If you're old enough, you may remember travellers’cheques. Before the global prevalence ofATMs and chip and pin, these were the safe way of taking your holiday spending money abroad.They were issued by a travel agency or bank and had to be signed in front of a similar authority in your destination for you to receive the local cash in return.Travellers generally did this several times during a holiday so they didn’t have to carry too much cash at once.
The BritishAirways Prepaid Mastercard is widely accepted throughout the world in the same way as a regular Mastercard. It generally attracts no foreign exchange fees when you use the e-wallet in the associated app (you’ll be charged 1.5% for non-app exchanges) so long as you have a balance in pounds, Euros or US dollars and are spending in the same currency. You can make three international cash withdrawals of up to £300 each month without charge (there’s a 2% charge over that limit).
The BritishAirways Prepaid Mastercard - What’s it all about?
The modern option, now generally used to help swerve foreign exchange fees, is a pre-paid travel debit card. The good news, for those of us saving towards BAreward flights, is that British Airways and Mastercard have teamed up to offer a prepaid travel debit card with which you can earnAvios. What’s the deal?
There’s no monthly fee for the first six months of using the card (handy if you want to use it for a one-off holiday).After that, you’ll pay £2.99 per month. You will need the BritishAirways Executive Club Rewards app to be able to use the card, collect yourAvios and check your balance for free (it’s 50p to check it via an ATM).
TheAvios perks
You can top up your card at any time using the BritishAirways Executive Club Rewards app and the debit card registered against your account. You also use the app to exchange currency You will have an option to check the exchange rate before you proceed and your available balance will be shown in an e-wallet. You can add your card toApple Pay or Google Pay if you wish and you can exchange money for Pounds, Euros or US dollars.
How does it work?
The BritishAirways Prepaid Mastercard will enable you to collectAvios for nearly every purchase you make at home or abroad. These are usually added within seven Ydays.ouwill receive oneAvios for every £2, €2 or $2 you spend, rounded up to the nearest fullAvios.You’ll also collect 1,500 bonusAvios when you spend either £500, €500 or $500 in any one currency in your first 90 days. You won’t receiveAvios on the £2.99 monthly fee nor on certain other transactions including tax payments, court costs, rent on commercial premises and digital electronic payment methods such as Bitcoin and casino money. You can pick up a few more rewards by linking your prepaidAvios Mastercard to the Collect on Card offers running with selected shops and eateries and advertised in the Executive Club app.
Remember, you can continue using the card and earningAvios once you get home. So if you’re a keen rewards collector it may be worth considering a pre-paidAvios Mastercard as a long-term alternative to one of theAvios credit cards if you are not eligible for those, or prefer not to use credit. If you do have the option of a credit card instead, how do they stack up?
Apre-paid card can be the cheapest way of spending money or withdrawing cash in another country. It can also help you to work within a budget if you want to ring-fence your holiday spending. How does it compare to theAvios credit cards long-term?
Why use a pre-paid debit card anyway?
Currently, in the UK, nine personal credit cards can help you earn BAreward flights with similar earning potential across two brands.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card: gives you a signup bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points if you spend £3000 in the first 90 days. This card is free for the first year, and then charges a £140 annual fee. You earn 1 Membership Reward point per £1 spent and you can convert your Membership Rewards points toAvios at a rate of 1:1. They’ll also reward you with a 10,000 points bonus if you spend £15,000 on your card in the first year.
NectarAmerican Express: no annual fee for the first year, and then just £25 a year after that.You earn 2 Nectar points per £1 spent, and these convert toAvios at a rate of 400:250.They offer a 20,000 Nectar points sign-up bonus if you spend £2000 in 90 Americandays.
Express Rewards card: there’s no annual fee with this card and you’ll get 1 Membership Reward point per £1 spent. These convert toAvios at a rate of 1:1. They have a 10,000 points bonus when you spend £2000 in the first 90 days.
Platinum Card fromAmerican Express: comes with a hefty fee of £575 a year, but you get 60,000 Membership Rewards pointsAND a £200 credit to spend withAmex Travel when you spend £6,000 within six months when you sign up before 25 October 2022.You earn 1 Membership Reward point per £1 spent and you can convert your Membership Rewards points toAvios at a rate of 1:1.
BritishAirwaysAmerican Express Premium Plus Card: £250 in fees a year, it earns you 1.5Avios for each £1 spent and 25,000Avios if you’re a new customer and spend more than £3,000 in your first three months.
BarclaycardAvios: free to those eligible, it earns you oneAvios per £1 spent and, as a new customer, you would get a 5,000Avios bonus if you spend £1,000 or more in the first three months. (1,000Avios for existing customers).
HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard: £195 in annual fees, you earn 2 HSBC Points per £1 spent, which you can convert intoAvios at a rate of 2:1. There’s a signup bonus of 80,000 HSBC Points, paid to you over a period of 2 years.
BarclaycardAvios Plus: £20 a month, it earns you 1.5Avios for each £1 spent and 25,000Avios for new customers when they spend at least £3,000 in the first three months (5,000Avios for existing customers).
BritishAirwaysAmerican Express Credit Card: free if you’re eligible, it earns you one Avios per £1 spent and 5,000 bonusAvios if you’re a new customer who spends more than £1,000 in the first three months.
So, at oneAvios per £2 spent, the everyday earning potential of the BritishAirways Prepaid Mastercard is half that of the two freeAvios credit cards above (even lower compared to the fee-paying ones) and it has the added snag of the £2.99 monthly charge after six months.
You can also earn annual cabin upgrade vouchers for BAreward flights on the Barclaycards if you spend over a certain amount and annual companion vouchers (essentially a two-for-one on BAreward flights) on the BAAmex cards.These work out rather nice perks to maximise yourAvios redemption.
To be entitled to a BritishAirways Prepaid Mastercard you don’t need a credit check but you must: ● Be over 18-years-old ● Be a UK resident ● Hold a valid debit card which is registered against a UK bank account.
● Be a member of the free-to-join BritishAirways Executive Club and download the app. You simply need to select the Mastercard icon in the BritishAirways Executive Club Rewards app to apply for your card. Remember there are several brands of pre-paid debit cards designed for travel so you may wish to compare the BAcard to the other non-Avios versions before you make any decisions.And, of course, it’s always best to see independent financial Originaladvice.
It would take a long while before you’re able to make anAvios redemption for BA rewards flight using the pre-paid card alone but it’s cheaper to use abroad than a credit card and, if you’re points collecting aficionado, it’s one more option you could add to yourAvios-earning toolkit. Are you eligible?
Source d-what-s-it-all-abouthttps://rewardflightfinder-.com/news-and-advice/the-british-airways-prepaid-mastercar