Million Mile Secrets reader, The Reaper Grim (thanks!!), emailed me to let me know that the Chase 100,000 mile British Airways credit card is back!
Chase offered 100,00 miles for the British Airways credit card in November 2009 (when Emily and I both got the card), and in May this year. And Online Travel Review has hinted that the 100,000 offer would be back soon.
“Quit babbling.” you say. “Where’s the link?”
Well, the current offer is not as straightforward as the previous offers where you got the 1st 50,000 miles after the 1st purchase and the 2nd 50,000 mile after spending $2,500 within 3 months.
The current offer appears only when you try to book a ticket on British Airways and get to the payment screen. The terms of the offer are also different – you have to book a BA flight and then you get an option to apply for the card and use it to pay for the flight. You get a 50,000 mile bonus after your 1st purchase and another 50,000 after your 1st anniversary.
British Airways 100,000 Mile Offer!
After you select flights and enter in your information, you get to a screen which says (bolding mine):
“Apply for the British Airways Visa Signature® Card1 and use it to pay for this flight now.”
Apply now and receive an instant response.2
Receive 50,000 bonus BA Miles* after your first purchase and use them towards reward flights. All reward flights are subject to taxes, fees, charges and surcharges, including airline surcharges.3
Receive an additional 50,000 bonus BA Miles at your first card anniversary.4“
In its current version, the 100,000 mile British Airways credit card is not terribly attractive, because you have to:
1) Book a ticket on British Airways and apply for the British Airways credit card to use towards that ticket.
2) You get the 2nd 50,000 miles only after 1 year of holding the card.
But this is good news because it suggests that Chase is experimenting with different versions of the British Airways 100,000 mile offer and is surely measuring the results of each iteration of the 100,000 offer.
Most corporations slash their budgets during the last few months of the year in a misguided effort to meet the financial goals set by Wall Street’s finest (research analysts). So I wouldn’t expect a lot of big offers until the new year when marketing managers have a new budget and permission to go on new card member acquisition binges.
On the other hand, the British Airways award chart is changing in November, and there could be another lucrative credit card offer to get more US members to sign-up.
Bottom Line:
I wouldn’t suggest applying for the current version of the 100,000 British Airway credit card offer, but to wait for a version which doesn’t require booking a British Airways ticket and a 1 year wait to get the 2nd 50,000 miles.
The US credit card market is saturated and the main way to grow is to steal market share from other banks. I suspect we haven’t seen the last of the 100,000 mile (or more) mega credit card offers!
(Hat Tip to The Reaper Grim!)
* If you liked this post, why don’t you join the 2,000+ readers who have signed-up to receive free blog posts via email (only 1 email per day!) or in a RSS reader …because then you’ll never miss another update on a mega credit-card bonus!
I have earned and redeemed millions of airline miles and hotel points to travel the world for free. Now I'm blogging to help more people do the same! 
Darius: I don’t get your logic here? You start your post with a sensational headline and then later in the post recommend that readers don’t apply?
I’m a little confused? Of course I’m getting older and lots of things are getting confusing
Glad we got to meet in Chicago and hope you will participate again next year.
I am not excited by this offer… Even if they gave 100,000 miles in the first year or with a reasonable minimum spend like the prior offers, their currency is devaluing. I consider BA & Delta miles to hold only half the value of the other major USA miles. Hence 100,000 BA miles is only equivalent to 50,000 AA miles, but the AA card comes with other benefits such as $150 credit and lounge passes!
Daraius: This appears to be a targeted offer (or at least a random offer – I can’t seem to duplicate it).
Also, and perhaps I’m wrong, but I don’t think it’s saying you MUST use the card for that flight. Rather, that you CAN use it for that flight since you’re getting instant approval. Are you reading that differently?
Damnit Darius! You got me all excited. I joined the ranks late his summer and missed out on this so I’ve been waiting for it to come back. Don’t get a girl all excited over here til it’s the real thing!
I think we heard your though process in that post – initially excited, then slowly losing the enthusiasm as you laid out the details, and then the conclusion that it’s not worth it to most and hopefully a sign of better things (and offers!) to come. Since it is Chase, I agree…. Better to wait and get the best offer since we can only get it once, and the are so limiting on their # of cards they will issue.
The offer isn’t coming up for me, either. Without testing it I can’t say for sure but would guess that the application link would be something anyone could hit directly, pushing the relevant promotion code over and that anyone using that link might be able to take advantage. But again, just a theory to examine but I can’t examine since the offer doesn’t come up for me
I do rather agree that I’d probably wait to see what else comes, e.g. after mid-November.
Interesting find, nonetheless. I was ready to forward it to my friends who missed the 100k BA card until I saw that it was targeted.
