Today
(9/17/2015) Chase re-launched a promotion they do every year or so on their
British Airways card. Normally this card earns 50,000 Avios after $2k spend and the first year's $95 fee is waived. However, right now they are offering 50k/75k/100k Avios if
you spend $2k/$10k/$20k. The $95 is NOT waived for the first year. Let’s take a
look and see if this deal is worth it.
I like
to evaluate sign-up bonuses by putting a final dollar value on each one so I
know what card to prioritize. If you read my previous post on mile valuations you can see that I value Avios at $.018 each. This is partly because there are
so many options for short haul flights from my home airport, and I can get well
over $.018 of value on average.
Option
1: Normal Chase BA promotion (50k miles, $2k min spend in 3 months, waived $95
fee)
$2,000
in minimum spending can be done with 4 $500 VGCs resulting in $23.80 in
activation fees (4*$5.95). This gives us a final value of $912.63 ((50,000 + 2024)*.018-$23.80). This is a great signup bonus
even without this current promotion. However, we are only spending $2k here
when the promo requires $20k spend. To make effort equivalent, how many Avios
can you generate on that remaining $18k spend?
The best option to earn Avios (that
I know of) is to purchase VGCs at Staples with the Chase Ink+ card. Let’s
assume you have this card as well (if not, you should SERIOUSLY consider this
card. Great for MS, Staples/Office Max do GC deals quite regularly, and it
allows you to transfer points earned from the Chase Freedom to the more
lucrative Chase Ultimate Rewards program). This earns 5x Chase UR which can be
converted to Avios at a 1:1 ratio. Normally $18,000 on the Chase Ink+ can be
obtained with 85 cards (85*$206.95 = $18,181.50) and will earn ~91k miles
($18181.50*5 = 90908) and cost $590.75 (85*$6.95) in activation fees. This is a
final value of $1045.59 ((90908
miles * $.018)-$590.75).
Add the two together and your total
is $1958.21
Option
2: New Chase BA promotion (100k miles, $20k min spend in 12 months, $95 annual
fee)
First
of all, don’t freak out about the huge $20k spend. You have all year to
accomplish it, as long as you meet the first $2k in the first 3 months. $20k in
spend can be accomplished with 40 $500 VGCs resulting in $238 in activation
fees (40*5.95). Add in the $95 fee and you get final costs of $333. The final
value ends up being $1831.28 ((100,000+20238)*.018-$333).
Here is
a table for easier viewing.
BA Normal
|
Chase Ink+
|
BA Promo
|
|
Sign Up Bonus
|
50000
|
0
|
100000
|
Spend
|
$2,000
|
17590.75
|
$20,000
|
# of GC Required
|
4
|
85
|
40
|
Fees ($5.95 each)
|
$23.80
|
$590.75
|
$238.00
|
Total Spend
|
$2,023.80
|
$18,181.50
|
$20,238.00
|
Final Miles
|
52024
|
90908
|
120238
|
Value of Miles (.018)
|
$936.43
|
$1,636.34
|
$2,164.28
|
Annual Fee
|
$0.00
|
$95.00
|
|
Subtotal
|
$912.63
|
$1,045.59
|
|
Final Value
|
$1,958.21
|
$1,831.28
|
|
As you can see, while the Chase BA
promotion looks great (100k Avios!), it does not quite stack up with the
previous offer where they waived the $95 fee plus some regular MSing. While
buying 85 gift cards from Staples and liquidating them is quite a chore (even
when you purchase them online), you lose over $100 of value taking this new
promotion. Additionally you are completely locked into spending that $20k on
your Chase BA card. What happens if another more lucrative deal comes along? If
you are already at your MS monthly limit you will have to forgo that new card.
I’ll take flexibility any day.
TL;DR – Skip this promotion as it:
1.
Locks you into a lot of unbonused spend
2.
You actually lose over $100 in value compared
with regular MS with the Chase Ink+
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