British Airways Credit Card – 100,000 Miles Offer
Here’s a nice credit card offer for those interested in international travel. The Chase British Airways Visa Signature card is offering 50,000 BA Executive Club miles for new cardmembers with first purchase, and another 50,000 BA miles after spending $2,000 within 3 months, for 100,000 miles total. Regular features include earning 1.25 miles per dollar spent. The card does have an annual fee of $75 as well.
50,000 British Airways miles is enough for an economy class transatlantic flight from USA to their “Europe Zone 1″, which includes the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Switzerland. Note that “all reward flights are subject to taxes, fees, charges and surcharges, including airline surcharges.”, which can add up. I did a quick search and for a random San Francisco (SFO) to London (LHR) flight in March 2010 that cost $807, the taxes and fees alone were $387.
You’ll also need to fly out of a major city that BA services (see route map). Still, two free flights from US to London even for a few hundred dollars each is a big discount for those looking to buy such a ticket anyways.
What if you like to fly in style? 100,000 miles is good for a single business class ticket from USA to Europe Zone 1… and the fees are more reasonable on a relative basis. A business class flight from SFO to Paris (CDG) in March 2010 would have cost around $4,700 in cash, but the fees/taxes are only about $400 as well:
Finally, if you can manage to spend $30,000 a year on the card, you can even earn a 2-for-1 companion voucher. Time to buy some coins? Thanks to reader Paul for the tip.
Find more in Credit Cards, Deals & Offers | 11/6/09, 3:22am | Trackback
November 6th, 2009 at 6:12 am
FYI – you won’t be able to generate $30K using the US mint coin trick – it’s dead (for the most part, and at least for the year).
November 6th, 2009 at 8:59 am
just a side note: BA sucks, and WAY over-priced btw. $800 for a coach roundtrip?! I used to live in the UK and flew plenty of times on transatlantics. Virgin is the best & cheapest. Continental & BA are the worst, Lufthansa was pretty good though.
Considering it’s a 12 hr flight you want the best service.
November 6th, 2009 at 10:08 am
There is an informal understanding, unfortunately, that Chase as a practice declines all credit card applications for up to six months after another application from the same applicant. For example, I’ll be denied because I got a Chase Freedom card one month ago, despite an immaculate credit score.
November 6th, 2009 at 11:21 am
sweet mother of a deal!
You can always purchase currency from Wells Fargo currency exchange online. Decent exchange rates. Not considered a cash advance when u use credit card to purchase it. I bought over 7000 pounds last year.
November 6th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Now that i think back, last year I flew to London for $260 all inclusive one way to London from Chicago…
ticket was bought from Priceline and the carrier was United.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Pretty cool..didn’t know the coin hack doesn’t work anymore! gasps.
November 6th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Admittedly, my experience with the OneWorld Alliance is lacking, but wouldn’t you be able to redeem these BA miles on American Airlines, due to the OneWorld affiliation?
November 7th, 2009 at 7:59 am
@Row22AB – don’t believe so. When briefly reviewing the terms and conditions yesterday I saw something excluding the miles being transferred to AA.
November 8th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Unfortunately, the USMint Dollar Coin deal is pretty much all but through. They are cracking down on us wise people who buy/deposit/repay. At most, roughly $10,000 can be charged…
November 13th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
in response to Paul, I applied for and received the chase sapphire card less than 6 months ago (free 250.00 in checks for making a purchase..WOOT!). Now I applied for this one. I was afraid you were correct when my response was that I would get an answer in the mail within 15 days. I was afraid that meant i was denied. However, today I received an email from British airways executive club. I ASSUME they would not be emailing me if i had been denied for the card. But i still have to wait and see…….
November 13th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
For those that applied, you can call 800-945-2006 to see if you got approved earlier than mail. I got approved, but wife is still under review.
November 14th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Just wanted to mention that when you use your airline miles toward a “free” roundtrip international ticket, you won’t (I believe) pay the same amount of taxes and fees you would pay on the actual dollar cost of the the ticket. For example, I recently used my miles for a “free” roundtrip to Montreal. For taxes and fees, I paid around $47, but if I priced the same ticket without using the miles, the tax and fee itemized portion would be more…$70, $80, or something. It’s because some of the taxes are based on the ‘cost,’…so, for example, 7.5% of $600 will be more than 7.5% of $0, your ‘cost’ for a free ticket.
The gap between taxes and fees, in my case, would be even larger if I wasn’t connecting in another city (and thus paying $5 more, R/T in Sept. 11 Security fees). The lower estimated taxes and fees on a BA mile-use flight may even be more pronounced because of the higher fares and (mostly) nonstop routes.
