ENHANCED BONUS: Get Up To 35,000 Avios With The Barclaycard Avios Plus Card

Barclaycard have an improved sign-up bonus running on the Barclaycard Avios Plus until mid-January, and it's the first time we've seen Barclays bump up this offer since late 2023. If you've been considering this card, this could be the time.

The Enhanced Offer

New cardholders can now collect 35,000 Avios by meeting two spending thresholds:

• Hit £3,000 spend in three months = 25,000 Avios

• Hit £6,000 spend in six months = an additional 10,000 Avios

There's also a year's Apple TV subscription included, assuming you're not already subscribed or haven't been in the past 60 days.

With the 9,000 Avios you'll earn from that £6,000 spend (the card pays 1.5 Avios per pound), you're looking at 44,000 Avios total in your first six months.

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The Card Itself

For anyone not familiar with it, the Barclaycard Avios Plus launched in early 2022 and costs £20 monthly. It earns 1.5 Avios for every £1 you spend, which makes it one of the better-earning non-Amex options for UK cardholders.

The big advantage? It's a Mastercard, so it works in all those places that won't take your Amex – corner shops, local cafes, smaller retailers. If you're already using an American Express, this slots in nicely as your backup card. In fact, it featured recently in our top ways to get around shops not taking Amex!

Why Does This Matter?

Barclays isn't particularly generous with enhanced bonuses. The standard offer has been 25,000 Avios for the bulk of the past two years. They ran a 40,000 Avios promotion in late 2023 and had a brief 50,000 Avios deal back in spring 2023, but these haven't been frequent occurrences.

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Who Can Apply?

You'll need to:

• Be a UK resident over 18

• Not currently hold any Barclaycard (you're limited to one at a time)

• Not have had any Barclaycard in the previous six months

• Not have collected an Avios card bonus in the past two years

If you're switching from the free Barclaycard Avios, you won't get the full 35,000 – you'd only receive 5,000 Avios. The enhanced offer is specifically for people who don't currently have a Barclaycard.

The Cabin Upgrade Voucher – The Real Draw

Beyond the welcome bonus, this card's main appeal shows up later. Put £10,000 through it in any 12-month period and you'll earn either 7,000 bonus Avios or a BA cabin upgrade voucher.

We've written a full guide about the Barclays Cabin Upgrade Voucher, but I'll give you a brief rundown here.

Despite its name, it doesn't actually upgrade an existing booking. Instead, when you're booking a BA reward flight using Avios, it lets you book the higher cabin while only paying the Avios cost of the cabin below it.

Example: You want to fly Club World to New York. Normally you'd need around 160,000 Avios return. With the voucher, you book Club World but pay the 85,000 Avios that World Traveller Plus would cost. You still pay business class taxes and fees, but you've halved your Avios outlay.

Some practical numbers:

• European routes: You might save 10,000-15,000 Avios upgrading from economy to Club Europe

• Long-haul to North America: Savings of around 80,000 Avios

• Very long-haul (Asia, Australia): Savings can hit 100,000+ Avios

The voucher works for one person return or two people one-way. It's valid for two years and can be used for anyone, provided you're the one making the booking. Flights must depart the UK and be on BA (not partner airlines). There must be reward availability in the cabin you are trying to upgrade into. First Class isn't available – Club World is the highest cabin.

One thing worth knowing: you don't have to claim the voucher immediately when you hit the spending threshold. The two-year clock starts when it's issued, so delaying the claim in the app effectively gives you more time to use it.

Does The Monthly Fee Make Sense?

This card is charged monthly to you at £20 a month, totalling £240 a year, so you'll need to think about whether the card pays for itself.

If you're spending £10,000 annually, you'll earn 15,000 Avios from that spend, plus get the cabin upgrade voucher. In year one, add the 35,000 welcome bonus. That's 50,000 Avios plus a voucher that could be worth up 130,000 Avios (upgrading a return to Sydney from World Traveller Plus to Club World) depending on how you use it.

For lighter spenders, the numbers get a trickier. You might be better off with the free Barclaycard Avios card, though its current welcome bonus is only 5,000 Avios. Alternatively, get the Plus for this enhanced bonus and the first year's voucher, then request a downgrade to the free version through the app.

Things To Watch

There's a 2.99% foreign transaction fee, so this isn't your holiday spending card. The Virgin Atlantic Reward+ charges an annual fee but has zero FX fees in Europe.

If you've previously held either Barclaycard Avios card and claimed a welcome bonus, you'll need to wait 24 months from that bonus before you're eligible again.

You can downgrade or upgrade between the free and Plus versions through the app, but your spending progress towards the cabin voucher resets to zero when you switch.

Final Thoughts on the Barclaycard Avios Plus Bonus...

As I laid out, Barclays doesn't do offers very frequently on these cards, so now is as good as time as any to get this card.

Is it a gamechanger offer? No.

Will this help you get to your goal sooner? Almost certainly.

Full details can be found here.

Sam

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