BA Amex Premium Plus
The British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card is the single most important credit card in UK points travel. Not because of its earn rate — 1.5 Avios per £1 is good but not unique — but because of the Companion Voucher. Spend £15,000 in a card year and you receive a voucher that lets you book two Avios reward flights for the Avios cost of one. In any cabin, including Business and First Class, on BA, Iberia, or Aer Lingus. Valid for two years. For couples and families, this one benefit transforms the economics of premium cabin flying from aspirational to achievable.
| Card Summary — March 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Annual fee | £300 (refundable pro-rata on cancellation) |
| Earn rate | 1.5 Avios per £1 everywhere. 3 Avios per £1 on BA and BA Holidays purchases via ba.com |
| Sign-up bonus | 30,000 Avios (31,000 via referral). Spend £6,000 within 3 months. Promotional bonuses of up to 50,000 Avios have appeared — check the current offer before applying |
| Companion Voucher | Issued at £15,000 annual spend. Valid 2 years. All cabins including First. BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus |
| Representative APR | 135.7% variable (including fee). Purchase rate: 29.1% variable |
| FX fee | 2.99% on non-GBP transactions |
| Tier points | Up to 2,500 BA tier points from card spend (new programme from April 2026 — details TBC) |
| Minimum income | £15,000 |
| Eligibility for bonus | Must not have held either BA Amex card (Premium Plus or free) in the previous 24 months. Holding Amex Gold, Platinum, Marriott, or Nectar cards does NOT block you |
Without the Companion Voucher, a return Business Class flight to New York for two people costs roughly 352,000 Avios. With the voucher, it costs 176,000 Avios — a saving of 176,000 Avios from a card with a £300 annual fee. At even a conservative 1p per Avios, the voucher saves £1,760 on a single trip. No other UK credit card benefit comes close to this ratio of fee to value.
The Companion Voucher — How It Works
Within five days of spending £15,000 in your card year (not calendar year — it runs from your account opening date), a voucher appears in your BA Executive Club account. It allows you to book two Avios reward flights for the Avios cost of one. Full taxes and charges must be paid on both tickets.
Which airlines: BA, Iberia, and Aer Lingus. The voucher works on any route operated by these three airlines. Since December 2025, the voucher can also be used on Iberia and Aer Lingus bookings made through their respective Avios programmes — a significant expansion.
Which cabins: All cabins, including First Class. The free BA Amex card’s voucher is restricted to Economy only — this is the primary reason the £300 fee is worth paying.
Validity: Two years from issue. You must book AND fly the outbound leg within this period. The two-year window gives genuine flexibility — you can wait for availability to open up rather than rushing to use it.
Solo travellers: You do not need a companion. A solo traveller can use the voucher for a 50% discount on the Avios required for one ticket. Full taxes and charges still apply.
Wider availability: When you book using a Companion Voucher in Business Class, BA opens up a wider range of seats than standard Avios redemptions. On days when Business Class is being sold cheaply, those seats also appear for Avios redemption with a voucher. This means you may find voucher availability where standard reward seats have sold out.
Since December 2025, the Companion Voucher works on Iberia and Aer Lingus bookings. This is transformative for cost-conscious travellers. An Iberia Business Class return to New York via Madrid can cost 81,000 Avios versus BA’s 176,000. Apply the voucher to the Iberia booking and a couple flies Business Class return for 81,000 Avios total — less than half the cost of a single BA booking without a voucher. Transfer Avios freely between BA, Iberia, and Aer Lingus to take advantage.
The Earn Rate
1.5 Avios per £1 on all spending. 3 Avios per £1 on purchases made directly with BA or BA Holidays via ba.com (not via travel agents). This matches the Barclaycard Avios Plus and the BA Amex Accelerating Business card. It is 50% higher than the free BA Amex (1 Avios per £1).
On £15,000 of annual spend — the minimum to trigger the voucher — you earn 22,500 Avios from spending alone (more if some purchases are with BA). At £25,000 spend, you earn 37,500 Avios. The Avios from spending are secondary to the voucher, but they add up: 22,500 Avios is enough for a short-haul off-peak return in Economy.
Tier Points from Card Spend
From June 2025, BA introduced the ability to earn Executive Club tier points from card spend. The initial promotion (ending February 2026) awarded up to 2,500 tier points based on spend thresholds. BA has confirmed that new tier point earning opportunities will launch from April 2026, though exact details have not been released.
2,500 tier points is meaningful — BA Bronze status requires 600 tier points, Silver requires 1,500, and Gold requires 2,500. A high spender could theoretically achieve Gold entirely from card spend, though in practice the tier point earn rate makes this expensive. The real value is as a top-up: a frequent flyer who is 500 tier points short of the next status level can close the gap through card spend instead of booking unnecessary flights.
