Barclaycard Avios vs Avios Plus: Which Card Is Worth It?

Barclaycard has two credit cards that earn Avios on everyday spending: the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard and the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard, which costs £20 a month. Both can earn you a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher each year, and every Avios you collect helps you book flights with Avios.

So which one is worth it? It comes down to how much you put on the card each year. Below, we compare the two side by side, then show where the £20 monthly fee starts to pay for itself.

What’s the deal?

There are two cards: Barclaycard Avios, which has no monthly fee, and Barclaycard Avios Plus, which has a monthly fee of £20 but entitles users to greater rewards. Both are for personal rather than business use. 

How they compare:

Barclaycard Avios

Monthly fee: £0

Collecting Avios: cardholders collect one British Airways Avios for every £1 spent within their credit limit. 

Welcome bonus: those new to Barclaycard receive 5,000 Avios, so long as they spend £1,000 in the first three months. 

Existing customer bonus: Barclaycard customers who switch to the Avios card collect 1,000 points if they spend at least £1,000 in the first three months. 

Annual bonus: every 12 months, those who have spent £20,000 or more on the card over the year can choose either a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher to use on Avios Reward Flights or 7,000 bonus Avios. 

Interest rates: as checked on 5 October 2026, Barclaycard Avios has a representative APR of 29.9% (variable) and a purchase rate of 29.9% p.a. (variable), based on a £1,200 credit limit and a £0 monthly fee. Your credit limit and rate depend on your circumstances and may differ. 

Barclaycard Avios Plus

Monthly fee: £20 

Collecting Avios:  cardholders collect 1.5 Avios for every £1 spent. 

Welcome bonus: those new to Barclaycard receive 25,000 Avios when they spend at least £3,000 in the first three months.

Existing customer bonus: those switching to the Avios Plus card will be given 5,000 points if they spend £3,000 or more over the first three months. 

Annual bonus: every 12 months, those who have spent £10,000 or more on the card over the year can choose either a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher to use on Avios Reward Flights or 7,000 bonus Avios. 

Other perks: discounted airport lounge passes at £24 per person, per visit.

Interest rates: as checked on 5 October 2026, Barclaycard Avios Plus has a representative APR of 80.1% (variable) and a purchase rate of 29.9% p.a. (variable), based on a £1,200 credit limit and a £20 monthly fee. Your credit limit and rate depend on your circumstances and may differ. 

Current accounts in the Barclays Avios Rewards programme

We recently looked at the two current accounts that were last year brought under the new Barclays Avios Rewards programme. While these have some good perks, not least annual cabin upgrade vouchers, they’re aimed at customers with well above average income or substantial savings. 

The good news with the new Barclaycards is that they’re available to a far wider range of potential customers. Also, while there’s a £12 per month fee for the Barclays Avios Rewards programme, one of the new Barclaycards is fee-free. 

And, if you’re eligible for the rewards current accounts and the new credit cards you could maximise your British Airways Avios collecting by using both. In fact, if you’re enrolled in Barclays Avios Rewards then take out the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard you’ll receive a £5 monthly credit to your current account, so offsetting part of the card’s £20 per month fee.

When could you book flights with Avios?

If you receive the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard welcome bonus of 25,000 Avios (or bag the welcome bonus of 5,000 Avios for the regular Barclaycard Avios Mastercard plus accrue 20,000 Avios by spending £20,000 within a year), you should have enough for return off-peak economy flights to over 50 BA European destinations, particularly if you use Reward Flight Finder to track down BA reward seats and book with Reward Flight Saver. 

Which card is worth it?

