18,000 bonus BA miles with the Amex Premium Plus card – a good deal?

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    Flyinglower
    Participant

    Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but i just wondered what posters’ thoughts were on the latest BA Amex offer, which runs out in a couple of weeks?

    You get 18,000 bonus miles if you spend £3,000 in the first three months (which wouldn’t be an issue), plus the normal 1.5 miles per £1 spent. But the card has an annual fee of £150, so i’m just trying to work out if it’s worth paying the fee to get this offer? I don’t actually fly BA or Oneworld that much and currently have a Bmi Amex card which takes most of my purchases, but wouldn’t necessarily mind switching to paying with the BA card, particularly with the companion offer in mind as well.

    Is this the sort of deal BA does all the time, or will it go back down to a much lower level after July 19?

    http://www.americanexpress.com/uk/britishair/britishairways.cgi


    PaulJennings
    Participant

    BA / Amex do these promotions frequently though not continuously. 18,000 miles is not a bad deal, I got 10,000 when I first took the card out 2 years ago.

    You also get a 2for1 voucher for redemption flights if you put £10,000 on the card within 1 year.

    There is a second version of the card with no annual fee, offering 1 mile per £1 and with a threshold of £20,000 for the 2for1 redemption flight voucher.

    There are some calculations here:

    http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/best-credit-card-rewards#best

    and here:

    http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/rewardsChecker

    There is nothing to stop you taking out the card, collecting the miles and cancelling it before the 2nd annual fee becomes payable.


    BABenji
    Participant

    Hi Flyinglower,

    This is a pretty good deal. I got a rather measly 6000 miles when I signed up.

    Regarding the annual fee:

    I can only speak personally here, but I’m sure some other Amex BA Premium Plus card holders must have had similar experiences; I pay £30 a year for the card rather than the top-whack. How? I am an Amex Platinum Credit Card (not charge card) holder as well.

    The Platinum card doesn’t carry a fee, but as an existing customer they provided me with a discount on the BA card fee.

    This makes the whole deal even better, as by combining the miles I earn from flying, credit card, car hire, hotels etc means that it is enough for my girlfriend and I to have a return flight in First to USA every year….for £30 (card fee) plus taxes.

    Regarding the £30 rate…I think I had to be a customer of the Platinum card for 6 months before this could be done, but I can’t remember exactly. It has been a while since I first got the card.


    continentalclub
    Participant

    There’s actually a marginally better ‘Refer-a-Friend’ deal currently on offer for the Premium Plus card:

    http://bit.ly/bpc6Ke

    The bonus is increased from 18,000 BA Miles to 19,000 BA Miles for the new account holder, and the referrer will also receive 4,000 BA Miles for their trouble, subject to the promotion’s terms and conditions.

    Personally, I think that the card is one of the most generous on the market and I partner mine with a (no-longer offered) bmi Mastercard for diversified earnings and breadth of acceptance.

    It’s probably relevant to mention, with reference to BABenji‘s post above, that it’s reported that those taking out British Airways American Express Cards in recent months have not had the card fee discount/waiver applied to their accounts that was hitherto the norm if they held selected other AmEx products.


    BABenji
    Participant

    Shame that they’ve taken this route, but CC, I would upgrade your statement from “probably relevant” to most relevant. It’s an important point if you have to pay top whack for the card.

    Could be more worthwhile to opt for the £95 a year Amex gold charge card where the points can be redeemed more widely than the BA card…especially if Flyinglower doesn’t utilise BA or One World as a matter of course.


    continentalclub
    Participant

    You’re quite right, BABenji, that other cards in the AmEx portfolio may offer more flexible rewards, and the Platinum Chargecard currently offers a 40,000 Membership Rewards sign-up/spend bonus:

    http://bit.ly/aBK3u3

    However, if you earn reasonable quantities of BA Miles from flying as well, and redeem BA Miles regularly (particularly in premium cabins) then the BA AmEx Companion Vouchers can be exceptionally valuable, especially since they are now valid for 24 months from date of issue (where previously it was only 12 months).


    BABenji
    Participant

    I opted for the gold card as the fee is closer to the BA card, however the platinum card is certainly more generous and if you spend lots, it will represent good value.

    I love my BA Premium Plus Card. Thanks to it and the miles I earn for flying with BA/One World, my girlfriend and I take an annual trip to the US in First for about £700….and all that for spending money that would have been spent anyway.


    Potakas
    Participant

    I have just noticed an offer for the existing British Airways American Express Card members,

    If you already have a British Airways American Express Credit Card, introduce a friend and receive 4,000 bonus BA Miles.

    If you already have a British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card, introduce a friend and receive 9,000 bonus BA Miles.

    https://www.britishairways.com/travel/creditcards/execclub/_gf/en_gb?CRTV=ColctMilsE

    Apologies if it’s posted already .

    Regards ,

    Potakas

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