November 17th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
British Airways has high fees on award redemptions due to the fuel surcharges they impose. I have found their awards to be half-rewards based on the total fees/taxes you have to pay back to them to use the award. Their business class, despite being fully flat “beds”, is lackluster. Seats are not as comfortable as Continental’s business class, and the service itself is Spartan. With that being said, under $100 for 100,000 miles is completely worth it. Could use it for 4 domestic AA roundtrips (even though AA is another terrible airline).
November 19th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Can anyone tell if you can use the 100,000 points to get a ticket for you and one for someone else or can you only get a 2 tickets for yourself? Excluding the whole $30,000 thing.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
I would love to learn of a way to spend $2000 within the first three months. Several of you mentioned something about buying “coins” and about buying currency using the credit card. Could someone give us more information on how this works? (And does it work?)
Would the currency thing mean, for example, buying $2000 dollars worth of euros (which is in fact just a currency exchange) – but are you saying that through the credit card it would be considered as a $2000 purchase? (If this is the case, has anyone actually done this; did it work?)
November 20th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
The terms say you can not redeem BA miles for AA TRANSATLANTIC flights. So you could use for continental US.
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:53 pm
I’d like to know which website offers the BA 100,000 mi Chase card offer. The ones I tried, Chase and BA, offer only 20,000 or 30,000 miles. Does anyone have a tel. number to call to get it?
December 3rd, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Rick:
Did you ever get an answer on your question about using these vouchers for you AND someone else?
December 11th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Does anyone know how long the BA 100,000 free miles last?
December 11th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Will I be able to use these BA miles through Alaska Airlines?
December 15th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
what website can I apply for this credit card that will give you 100,000 free miles or any phone #?
December 18th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
You do not earn BA Miles on balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like charges such as travelers checks, foreign currency, and money orders, any checks that are used to access your account, overdraft advances, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, or fees of any kind, including fees for products that protect or insure the balances of your account.
December 19th, 2009 at 11:36 am
another invented story.
has anyone actually received these 100K miles?
chase is only offering 30K
typical
December 21st, 2009 at 1:21 am
I don’t know about transferring miles but one nice thing about BA Freq flier programme is that it has family members can pool their miles for tickets.
December 29th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
To Gene: It’s not invented – just expired. I applied for the card on Nov 15th (first day it was available) Received card by end of Nov. I got 50K miles credited after I first used the card. Need to spend 2000 in 1st 3 months to get extra 50K miles. The word on the street is they were going to run the promo until end of December, but it looks as though they pulled it earlier than expected, probably demand was high.
December 30th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Too bad. My friend told me to do it, but I was waiting for a sign from above… and now it’s expired.
Any other good miles credit cards?
December 30th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Yes, I got one and am working on spending $2OOO in time to get the next 50,000 miles! Christmas and end of year bills help…we can charge out Jan. property taxes and that will do it!
BTW I called British Air to ask if I could use these miles on Quantas to fly to Australia, and she said yes. Hope it is true!
January 4th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
When I looked at the website the offer for 50,000 miles plus another 50,000 mi. for spending $2000 had changed to only 20,000 mi. and another 10000 after spending $750.
January 7th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
I got this offer in the mail two times. Tried website and the offer was not available with the invitation number. However, when called over the phone, the offer was still available. My only concern is that I had to give my ss number over the phone to someone in a call center in Philippine. Hope it won’t be misused.
January 9th, 2010 at 10:05 am
This link still works: http://www.mychasecreditcards......rways/tray
I just applied! HTH!!!
January 10th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Ed: The 100,000k miles will expire after 36 months *if* there is no activity in your frequent flyer account, ie it goes dormant for 36 months.
Leonore: You can use BA miles with any of their Oneworld partners. The companion voucher (after the $30k spend) can only be redeemed on BA mainline flights though.
Robert: You can definitely use the miles for you and/or someone else.
Something to consider before opening a Household account to pool miles. You can then only redeem miles for someone in the Household account, not someone outside it.
Junk:
January 11th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
I am a bit confused. I am really attempted- but does anyone know if the miles can be used to pay for taxes/surcharges and all that stuff, or is it “ticket” price only? I flew BA last summer from LAX to London for $185 (ticket price) + $250 (taxes) for about $550 total, which is a great price for high season round trip from west coast.
January 12th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
I just heard about this offer yesterday. I found a link, but when I click “Apply”, I get a server error. Is this offer still available?
January 12th, 2010 at 9:08 pm
I try to clik on the link that was given by Kim P…but it when to diffrent offer. did anybody knows the link to apply for the 100000.00 miles?
January 15th, 2010 at 10:19 am
ONLINE LINK IS DEAD
Call the number 1-888-593-5212 and tell them you want this specific promotion, maybe they will give it to you.
January 15th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
Thank’s Lance..I tried the 888..# it works…the offer still on. Thank you so much
January 17th, 2010 at 2:32 pm
I also tried to go after this offer, but when I click the “to apply” button it says server error.