@Rick ingersoll – It was great meeting you in Chicago and we’d love to participate next year! The point of the post was to alert folks to the possibility that Chase is testing different versions of the BA offer and that the regular 100K offer may reappear soon. I’ll change the post title to manage expectations.
@Bradley – BA miles aren’t that valuable, but lets wait and see what changes are made to the award chart.
@Jared & Gary Leff- Here’s how I found the offer (It took about 5 tries): 1) Log out of your BA account and book a flight from SFO to LHR or ORD to LHR in coach. 2) Select flights and proceed to the payment screen 3) Check the box which says “Are you a US citizen” and continue as if you are purchasing the tickets. You should get the offer at the end of Step 5 “Payment”
I copied the link in another browser, but it wouldn’t load. The only reason why I posted was to alert folks that Chase is testing versions of the 100K offer and that we may see the regular version soon.
@Cindy &@Steelsnow – I’ll let you know when the real offer reappears!
Why not book a refundable flight?
I assume you have to pay 2 annual fees to get the 100k? That would be a bigger downside IMO.
Just tested for a one way flight from SFO-LHR with no cancellation penalties. Offer popped up like a charm. Looks like to be eligible for the 50K anniversary bonus “account must be open and not in default at the time of fulfillment” so depending on whey they fulfill it (6-8 weeks after anniversary is indicated) you might need to pay the second $75 annual fee:
4. All reward flights are subject to taxes, fees, charges and surcharges, including airline surcharges. You will receive your anniversary bonus if you make a qualifying transaction during the first year of enrollment. Qualifying transactions include using your account for purchases or balance transfers, or using any checks that access your account; cash advances are not included. Please allow 6 to 8 weeks from your account anniversary date the first year for bonus BA Miles to post to your account. To be eligible for this bonus offer, account must be open and not in default at the time of fulfillment. This one-time bonus offer is valid only for first-time cardmembers with new accounts. Previous and existing cardmembers/accounts are not eligible for this bonus offer.
If you already have the card are you able to apply and be approved for a second?
Couldn’t one try to book a fully refundable ticket, get this offer, and refund it later? Seems pretty easy. Although the BA card has an annual fee, so the last 50K would cost you the $95…
unfortunately, most of the seasoned travel hackers have gotten this card in its initial sprouting in 2009, and even again last April………so I wont even have a chance with this one……….again
Was not successful getting the card for the 2nd time when it came back. I even applied with a different BA Exec number and the Chase folks sent me the new cc with my OLD BA Exec number!! They are good, they are very good in keeping track of the bonuses. I wonder if there is a time limit to getting such bonuses from Chase again like (they appear) to be for Citi (12 to 18 months) and Amex (2 years).
Glad to see it’s not dead, but still glad I applied for the version that ended in May…
@HikerT – I agree with you that paying the annual fee twice doesn’t make it worth it. It may make more sense to wait until the regular offer shows up again.
@Tdenk - Chase is very good about not giving the bonus for a 2nd time, so it is unlikely that you’d get it again.
@NB – You should be able to get a refundable ticket and get the offer, but it may be better to wait for the regular offer so you don’t pay the annual fee twice.
@gpapadop – As far as I know, Chase doesn’t forget when you last had the bonus, but perhaps there is a time when they will forget!
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Thanks for the heads up on this offer. I missed out on the previous 100K offers so took advantage of this one and got a nice surprise. Went to the BA web site and booked the ticket and when I went to pay I got the pop-up. Applied for the card but got a message that said I was not approved at this time but that I could pay for the ticket with another card. I did not do this; I existed the site.
I did get the card in the mail a couple weeks later and called to make sure the offer was sound. Sure enough 50K points on first purchase (showed up already) and the other 50K at first renewal. I’m pretty happy with that since I can now get 4500 mile tickets to Chicago on BA via AA. Sweet deal for me and I thank you for posting the offer.
@Christine – That’s a great story and thanks for sharing! Just to confirm – you applied for the card, got denied, left the site, and got the card in the mail a few weeks later? The 4,500 mile redemptions are very sweet!
Yes, that’s right. I applied for the card, was told I could not be approved at that time and then it requested that I pay for the ticket with another card but I just left the site. Got the card in the mail and confirmed the original offer of 50K/50K with Chase. It did not say I was denied just that I could not be approved at that time. I have other cards with Chase and I’m sure it just had to go through their approval and I could not be instantly approved.
I have a BA Visa but was wondering if I might be able to get one in a business name? Do you know if this card is available as a business card? Thanks.
@Christine – Thanks for confirming! Looks like they processed the application separately. But I’m glad you found the post useful.
@newton – A business version is not currently available.
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