Barclaycard has just launched two new credit cards offering up to 25,000 bonus Avios points. That’s more than enough for a return British Airways flight from London to Milan.
So, what do you need to do to get the bonus? Here’s what you need to know.
Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card: how can you grab 25,000 bonus points?
The Barclaycard Avios Plus card is a brand new credit card. It offers 25,000 bonus Avios points if you spend £3,000 on the card within the first three months. Plus, you can earn 1.5 points for every £1 you spend on the card.
The offer is only available to new Barclaycard members. If you’re already with Barclaycard, you’re only eligible for 5,000 bonus Avios, which some may consider a little unfair.
As well as any points bonus, if you spend £10,000 on the card over 12 months, you’ll also get a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher. You can use this on an Avios ‘Reward Flight’ booking.
As an added boon, Barclaycard also throws in up to five months of Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple News+ and Apple Arcade. However, you’ll have to cancel the trial once the free period ends to avoid being charged.
Importantly, the card has a £20 monthly fee. However, there’s nothing stopping you from downgrading to Barclaycard’s fee-free card once you’ve bagged the Avios bonus (see below).
The card has a representative APR of 72.4% variable, including the fee (23.9% rep APR on purchases). If you decide to go for the card, it’s best to clear your balance in full each month. If you don’t, you’ll have to pay the hefty interest rate.
How does the Barclaycard fee-free card work?
The Barclaycard Avios credit card is fee-free. While the bonus offering isn’t as generous as the Avios Plus card, it’s still decent.
The card offers 5,000 bonus Avios if you spend just £1,000 within the first three months. You can also collect one Avios point for every £1 you spend on the card. Plus, you’ll be eligible for a BA cabin upgrade voucher. However, to get it, you must spend a hefty £20,000 on the card within 12 months.
You also get the same Apple offer that applies to the Avios Plus card.
If you go for this card ensure you clear your balance in full each month. If you don’t, you’ll have to pay 23.9% rep APR interest.
What else should you know about these cards?
Both of these reward credit cards are issued by Mastercard. This is unusual as cards offering generous introductory bonuses are typically offered by American Express.
However, the fact is that Amex simply isn’t as widely accepted in retailers as Mastercard. So having a Mastercard should make it easier to hit the trigger spend to qualify for the Avios bonus.
More generally, as these are reward credit cards, the interest charged on any outstanding balances is enormous. It’s best to clear your balance in full every month to avoid having to pay any interest. If you don’t, then the interest could dwarf any gains from the introductory bonus.
The easiest way to clear your balance in full is to set up an automatic direct debit when you first sign up for the card.
What can you spend 25,000 Avios points on?
If you manage to score the top Avios bonus, then you can take a British Airways flight to a number of European cities, paying next to nothing in taxes and fees. This is all thanks to BA’s Reward Flight saver that allows you to dodge hefty taxes and charges and instead pay a flat fee of as little as £1.
For example, 18,500 Avios points will pay for an economy return flight from London to Milan as long as you travel off-peak. 23,500 points, meanwhile, will get you from the capital to Barcelona. A £1 fee applies to both of these options.
It’s worth knowing that Avios points can also be spent on seat upgrades, hotel stays and even car hire. However, if you wish to explore spending Avios this way, always compare the value to paying in cash. In other words, don’t spend your Avios cheaply!
Collect Nectar points instead?
If you don’t collect Avios points, then it’s worth knowing that you can easily convert Avios points to Nectar points. 250 Avios can be converted into 400 Nectar points.
Sainsbury’s and eBay are just two of a number of retailers that accept Nectar points. See the Nectar website for a full list of Nectar partners.
Keen to explore more options? If you’re looking to compare Barclaycard’s offering to other cards, then take a look at the Motley Fool’s top-rated reward credit cards.
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About the author
Karl is a writer specialising in investing and personal finance content. He regularly contributes articles on savings, bank accounts, mortgages, and loans. He was previously a Personal Finance Writer for MoneySavingExpert.
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