British Airways Visa Signature credit card review: Full details

The British Airways Visa Signature® Card (see rates and fees) may not be your best choice for utilizing certainly one of your helpful 5/24 slots with Chase. Nonetheless, its low annual payment, robust incomes potential and credit to cowl gas surcharges make it a compelling choice 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 provides within the U.S. — is amongst them.

It contains a $95 annual payment and we advocate candidates have a credit score of 670 or greater to extend their probabilities of approval.

It would not include widespread airline advantages reminiscent of a free checked bag or precedence boarding. Nonetheless, it is one of many extra helpful airline playing cards in the marketplace due to its huge 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 present providing 85,000 Avios after spending $5,000 on purchases throughout the first three months of account opening.

Based on TPG’s April 2025 valuations, Avios are value 1.4 cents apiece, so incomes 85,000 Avios is value a wholesome $1,190. The present provide is barely greater than earlier provides and is value making the most of if you happen to’ve had this card in your radar.

One essential notice: Like different Chase-issued shopper playing cards, the British Airways Visa falls underneath Chase’s 5/24 rule. When you’ve opened greater than 5 bank cards previously 24 months (from all banks, not simply Chase), your software will probably be rejected.

Day by day E-newsletter

Reward your inbox with the TPG Day by day e-newsletter

Be part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists

By signing up, you’ll obtain newsletters and promotional content material and conform to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the information practices in our Privacy Policy. Chances are you’ll unsubscribe at any time.

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

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

• Reward flight assertion credit score: Obtain an announcement credit score 3 times a 12 months of $100 for Economic system (World Traveller) and Premium Economic system (World Traveller Plus) seats — or $200 for Enterprise (Membership World) and first-class seats (as much as $600 per calendar 12 months) — once you e-book a reward flight to London touring on British Airways and pay taxes, charges and fees along with your British Airways Visa Signature Card. This can assist 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 further price 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 via 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 will 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 once you use your card overseas.

Once more, these are completely different advantages than you will discover on many cobranded airline playing cards, however they will present important worth to those that often 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 will earn:

• 3 Avios per greenback spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia and Stage
• 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 further advantages make this a very good card choice for a lot of British Airways frequent flyers.

Associated: The best ways to earn British Airways Avios

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

This system fees a mere 6.500 miles for award flights which might 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.

Subsequently, the best uses for Avios are generally for companion awards. You may redeem your factors on greater than a dozen Oneworld alliance airways, reminiscent of American Airways, Alaska Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways.

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

You possibly can 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 whole miles flown as an alternative of per phase, making it the winner for some connecting itineraries.

I’ve gotten good worth from my Avios through the use of them to e-book via 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 payment and earns 5 factors per greenback spent on journey when booked via 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 companies. 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 payment of $325 (see rates and fees) but additionally provides greater incomes charges and comes with many helpful perks that offset the annual payment, together with quite a lot 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 special card: The Iberia Visa Signature® Card has the identical incomes construction because the British Airways Visa. Nonetheless, it has extra Iberia-specific perks, like a 10% discount when reserving choose Iberia flights.

The knowledge 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 extra 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 value it if you wish to earn helpful 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 recoup the annual payment price. Nonetheless, you will probably choose a special 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 crucial on the planet of journey rewards, and the British Airways Visa represents a unbelievable approach to just do that. With a helpful welcome provide, a low annual payment 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.