Sign-Up Bonus and Eligibility
The standard bonus is 30,000 Avios for spending £6,000 within three months of approval (31,000 via referral link). Promotional bonuses have run as high as 50,000 Avios — check the current offer directly on the BA or Amex website before applying, as these change without warning.
Eligibility: You must not have held either the free BA Amex or the Premium Plus card in the previous 24 months. Holding other Amex cards (Gold, Platinum, Marriott, Nectar, Rewards) does NOT block you. Supplementary cardholders on someone else’s account are not considered “existing cardholders” — you will receive the bonus. Corporate or Business Amex cards via your employer also do not block you.
The upgrade path: If you currently hold the free BA Amex, you can upgrade to Premium Plus at any time. However, you will NOT receive a sign-up bonus on the upgrade. Any progress toward the Companion Voucher spend threshold carries over and your membership year stays the same. For this reason, many collectors recommend applying for the Premium Plus as a new card rather than upgrading — but this requires not having held any BA Amex in the previous 24 months.
Additional Benefits
Supplementary cards: Free supplementary cards for family members. All spending on supplementary cards earns Avios and counts toward the £15,000 voucher threshold. Periodically, Amex offers 500–5,000 bonus Avios for adding a supplementary card — wait for a promotion rather than ordering one immediately.
Amex Offers: Regular targeted cashback deals (e.g. £10 back when you spend £50 at Tesco, £20 back at John Lewis). These can save £100+ per year. Check the Amex app regularly.
Travel insurance: Travel inconvenience insurance, purchase protection, and refund protection are included. These are not comprehensive travel insurance — always check policy details against your trip requirements.
Pro-rata refund: The £300 fee is refundable pro-rata at any time. If you cancel after six months, you receive approximately £150 back. This makes the card low-risk to try: sign up, earn the bonus, see if you hit the voucher threshold, and cancel if it does not work for you.
The card charges 2.99% on all non-GBP transactions. Do not use this card abroad or for purchases in foreign currencies. For overseas spending, use a card with no FX fees — the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard (0% in Eurozone), Hilton or Marriott Currensea debit cards (0% worldwide), or a dedicated travel debit card. You still earn 1.5 Avios per £1 on foreign spend with the BA Amex, but the 2.99% fee wipes out that value.
Who Should Get This Card
Yes, get this card if: You can spend £15,000 per year on a credit card through normal household spending (not by spending more than you otherwise would). You want to fly in a premium cabin on Avios. You travel as a couple or family. You are willing to hold a second card (Barclaycard or Virgin Mastercard) for places that do not accept Amex.
Consider the free BA Amex instead if: You will not reach £15,000 in annual spend. You only want to redeem in Economy. You want a no-risk introduction to Avios earning.
Consider Amex Gold instead if: You are not sure which airline or programme you want to redeem with. You want flexibility to transfer to 13+ airline partners rather than committing to Avios. You are new to points and want to learn before choosing a programme.
Portfolio Fit
The BA Amex Premium Plus works best as part of a two-card or three-card system. The most common combinations:
Premium Plus + Barclaycard Avios Plus (£540/year): The highest-returning Avios combination. 1.5 Avios per £1 everywhere (Amex where accepted, Mastercard everywhere else). Companion Voucher from the Amex at £15,000 spend. Upgrade voucher from the Barclaycard at £10,000 spend. Together, these vouchers can save 200,000+ Avios per year on premium cabin flights.
Premium Plus + free Barclaycard Avios (£300/year): Same coverage but lower total cost. The free Barclaycard earns only 1 Avios per £1 and requires £20,000 spend for the upgrade voucher — a higher bar. Suitable if you want to concentrate spend on the Amex to hit the voucher threshold and only use the Barclaycard for merchants that reject Amex.
Premium Plus + Amex Gold (£495/year in Y2): Split strategy — Avios earning through the Premium Plus, flexible MR earning through the Gold. Useful if you want both the Companion Voucher and the ability to transfer to non-Avios programmes (Emirates, Virgin, KrisFlyer, etc.). Note: you can hold both cards simultaneously.
The BA Amex Premium Plus is the foundation of most serious UK Avios strategies. The Companion Voucher — earned at £15,000 annual spend, valid for two years, usable in any cabin on BA, Iberia, and Aer Lingus — is the single most valuable credit card benefit available in the UK. The card earns 1.5 Avios per £1, has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus (check for higher promotional offers), and the £300 fee is refundable pro-rata on cancellation. The 2.99% FX fee means you need a second card for overseas spending. If you travel as a couple and can spend £15,000 per year, this card should be your first priority.
