Great Card If
- You frequently travel British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL internationally for work or pleasure
- You want to save 10% on flights from the U.S. to London when using the card
- You frequently use Oneworld airlines and wish to transfer/use Avios on flights
Don’t Get If
- You don’t typically travel internationally
- You won’t be a big spender throughout the year
- You typically like to travel alone
British Airways Visa Card — Top Benefits
British Airways Visa Card Earns Avios
All your trips to and from London and around the world will be put to use when you can swipe this high-earning card.
Like many partnered cards, when you make purchases on your British Airways Visa card, you get Avios deposited directly into your British Airways Executive Club account.
What are British Airways Avios anyway, you may ask? Simply put, this is the currency for British Airways’ air miles (points).
Avios work the same and are valued just like any other credit card points. Because BA is a Oneworld partner airline, you can use British Airways Avios on all the other Oneworld partners, such as American Airlines and Qantas.
Great for Travelers and Their Partners
To make the British Airways Visa card work for you, you need to put all of your travel spending through BA, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL on your card.
Just a couple of tickets will earn you thousands of Avios. If you are a business owner using this as your business card, you shouldn’t find it hard to rack up Avios quickly.
If you have a significant other or travel partner, you’ll find the Travel Together Ticket very appealing. To get this benefit, you must spend at least $30,000 on the card per year.
The Travel Together Ticket works as an additional voucher when you redeem an award flight. Simply use the voucher alongside your award flight to earn a complimentary ticket for a companion.
Ideally, you would hit the $30,000 minimum spend every other year in order to get your companion pass, which can be redeemed to travel along in any class for just the taxes and fees on the flight. Unfortunately, those taxes and fees can be $1,500 to $2,000.
After you earn your Travel Together Ticket, it will be usable for up to 2 years. There are a few additional caveats, but they can be tolerated for a voucher worth between $10k to $20k in value (if you’re flying first class)!
First, you have to travel on British Airways and not a partner airline. Second, the flight has to originate and return to the U.S. Third, you have to travel together on the outbound and inbound flights, and those tickets must be booked at the same time.
Bottom Line: The Travel Together Ticket is very valuable but has a few caveats. Be sure to plan upfront to meet the $30,000 spend on the British Airways Visa card and choose how to use your voucher.
Other Benefits: Stopovers, International Travel, and More
British Airways is a great airline for international flights and multi-stop destinations because it allows unlimited stopovers “within reason,” unlike most other airlines.
A typical layover is only 4 hours domestically and 24 hours internationally; a stopover is an open-ended amount of time beyond that. You simply select this option when booking your flight and you can choose an additional city to visit.
As an added bonus, this card doesn’t carry any foreign transaction fees if you need to use it while overseas.
Of course, there are much more efficient cards to use overseas than just the British Airways Visa card, since you would only earn 1x Avios on anything besides the actual flight.
But if you’re going for the companion ticket via minimum spend, then by all means spend away!
British Airways credit cardholders also have the chance to get 10% off British Airways flights from the U.S. to London when booking through a specific portal and using a code. It is worth the hassle to save over $100 (which covers the annual fee).
With the flexibility in using British Airways Avios with Oneworld partners and transferring from credit card portals (Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy), you should find plenty of value in the card.
Bottom Line: Utilize the 10% discount, stopovers, and Oneworld alliance to really get value from using the British Airways Visa card and flying with British Airways.
Best Ways To Earn and Redeem British Airways Avios
Your spending on the British Airways Visa card all go toward 1 thing: getting Avios to use or transfer. Whatever end goal you choose, the earning strategies are the same.
Redeeming a ticket on British Airways is where the game begins for this card. If you are going to use the Avios on a British Airways flight, know that you will be paying high fuel surcharges.
Because British Airways business/first class is about the same price, you may as well book that and take advantage of the excellent service.