Avios Plus costs £240 a year. For that, you get an extra 0.5 Avios for every £1 you spend, and you reach the annual reward (the upgrade voucher or 7,000 bonus Avios) at £10,000 of spending instead of £20,000. Here's how that plays out:

• Under £10,000 a year: the free Barclaycard Avios usually wins. On £8,000 of spending, Plus earns 4,000 extra Avios, worth roughly £40 on short-haul reward flights at around 1p per Avios, well short of the £240 fee.
• £10,000 to £20,000 a year: this is where Plus earns its keep, because it unlocks the annual reward that the free card won't reach. On £12,000 of spending, Plus earns 18,000 Avios plus the voucher; the free card earns 12,000 Avios and no voucher.
• Over £20,000 a year: both cards earn the voucher, so it's 0.5 extra Avios per £1 against £240. On £30,000 that's 15,000 extra Avios, which roughly covers the fee at 1.5p per Avios and comes out ahead if you redeem on long-haul premium cabins, where Avios typically go further.

In your first year, the Plus welcome bonus (25,000 Avios against 5,000) adds another 20,000 Avios, enough on its own for an off-peak Economy return from London to Amsterdam, which costs from 20,000 Avios plus £5 (as of October 2026, from our Avios Calculator). And if you also hold Barclays Avios Rewards, Barclays pays £5 a month back into your current account, cutting the Plus card's net cost to £180 a year.

These are illustrations, not advice: the right card depends on your spending, and you should only use a credit card you can repay in full. Once your Avios are building up, set up Availability Alerts so you hear as soon as reward seats open on the route you want.

Cashing in the upgrade 

Upgrades must be on BA Avios reward flights (paid fully with Avios), not on flights paid partly or entirely with cash. As with regular Avios reward flights, you’ll still have to pay fees and taxes.  

The upgrade can be used to move up a class to business or (where available) premium economy seats but not to first class. It’s also subject to reward flight availability in the class you’re booking, so you’ll still need to be canny. 

When you’re ready, check the BA Avios flight finder and don’t forget to also use Reward Flight Finder (RFF) to find the best value reward flights as soon as they become available. 

Amex or Mastercard? 

Most Avios collectors are aware that American Express also has 2 credit card options where customers can collect Avios to redeem on reward seats on British Airways flights - the British Airways American Express Credit Card and British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card. However, these offer different benefits for UK customers compared to Barclaycard. 

The welcome bonuses for the BA-linked Amex and Barclaycards are similar, as are the Avios awarded for spending on the free and fee-paying cards of each scheme.  

However Mastercard is more widely accepted than American Express, both in the UK and globally, so there are more places to pick up Avios with Barclaycard. In recent years though, the number of  UK retailers accepting Amex have risen, with most major retailers now taking the card. 

Barclaycard Avios cards let you choose an Upgrade Voucher after £20,000 of eligible spending on the fee-free card or £10,000 on Avios Plus within 12 months. It can upgrade one person by one cabin on a return or one-way reward flight, or two people on a one-way reward flight, subject to availability and voucher terms. Both British Airways American Express cards require £15,000 of eligible spending each Cardmembership year for a Companion Voucher. You can use it for two seats on the same flight and in the same cabin for the Avios cost of one, or for a 50% Avios discount when travelling solo. The free card's voucher is for Economy only; Premium Plus vouchers can be used in any cabin. Taxes, fees and carrier charges apply per person with either type of voucher. Compare the Avios and cash needed for your itinerary and cabin rather than assuming one voucher is always better value.

If you’re looking to earn as a business then the choice is clear because Amex has a business version of its British Airways card, whereas the Avios Barclaycards are aimed at personal customers only. 

It’s not only about points

While having an extra way to earn Avios reward flights is always welcome, if you’re not paying off your credit card balance each month, the interest you’re paying will likely outstrip the value you’re receiving. This is particularly important to bear in mind because the APR on these rewards credit cards is higher than on other types of credit cards. There’s also a 2.99% fee for foreign transactions. 

Whenever you choose financial services, it’s safest to look beyond the perks and seek independent accredited advice to decide if this is the best deal for you. 

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone. Product links are provided on a non-advised basis. This means that no advice is given or implied and you are solely responsible for deciding whether the product is suitable for your needs. If you are not sure which is the right product for you, you should seek advice.

Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. You should seek separate specialist advice if unsure. Opinions are based primarily on the ability to earn Avios. RFF discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself.