[Anonymous]

[Senator]

Dear UK based BAEC members,

I recently signed up for the BAEC co-branded VISA card in Sweden and plan to use this my secondary card to my AMEX Gold I’ve had for years. I wanted to know how this stack up against the UK BAEC Amex card (or any other BA offer in other markets).

Annual fee (395 SEK – first year is free) £1 = 11 SEK currently
Max credit line – 100.000 SEK
2 for 1 – Annual spend 200.000 SEK. However, it seem to be only valid within Europe… Is this the case in the UK and other markets as well? What is the spend threshold in other markets?

I am trying to compare if it is worthwhile making this my primary card.. Very happy with AMEX and Membership Rewards and tend to move MR points to the best offer at the time.

[Potakas]

It seems that you are very lucky at Sweden as in Greece we don’t have BA Visa or AMEX, the only think i can do is to transfer my ?embership Rewards® points and have 2 rewards points for 1 BA mile.

While lufthansa mastercard :

1 award mile for every € spent

3,000 award miles as a welcome bonus for the Miles & More MasterCard.

No annual fee for the first year

AND finally this 1.000.000 miles offer till 13 june

[continentalclub]

To clarify for others reading, the Swedish card offers a ‘2for1’ benefit which gifts a free ‘companion’ ticket to cardholders who reach (and surpass) a certain level of spend in their membership year and who redeem BA Miles for a ticket.

Currently, that spend threshold is 200,000 Swedish Kroner (17,644 Pounds Sterling at spot) and the companion ticket is awarded when the cardholder uses their BA Miles to redeem one ticket for destinations within Europe. Taxes and fees apply to both the first and the second ticket and both the cardholder and the companion must travel together throughout.

In the UK, there are two different types of British Airways American Express. One offers a ‘2for1’ voucher when £20,000 is spent within the member’s card year and earns 1 BA Mile per £ spent; the second (higher-fee) card offers the voucher when £10,000 has been spent.

The second also earns BA Miles at the enhanced rate of 1.5 BA Miles per £ spent, doubled to 3 BA Miles per £ when the spend is with British Airways itself.

The UK cards’ 2for1 vouchers are valid for journeys worldwide on British Airways, not just for those within Europe. Journeys must commence in the UK however.

Finally, there are a number of sign-up bonuses in operation at the moment.

1000 BA Miles with the British Airways American Express card:

http://bit.ly/cCWgtZ

18000 (Yes, 18000!) BA Miles with the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card:

http://bit.ly/bbQzfg

Both offers require minimum spends in the first months of cardmembership.

[Senator]

continentalclub,

Thanks for the details. I needed a Visa/MC as a complement to AMEX where not available and I settled on the BA card as LH does not offer a card in Sweden. At first, I thought the “2-for-1” deal was good until I discovered it was within Europe only.

I’ve had a complementary AMEX Gold for eight years, and I earn a fair amount of Membership Award points each year. I have used these in the past to top up my CO OnePass, AF/KLM Flying Blue and BA Executive Club accounts when I have been short for an award trip.

For example, in November AMEX and BA in Sweden had a “double miles” promotion where BA would match the AMEX MR points. I transferred the equivalent of 50,000 BA miles from AMEX MR to BAEC account, and BAEC matched it..

Given the “2-for-1” only covers Europe, I don’t think I will bother to fill up the 200,000kr (SEK) in a year as I can get “better value” from AMEX. If the “2-for-1” was world-wide, I would have topped up the card but not now unless there are special campaigns with higher earn potential.

The earn rate on the BA is 1 mile per 10kr (SEK) and 2 miles per 10kr (SEK) when buying on ba.com. Last year, we had double miles promotion from Nov 1 to Jan 31 on all purchases.

Interesting note; I joined BAEC in April 2008 and until now I have collected 200,000 miles and I now have Silver status (and re-qualified already). However, I would estimate that 65-70% of my BA miles have come from AMEX, Visa, or BA campaigns like the ongoing European CE/CW/First campaign and not from actual travel.

