Chase British Airways Visa Signature Review
Updated August 1, 2022.
The Facts
The Math
With the change in April 2015, we no longer recommend this card for spending, for most consumers. For example, Amex EveryDay Preferred returns higher value (1.5x) for general spending, because their points can be transferred into Avios; Chase Sapphire Reserves returns 3x for travel and dining which beats BA Visa's, and their points can also be transferred to Avios.
The Conclusion
Chase BA Visa used to be unique and very rewarding to quite some consumers. However, with devaluation of BA points and the change in April 2015, this card only make sense for the signup bonus or those who can make use of the 2-for-1 ticket or the newly added $600 annual awards credit.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: $95
- Signup Bonus: up to 100,000 points (75,000 points after you spend $5,000 within 3 months of new account opening, and additional 25,000 points after you spend a total of $20,000 within the first 12 months). The bonus is not available if you currently have this card or have received a signup bonus for this card in the past 24 months. Historical best bonus of this card: (1) up to 120,000 points with $30K spending in 2019; (2) 100,000 points with $5K spending requirement in 2011 & 2021; (3) 100,000 points with $20K spending requirement several times in the past years; (4) 50,000 points plus a Travel Together Ticket ($20K spending required) in 2021.
- Application landing page
- Rewards: 3x British Airways, 2x hotels, and 1x everywhere else
- Best Use of British Airways Avios: British Airways Executive Club is the frequent flyer program of British Airways, a member of oneworld, one of the three global airline alliances. Avios is the frequent flyer currency of British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus, and you may transfer Avios among three programs at 1:1 ratio. You can use Avios, on British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, or their partner airlines. Unlike US domestic airlines, most foreign airlines add hefty fuel surcharges to award tickets, making redemption on economy cabins less valuable. Redemption on premium cabins may be desirable but you still have to take the fuel surcharges into your calculation. The alternative is to use Avios on American Airlines for economy or premium cabins, because AA does not have fuel surcharges.
- British Airways Benefit: (1) One Travel Together Ticket to go with an award ticket on BA metal originating in the U.S. if you spend $30,000 a year. BA's fuel surcharge can be over $1,000 for business class long hauls originating in the U.S. (much higher than the ones originating in Europe). This benefit used to be a selling point of the card; however, with British Airways's devaluation and the April 2015 change (the return rate on general spending was reduced by 25%), it becomes pretty hard to get decent value out of this benefit. (2) Up to $600 annual statement credits for taxes, fees, and carrier imposed surcharges on awards redemption: you receive a $200 credit for a first or business class awards ticket or a $100 credit for a economy or premium economy class awards ticket, up to 3 credits per year. There are quite a few restrictions: the booking must be on a transatlantic itinerary originating in the U.S. with the transatlantic segment on British Airways metals (meaning the rest of the itinerary could be on partner airlines); the booking must be made using points from the primary cardholder's Avios account (but of course the passenger could be someone else); you must use the British Airways credit card to pay for these fees and charges. As the fuel surcharge on British Airways flight originating in the U.S. is pretty high, and this benefit could be useful only to certain cardholders.
- Other Benefits: Waived foreign transaction fees. Embedded EMV chip.
- Other Facts: In August 2019, Chase added hotels as a 2x bonus category and the annual $600 credits for taxes and fees on awards redemption.
The Math
With the change in April 2015, we no longer recommend this card for spending, for most consumers. For example, Amex EveryDay Preferred returns higher value (1.5x) for general spending, because their points can be transferred into Avios; Chase Sapphire Reserves returns 3x for travel and dining which beats BA Visa's, and their points can also be transferred to Avios.
The Conclusion
Chase BA Visa used to be unique and very rewarding to quite some consumers. However, with devaluation of BA points and the change in April 2015, this card only make sense for the signup bonus or those who can make use of the 2-for-1 ticket or the newly added $600 annual awards credit.
