
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
The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.
Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review
There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:
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
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
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
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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