British Airways Visa Signature credit card review:...

The British Airways Visa Signature® Card (see rates and fees) may not be your best choice for utilizing one among your priceless 5/24 slots with Chase. Nevertheless, its low annual charge, sturdy incomes potential and credit to cowl gas surcharges make it a compelling possibility for a lot of British Airways loyalists. Card Score*: ⭐⭐⭐

*Card Rating is predicated on the opinion of TPG’s editors and isn’t influenced by the cardboard issuer.

Some profitable bank card choices from international airways are sometimes ignored, and the British Airways Visa Signature Card — the one cobranded bank card that British Airways presents within the U.S. — is amongst them.

It contains a $95 annual charge and we suggest candidates have a credit score of 670 or increased to extend their possibilities of approval.

It does not include frequent airline advantages equivalent to a free checked bag or precedence boarding. However, it is one of many extra priceless airline playing cards in the marketplace due to its massive welcome bonus and money-saving perks.

Let’s study whether or not the cardboard deserves a spot in your pockets.

The British Airways Visa is at the moment providing 85,000 Avios after spending $5,000 on purchases inside the first three months of account opening.

Based on TPG’s April 2025 valuations, Avios are price 1.4 cents apiece, so incomes 85,000 Avios is price a wholesome $1,190. The present supply is barely increased than earlier presents and is price benefiting from if you happen to’ve had this card in your radar.

One necessary observe: Like different Chase-issued shopper playing cards, the British Airways Visa falls underneath Chase’s 5/24 rule. Should you’ve opened greater than 5 bank cards up to now 24 months (from all banks, not simply Chase), your utility will probably be rejected.

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Associated: Cards currently offering welcome bonuses of 100,000 points or more

Though the British Airways Visa lacks lots of the ordinary cobranded airline card perks, equivalent to a free checked bag and precedence boarding, those it does supply can nonetheless save British Airways flyers a big quantity on money and award tickets.

• Reward flight assertion credit score: Obtain an announcement credit score thrice a 12 months of $100 for Financial system (World Traveller) and Premium Financial system (World Traveller Plus) seats — or $200 for Enterprise (Membership World) and first-class seats (as much as $600 per calendar 12 months) — whenever you e book a reward flight to London touring on British Airways and pay taxes, charges and fees together with your British Airways Visa Signature Card. This might help you fight British Airways’ notoriously excessive gas surcharges.
• Journey Collectively Ticket: Spend $30,000 on the cardboard every calendar 12 months and earn a Travel Together Ticket, which lets you add a companion to a Reward Flight for no extra value or save 50% on the Avios required if touring solo. That is on any round-trip British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus redemption in any class.
• 10% flight low cost: E book by way of the web site supplied in your welcome supplies and get 10% off eligible British Airways flights.
• Visa Signature perks: As a result of it is a Visa Signature card, you may get perks like lost/delayed baggage protection, purchase protection, secondary car rental insurance and entry to the Visa Signature Luxurious Resort Assortment.
• No foreign transaction fees: You will not be charged further charges whenever you use your card overseas.

Once more, these are completely different advantages than you may discover on many cobranded airline playing cards, however they’ll present important worth to those that repeatedly e book award flights utilizing Avios.

Associated: British Airways Club: Guide to Avios, elite status and transfer partners

The British Airways Visa outdoes most different cobranded airline playing cards on the earnings aspect. With the British Airways card, you may earn:

• 3 Avios per greenback spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia and Degree
• 2 Avios per greenback spent on resort bookings made instantly with the resort
• 1 Avios per greenback spent on all different purchases

Whereas these aren’t spectacular incomes charges, the bonus classes and the worth cardholders can get from the cardboard’s extra advantages make this card possibility for a lot of British Airways frequent flyers.

Associated: The best ways to earn British Airways Avios

The obvious technique to redeem the Avios you earn with the British Airways Visa is to e book award tickets with British Airways. Because of British Airways’ distance-based award chart, one of many largest candy spots in this system is for short-haul awards.

This system fees a mere 6.500 miles for award flights which can be 651 miles to 1,151 miles lengthy throughout off-peak season and 12,750 miles for enterprise class throughout off-peak season. To place that in perspective, a flight from London to Rome suits into that band.

Nonetheless, British Airways imposes hefty taxes and surcharges on a few of its personal worldwide award tickets.

Due to this fact, the best uses for Avios are typically for accomplice awards. You might redeem your factors on greater than a dozen Oneworld alliance airways, equivalent to American Airways, Alaska Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways.

Associated: How to maximize the British Airways distance-based award chart

You may switch Avios on the British Airways Visa to different Avios-earning airlines like Aer Lingus, Finnair, Iberia and Qatar Airways. This lets you journey to many Oneworld locations and e book them with these Avios.

Because the mileage foreign money of British Airways and these 4 companions, you can transfer Avios between the 5 airways.

Iberia tends to cost considerably decrease taxes and surcharges than British Airways. Moreover, Iberia fees primarily based on complete miles flown as an alternative of per phase, making it the winner for some connecting itineraries.

I’ve gotten good worth from my Avios by utilizing them to e book by way of Iberia to fly from O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD) and San Francisco Worldwide Airport (SFO) to Madrid in enterprise class for underneath 34,000 Avios every time.

Associated: How to book Iberia flights to Spain (and beyond) using Avios

• In case you are not over the 5/24 rule: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) additionally comes with a $95 annual charge and earns 5 factors per greenback spent on journey when booked by way of the Chase Journey℠ portal and a couple of factors per greenback spent on all different journey. It additionally earns bonus factors on eating and choose streaming providers. For extra data, learn our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
• In case you are over the 5/24 rule. The American Express® Gold Card has the next annual charge of $325 (see rates and fees) but in addition presents increased incomes charges and comes with many priceless perks that offset the annual charge, together with a wide range of assertion credit (enrollment required). The Membership Rewards factors earned by this card may be transferred at a 1:1 ratio to British Airways. For extra data, learn our full review of the Amex Gold.
• If you wish to earn Avios with a unique card: The Iberia Visa Signature® Card has the identical incomes construction because the British Airways Visa. Nevertheless, it has extra Iberia-specific perks, like a 10% discount when reserving choose Iberia flights.

The data for the Iberia Visa Signature Card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.

For added choices, take a look at our full checklist of the best airline credit cards.

Associated: 5 reasons why you should care about British Airways Avios

The British Airways Visa is nicely price it if you wish to earn priceless Avios. Its advantages, like the ten% flight low cost and the as much as $600 annual reward flight assertion credit score, can simply assist you to recoup the annual charge value. Nevertheless, you may probably choose a unique card if you happen to’re over Chase 5/24 or do not journey on airways that use Avios.

Diversifying your portfolio of loyalty currencies is vital on the earth of journey rewards, and the British Airways Visa represents a improbable technique to just do that. With a priceless welcome supply, a low annual charge and the chance to get a few of your taxes and charges credited again, this card is a good selection for British Airways loyalists.

Apply right here: British Airways Visa Signature Card

For charges and charges of the Amex Gold card, click on here.