BA Amex Business Card Review (UK 2025)

The best credit card for a UK business is the one that matches how you do business.

Some cards offer tempting rewards once you spend more than a certain amount. Other cards are optimised for cash flow and expense management or offer cash back as a reward. Corporate credit cards tend to function like business credit cards, but have stricter eligibility criteria and are aimed at larger corporations who spend a lot more.

If you and others in your business do a lot of international travel, you might be looking for a credit card with travel or ‘air miles’ rewards. And there’s one card in particular that’s going to be worth your consideration.

In this article, we’re looking at the BA Amex business credit card. Or the British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card, to give it its full name.

If corporate travel isn’t top of your priority list, but you’re in search of cost-effective and reliable ways to manage payments across borders, check out Wise Business. It’s a multi-currency account to hold and exchange 40+, with international debit cards you can use in 40+.

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What is BA Amex and how does it work?

The British Airways (BA) American Express (Amex) Accelerating business card, or BA Amex business credit card, is what’s broadly referred to as an ‘air miles business credit card’. It’s effectively a loyalty reward business credit card co-branded with both the airline and the credit card name.

However, the BA Amex name doesn’t tell the full story. Business credit card customers get more than just British Airways air miles. BA Amex users get Avios points instead of the standard Amex points available on other Amex products. Avios is BA’s brand name for what people genuinely refer to as air miles, with some extras.

When customers spend on their card, they earn Avios¹ points which they can use across all International Airlines Group (IAG) airlines. IAG is BA’s parent company, so that also includes Iberia and Aer Lingus .

Customers can redeem their Avios points on guaranteed flight seats, Reward Flight seats via One World Partner airlines, seat upgrades, discounts and additional services like checked baggage.²

Avios points are relatively simple to manage.

For every £1 you spend on your card, you earn 1.5 Avios points³. If you spend £5,000 in the first three months, you’ll earn a welcome bonus of 30,000 Avios points. And if you spend £20,000 within a calendar year, you get 10,000 bonus Avios points. You can do this three times per year. ³

Employees can benefit too. Apply to have up to 20 additional card holders, each contributing towards points accumulations, and manage all corporate credit card users under one business account.³ Depending on your internal programmes, the travel perks could be used as part of a broader benefits programme.

The BA Amex business card also offers BA points, which you can use for flights and cabin upgrades.⁴

For the business card, there’s an annual fee of £250.00, 27.6% APR variable for purchases and the representative APR is 106.7% variable. ^5.

Is BA Amex a safe provider?

Customers can use their BA Amex with confidence. Being an American Express product, it is protected by a suite of cutting edge security, verification and fraud prevention solutions including safekey, fraud alerts, card assist and mobile wallet security.⁶

BA Amex credit card review

If you’re looking for a rewards credit card that lets you travel in style for less, the BA Amex credit card could be a smart choice.

If you’re looking for an all round rewards business credit card or a product with features like cash back or interest-free spending, it might be worth exploring other options. The BA Amex business card offer is very simple; it rewards you with travel on British Airways.

The BA Amex doesn’t have any of the introductory offers that you might expect like cashback, interest free purchases or 0% balance transfers.

The assumed opening credit limit is £1,200⁷, which seems quite low given the amount of spending required to unlock the benefits, never mind being low for a corporate credit card.

So it’s a safe assumption that the credit limit isn’t set in stone for businesses who might qualify for a higher threshold.

With a 27.6% purchase rate on uncleared balances, the most affordable way for businesses to earn points is by clearing the balance when you get your bill. Otherwise the money you save on flights could be less than the interest you pay on your balance.

When it comes to customer service, it’s smart to consider that you’ll be dealing with two large organisations if you have any issues. Problems with your credit card will need to be handled by American Express. And any issues redeeming points could be a matter for British Airways.

The BA Amex business card doesn’t have a Trustpilot rating. But American Express does, and it has a low score of 1.5 from over 550 reviews. ⁸

The majority of reviews are either 1-star or 5-star, with very little in the middle.

Many of the more recent negative reviews relate to lack of clarity around terms and conditions, with customers being charged for things they thought they were entitled to. This may relate to changes made to the qualifying spend thresholds made in November 2024.⁹

British Airways doesn’t have a great Trustpilot score either, at 1.4 ¹⁰. But it’s worth keeping in mind that it’s rare for an airline to have a good score, given passengers only tend to leave reviews when they experience a problem. Keep in mind that British Airways is a well respected national flag carrier airline.

