Best Airline Credit Card for quick redemption 6 November 2016 at 6:42PM in Stoozing: free cash from credit cards 3 replies 4K views

TravelBee

Hi All,

New poster on MSE! Does anyone use airline credit cards here? If so, how long after application can you redeem the intro bonus points? I have contacted BA re their Preferred Rewards Gold Card and it seems only after the 1st month of billing and spending the 2K required can I redeem the 20,000 points. Does anyone have any other experiences in applying for a card just before purchasing a flight ticket in order to save on the fare? I'm looking to purchase my flight in the next 2 weeks!

I travel long haul regularly enough, have a good credit history and am looking to go to either Dubai or Florida over the new year period for a week. I'm looking for an good air miles CC but might be too late to apply for an Avios or Amex (or similar card) so I can redeem the intro 20/30K points immediately which will knock off £££ off my fare.

I fly mostly with oneworld airlines and also have 25,000 airmiles but I'd like to combine this and points from an airline CC to maximise savings...Any ideas?

Ben8282

What is the connection between BA and this Amex charge card product? Why did you call BA about it and not Amex? Do you really think BA would know?
What card do you currently use to pay for your regular long-haul travel in order to have collected the 25,000 'airmiles' (do you mean Avios or some other airline points product?) that you already have?
I would have thought it self-evident that you have to spend the required amount BEFORE attempting to redeem any points obtained from such a spend.

TravelBee

Hi Ben,
The connection between BA and the Amex charge card is that the membership can be converted 1 to 1 into Avios points, so the 20K points = 20K Avios points when 2000K is spent on the card within the first 3 months. I'm about to make a big purchase, and this is one of the few cards that's free for the first year (£140/year thereafter, which can be refunded pro-rata). I'm interested to know if there are any other options that also work well with Oneworld/Avios.

At the moment I use a standard VISA debit card to purchase flights. I'm with the Marco Polo Club Cathay Pacific (oneworld) and frequently fly with them hence have collected 25K miles. It's taken till now for me to crack on and to get on board using airline cards to earn points for flights, upgrades and other benefits so checking out options. Lots to chew on from Martin, but also want to hear from folks who are veterans at the miles game.

I travel long-haul about twice a year, otherwise not a big spender and I'm not willing to pay massive annual fees, unless I can see a good return on investment in the card...

The_Urbanite

The points post to your British Airways Executive Club account a few days before your first statement posts - which will be a month from the account opening date. It takes one clear working day for the points from each transaction to post. Not a good strategy of accruing points for an urgent redemption unfortunately, especially with the added risk of availability disappearing.