Could These Credit Card Changes Make British Airways Bookings Attractable?

British Airways Visa Award Surcharge Credit & Other New Perks

Chase has been known to make credit card changes that are positive when most lenders only go negative.  Look no further than the World of Hyatt credit card relaunch.  Well they may have just done it again with the Chase British Airways Visa credit card.  They are adding a few new perks which include award surcharge statement credits, say what? Award taxes and fees are the main reason I overlook British Airways when flying to Europe and this addition could completely change my outlook. There are a few caveats though since not everything is clear at this point.

THIS OFFER MAY HAVE ENDED OR CHANGED

Card Details & Current Welcome Offer

Here are the details for the Chase British Airways Visa’s current welcome offer:

• Earn 50,000 miles after spending $3,000 within the first 90 days.
• Earn an additional 50,000 miles after spending $20,000 within the first year
• Every calendar year you spend at least $30,000 you will earn a Travel Together Ticket.  This is good for two years.
• The $95 annual fee is NOT waived

The card details are as follows:

• Earn 3 Avios for every $1 spent on British Airways purchases
• Earn 1 Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases
• NEW ADDITION – Earn 2 Avios per $1 on hotel stays.  You must book directly with the hotel.

British Airways Visa Award Surcharge Credit Details

According the Lucky at One Mile at a Time cardholders will be able to earn up to $600 in credits per year.  These will be triggered by the taxes, fees and surcharges on award bookings.  The credit depends on which class you book into:

• Get a $200 credit for a British Airways first or business class booking
• Get a $100 reward for a British Airways premium economy or economy booking

You can earn up to 3 credits per year. So the maximum would be $600 on 3 first or business class bookings.

What We Still Don’t Know

The details are still a little murky on a few key points:

• Does this work for one way flights or only roundtrip bookings?
• Can you use it when booking flights for friends and family?
• Can the bookings originate in Europe or do they have to originate in the US where there are much higher fuel surcharges.
• I don’t know when these changes actually kick in for cardholders either since it seems like Lucky got some inside info on it before it was publicly announced.

Final Thoughts

I am pretty excited about this news but I am tempering my excitement some. If the credit only works on roundtrip flights originating in the US then this will be ignored by me for the most part. However, if the credit works on one way bookings and they can originate in Europe then that makes this one of the best airline card perks out there.  There are often business class flights to the US with $300-$400 in fees.  This credit would drop that down to $100-$200 out of pocket which is a lot more palpable.  That would make the Chase British Airways Visa a long term keeper in my book for anyone who travels to Europe on the regular.  Hopefully that is how it plays out but we shall see.

Hat Tip: One Mile at a Time

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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