Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.
If you’re not familiar with Avios points, you’re missing out on some amazing deals, like 25,000-point round-trip flights to Hawaii and 26,000-point round-trip flights to Europe.
One of the best ways to accumulate Avios points is with the British Airways Visa Signature® Card. Right now you can earn 4X Avios points on the first $30,000 in eligible purchases you make in the first year of account opening. That’s up to 120,000 Avios points!
I frequently use Avios points to book American Airlines award flights. But they’re also useful for booking flights to Europe on Iberia and Aer Lingus.
The information for the British Airways Visa Signature Card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
British Airways Visa Signature Card Benefits & Perks
Apply for the British Airways Visa Signature® Card here
Read our full review of the British Airways Visa Signature® Card
The Chase British Airways card’s $95 annual fee isn’t waived the first year. But with the card’s benefits and perks, it’s easy to book travel worth 10 or 20 times the cost of the annual fee.
1. Earn 4X Everywhere on the First $30,000 for the First Year
Normally, the Chase British Airways card earns:
- 3X British Airways Avios points per $1 you spend on British Airways purchases
- 1X British Airways Avios point per $1 you spend on everything else
But with the current offer, you can earn 4X Avios points per $1 spent in the first year on up to $30,000. If you max out this opportunity you’ll end up with a hefty 120,000 Avios points in your account.
That’s a lot of spending in a year, but it’s not a sign-up bonus. So you won’t miss out on the full amount of points if you only happen to spend $29,999 in the first year. Just think of it as an opportunity to earn bonus points on purchases that normally don’t have a bonus.
Earning 4X Avios points per $1 isn’t something to overlook. Here are just a few great uses of Avios points:
- Domestic coach flights (under 1,151 miles) on American Airlines for 7,500 points one-way
- Off-peak one-way coach flights from 7 US cities to Ireland for 26,000 points with Aer Lingus
- Off-peak one-way Business Class flights from 3 US cities to Spain with Iberia for 34,000 points
- West Coast to Hawaii in coach for 25,000 points round-trip
Once you’ve earned the full 120,000 Avios points you’ll have lots of solid options for redeeming them because British Airways Avios points transfer to Aer Lingus and Iberia.
If you’re looking to get to Europe in comfort, off-peak Business Class award flights from New York, Boston or Chicago to Spain are only 34,000 points one-way when you book through Iberia. So you’d almost have enough for 2 round-trip Business Class tickets to Europe!
And getting to Hawaii from the West Coast is a steal at only 25,000 British Airways points round-trip. You can use British Airways points to book flights to Hawaii on Alaska Airlines or American Airlines from 10 West Coast cities. Again, if you earn the full bonus, you’d have more than enough for 4 round-trip flights to Hawaii!
2. Travel Together Ticket
The Travel Together Ticket is a one-time use companion voucher you can earn each calendar year you make $30,000 in eligible purchases with your Chase British Airways card. You are eligible to earn one Travel Together Ticket each year.
With the voucher, you can bring a companion on any British Airways flight to/from the US, in the same cabin class (including First Class), for just the cost of taxes and fees. The biggest catch here is that British Airways (and flights to the UK in general) is the worst when it comes to taxes and fees. On an Economy flight, you can easily end up paying $300 to $500 for your companion.
So, it’s typically better to think of your Travel Together Ticket as an easy way to book discounted First Class, Business Class or Premium Economy seats. The taxes and fees will be high (easily $1,000+) but that’s still much less than buying a First Class seat outright.
The voucher expires 24 months after it is issued. You must begin your travel within 2 years of the voucher being issued, but you can complete your travel after the voucher expires.
3. 10% Off British Airways Flights
One of the British Airways perks that can easily make it worth paying the annual fee is the 10% discount you can get on round-trip British Airways operated flights. The discount applies to the entire cost of the flight, including taxes and fees.
To qualify for the discount you must:
- Book through the website provided in your card’s welcome materials
- Pay with you British Airways card
- Begin your travel before March 31, 2020
- Use the promo code “CHASEBA10“
The discount is valid for any class of service and it applies on up to 8 people traveling on the same flight, but the cardholder must be traveling on the flight.
4. No Foreign Transaction Fees
Many credit cards charge an additional fee when you use your card outside the US. These fees can quickly add up when you’re on vacation!
Not only that, but foreign transaction fees are often charged any time you make a purchase in a foreign currency. So if you’re buying something online from another country or booking travel in a different currency you can get hit with an extra fee.
But the Chase British Airways card doesn’t add foreign transaction fees, so it’s a good card to take with you overseas.
5. Lost & Delayed Luggage Coverage
Lost or delayed luggage – it’s happened to me before and chances are it’s happened to you, too. In these situations, I’d prefer not to rely on the airline to reimburse me for extra expenses I’ve incurred.
Thankfully, when you pay for travel with the card, the Chase British Airways card has you covered.
If your baggage is delayed for 6+ hours you can receive up to $100 per day (for 3 days) in reimbursements for essential purchases like clothing and toiletries. And if you or your family members’ checked or carryon bags are lost or damaged by the airline, you’re covered for up to $3,000 per passenger.
6. Purchase Protection & Extended Warranty Coverage
When you use your Chase British Airways card to make a purchase you’ll get other insurance coverages too, like purchase protection and extended warranty protection.
Eligible purchases made with the card are covered for up to $500 per claim ($50,000 per account) for the first 120 days. And you’ll get eligible warranties of 3 years or less extended an extra year up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account. Those are some nice perks that you’ll spend zero extra dollars on.
7. Rental Car Insurance
When you decline the rental car agency’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental to your card, you’ll be covered for collision damage and theft for most rental cars. But this coverage is secondary, so it’s not as good as what you’ll get with cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
8. Travel Accident Insurance
If you pay for at least part of your common carrier travel with your British Airways card you’ll get extra travel coverage. If you experience a qualifying travel accident, you can be covered while traveling for up to $500,000. You can read about the specific terms and restrictions here.
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