Chase Avios Cards Jump to 90,000 Points: British Airways, Aer Lingus and Iberia Offers Are Back

Three of Chase's airline credit cards just became much more interesting.

The British Airways Visa Signature® Card, Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card and Iberia Visa Signature® Card are now available with elevated welcome offers of:

90,000 Avios after spending $5,000 in the first three months.

All three cards carry a $95 annual fee.

That's a significant improvement over the 75,000-Avios offers that have been widely available recently — especially because the spending requirement remains $5,000.

There is, however, a wrinkle worth knowing before you apply: Chase's regular Avios card comparison page may still display the lower 75,000-Avios offers. The 90,000-point versions are showing through other offer links, so make absolutely sure the application page in front of you says 90,000 Avios before submitting an application.

And yes, the elevated offer applies to all three cards — British Airways, Aer Lingus and Iberia.

The Three 90,000-Avios Offers

The welcome bonuses and basic earning structures are nearly identical.

The cards generally earn:

• 3X Avios on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus and Iberia
• 2X Avios on hotel accommodations booked directly with the hotel
• 1X Avios on most other purchases
• No foreign transaction fees

If the entire $5,000 minimum spend were in ordinary 1X categories, you'd finish with roughly 95,000 Avios between the welcome bonus and points earned from the spending itself.

That's a substantial pile of Avios for a $95 annual-fee card.

But the real reason these offers deserve attention isn't simply the size of the bonus.

It's what you can do with the Avios afterward.

The Airline on the Credit Card Doesn't Lock Up Your Avios

This is probably the most important thing for anyone unfamiliar with the Avios ecosystem.

A British Airways credit card doesn't mean you have to spend the points on British Airways.

An Iberia card doesn't mean you're going to Madrid.

And an Aer Lingus card doesn't require a newfound fascination with Dublin.

Avios is effectively a shared rewards currency across several different airline programs.

British Airways currently allows members to transfer Avios between their accounts at:

• British Airways Club
• Iberia Club
• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Finnair Plus
• Vueling Club
• Loganair Loyalty

In many cases, those transfers can be made immediately and as often as needed.

That makes these 90,000-point bonuses much more versatile than the bonus on a typical airline credit card.

You aren't really earning 90,000 "British Airways miles" or 90,000 "Aer Lingus miles."

You're earning 90,000 Avios that can potentially be moved to whichever participating Avios program offers the best redemption for the trip you're trying to book.

That's a big distinction.

Why Different Avios Programs Matter

Although the participating programs use the same Avios currency, they don't necessarily charge the same number of Avios for the same type of trip.

Their award pricing rules, partner access, fees and sweet spots can vary.

That means the savvy way to use Avios isn't necessarily:

"I have British Airways Avios, so I'll search British Airways."

Instead, think:

"I have Avios. Which Avios program gives me the best way to book this flight?"

You might earn the points from the British Airways card, move them to Qatar Airways Privilege Club and use them there.

Or move them to Iberia.

Or Finnair.

Or leave them with British Airways and use them for a oneworld partner award.

That flexibility is one of the best features of Avios.

British Airways Avios Can Be Much More Useful on Partners

British Airways sometimes gets criticized in the points-and-miles world because award tickets on British Airways-operated long-haul flights can carry substantial taxes, fees and carrier-imposed surcharges.

That criticism is deserved.

Finding what appears to be a reasonable Avios price and then discovering hundreds of dollars in additional charges can take some of the fun out of a "free" ticket.

But that's only one way to use the currency.

British Airways Avios can also be useful for partner awards, particularly certain nonstop itineraries on oneworld carriers.

For U.S. travelers, that can include airlines such as American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, depending on availability and current award pricing.

The key is not to think of Avios exclusively as a currency for flying British Airways to London.

It is much broader than that.

Iberia Can Be Particularly Interesting for Europe

Iberia is another reason the ability to move Avios matters.

One of the more attractive Avios opportunities has traditionally been transatlantic travel on Iberia, particularly from several East Coast and Midwest gateways to Madrid.

Award availability is never guaranteed, pricing can change, and you should always verify current rates before transferring points, but Iberia has periodically offered some very compelling premium-cabin redemptions between the United States and Spain.

That creates an interesting situation with these credit cards.

You could open the British Airways card, earn the bonus and eventually move those Avios to Iberia.

Or open the Aer Lingus card and do exactly the same thing.

So unless you need a specific card benefit, I wouldn't choose one of the three merely because you think you want a particular flavor of Avios.