[VintageKrug]

If you are considering signing up for the UK BA American Express Card, you get bonus miles if you can be referred by a friend or colleague:

http://www.americanexpress.com/uk/mgm/referafriendbapp.cgi

[LuganoPirate]

Here in Switzerland, Miles and More offer an Amex Platinum and Visa Gold. It’s supposedly free in the first year, but they rebate the fee with a voucher for a discount on a Swiss flight. Trouble is the voucher is only valid for 4 months and on a fare above chf 999. I lost the voucher so it was not much use to me. Credit limit is a pathetic (for the (2 cards combined) chf 5,000 which is less than my most basic Visa card. Miles are 1 for each Franc spent. There is a 10,000 mile welcome bonus and you can check-in at the Business Class Counter – though again of dubious value if you are a silver or gold card holder.

Trouble is with my long haul average spend at chf 16,000, the limit is not nearly enough. Amex’s solution was brilliant though. Transfer 11,000 to them, and they will authorise the spend!!! I thought they were giving me credit, not the other way round? I intend to cancel it before the renewal and eye-watering chf 800 annual fee.

It must be said, that most of these “Airline Amexes” are issued by a bank under a franchise arrangement. The full Amex issued by American Express has no limit (in theory) and also has many advantages depending on where it is issued.

My American friend’s full Amex not only gives him miles (1 per $) but for every airline ticket purchased there is a companion ticket available, same class and travel must be made together. This is the one I want and I’m looking into how to obtain one. It seems you need a US address to apply. I’ll update you if I succeed.

[LuganoPirate]

VK, did you see the APR on the BA Amex. 46%!!! Yikes!

[continentalclub]

LuganoPirate: the APR figure which has to be quoted under UK law is a somewhat spurious number.

Thanks to some rather unsophisticated legislation, the APR figure actually includes the annual fee on the card.

Given the card benefits, the fee is reasonably inconsequential to most account holders; the underlying actual interest rate is competitive with most other cards in the UK market and, of course, is completely irrelevant if you are in a position to clear your account each month.

[VintageKrug]

Indeed, just pay it off in full by Direct Debit every month and the APR is irrelevant.

This is not the card if you want to borrow.

[LuganoPirate]

Fair points Continental and VK. I’ve never really understood how “APR” is calculated. For those of us fortunate to pay it off each month it won’t be a problem. In my case I do, except at year end, when taxwise (and Switzerland is not the tax haven many think it is) it’s better to have high debt and low bank balances. We have a wealth tax here which explains this.

[Senator]

Dear LuganoPirate,

Thanks for the insight to LX/LH M&M card and Swiss taxation 🙂 I am currently looking into setting up a GmbH in Switzerland and will need a card in Switzerland at some point.

I guess the moral(e) of the story is: AMEX standalone may be as good as (or better) than co-branded AMEX cards. My spend is high enough for free Gold each year, and I will stick with this.

[VintageKrug]

I hadn’t seen that 18k offer for BA Miles Amex previously.

Good spot.

[LuganoPirate]

Thanks Senator, Swiss banks will give a corporate CC (mc/visa/etc) branded or unbranded and any colour (silver/gold etc) you like at differing fees. You can choose your credit limit but they will want a guarantee of 2.5 times the limit which is blocked. If you have a portfolio with them they will use a part of the portfolio value as the security. They release the guarantee 6 months after you return the card, or, in the event you lose it, 6 months after its expiry.

An often better, and cheaper option, if you don’t need the credit, is to go for the “Maestro” card or equivalent. This is accepted all over Europe, the Middle and Far East as well as in a lot of Africa. Of course it’s harder to book hotels / airline travel this way, and of course, no miles.

If you do go for the M&M CC, it’s issued by Credit Suisse and on the form there is a number you can call. They are helpful and can take you through any guarantees etc.

[Author]

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