British Airways moved their credit card from NatWest to Amex in April 2001. As with everything in life, there are pros and cons to this move.
Pros.
Useful reward scheme: 1 BA mile for every £1 spent (excluding cash advances and balance transfers). Once you have spent £20,000 (no matter ... Read review
British Airways moved their credit card from NatWest to Amex in April 2001. As with everything in life, there are pros and cons to this move.
Pros.
Useful reward scheme: 1 BA mile for every £1 spent (excluding cash advances and balance transfers). Once you have spent £20,000 (no matter how long it takes), you receive a free companion ticket when you book a scheduled BA flight. There was also an introductory offer of ... ...limit: Compared to my Visa credit card provider, Amex provided a 25% increase.
Online access: By providing a username and password you can track your card use online. This is particularly useful if you are expecting a refund for a previous purchase, have forgotten how much you have spent so far this month, or have lost previous statements.
Cons.
Limited acceptability: Due to the higher vendor fees ... more
British Airways moved their credit card from NatWest to Amex in April 2001. As with everything in life, there are pros and cons to this move.
Pros.
Useful reward scheme: 1 BA mile for every £1 spent (excluding cash advances and balance transfers). Once you have spent £20,000 (no matter how long it takes), you receive a free companion ticket when you book a scheduled BA flight. There was also an introductory offer of free miles when I applied.
Generous credit limit: Compared to my Visa credit card provider, Amex provided a 25% increase.
Online access: By providing a username and password you can track your card use online. This is particularly useful if you are expecting a refund for a previous purchase, have forgotten how much you have spent so far this month, or have lost previous statements.
Cons.
Limited acceptability: Due to the higher vendor fees charged by Amex, it is sometimes difficult to use the card unless you are purchasing from large companies e.g. Tesco, BP etc. There are very few online retailers who will accept Amex. I would always advise a backup Visa or Mastercard. In my experience I have been able to use it for petrol, grocery shopping, chain hotels and some restaurants.
Fee: If you can't find enough places to use the card and spend less than £4000 per annum, a £20 charge will be made.
APRs: If you pay your account by the required date each month there are no interest charges. However the interest rate for purchases and cash advances is an uncompetitive 19.9%. The balance transfer rate of 4.9% is slightly more competitive, but there are plenty of 0% promotional offers available with other providers if this is a priority.
Payment date: The maximum interest free period is 52 days, but this is rather stingily reduced by 7 days if you pay by direct debit.
Conclusion:
If you are a high spender with large companies and pay the bill completely each month, then this card may be attractive. However, the Tesco Visa card offers a similar reward package in terms of points per pound, is accepted everywhere, has a 0% balance transfer promotion until October 2003 and is free. I feel that, in such a competitive market, Amex are relying too heavily on the "snob" value.
Advantages: Great Reward Scheme Disadvantages: Low Levels of Acceptance
I have been a British Airways Executive Club member for the past 2 years and had managed to collect only about 900 points due to my stay at Thistle Hotel. As I logged on to their site to see how many points I had and if something was available to earn additional points, I hit upon a special offer. They were giving away 1000 points if I applied for a BA - American Express Credit Card. I had a Barclays card which earned me Nectar Points and I was not ... ...I called up the number and was on the way to becoming a BA American Express Credit Card Holder. The Card is free in the 1st year. However, if in the first year you do not spend at least £ 4000 pounds then there is a charge of £20 for 1 year. I think, I will definitely hit the amount as this implies a monthly spend of about 350 on an average. Most of us do make that amount and hence it was not a bad idea.
After I joined, I received the offers and ...
FVispi 28.07.2003 (02.11.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of British Airways American Express
Advantages: Claim a free ticket for your partner when you fly together Disadvantages: The lower cards require higher spends and interest rates are high!
The Britsih Airways Amex card has to be one of the neatest cards in your wallet. Its prime use is to spend on it and be rewarded with BA Miles which can be used in exchange for flights. All you need is BA Executive membership and as you spend, you'll start to see the miles stack up. But thats not all, where this card really works is when you get a Companion voucher. Spend upto a limit per membership year and you'll be rewarded with a companion voucher. ... ...companion for the same flight and class, when you use your own miles to book a flight! i.e. exchange your miles for a first class anywhere in the world and get another free for your partner!! There are 3 card levels and each has a different spend limit, to achieve the companion voucher and as you'd expect a different interest rate to match.
If you're clever about how you spend, this card will work a treat! if you're able to pay-off the balance each ...
imortal 23.06.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of British Airways American Express
Advantages: Get BA Miles fast Disadvantages: Must be a BA frequent flyer. Have Tesco card as back-up
There have been several reviews of BA Amex cards which all give good, detailed information about the card. However none of them give the full picture.
I won't go into stuff already reviewed, but simply add a few points.
The BA Amex card has three tiers: Credit Card, Premium Card and Premium Plus Card.
I can't think why anyone would apply for the basic Credit Card, This is the card that is 'free' in the first year, but has penalties for underspend ... ...ask you to pay a subscription yearly, so you pay upfront (if you have to pay) and that is that. Tthese cards are all about accumulating BA miles and it is on the Premium Plus card that this really happens. The Premium Plus card does cost £120 a year (if you have to pay for it), however in terms of accumulating BA miles it more than pays for itself. If you are fortunate enough to posess an American Express Centurion (Black) charge card, Amex waive ...
caro1717 19.02.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of British Airways American Express
Advantages: No fee, free flights, good credit limit Disadvantages: Interest rate
...cards that provide 'rewards' the British Airways American Express card offers a highly attractive benefit, a free air ticket once you spend £20,000 on the card.
There are three levels of card, the more you are willing to pay the quicker you will achieve the free ticket. The card described here is the basic one which has no fee and as I say requires you to spend £20,000 before being eligible for the ticket.
Like all reward systems it is recommended ... ...rates are not insignificant. You may think spending £20,000 may take forever but it is surprising just how many things you can purchase with it. Clearly, if you do a lot of travel and pay for all your own tickets the figures soon mount up. It took me approximately 8 months to reach the target. I am now able to claim a flight anywhere in the world (Economy class) and it is valid for up to a year. ...
murfee88 12.01.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of British Airways American Express
Competitiveness of APR
Product package
Quality of Customer Ser...
Reward Scheme
Additional Charges
Security and Privacy
Ease of Application
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Advantages: BA miles Disadvantages: Not widely accepted
I must admit that I have several credit cards. As well as the usual Visa and Mastercard I am also the proud owner of an AmericanExpress card. Why do I say proud? I suppose that since I was younger I have always regarded AmericanExpress cards as being a little more exclusive than the average credit card. Perhaps with the introduction of gold and platinum cards that is no longer true.
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Advantages: Have abolished annual fee due to RBS take over Disadvantages: disorganised, requires multiple applications
Has anyone else been messed around by the change over from the BritishAirways Executive Club credit card formerly run by NatWest? I was informed in late December that BritishAirways had decided to change their loyalty credit card to AmericanExpress (don't get me started on them!) so if I wanted to continue collecting Airmiles, I would have to return a pre-approved application form for a NatWest Gold card by the beginning of January. I completed the form, and expected a seamless changeover. How wrong could I be. I banked with NatWest four years ago and discovered that it took on average three times to set up a direct debit, but I have now been waiting 2 months for my new card. The reason it seems is that they are not willing to trust their customers who pay by direct debit, even though the amount outstanding is a quarter of my ...
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