January 21st, 2010 at 11:53 am
Tried this offer today and the phone number is no longer active. I read somewhere that the offer is to expire today 1/21/2010. I guess that means it gone unless someone else knows of another way to apply.
January 25th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Does anyone know if you can still apply for this offer. The number listed above simply says they are no longer accepting application via telephone and to try and find a website with the offer to apply on line. HELP!
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:24 pm
IS THE 100000 MILE PROMOTION STILL ON?
February 13th, 2010 at 9:09 am
I just received my second 50,000 today
I now have 102,562 BA miles 
I have no idea what to do with em… heheheh. I used a six-month car insurance, part time college tuition, and some other small purchases to get to 2,000. I THOUGHT I had hit 2,000 a while ago but it doesn’t include the 75.00 annual fee, so I really hadn’t. Luckily I noticed in time and spent a little more.
February 18th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
@nate: when did you apply for your card?
February 19th, 2010 at 9:15 am
British Airways is the biggest scam going! I got the 100,000 miles on two cards for my partner and myself. I just booked 2 tickets to Cape Town, South Africa from JFK which ate up 90,000 per ticket. Upon checkout I was hit with $765 in taxes and fees per ticket!!! It cost about $1400 per ticket so really its only a 2 for 1 offer. Then, when you go to reserve your seats, they charge you $30 per leg, per ticket so an additional cost of $120 per ticket to sit next to each other for 21 hours. hmm.. Cancel the card immediately and go with a Continental mastercard, much better!!!
March 12th, 2010 at 10:58 am
I got the 100K miles after spending the $2K. How can you convert them to OneWorld miles or travel on AA ? Looks like there are taxes still that have to be paid ? Is that correct ?
May 10th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Can I still get the 100,000 deal. Please help me figure out how?
May 10th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
We’re planning a trip to Heathrow from Dulles in BA business class. Does anyone know how you gt out of the rear facing window seats without climbing over a fellow passenger? The BA website shows lots of pics but they all appear to make you climb over a sleeping body stretched out the full length of the pod.
Also, does the privacy screen lower so I can talk to my wife?
The BA website is useless and their automated response only only pointed me to totally unrelated frequently asked questions.
I should have known the 100,000 mile credit card deal was too good to be true!
May 10th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Anyone figure out how easy it is to spend these BA miles on American Airlines?
After several phone calls, Mrs. MMB and I have 100k each, ready for a business class international flight!
September 11th, 2010 at 10:53 am
is this available to uk people. i like to travel and am a member of BA exec club, but want to get a credit card which gets me more miles, rather than use my normal cards with no real bebnefits. any ideas anyone?
April 3rd, 2011 at 7:48 pm
British Airways have shown their true lack of customer care colors again!!
When you aquire one of their “free” tickets, they tag on hundreds of dollars in “fuel surcharges”.
American Airlines don’t do this.
Add on charges for a round trip “free ticket” from USA to UK is approx $350 more on BA than AA.
If you use BA miles on AA, because you have to book thru” BA, they tag on the extra fuel charges there also!
Really nice guys. As always with BA you never get anything for nothing.
April 26th, 2011 at 3:43 am
I have to echo what Barry says. I did a price compare using BA miles to go from Washington DC to Paris. Using 150,000 BA miles + 1 companion voucher for 4 people for “FREE” tickets the round trip total came to $2,204. Using the same dates and approximate same times Air France quoted a fare of $3,854. So 150,000 miles nets me a savings of $1,650. But I have to subtract $150 from that due to the $75 annual fee on the BA VISA. Savings of $1,500. Hardly seems worth it given all the restrictions Ihave to put up with. I will be canceling my card as soon as I can figure out a way to get some decent value from the miles.
I wonder if I can donate them and take a tax deduction?
August 5th, 2011 at 8:41 am
Repeat after me….this is NO DEAL!!!
As other posters pointed out, the “tiny” loophole is “taxes, fees, and surcharges”. I was really excited about the prospect of having my husband accompany me on my next business trip to London since the Chase bonus miles put me over the top for a pair of R/T tickets. On top of that, I recently got an e-mail offering a bonus promotion – reward flights at 50% off miles! HOWEVER, when you do the math, the “taxes, fees, and surcharges” are almost $600!!! I could BUY a ticket most any day (except maybe July/August) for that price!!! My miles are WORTHLESS! The only advantage to the Chase BA card is that there is no foreign transaction fee, which only helps when I am not on business. I am seriously annoyed with BA.
August 5th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
BA miles are better used on business class flights to Europe. To avoid fuel surcharges, redeem your miles on Cathay Pacific to Asia, or redeem on LAN to South America. Finally, call them up and use them on American Airlines domestically. Don’t use the website.