Comparing Canada, British and USA Executive Club Credit Cards
If you have been following my series, I have mostly been comparing similar Canada versus US based credit cards. Today, I think that it will be fun to add a third country in the mix. I will be writing about the British Airways, Executive Club co-branded credit cards. Below are the 4 credit cards that we will be comparing. Also, it is only fitting as the Canadian and US cards are offering a higher than normal sign up bonus.
Canadian RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card
- $165 annual fee
- $75 fee for supplemental cardholders
- Earn 50,000 sign up bonus Avios (normally 15,000 Avios) (earn 15,000 bonus Avios upon approval and earn an additional 35,000 Avios after spending $9,000 in the first 3 months; if you apply before May 31, 2017)
- Earn 2 Avios for every $1 spent on British Airways and British Airway Holidays purchases
- Earn 1 Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- Receive a Companion Award Voucher (valid for 24 months) for a reward flight operated by British Airways after spending $30,000 or more during a calendar year
- Get 10% off British Airways flights departing from Canada (outbound trip my be made before December 31, 2017)
UK British Airways American Express Credit Card
- No annual fee
- Earn 5,000 sign up bonus Avios (after spending £1,000 in your first 3 months)
- Earn 1 Avios for every £1 spent on all purchases
- Receive a Companion Award Voucher (valid for 12 months) after spending £20,000 per anniversary year
UK British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card
- £195 annual fee
- Earn 25,000 sign up bonus Avios (after spending £3,000 in your first 3 months))
- Earn 3 Avios for every £1 spent on British Airways and British Airway Holidays purchases
- Earn 1.5 Avios for every £1 spent on all other purchases
- Receive a Companion Award Voucher (valid for 24 months) after spending £10,000 per anniversary year
US Chase British Airways Visa Signature Card
- $95 annual fee
- Earn 100,000 sign up bonus Avios (normally 50,000 Avios) (earn 50,000 bonus Avios after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months, earn 25,000 bonus Avios after spending $10,000 within the first year or earn 50,000 bonus Avios after spending $20,000 with the the first year)
- Earn 3 Avios for every $1 spent on British Airways purchases
- Earn 1 Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- Receive a Companion Award Voucher (valid for 24 months) after spending $30,000 per anniversary year
- No foreign transaction fees
Annual Fee
No card is offering a first year fee waived promotion. You may be able to negotiate one if you are a banking client of the respective bank. Otherwise, I am going with the card that has no annual fees.
Winner: UK AMEX
Sign Up Bonus
I find the Canadian card very competitive whenever they have the 50,000 sign up bonus promotion. That being said, the US version has the highest regular sign up bonus, so they win this category.
Winner: US Chase
Earn Ratios
The slight edge goes to the UK card, even with the conversion rates factored in, I like how you are able to earn 1.5 Avios for all other purchases. As there are limited British Airways purchases anyway.
Winner: UK AMEX Premium
Companion Award Voucher
I guess it is only fair for the UK co-branded card to be the most competitive in more categories, I would hope. Anyway, there is a clear winner as one credit card has by far the lowest minimum spending requirement.
Winner: UK AMEX Premium
10% off British Airways Flights
Seeing as the Canadian card is the only one offering this perk, they are the only winner. Furthermore, keep in mind that the 10% discount applies only to British Airways flights departing from Canada. This is also the only time that the Canadian card wins a category.
Winner: Canada RBC
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Waiving foreign transaction fees on US based travel credit cards is almost become the norm. Hope to see this norm spread worldwide!
Winner: US Chase
Conclusion
I would say that this is a close call between the UK British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card and the US version. The deal breaker for me is that the US Chase British Airways Visa Signature Card comes out ahead because of a lower annual fee, higher sign up bonus and foreign transactions fee waived.
This was fun for me to write up, which credit card comparison would you like me to do next?
Yes, but keep in mind that not everyone can be eligible to apply for all three cards, as a credit file in the US or UK is needed…for most Canadians, the only card available to them is the RBC one.
Yes, very true. The main purpose of the comparison is more to compare how the credit card companies of each country line up against each other.
Whether it’s a fair comparison or not, I think it’s fun just to see!
Fair point, it is interesting to see how different countries compare.
One thing to note is that the 10% off for BA flights departing from Canada is only a limited time offer, valid until 31 December 2017 (http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/british-airways-credit-card.html#/legal)
Which set of cards are you going to compare next? Perhaps the Cathay Pacific cards?
Thanks for the heads up. I added a small note in the post.
I am always looking for suggestions on which credit cards to compare next. Thanks for your suggestion, I will add it to the list!