What the British Airways Amex changes mean for your Avios, your Companion Voucher, and your £300 fee

American Express will cut the Avios earn rate on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card from 7 October.

The card currently earns 1.5 Avios for every eligible £1 spent, and from that date it earns 1.25. The double rate of 3 Avios per £1 on spending directly with British Airways and British Airways Holidays disappears entirely, and those transactions earn the same flat 1.25 Avios per £1 as everything else.

Purchases made before 7 October still earn at the old rates, provided the transactions reach the account by 6 October.

The £300 annual fee stays as it is, and so does the Companion Voucher. Cardholders continue to earn one after spending £15,000 in a Cardmembership year, and it remains valid for 24 months in any cabin, either for a companion on the same Reward Flight or as a 50% discount on the Avios price for solo travellers.

Until 31 March 2027 the voucher also returns 25% of the Avios spent on a British Airways Holidays package booking, capped at 200,000 Avios per voucher.

The cut narrows the distance between the paid card and the free British Airways American Express Credit Card, which earns 1 Avios per £1 with no annual fee.

The gap between the two cards now rests almost entirely on the Companion Voucher, which runs for two years and covers all cabins on the Premium Plus card against one year and economy only on the free version.

American Express said that the move forms part of a regular review of benefits, rewards and costs across its card portfolio.

Tier points arrive automatically from April 2027

From 1 April 2027, the card earns 1 British Airways tier point for every £10 of eligible spend, up to 3,000 tier points in each British Airways Club collection year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March.

Enrolment becomes automatic, replacing the current arrangement where cardholders opt in and receive tier points only after crossing set spending thresholds.

The change means every Premium Plus cardholder collects some tier points, even on modest spending.

Bronze status in The British Airways Club requires 3,500 tier points, leaving £30,000 of card spend 500 points short.

A separate promotional offer runs until 1 February 2027 and awards up to 2,500 tier points, with enrolment required by 25 January 2027 and spending conditions attached.

New cancellation clause

American Express will also require each Premium Plus account to link to the cardholder’s own British Airways Club account rather than anyone else’s.

Where a mismatch between the records held by the two companies blocks a transfer of Avios, tier points or Companion Vouchers, American Express will flag the problem and ask the cardholder to fix it.

If that does not happen after the initial notice and any reminders, American Express may cancel the card account, and anything not yet transferred to the British Airways Club account is forfeited.

The terms also adopt British Airways’ new name for its loyalty scheme, replacing The British Airways Executive Club with The British Airways Club.

Rejecting the changes means closing before October

Anyone who does not accept the variation has to close the account before 7 October 2026, either through Live Chat in Online Services or by phone.

American Express charges nothing for the closure and refunds the unused portion of the annual fee on a pro-rata basis.

Closing the account ends access to the card, any supplementary cards and all associated benefits, though the existing agreement continues to apply until the balance clears.

Cardholders who do nothing accept the changes by default, and the updated agreement appears in online accounts from 7 October.

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