Barclays launches Avios Mastercard partnership

Barclays launches Avios Mastercard partnership

As British Airways’ relationship with Barclays deepens, there are two new credit cards, which can now help you to book flights with Avios.

For a long time, American Express was the only credit card on which you could earn Avios in the UK. Now Barclays has launched the Barclaycard Avios Mastercard and the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard.

This is big news for UK Avios collectors, giving a greater choice of ways in which to collect points on everyday spending, besides the extra perk of annual cabin upgrade vouchers.

What’s the deal?

There are two new credit cards, Barclaycard Avios, which has no monthly fee, and Barclaycard Avios Plus, which has a monthly fee of £20 but entitles users to greater rewards. Both are for personal rather than business use.

How they compare:

Barclaycard Avios Monthly fee: £0

Collecting Avios: cardholders collect one British Airways Avios for every £1 spent within their credit limit.

Welcome bonus: those new to Barclaycard receive 5,000 Avios, so long as they spend £1,000 in the first three months.

Existing customer bonus: Barclaycard customers who switch to the Avios card collect 1,000 points if they spend at least £1,000 in the first three months.

Annual bonus: every 12 months, those who have spent £20,000 or more on the card over the year receive a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher to use on Avios Reward Flights.

Other perks: the first five months of various Apple subscription services are free.

Interest rates: this card has a representative APR of 23.9% (variable) and a purchase rate of 23.9% (variable), based on a £1,200 credit limit.

Barclaycard Avios Plus Monthly fee: £20 Collecting Avios: cardholders collect 1.5 Avios for every £1 spent.

Welcome bonus: those new to Barclaycard receive 25,000 Avios when they spend at least £3,000 in the first three months.

Existing customer bonus: those switching to the Avios Plus card will be given 5,000 points if they spend £3,000 or more over the first three months.

Annual bonus: every 12 months, those who have spent £10,000 or more on the card over the year receive a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher to use on Avios Reward Flights.

Other perks: the first five months of various Apple services are free.

Interest rates: this card has a representative APR of 72.4% variable and a purchase rate of 23.9% variable, based on a £1,200 credit limit.

Current accounts in the Barclays Avios Rewards programme We recently looked at the two current accounts that were last year brought under the new Barclays Avios Rewards programme. While these have some good perks, not least annual cabin upgrade vouchers, they’re aimed at customers with well above average income or substantial savings.

The good news with the new Barclaycards is that they’re available to a far wider range of potential customers. Also, while there’s a £12 per month fee for the Barclays Avios Rewards programme, one of the new Barclaycards is fee-free.

And, if you’re eligible for the rewards current accounts and the new credit cards you could maximise your British Airways Avios collecting by using both. In fact, if you’re enrolled in Barclays Avios Rewards then take out the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard you’ll receive a £5 monthly credit to your current account, so offsetting part of the card’s £20 per month fee.

When could you book flights with Avios?

If you receive the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard welcome bonus of 25,000 Avios (or bag the welcome bonus of 5,000 Avios for the regular Barclaycard Avios Mastercard plus accrue 20,000 Avios by spending £20,000 within a year), you should have enough for return off-peak economy flights to over 50 BA European destinations, particularly if you use BA Avios flight finder to track down Reward Flight Saver fares.

Cashing in the upgrade Upgrades must be on BA Avios reward flights (paid fully with Avios), not on flights paid partly or entirely with cash. As with regular Avios reward flights, you’ll still have to pay fees and taxes.

The upgrade can be used to move up a class to business or (where available) premium economy seats but not to first class. It’s also subject to reward flight availability in the class you’re booking, so you’ll still need to be canny.

When you’re ready, check the BA Avios flight finder and don’t forget to also use Reward Flight Finder to find the best value reward flights as soon as they become available.

Amex or Mastercard?

Most Avios collectors are aware that American Express also has 2 credit card options where customers can collect Avios points to redeem on reward seats on British Airways flights - the British Airways American Express Credit Card and British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card. However, these offer different benefits for UK customers compared to Barclaycard.

The welcome bonuses for the BA-linked Amex and Barclaycards are similar, as are the Avios awarded for spending on the free and fee-paying cards of each scheme.

However Mastercard is more widely accepted than American Express, both in the UK and globally, so there are more places to pick up Avios with Barclaycard. In recent years though, the number of UK retailers accepting Amex have risen, with most major retailers now taking the card.

A key point of difference is that Barclaycard Avios Mastercards reward users with an annual upgrade cabin voucher for one for hitting spending targets (£20,000 for the

fee-free card, £10,000 with Avios Plus). In contrast, for an annual spend of £12,000 /£10,000, Amex offers companion vouchers that let you book a second reward flight seat for the Avios needed for one. As the upgrade cabin voucher applies to one person only, the potential savings in Avios and cash (compared to the cash ticket prices) are likely to be greater with the companion voucher.

If you’re looking to earn as a business then the choice is clear because Amex has a business version of its British Airways card, whereas the Avios Barclaycards are aimed at personal customers only.

It’s not only about points While having an extra way to earn Avios reward flights is always welcome, if you’re not paying off your credit card balance each month, the interest you’re paying will likely outstrip the value you’re receiving. This is particularly important to bear in mind because the APR on these rewards credit cards is higher than on other types of credit cards. There’s also a 2.99% fee for foreign transactions.

Whenever you choose financial services, it’s safest to look beyond the perks and seek independent accredited advice to decide if this is the best deal for you.

Original Source https://rewardflightfinder.com/news-and-advice/barclays-launches-avios-mastercard-partners hip