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Got a British Airways American Express card? New spend bonus launched on Monday

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American Express has launched a new spend bonus for British Airways American Express Premium Plus and free British Airways American Express cardholders.

It is surprisingly generous, possibly more generous than it needs to be, which is odd but I’m not complaining – especially as I have a hotel bill to pay this week.

It is limited to the first 60,000 people to register.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus spend bonus

I get 10,000 bonus Avios for spending £5,000 by 30th November.

This is such a decent deal that it is worth paying the 3% foreign exchange commission to settle my hotel bill bill this week. As long as I cap the amount at £5,000, I will be paying £150 in fees to bank 17,500 Avios in total which is fine by me.

(Obviously it would make more sense to do the spending in the UK and not pay any FX fees. However, as per our other article today, I have a similar offer on my Business Platinum card that will keep me busy until mid November once I get home.)

Looking at reader comments, there do not seem to be alternative versions of this offer. It is either ‘10,000 Avios for spending £5,000’ or nothing if you have Premium Plus.

The free BA Amex offer does have different versions

On the free British Airways American Express there are reports of:

  • ‘1,500 Avios for spending £1,000’
  • ‘2,000 Avios for spending £2,000’

…. and that’s it. There are also quite a few reports of people getting nothing, so don’t get your hopes up.

Remember that you need to opt in to these offers via the ‘Offers’ tab on your BA Amex statement page in the app or Amex website. Spending does not count towards your target until you opt in.

For clarity, spending on supplementary cards does not count. Neither does PayPal spend recharged to your Amex.

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earns points from credit cards

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 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 card

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

Category

British Airways American Express

Comments (182)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • AB says:
    23 Aug23 August 09:34

    No offer for me on my Premium BA Amex.

    I use it a lot so guess they can’t see the point in offering it me.

    So, penalising their regular users ……

    • Rhys says:
      23 Aug23 August 10:57

      Doubt it, I rarely use my BA Amex and I didn’t get anything either.

      • Barry says:
        23 Aug23 August 12:16

        Nope, I use my BAPP all the time for everyday purchases and I had to 10k for £5k offer.

  • Ian says:
    23 Aug23 August 09:37

    I downgraded to the free card as my modest spending would not justify the £250 fee for the Premium card. I have the 2,000 Avios for spending £2,000 anywhere by 30 November offer this morning.

    • RussellH says:
      23 Aug23 August 10:01

      I have the same offer, but at present I am inclined to give it a miss. I cannot see any chance of spending that much on Amex – I still have to spend more than £2K on my Hilton Visa to maintain Gold status.

      • Save East Coast Rewards says:
        23 Aug23 August 10:27

        Getting gold the proper way is easier on Hilton this year as the requirements have been halved. 20 nights or 10 stays are what’s needed. If you think you can reach that this year then it might be worth going for the Amex promo instead

  • Airman says:
    23 Aug23 August 10:03

    I didnt get the offer. I regularly spend that on the card so I wonder if its selective

    • WaynedP says:
      23 Aug23 August 10:32

      How regularly do you save/use offers ?

      I wonder if that carries any weight in Amex’s fabled algorithm.

    • VerdantBacon says:
      23 Aug23 August 10:33

      BAPP is my main card to spend on and I got it, just more Amex randomness maybe!

  • FFoxSake says:
    23 Aug23 August 10:06

    Only got the spend £2K get 2K bonus Avios on my BAPP but only upgraded from free BA on Saturday.
    All other BAPP status/spend targets appeared yesterday, so offers must be lagging a bit…

  • Mattb says:
    23 Aug23 August 10:07

    Nothing on mine as a supp, but wife apparently has on her main. Without being able to read the t&cs does it say anything on if supplementary spend counts?

    • mr_jetlag says:
      23 Aug23 August 10:26

      Believe these spend targets look at account spend (incl supps), so it should work.

      • mr_jetlag says:
        23 Aug23 August 10:30

        although reading through now T&Cs refer to card spend, so ignore me.

      • VerdantBacon says:
        23 Aug23 August 10:32

        I’d be careful of this, as offers are meant to be per card and not per account. Historical experience may not be reflective of what could be true this time.

        To be safe I’ll be spending it all on the main card where possible

      • WaynedP says:
        23 Aug23 August 10:34

        Discussed on pg1 of comments to this article

  • Christian Teasdel says:
    23 Aug23 August 10:21

    Damn it, I put thought £6k though on Friday of last week.

  • Susan says:
    23 Aug23 August 10:29

    Datapoint – Nothing on my free card.

  • CarpalTravel says:
    23 Aug23 August 10:40

    Glad I held back on applying for the Platinum, would struggle to meet that spend as well as this.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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