A valuable but complicated travel credit card #CashNews.co

The British Airways Visa Signature® Card offers a lot of valuable perks for a modest annual fee. But due to the hefty surcharges the airline charges on award tickets, you’re better off using your rewards on partner airlines. Although British Airways has plenty of solid partners, it makes it trick to maximizing the value of this travel credit card.

The British Airways Visa Signature Card doesn’t offer some of the standard airline credit card perks, such as priority boarding, free checked baggage and inflight discounts. However, there are some benefits that could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year on British Airways flights:

• Discount on British Airways flights: When you use your card to book a British Airways originating in the U.S., you’ll get a 10% discount.

• Award flight credits: Each year, you can get up to $600 in statement credits when you book award flights to London and use the card to pay the taxes and fees. That’s a credit of $100 for economy and premium economy seats and $200 for business and first-class seats. You can get up to three credits per year.

• Travel Together ticket: When you spend $30,000 in a calendar year, you’ll earn a Travel Together ticket. When you book a flight with British Airways, Aer Lingus or Iberia with Avios, this certificate lets you bring a companion for just the taxes and fees or get a 50% Avios discount if you’re flying solo. The Travel Together ticket is good for two years.

• Luggage protection: When you travel and use your card to make purchases, you could benefit from its lost luggage reimbursement and baggage delay insurance benefits.

Keep in mind that some of these perks require you to fly with British Airways. Before you take advantage of a benefit, however, be sure to compare other flight options that don’t come with an expensive fuel surcharge.

Like other airline credit cards, the British Airways credit card offers accelerated rewards on purchases with the airline.

However, because the Avios loyalty program is shared by multiple airlines, you’ll also earn bonus rewards on purchases with Aer Lingus and Iberia, the flagship carriers for Ireland and Spain, respectively.

You’ll also get extra Avios on hotel stays booked directly with hotels, but beyond the first year, you won’t earn any bonus rewards on everyday spending categories, which is disappointing.

To get the most value out of your Avios, you’ll want to use them to book award flights. But while all airlines charge taxes and fees on award tickets, British Airways is notorious for adding hefty fuel surcharges that can add hundreds of dollars to your reservation.

The good news is that British Airways partners with several domestic and international airlines, including American Airlines. So, it is possible to avoid those surcharges, and many travel rewards enthusiasts make it work. But in general, maximizing your rewards with airline partners can be more challenging.

Other ways to use your Avios include:

That said, you generally won’t get as much value with these options.

The British Airways credit card is best suited for people who frequently fly with the airline. However, you may also consider it if you’re a points and miles aficionado who wants to use Avios to book flights with British Airways partners.

It can be particularly worth considering if you can meet the $30,000 spending requirement for the Travel Together ticket, which can give you solid savings.

• Versatile rewards program: British Airways partners with several airlines through the Avios rewards program and the oneworld alliance, giving you access to more than 900 destinations around the world.

• Solid welcome offer: The card’s welcome bonus is high compared to other airline credit cards; just make sure you can afford the minimum spending requirement to earn it, which comes out to roughly $1,667 per month.

• Modest annual fee: Compared to the card’s benefits, the annual fee is low. Just keep in mind that there’s no guarantee that you’ll get enough value from the card perks to offset that yearly charge.

• No flight perks: You won’t get some of the standard perks that most airline credit cards offer, including free checked baggage, priority boarding and inflight discounts.

• Maximizing the card perks can be tricky: You can definitely get enough value from the card’s benefits to offset the annual fee, but at what cost? Even with savings or award flight credits, you may still end up paying more due to surcharges.

You can use the British Airways credit card anywhere Visa is accepted, which is just about anywhere within the U.S. and abroad. Additionally, the card doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee on international purchases.

The British Airways Visa Signature Card is issued by Chase, which offers cardholders a few options for making a credit card payment:

• Online: Log in to your online account or the Chase mobile app.

• Phone: Call 800-436-7958 and use the automated phone service.

• Chase branch or ATM: Visit a local Chase branch or ATM to pay in person.

• Mail: Send a check or money order, including your full card number, to Cardmember Services, P.O. Box 6294, Carol Stream, IL 60197-6294.

• Customer service availability: Phone 24/7

• Phone number: 800-432-3117

• Customer service email: Chase doesn’t offer email support, but you can send a secure message through your online account.

• British Airways Visa Signature Card login page

If you’re not sure about the limitations of the British Airways credit card or want more flexibility with your rewards, here are some alternative credit cards to help you compare.

Read our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card

Read our full review of the Capital One Venture X Rewards card

Related: Delta Gold vs. Delta Platinum: Which card offers more Delta savings?

This article was edited by Rebecca McCracken

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