British Airways Visa Signature Credit Card Review: Earn 100,000 Avios

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Review: Is the British Airways Visa Signature card the best credit card for you?

The British Airways Visa Signature® Card has a new welcome offer that can be surprisingly useful, with a bonus of 100,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

Before you dismiss it as a niche card, consider that British Airways has useful partnerships with domestic airlines, including Alaska Airlines and American Airlines, as well as global carriers like Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and Qantas. 

British Airways has distance-based prices for award flights, which means you’ll pay fewer points for short flights, and more points for longer flights. Because of this, short flights on partner airlines are the ultimate sweet spot with British Airways Avios points. And with 100,000 points, there’s potential to get a lot of flights out of one welcome bonus and makes the British Airways Visa Signature® Card well worth the $95 annual fee, especially the first year. 

Read more: The best airline credit cards of 2021

The welcome offer includes enhanced bonus earning and the potential to earn a Travel Together companion ticket with less spending. You’ll earn 5 British Airways Avios points per dollar spent on flight purchases made directly with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL in the first 12 months of account opening (then 3x), 3 points per dollar on hotel purchases in the first 12 months of account opening (then 2x), and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. 

You can also earn a Travel Together companion ticket, which allows a companion to fly with you on an award ticket for only the cost of taxes and fees, after spending $30,000 on purchases within the first year of account opening. Typically, you need to spend $30,000 within a calendar year to earn this voucher. 

Short flights tend to be some of the most expensive. Thanks to British Airways’ generous award chart, you can use Avios points to save on these flights. There are also sweet spots on flights to Hawaii from the West Coast on Alaska Airlines, and flights to Dublin from the East Coast on Aer Lingus. Another great plan is to fly into a cheap airport, then use Avios points to continue to another (more expensive) destination. 

There are lots of ways to use Avios points on award flights, even domestically, which is why travelers shouldn’t be put off by collecting points with a foreign airline. Used judiciously, they can actually be some of the most valuable points around. 

Comparison: British Airways Visa vs other airline credit cards

*Earn $100 for economy and premium economy awards and $200 for business or first class, up to 3x a year, when you book a reward flight to London operated by British Airways and pay the taxes and fees with your card

British Airways card vs other travel rewards credit cards

*Earn $100 for economy and premium economy awards and $200 for business or first class, up to 3x a year, when you book a reward flight to London operated by British Airways and pay the taxes and fees with your card

Who should consider the British Airways credit card? 

Of course, if you regularly fly British Airways this is a great card to pair with your travels. Many of the card’s benefits are focused on British Airways award redemptions and make it easy to recover the cost of the card’s annual fee. 

Even if you don’t fly British Airways, you can get far with the British Airways Visa Signature® Card. Using British Airways Avios points for short flights on partner airlines is arguably the best way to redeem them. I’ve used Avios points to fly between Chicago and New York, from Dallas to Cancun, and from Miami to Nassau in the Bahamas — all on American Airlines (which partners with British Airways). These short flights can sometimes cost hundreds of dollars, but because they’re short, you can get a great value using Avios points. 

Read more: The best travel rewards credit cards of 2021

Opening this card will fill a Chase slot and count toward your 5/24 standing. That means Chase won’t approve you for most of their cards (including the British Airways Visa Signature® Card) if you’ve opened more than five new cards from any bank in the past 24 months. For that reason, it’s best to open the Chase cards you want first and of those, choose the best cards for your spending. 

Because Chase offers some of the best travel rewards cards in the industry, you might decide to apply for other cards first. If you already have the ones you like and have an open 5/24 spot, you might consider this new offer on the British Airways Visa Signature® Card.

Alternatives to the Chase British Airways card

Chase has cards that earn transferable points, which are valuable because of their flexibility. Right now, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a best-ever offer to earn 100,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

Read more: How to earn, redeem, and maximize Chase Ultimate Rewards points

You can transfer those points to Chase’s airline and hotel partners, including British Airways, United, and Hyatt. If it’s British Airways Avios points you’re after, this card offers the same bonus potential — with the added benefit of flexibility to choose other travel partners, too.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 2x Chase Ultimate Rewards points on travel and dining. You won’t earn as much on British Airways flight purchases, but you’ll earn points on a broader array of purchases because “travel” includes flights on any airline, hotels, cruises, tolls, parking, and more. Unless you have a specific reason to choose the British Airways Visa Signature® Card, I’d recommend this one instead, which also the same $95 annual fee. 

Read more: Chase Sapphire Preferred card review

Or consider the American Express® Gold Card
, which has a highest-ever welcome offer of 60,000 points after you spend at least $4,000 in your first 6 months of account opening.

This card has a $250 annual fee (See Rates), and earns 4x Amex Membership Rewards points at restaurants and 4x points on up to $25,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets each calendar year (then 1x), so the earning potential can be more depending on your spending habits.

You can transfer the points you earn to 22 travel partners, including British Airways, Delta, JetBlue, and Hilton. American Express also frequently has transfer bonuses for a selection of their partners (including British Airways in the past). 

Read more: Amex Gold card review

How to use British Airways Avios points

You’ll usually get the most value from your British Airways Avios points when you use them for short flights on partner airlines. This way, you take advantage of the distance-based award chart and avoid the high taxes and fees that British Airways adds to its own flights. 

Read more: How to earn, redeem, and maximize British Airways Avios points

For partner flights within North America, you’ll pay 9,000 Avios for coach flights up to 1,151 miles, and 11,000 Avios for coach flights between 1,152 and 2,000 miles. Internationally, prices are the same except for flights up to 650 miles, which are only 6,000 Avios. 

