Update: This great offer has now been deactivated. You may still be able to get a 100K offer by following the steps in this flyertalk post.
Chase has brought back the very popular 100,000 Mile British Airways card. I was able to take advantage of this offer last time it was offered and used the miles to take my recent business class trip to Machu Picchu, Easter Island, and Santiago, Chile. The requirements are a bit higher than when I took advantage of the offer, but with proper spending and planning, it is still quite doable.
The current offer, which expires June 7 (currently extended until some future date), gives you 50,000 Avios (the British Airways miles) after your first purchase, then 25,000 more when you spend $10,000 within the first year, then a further 25,000 when you spend $10,000 more within the first year. $20,000 is a fair amount of spend in one year, but there are a number of ways to get qualified spend without necessarily spending the money. In a future article I will be going over several of the techniques I use to help meet the spend requirements.
The card has several great features, including a number specifically for international travel.
- First, it has no foreign transaction fees. Most credit cards tack on an extra 3% onto any charge not made in US Dollars so if you use those cards for international travel, you effectively just spent 3% more than you would with this card.
- Second, it has smart chip technology for use in Europe. Many European merchants won’t accept charges that don’t include a physical chip on the card. This is one of the only US available cards that has this technology available.
- You also earn 1.25 Avios for each $1 spent on the card and 2.5 Avios for each $1 spent with British Airways.
- Another great feature, particularly if you are going to go for the full 100,000 Avios bonus, is if you spend $30,000 in a calendar year you get a travel together ticket which allows a companion to travel with you on either a paid or an award ticket if they just pay the taxes. It is a bit limited in that it has to be on British Airways flights only(which have high fuel surcharges) but especially if you are planning on using your Avios for a flight to Europe in business class, it can provide a good value. And if you spend $20,000 in the first year to get the full 100,000 Avios bonus, you are 2/3 of the way to the free ticket so it might make sense to go ahead and complete the extra spend.
There is an annual fee of $95 that is assessed immediately, but trading $95 for 100,000 Avios is something I would do all day long. So what are you waiting for, click here to sign up for the Chase British Airways Visa and start planning your trip!
