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In the past 24 hours, Chase has refreshed the welcome offers on all three of the Avios-earning credit cards that it issues (British Airways Visa, Iberia Visa & Aer Lingus Visa) and the changes make interesting reading. Two of the cards still offer the big Avios bonus that has been around for some time and all three cards now, temporarily, offer considerably better earning rates.
I’m not going to delve into the details of what each card offers in this post (I’ll write separate posts for each card in the coming weeks) so what you’ll find below is just an outline of what the cards offer and what new welcome bonuses have now been published.
British Airways Visa Signature Card
Annual Fee
- $95
The New Welcome Offer
- Earn 50,000 Avios after spending $3,000 on your card in the first three months after opening a new account.
- Earn a ‘Travel Together Ticket‘ (companion voucher) after spending $20,000 in the first 12 months after opening a new account (valid for 2 years).
- Earn 5 Avios/dollar on all spending with British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL in the first 12 months after opening a new account*.
- Earn 3 Avios/dollar on spending made directly with hotels in the first 12 months after opening a new account*.
*After the welcome offer period has ended, the British Airways Visa Signature Card will revert to its standard earning rates.
Note: This product is not available to current British Airways Visa Signature cardholders or to previous holders of this card who received a new cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 months.
Standard Earning Rates
- Earn 3 Avios/dollar on all spending with British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL.
- Earn 2 Avios/dollar on spending made directly with hotels.
- Earn 1 Avios/dollar on spending made in all other categories.
Key Standard Benefits
- Get $100 statement credits for Economy & Premium Economy bookings or $200 statement credits for Business and First Class bookings three times per year (up to a maximum of $600) when you book a reward flight to London traveling on British Airways and pay taxes, fees and carrier charges with the British Airways Visa Signature Card.
- Get 10% off all British Airways flights originating in the United States (includes premium cabin fares) when you book through the website provided in your welcome materials.
- Earn a ‘Travel Together Ticket‘ (companion voucher) after spending $30,000 in a calendar year (valid for 2 years).
- Baggage delay insurance.
- Purchase protection.
- Extended warranty protection.
- No foreign transaction fees.
Follow this link to find out more about the British Airways Visa Signature Card
Iberia Visa Signature Card
Annual Fee
- $95
The New Welcome Offer
- Earn 50,000 bonus Avios after spending $3,000 on your card in the first three months after opening a new account.
- Earn a further 50,000 bonus Avios after spending $20,000 in the first 12 months after opening a new account.
- Earn 5 Avios/dollar on all spending with British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL in the first 12 months after opening a new account*.
- Earn 3 Avios/dollar on spending made directly with hotels in the first 12 months after opening a new account*.
*After the welcome offer period has ended, the Iberia Visa Signature Card will revert to its standard earning rates.
Note: This product is not available to current Iberia Visa Signature cardholders or to previous holders of this card who received a new cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 months.
Standard Earning Rates
- Earn 3 Avios/dollar on all spending with British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL.
- Earn 2 Avios/dollar on spending made directly with hotels.
- Earn 1 Avios/dollar on spending made in all other categories.
Key Standard Benefits
- Get 10% off all Iberia Flights (includes premium cabin fares) when you book via iberia.com/chase10. There are no restrictions on where your fare originates so flights do not have to start in the United States for a cardholder to get the 10% discount.
- Earn a $1,000 discount voucher after spending $30,000 in a calendar year. The discount voucher is issued in the form of a code that can be applied for a discount of $1,000 when purchasing two tickets, for the same flights in the same class of travel via iberia.com/chase10. The voucher is valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
- Baggage delay insurance.
- Purchase protection.
- Extended warranty protection.
- No foreign transaction fees.
Follow this link to find out more about the Iberia Visa Signature Card
Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card
Annual Fee
- $95
The New Welcome Offer
- Earn 50,000 Avios after spending $3,000 on your card in the first three months after opening a new account.
- Earn a further 50,000 bonus Avios after spending $20,000 in the first 12 months after opening a new account.
- Earn 5 Avios/dollar on all spending with British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL in the first 12 months after opening a new account*.
- Earn 3 Avios/dollar on spending made directly with hotels in the first 12 months after opening a new account*.
*After the welcome offer period has ended, the Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card will revert to its standard earning rates.
Note: This product is not available to current Aer Lingus Visa Signature cardholders or to previous holders of this card who received a new cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 months.
Standard Earning Rates
- Earn 3 Avios/dollar on all spending with British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL.
- Earn 2 Avios/dollar on spending made directly with hotels.
- Earn 1 Avios/dollar on spending made in all other categories.
Key Standard Benefits
- Earn a ‘Companion Ticket‘ after spending $30,000 in a calendar year. The Companion Ticket can be used with Economy Class bookings only and is valid for 2 years.
- Primary cardholders and authorized users are given priority boarding on Aer Lingus operated flights departing from the US and returning to the US from Ireland.
- Baggage delay insurance.
- Purchase protection.
- Extended warranty protection.
- No foreign transaction fees.
Follow this link to find out more about the Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card
Quick Thoughts
If you’re after the big 100,000 bonus Avios welcome offer you now have to aim for the Iberia Visa or the Aer Lingus Visa card as that offer is no longer available on the British Airways card. However, just because the British Airways Visa Card isn’t offering a 100,000 Avios bonus doesn’t necessarily mean that you should be ruling it out.
I value Avios at 1.0 cents each (based on the value I know I can get out of my Avios with ease) so, effectively, 50,000 Avios is equivalent to a $500 rebate. All three Avios-earning credit cards are offering new cardholders 50,000 bonus Avios after they spend $3,000 in the first three months after card opening so, if all you care about is the welcome offer, the question to ask is this: Would you prefer another 50,000 Avios or a companion voucher in exchange for spending a further $20,000 on your new card in the first 12 months.
If you think that a companion voucher will save you over $500 (and that you will use the companion voucher within 2 years of it being issued) the British Airways Visa Card is the one to apply for. If, however, you’d prefer to top up your Avios (which can easily be prevented from expiring) and would rather not have to worry about booking a companion voucher, the welcome offers on the Iberia Visa and the Aer Lingus Visa probably make more sense for you.
Bottom Line
All three Avios-earning credit cards issued by Chase have had their welcome offers refreshed. In the first year of card membership, all three cards now offer new cardholders improved earning rates for spending made with Avios-earning airlines, as well as improved earning rates for spending made directly with hotels. The Iberia Visa and the Aer Lingus Visa continue to offer a welcome bonus of up to 100,000 Avios, while the British Airways Visa Card is now offering 50,000 Avios and a companion voucher that’s valid for 2 years.