This can offer incredible value on certain expensive routes. You’ll pay more for premium economy, business, or first class, but coach is usually fine for short hops, unless you prefer having a roomier seat. 

Keep in mind, British Airways prices per flight segment. For this reason, non-stop flights are best. This also presents an opportunity to see multiple cities in one trip. For example, you could fly to Europe and hop around on Iberia, Finnair, or S7, or see more of Asia with Cathay Pacific or Japan Airlines.

I’ve also gotten great value flying from Auckland, New Zealand, to Sydney, and then on to Melbourne, on Qantas. There are so many ways to add destinations and segments to see more places within a single trip, which would be more difficult or expensive to do with other types of miles or points. 

Read more: The best credit card rewards sweet spots that get you the most from your hard-earned points and miles

Coach flights between 2,001 and 3,000 miles cost 13,000 Avios points, and that opens up a couple more interesting sweet spots. American Airlines flies from Phoenix and Los Angeles to Hawaii, and Alaska Airlines has service from Oakland, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle to multiple Hawaiian islands.

Folks on the West Coast can get away to Hawaii for 26,000 Avios points round-trip in coach and taxes of only around $6 each way. That means the current bonus on the British Airways Visa Signature® Card is nearly enough for four round-trip award flights to Hawaii, which can be a great bargain. 

The same is true for flights from the East Coast to Dublin or Shannon, Ireland. With these routes, you’ll need to find off-peak award pricing. If you can, flights to Dublin are only 13,000 Avios points each way in coach from Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Toronto, Chicago, and Washington, DC, (and from New York to Shannon). From there, you can fly cheaply to the rest of Europe on budget airlines, or use more British Airways Avios points to continue your travels. 

You can use Avios points to upgrade flights on British Airways, Iberia, and American Airlines, but it’s usually not a great value. The same is true using Avios to partially pay for flights, or cover the cost of seat selection and baggage. It’s also possible to pay for hotel stays, rental cars, tours, and other experiences with Avios points, but again, it’s typically not a great way to redeem them. 

Read more: The best ways to get to Europe with points and miles

Perhaps the worst way to use Avios points is for flights on British Airways. This is because British Airways adds taxes and fees of several hundred dollars — and well over the $1,000-dollar-mark for certain seats and routes — to its own award flights. It can be worth it if the flight you want is very expensive, or if you’re saving money using a Travel Together certificate.

This is also the reason people should consider British Airways points even if they have no interest in flying British Airways. That said, if you’re in London and want to fly to other cities in Europe, using Avios points can present a good deal. But for trans-Atlantic travel, it’s usually best to avoid British Airways for award flights. 

Benefits and features

10% discount on British Airways flights from the US

British Airways Visa Signature® Card members can save 10% off fare prices on British Airways flights departing the US — which basically means flights to London. To get the discount, you’ll have to book through BA’s Chase site and use promo code CHASEBA10.

Note this doesn’t include taxes and fees, which are notoriously expensive on routes to the UK. Still, if you can find a cheap fare, this is an easy way to save extra cash. 

Annual Travel Together companion ticket

When you make $30,000 in purchases in a calendar year, you’ll earn a Travel Together ticket that’s valid for two years. When you redeem Avios points for an award flight on British Airways, you can take a companion with you for only the cost of taxes and fees. 

Read more: 10 airline credit cards that offer companion deals so you can bring along a friend for only taxes and fees

Because taxes and fees are so high, expect to pay around $700 to $1,300, depending on the route and class of service. It can be worthwhile for business- or first-class seats, but only on a case-by-case basis and if you’d organically spend $30,000 on your card anyway. For most people, this benefit isn’t worth using except in very particular situations. 

Reward flight statement credits

In an effort to ease the sting of the exorbitant fees on award tickets, British Airways offers up to $600 in credits on award flights to London when you fly British Airways and pay with your British Airways Visa Signature® Card. 

You can get a $100 statement credit for economy and premium economy flights, or a $200 credit for business- and first-class flights, up to three times per year. 

This benefit is only useful if you often book British Airways award flights to London, which is one of the worst ways to use British Airways Avios points because of the associated taxes and fees. If you’ll pay them anyway, you can recover the card’s annual fee by using this benefit just one time. 

Lost luggage reimbursement

When you pay for your fare with the British Airways Visa Signature® Card and the carrier damages or loses your bags, you and your immediate family members could be covered for up to $3,000 per passenger. 

Baggage delay insurance

If your bags are delayed for six hours or more, you could be reimbursed for essential purchases (like clothing and toiletries) up to $100 per day for up to three days.

Purchase protection

If an eligible item you’ve bought with the British Airways Visa Signature® Card is damaged or stolen within 120 days of purchase, you could be eligible for up to $500 in reimbursement per claim, and up to $50,000 per account.

Extended warranty

The British Airways Visa Signature® Card adds an additional year to most warranties of three years or less. Coverage is up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.

Visa Signature benefits

As a Visa Signature card, the British Airways Visa Signature® Card offers access to the Visa Signature Concierge for help with things like hard-to-get restaurant reservations or theater tickets. It doesn’t cost anything to use the service, but any third-party costs are your responsibility.

Read more: Hotel programs from Amex, Visa, and more can get you free elite benefits like room upgrades and on-property credits — here’s how

Cardholders can also book through the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection for discounts and extra perks on certain hotel stays.

Fees and costs

The British Airways Visa Signature® Card has a $95 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. 

Read more: The best credit cards with no foreign transaction fees

Like most other cards, there are fees for balance transfers, late payments, returned payments, and cash advances.