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The British Airways American Express Premium Plus card — a UK-issued product, not available to US cardholders — just took a real cut to how many Avios it earns. As of October 7, 2026, the base earn rate drops from 1.5 to 1.25 Avios per £1, and the 3x bonus on British Airways and BA Holidays purchases is gone entirely — BA spend now earns the same flat 1.25x as everything else.
What Changed, in Numbers
| Spend Type | Old Rate | New Rate | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| General spending | 1.5 Avios/£1 | 1.25 Avios/£1 | ~17% cut |
| British Airways & BA Holidays | 3 Avios/£1 | 1.25 Avios/£1 | ~58% cut |
The BA-specific bonus was the card’s signature feature — it’s what made putting flight and holiday bookings on this card worth doing in the first place. Losing it outright, rather than just trimming it, is the bigger story here than the general-spend rate dropping.
The One Thing That Got Better — And Not Until 2027
Tier Points (the currency that drives British Airways elite status) still accrue at the same 1 Tier Point per £10 of spend, but two mechanics change, effective April 1, 2027 — not alongside the earn-rate cut:
- The annual Tier Points cap rises from 2,500 to 3,000.
- Tier Points now accrue continuously as you spend, instead of only unlocking at fixed thresholds (previously £15,000, £20,000, and £25,000 spent in a year). That threshold structure meant cardholders who spent, say, £14,000 got zero Tier Points for the year. Under the new system, every cardholder earns something proportional to what they actually spent.
That’s a genuine improvement for lower-volume spenders who previously got shut out of Tier Points entirely. It doesn’t offset the Avios cut for most cardholders, but it’s not nothing.
What Stays the Same
- The £300 annual fee is unchanged.
- The two-year Companion Voucher, usable across all cabins, is unchanged — see our full breakdown of how the Companion Voucher works for the mechanics.
Amex is cutting what you earn while charging the same fee for a voucher that hasn’t changed — which is exactly the combination that makes a devaluation like this sting more than a straightforward rate cut would on its own.
Timeline
Amex UK first announced the change in July 2026, giving cardholders roughly two and a half months’ notice before the October 7 effective date — the Tier Points improvements won’t land until April 2027, so cardholders are absorbing the earn-rate cut now with the one upside still months away.
Why This Matters If You’re a US Reader
This card isn’t available in the US — American cardholders chasing Avios have an entirely different lineup to choose from. If that’s you, our guide to the best US credit cards for Avios covers what’s actually available domestically. The relevance here is more about the pattern: British Airways and Amex are trimming the value of their most Avios-forward product right as more premium travel cards across the industry quietly tighten bonus categories rather than touching headline annual fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Effective October 7, 2026, the base earn rate dropped from 1.5 to 1.25 Avios per £1 spent, and the 3x bonus on British Airways and BA Holidays purchases was removed entirely — BA spend now earns the same flat 1.25x as any other purchase. No, this is a UK-issued American Express product. US cardholders chasing Avios have a different set of cards to choose from. Yes, but not until April 1, 2027. The annual Tier Points cap rises from 2,500 to 3,000, and Tier Points will accrue continuously as you spend rather than only unlocking at fixed thresholds (previously £15,000, £20,000, and £25,000). No. The £300 annual fee and the two-year, all-cabin Companion Voucher remain unchanged. Amex UK announced the change in July 2026, giving cardholders roughly two and a half months’ notice before the October 7 effective date.What exactly changed with the British Airways Amex Premium Plus card?
Is the British Airways Amex Premium Plus card available in the US?
Did anything improve with this change?
Did the annual fee or Companion Voucher change?
When was this change announced?
