Exclusive bonuses for personal and business British Airways American Express Cards!

UPDATE – APRIL 2025:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.  We produce a monthly directory of the top UK travel credit card offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Credit Cards’ menu above.  Thank you.

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.

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This article is sponsored by American Express

British Airways and American Express have launched generous sign up bonuses on the three British Airways American Express Credit Cards.

This includes the British Airways American Express® Accelerating Business Card as well as the two personal cards.

These bonuses are EXCLUSIVE to members of the British Airways Executive Club and can only be claimed via British Airways channels such as ba.com, avios.com and British Airways Executive Club emails.

If you go to the Avios credit card page on shopping.ba.com here, you can log in to your British Airways Executive Club account and apply from there.

It is not a public offer and you will not see it promoted elsewhere on HfP or on any other channel. You will need to log in to your Executive Club account and follow the link to receive the offers.

Here is the legally required interest rate information on the three cards:

British Airways American Express Credit Card:

The representative APR is 30.0% variable.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card:

The representative APR is 137.8% variable, including the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases is 30.0% variable.

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card:

The representative APR is 106.7% variable, including the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases is 27.6% variable.

What bonus is available on the personal cards?

There is a huge 60,000 Avios sign-up bonus for the British Airways American Express® Premium Plus Card. This is up from the standard bonus of 30,000 Avios.

The spend target is the usual £6,000 within your first three months of Cardmembership.

There is also a sign-up bonus of 7,000 Avios on the Fee free British Airways American Express® Credit Card.

The spend target is the usual £2,000 within your first three months of Cardmembership.

Do you qualify for the 60,000 Avios bonus on Premium Plus?

You are only eligible for the sign-up bonus on the Premium Plus Card if you have NOT held a British Airways American Express (Fee free or Premium Plus) Card in the past 24 months.

You ARE eligible if you currently hold or have held The Platinum Card®, Preferred Rewards Gold Card, Green Card, Nectar Card, Amex® Cashback Cards, Marriott Bonvoy Card, American Express Rewards Credit Card, Business Platinum or Business Gold Cards.

You ARE eligible if you are currently a Supplementary Cardholder on a British Airways American Express Card held by someone else, but have not held a Card in your own name in the past 24 months.

The bottom line is that if you haven’t had either of the British Airways American Express Cards in the past 24 months, you will qualify for the 60,000 Avios.

You need a personal income of £35,000 to be accepted for the British Airways Premium Plus Card. The card has an annual fee of £300.

Do you qualify for the 7,000 Avios bonus on the Fee free card?

The rules for getting the bonus on the Fee free card are tougher than on the British Airways Premium Plus American Express. The rule is that you cannot have had ANY personal American Express cards in the past 24 months.

The Premium Plus Card, as we noted above, has far looser rules – you only need to have gone 24 months without either of the British Airways American Express Cards.

The Fee free card requires a personal income of £20,000.

Irrespective, with a 60,000 Avios bonus on the table with the Premium Plus Card and an offer which would allow you to earn up to 2,500 Tier Points coming later this year, I don’t see why you would want to bother with the Fee free card unless:

• you don’t meet the higher minimum income requirement for the Premium Plus Card

• you would struggle to meet the £6,000 spend target within three months

You can learn more about the cards in our British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card review here and our Fee free British Airways American Express Credit Card review here. These reviews do not reflect this new bonus due to the closed nature of the offer.

What bonus is available on the small business card?

Exclusively to British Airways Executive Club members via British Airways channels, you can receive a bonus of 45,000 Avios on the British Airways American Express® Accelerating Business Card.

This is a substantial increase on the usual bonus of 30,000 Avios and means you could collect up to 165,000 Avios if you spend £60,000 in your first year.

You need to spend £5,000 in your first three months of Cardmembership to receive the bonus. As with the personal card offers, you must apply through your British Airways Executive Club account by 25th February to qualify.

There is an annual fee of £250, which should be tax deductible as a business expense, although you should take professional advice.

Do you qualify for the 45,000 Avios bonus on the Accelerating Business Card?

The bonus is available to any small business owner (sole traders are accepted) who has not held an American Express Business Gold, Business Platinum or Accelerating Business Card in the previous 12 months.

Holding a personal American Express card won’t stop you receiving the bonus as long as you meet the criteria above.

There is a minimum income requirement of £20,000. This is based on your PERSONAL income as the applicant, and not the profits of your business.

You can find out more about the card in our review here. This review does not reflect this new bonus as it is not available publicly.

How to apply

Whilst you will complete your application on the American Express website, you will only see these bonuses if you click out from BA channels, including shopping.ba.com and avios.com, first.

If you do not see the higher bonus on the application website, do not proceed. Go back to ba.com and try clicking through again.

The easiest way to do it is to head to Avios credit cards page on shopping.ba.com and log into your British Airways Executive Club account. You should see the offers if you’re a member without a Card. If you already have a Card, you’ll be able to refer friends or family for the Cards from this page so they can get the offer.

All three offers end on 25th February 2025.