They're far more interchangeable than that.

Qatar Airways Makes the Avios Ecosystem Even More Interesting

Qatar Airways' participation in Avios dramatically expanded the usefulness of the currency.

British Airways Club members can link a Qatar Airways Privilege Club account and transfer Avios between the two programs.

That potentially opens Qatar Airways and its partner redemption options to points originally earned from any of these Chase cards.

Again, award pricing can change — and Qatar has demonstrated that it is quite capable of changing pricing — so don't collect points based on one theoretical redemption you saw on a blog three years ago.

But structurally, being able to move Avios into Qatar Airways Privilege Club makes a 90,000-point Chase bonus more versatile than it might initially appear.

So Which of the Three Cards Should You Get?

If your objective is primarily the 90,000-Avios welcome bonus, there isn't an enormous difference.

The decision comes down primarily to the card-specific perks.

British Airways Visa Signature

The British Airways card is probably the most compelling of the three for someone who might actually fly British Airways.

Among its benefits is a 10% discount on eligible British Airways-operated round-trip flights originating in the United States.

It also offers a Travel Together Ticket after $30,000 in purchases during a calendar year.

That certificate can be very valuable under the right circumstances. It can be used to bring another traveler along on an eligible reward itinerary without the additional Avios charge, while the cardholder can alternatively receive a 50% Avios discount when traveling solo.

Taxes, fees and carrier charges still apply.

The British Airways card also offers statement credits that can offset certain fees on eligible award travel.

Those benefits give it the strongest argument of the three for long-term ownership — if you actually use British Airways awards.

Aer Lingus Visa Signature

The Aer Lingus card provides some airline-specific benefits of its own, including priority boarding on qualifying Aer Lingus flights between Ireland and the United States.

Spend $30,000 in a calendar year and you can also earn an economy companion ticket.

That's potentially worthwhile for someone who flies Aer Lingus regularly.

For everyone else, though, I'd view this primarily as a way to collect the 90,000-Avios welcome bonus.

Iberia Visa Signature

The Iberia Visa offers a 10% discount on eligible Iberia flights booked using the card through Iberia's designated Chase discount channel.

It also has an interesting high-spend benefit.

Spend $30,000 in a calendar year and you can earn a $1,000 discount voucher toward two tickets on the same Iberia flight.

If you're a regular Iberia customer, that can certainly change the economics.

Otherwise, as with Aer Lingus, the main attraction is the welcome bonus rather than the ongoing earning structure.

I Wouldn't Chase the $30,000 Spending Bonuses

All three cards try to entice you to put $30,000 of annual spending on them.

I'm not terribly enthusiastic about doing that.

For someone who would naturally spend $30,000 with one of these airlines, the certificates and vouchers can be worthwhile.

But putting tens of thousands of dollars of ordinary purchases on a card earning only 1 Avios per dollar creates a significant opportunity cost.

That same spending could potentially be earning:

• 2X transferable points
• 2% or more cash back
• 3X–5X in useful bonus categories
• Another large credit-card welcome bonus

Never look at a $30,000 spending certificate in isolation.

You need to consider what you gave up by putting the $30,000 on that card.

For most readers, I think the correct play here is much simpler:

Get the welcome bonus. Use the Avios intelligently. Then reevaluate the card when the next annual fee arrives.

Is 90,000 Avios an All-Time-High Offer?

No.

These cards have occasionally offered bonuses of 100,000 Avios or more.

But that doesn't automatically make those offers better.

A recent 100,000-Avios version required $7,500 in spending, compared with only $5,000 for the current 90,000-point offer.

So you're giving up just 10,000 Avios while reducing the required spending by $2,500.

For many people, I'd actually prefer the current structure.

The additional $2,500 can be used toward another welcome bonus rather than spending it to squeeze an additional 10,000 points from the same card.

That's the kind of opportunity cost that frequently gets ignored when people compare signup bonuses solely by looking at the giant number in the advertisement.

90,000 for $5,000 is a very strong offer even if 100,000 has existed before.

One Problem: Avios Are Easy to Earn Elsewhere

There is also an argument against using a Chase 5/24 slot on one of these cards.

Avios are hardly an obscure currency.

They're among the easiest airline points in the world to accumulate because several major transferable-points programs provide access to one or more Avios partners.

Depending on the program and current transfer relationships, you can often obtain Avios using flexible currencies such as:

• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• American Express Membership Rewards
• Capital One miles
• Citi ThankYou points
• Bilt Rewards
• Wells Fargo Rewards

Transfer bonuses also appear periodically.

