If you’re planning a big getaway, taking advantage of welcome bonuses across travel credit cards is a great way to offset some costs. And sometimes, this involves an international airline loyalty program.
There are currently identical offers on Chase’s British Airways Visa Signature® Card, Iberia Visa Signature® Card and Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card: Earn 85,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
This isn’t the highest offer we’ve seen for some of these cards, but it is one of the best. As of September 2024, TPG values Avios at a solid 1.4 cents apiece, so if you earn the full 85,000 Avios, you’d take home $1,190 in value.
All three cards boast similar benefits for a $95 annual fee, so here’s a quick look at each.
British Airways Visa Signature Card
Since British Airways is a transfer partner of major issuers like American Express and Chase, it’s a popular airline with credit card enthusiasts. If you fall under that category, the British Airways Visa Signature card may be for you.
Annual fee: $95
Welcome bonus: Earn 85,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Earning rate: Earn 3 Avios per dollar on all British Airways, Aer Lingus, Level and Iberia flights, 2 Avios per dollar on all hotel stays booked directly with the hotel and 1 Avios per dollar on all other purchases.
Other benefits:
Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts
- 10% off British Airways flights starting in the U.S. (must book through the site provided in your welcome materials)
- Get a $100 statement credit for economy and premium economy ($200 for business and first-class seats) up to three times a year when you book a reward flight on British Airways and pay for your taxes and fees with your card (up to $600 annually).
- Earn a Travel Together Ticket valid for round-trip travel on British Airways when you spend $30,000 on the card in a calendar year — which can also be redeemed for a 50% discount as a single passenger (travel must originate in and return to the U.S.; additional restrictions may apply).
- When you redeem a British Airways reward ticket, you can use Avios to pay for taxes, fees and carrier charges. However, you must call the number on the back of your card to apply Avios to these charges.
- No foreign transaction fees
To learn more, read our full review of the British Airways Visa Signature card.
Apply now: British Airways Visa Signature card
Iberia Visa Signature Card
If Iberia is your airline of choice, the Iberia Visa Signature card is worth your consideration.
Annual fee: $95
Welcome bonus: Earn 85,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Earning rate: Earn 3 Avios per dollar on all British Airways, Aer Lingus, Level and Iberia flights, 2 Avios per dollar on all hotel stays booked directly with the hotel and 1 Avios per dollar on all other purchases.
Other benefits:
- 10% off Iberia flights booked through the site provided in the welcome materials with your card
- Earn a $1,000 discount voucher to use toward two tickets on the same Iberia flight each year after spending $30,000 on purchases on your Iberia Visa card.
- No foreign transaction fees
To learn more, read our full review of the Iberia Visa Signature card.
Apply now: Iberia Visa Signature card
Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card
Frequent Aer Lingus flyers should consider the Aer Lingus Visa Signature card to help them get the most out of their Aer Lingus purchases and flights.
Annual fee: $95
Welcome bonus: Earn 85,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Earning rate: Earn 3 Avios per dollar on all British Airways, Aer Lingus, Level and Iberia flights, 2 Avios per dollar on all hotel stays booked directly with the hotel and 1 Avios per dollar on all other purchases.
Other benefits:
- Earn an economy companion ticket after spending $30,000 in a calendar year (although it’s only valid on tickets between the U.S. and Ireland).
- Priority boarding on Aer Lingus flights between the U.S. and Ireland
- No foreign transaction fees
To learn more, read our full review of the Aer Lingus Visa Signature card.
Apply now: Aer Lingus Visa Signature card
Are these offers worth it?
All three credit cards can earn new cardmembers 85,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first three months of account opening. As of September 2024, TPG values Avios at 1.4 cents each, meaning you could take home $1,190 worth of rewards on any of these cards.
That said, remember that you’re not limited to using your Avios on these three airlines. You can also access Oneworld redemptions with carriers like American Airlines, Japan Airlines, Qantas and Qatar Airways.
In short, there’s a lot of added flexibility with the Avios you can earn from any of these cards. Given the value of each card’s current welcome offer and the reasonable spending requirement for each, now is a great time to apply if one of these cards catches your eye.
Before applying, keep Chase’s 5/24 rule in mind. In addition, remember that you won’t be eligible for a welcome offer on one of these cards if you’ve received an offer for the same card in the past 24 months.
Bottom line
If you’re not someone who typically flies with any of these airlines, these offers alone may not be enough to make any of the cards worth it. However, those who often travel on Avios-earning airlines (or want to redeem on partners like American Airlines) could find value in these low-cost cards from Chase.
Related: The best Avios-earning credit cards
