As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, one of the best travel hacking deals will be hacked to pieces on February 2nd, 2016. It is a big blow, no doubt. I’ve mentioned in my Wednesday post that if you’ve been thinking about redeeming Avios on this type of route, now is the time.
But what if you don’t got any? Sure, there is an option of transferring points from Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards or SPG. There is also another route: Applying for Chase British Airways Signature Visa. But doesn’t it require $20K in spending? No, not really. The bonus is tiered. See more details in my Best credit card deals for family page.
You get 50K Avios after spending just $2K in 3 months, and you can stop after that if you wish. The annual fee of $95 is not waived. There was a link for an offer with a waived fee, but it died. If anyone has a working link, please, leave it in the comments section.
Yes, the offer I mentioned does pay me commission, and yes, you are reading a sales pitch. But I truly believe that for some, this bonus could be worth considering. Normally, I would tell you to wait for an offer with a waived fee if you plan to stop at 50K Avios. But in this case, beggars can’t be choosers. If you apply within the next few weeks, your bonus should post before February 2nd. Of course, you can transfer your flexible points instead, and for some, this could be the way to go. Or you can just save those and collect currency (via Chase BA offer) that you know for a fact will be worth less come February 2nd.
So, who should look into applying for this card? Well, obviously, it’s mostly a good fit for those looking to capitalize on 4,500 Avios pricing before it’s caput. There are many possibilities, but here are just a few lucrative examples: New York-Toronto, Miami-Cancun, Miami-Montego Bay, Miami-Nassau.
So, if you applied for Chase British Airways Signature Visa, you would have enough points for 5 roundtrip tickets (and an extra one-way ticket!) That’s pretty good. You can always use Southwest points to get a positioning flight. Of course, this card sin’t the right fit for everyone. Personally, I won’t be applying because our plans are already set for next year. I won’t be able to beat the upcoming devaluation.
You can always use the points for routes that currently cost 7,500 Avios. No other changes will be made other than to the lowest tier redemption. Avios program is still a tremendous bargain, all things considered (see my post for more).
But what about Chase new rule of not approving those who got more than 5 new cards within the last 2 years? It doesn’t really apply to Chase British Airways Visa because it’s a co-branded product. Of course, if the application goes to pending status, it may very well get rejected. Chase is becoming very picky when it comes to churners. But at least it won’t be an automatic rejection like it would be with UR-earning cards (see this post for details). You qualify to receive this bonus as long as you haven’t gotten it within the last 24 months.
Bottom line
As I’ve previously said, this isn’t the end of the travel hacking world. All spectacular things in The Hobby eventually come to an end, it’s inevitable. And once again, whether you should consider applying for Chase British Airways card is totally your call. I won’t be getting it, but your situation could be completely different. I may be a salesman, but I pride myself on being an honest salesman.
I promised my reader Cheapblackdad to include more stock images of black people. Isn’t he a stud?
Image courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
Thanks for the offer to help find a link without an annual fee. I actually do think I am going to go for the 100k – since I do not have any need/want to sign up for other cards in the next 4-6 months, I think we can probably get the 100k by putting our spend on that card (thanks to being able to put our mortgage on a card without a fee!). In terms of fees on Aer Lingus, I am guessing that will happen eventually, but hopefully not right away. We will try to book our European trip as soon as we can (330 days out I think), which will likely be early next June. I will have to cross my fingers and hope that we get lucky with that! Out of curiosity, do you think I should be worried about the 100k BA card deal going away soon? I was going to wait to get the card until mid-November, since that will be 90 days since I got my last Chase card, but might pull the trigger earlier if there is a chance the deal will go away.
Doug, I don’t have any knowledge on when the offer will end. My guess is it will stick around till mid-November, but who knows? I don’t see any end date in T and C, so that’s good. If I hear anything, I will make sure to write a post on it and maybe try to email you. I think you should be OK waiting a bit, but it’s your call.
Though I’m obviously disappointed in the devaluation, I am still planning on signing up for this card before the end of the year. While not as good a deal, the 7,500 point trips are still very useful for us. I am also planning a trip to Europe in about 18 months, and being in Boston means we still get excellent value out of using Avios for BOS-DUB on Aer Lingus. Hopefully that fantastic redemption won’t change before we book our trip late next spring!
Doug, I definitely think Avios program is still a fantastic deal, all things considered. I don’t believe we’ll see another devaluation in the next 6 months, normally BA is not that a aggressive. Of course, don’t quote me on that. One thing I am concerned about is whether Avios will impose fuel surcharges on Aer Lingus flights. That airline was bought out by BA, and I think it’s a matter of time till Boston-Dublin route will have hefty fees added on to it.
I hope you can still get this redemption before it’s gutted. Either way, like you said, you can always use miles for domestic AA flights. Email me before you decide to apply, and I’ll look for the link with a waived fee (even though it pays no commission). Of course, I’m assuming you plan to stop at 50K Avios. If you plan to go for 100K current affiliate offer, then no way to avoid that $95 annual fee, unfortunately. So once again, it depends on your plans.