So if your only objective is accumulating Avios, you may have other options.

A transferable-points bonus can be even more valuable because you don't have to commit to Avios until you're ready to book.

That's important.

Transferable points give you options. Airline miles give you an airline currency.

I generally prefer maintaining transferable points until I have a specific redemption in mind.

But 90,000 Avios for a $95 Card Is Still Hard to Ignore

That's the counterargument.

Even though Avios are easy to obtain, 90,000 of them from one $95 card is still a meaningful welcome offer.

Assume conservatively that you get just 1 cent per Avios in value.

That's $900 worth of travel value before accounting for the points earned on the required spending.

Get 1.25 cents per Avios and 90,000 Avios represents $1,125 of potential value.

Find a particularly good premium-cabin or partner redemption and the value could be substantially higher.

Of course, assigning a theoretical value to points is easy.

Actually redeeming them at that value is what counts.

That's why I don't recommend applying merely because someone tells you Avios are "worth" a particular number of cents.

Look at where you actually travel.

Search a few awards.

See whether Avios are useful to you.

Then decide.

Chase 5/24 May Be the Bigger Issue

All three cards are issued by Chase, which means Chase application strategy matters.

These cards are generally subject to the infamous 5/24 rule.

In practical terms, someone who has opened five or more personal credit cards across issuers during the previous 24 months will generally have difficulty getting approved for another Chase card subject to 5/24.

And that's where this gets more complicated.

A Chase 5/24 slot has value.

Before using one for 90,000 Avios, ask yourself what else you might want from Chase.

Maybe you want:

• A Sapphire card
• A Southwest card or Companion Pass strategy
• A United card
• A Marriott card
• A Hyatt card
• An IHG card

If one of those fits your travel plans better, 90,000 Avios might not be the best use of your next Chase application.

Credit-card strategy isn't about collecting the largest number on the screen.

It's about collecting the points that solve the travel problem you actually have.

The 90K Offer Is Better Than the Offer You May See on Chase.com

This is particularly important right now.

At the time of publication, Chase's general page displaying the three Avios cards may still show:

75,000 Avios after $5,000 in spending.

Meanwhile, elevated 90,000-Avios offers are available.

Same spending requirement.

Same annual fee.

An extra 15,000 Avios.

There is absolutely no reason to knowingly apply for the 75,000-point version when you can qualify for the 90,000-point version instead.

Credit-card issuers frequently have multiple application offers circulating simultaneously.

The safest rule is simple:

Ignore what an article, advertisement or referral page says once you reach the application. Read the offer shown on the actual application page before you submit it.

If it says 75,000, stop.

If you're pursuing this promotion, you want to see 90,000 Avios after $5,000 in purchases within three months.

One More Reason I Like Avios: You Don't Have to Decide Immediately

This may be the most underrated feature of the entire deal.

Suppose you open the British Airways card and earn 90,000 Avios.

You don't have to decide today whether those points will eventually be used through British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Qatar Airways or Finnair.

You can leave them alone until you have a trip to book.

Then compare your options.

British Airways explicitly allows Avios transfers between participating programs, and the currency can generally be moved among linked accounts without changing its underlying value.

That turns a seemingly airline-specific welcome bonus into something much closer to a small ecosystem of airline currencies.

It's not as flexible as Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards.

But it's considerably more flexible than 90,000 miles sitting inside a traditional single-airline loyalty program.

Trash Panda Take

I like these offers at 90,000 Avios.

Not enough to tell everyone to rush out and burn a Chase 5/24 slot, but enough that anyone who already has a use for Avios should take a serious look.

The combination is attractive:

90,000 Avios
$5,000 minimum spend
3 months
$95 annual fee

And because Avios can be transferred among several airline programs, the bonus has considerably more flexibility than the logos on the cards suggest.

Of the three, I'd probably lean toward the British Airways Visa for someone who doesn't have a particular airline preference, simply because its ongoing benefits have more potential value if you eventually use British Airways award travel.

But I wouldn't choose based solely on the name printed on the card.

If you prefer the Iberia or Aer Lingus benefits, take that card instead. The Avios themselves can potentially be repositioned later.

The bigger strategic question is whether 90,000 Avios are worth a Chase 5/24 slot to you.

If the answer is yes, this is a very solid version of the offer.

And whatever you do, don't accidentally apply for the 75,000-point version.

The trash panda may occasionally eat garbage.

It does not voluntarily leave 15,000 Avios in the dumpster.