BA Amex credit card fey features

As a credit card for spending, the BA Amex has most of what you’d expect in terms of features, including a variety of security and fraud prevention solutions, refund protection and travel accident insurance.

There’s also an optional feature called Plan It™. It lets you pay for purchases in installments and instead of paying interest on the outstanding installments, you pay an upfront fee instead.¹¹

You also get the standard American Express Experiences, which could help you snag priority access to in-demand music, film and theatre events.

BA Amex business card fees¹²

The BA Amex has quite a simple fee structure.

• There’s an annual fee of £250
• Purchases and balance transfers attract an APR of 27.6%
• Cash advances attract an APR of 28.65%
• The international, or ‘non-sterling’ transaction fee is 2.99% after Amex has converted the transaction into GBP.
• There’s a £12¹³ fee if you fail to pay the minimum monthly payment of £25 within 56 days
• Amex doesn't disclose exchange rates and you need to ring them to find out. They’re set each week by a currency conversion affiliate.

BA Amex card limits

The assumed opening credit limit is £1,200. Unless you’re prepared to max out your card every month, making multiple repayments in certain months, you’ll need a higher limit than this to unlock the annual Companion Voucher.

BA Amex customer support

Amex live chat for logged in customers, 24/7 phone support and a comprehensive FAQ page for troubleshooting.

Most Amex customers benefit from Global Assist, which is the Amex 24-hour emergency helpline for customers abroad. Through Global Assist you can get help with lost luggage, accessing a lawyer or translator, prescription replacements and even sending an urgent message.¹⁴

How to apply for a BA Amex credit card?

The fastest way to apply for a BA Amex credit card is online. Amex says it should take around 10 minutes¹⁵ and they may give you a decision in 60 seconds.

To be eligible to apply, you need.¹⁵

• To be aged 18 or over
• To have a permanent UK home address
• To pay the annual Card membership fee of £250

And the business must:

• Have a current UK Bank or Building Society account
  There’s no requirement to be VAT registered.

Wise Business cards: international expenses made easy

If your business operates internationally and your employees are regularly spending time abroad for work, Wise Business cards could be the ideal alternative to a business credit card.

These contactless international debit cards work for spending and cash withdrawals in 150+ countries worldwide, with no foreign transaction fees or subscription fees.

Whenever someone spends or withdraws cash overseas, the currency is converted at the mid-market exchange rate, with just a small conversion fee to pay.

There’s also 0.5% cashback paid on all eligible spending.

Once you have a Wise Business account, you can order unlimited cards for just a one-off fee of £3 a card. You can add employees to your account, with controlled access - and you get full control over spending their limits.

What’s more, it’s easy to integrate Wise with your accounting tools, and your accountant can view team spending for smarter collaboration.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

FAQs - BA Amex business card

How do I add and manage employee cards?

American Express makes it simple to add and manage employee cards through your online account. You can typically add up to 99 employee cards. For each employee card, you have the flexibility to set individual spending limits, helping you to control company expenses effectively.

What kind of purchase protections do Amex business cards offer?

American Express business cards come with valuable purchase protection benefits. These can include coverage for stolen or accidentally damaged items for a specific period after the purchase date. Additionally, many cards offer extended warranty protection, which adds an extra year to the original manufacturer's warranty on eligible purchases, providing extra peace of mind for your business investments.

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With two reward ‘currencies’ in both BA and Avios points, and the option to apply for up to 20 additional card holders, this card has the potential to deliver impressive rewards to any UK business that uses it carefully.

The BA Amex business credit card is potentially a great fit if your job involves managing cash flow and expenses and you’re looking for a way to do that while cutting down on travel costs or rewarding employees.

If you’re an early stage business looking for more of an all-rounder type card, this might not be the card for you. But check out our guide to the best startup business credit cards to discover business credit cards that might be more suitable.

Sources used for this article

1. Avios Avios points
2. American ExpressAccelerating business card, welcome bonus, employee cards and rates
3. British Airways On Business BusinessPoints
4. American Express Card security
5. Trustpilot American Express reviews
6. Which? Changes to spending thresholds on Amex
7. Trustpilot British Airways reviews
8. American Express British Airways AmericanExpress® Accelerating Business Card summary box
9. American Express Global Assist

Sources checked on 26/06/2025