Reminder: British Airways Visa 100,000 Bonus Ends Tomorrow: July 17, 2012

Update: The current offer for the British Airways Visa is 50,000 Avios when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months..

- 50,000 bonus Avios after your first purchase
-25,000 bonus Avios after you make $10,000 in purchases within the first year of account opening
-Plus an additional 25,000 bonus Avios after you make a total of $20,000 in purchases within the first year of account opening

Additional card features and fees:
-New: Smart Chip technology allows you to use your card for chip-based purchases in Europe & beyond, while still giving you the ability to use your card as you do today at home.
- 1.25 miles for every dollar spent on the card
- 2.5 miles per dollar spent on British Airways travel
- No foreign transaction fees
- Companion certificate after $30,000 in spend. This companion ticket allows a second award redemption for free (It’s like getting another 100,000 miles). So if you use 100,000 miles for a business class ticket from Los Angeles to London, the second business class ticket costs 0 miles (you only pay taxes and fees). A potentially huge value.

Meeting Spending Requirements
In order to get the full 100,000 Avios, you have to hit $20,000 spending in the first year–that’s quite a bit of money.  However, there are a lot of great, cheap ways to meet your spending requirements while still using your credit responsibly by putting as many of your expenses on your credit card as possible, and getting creative with the ways you spend, such as buying gift cards or even paying your taxes and then writing off that cost as a business expense, so look at all your options and channel your spending into the ones with the most payable potential for you.

Once you’re at $20,000, you could even try going for the $30,000 threshold that will earn you a free companion ticket on the airline and take advantage of those expensive premium class redemptions.

Maximizing British Airways Avios Series
Once you’ve scored your 100,000 Avios (125,000+, actually, once you meet your spending requirements), you’ll want to know all the ways you can use them, so check out my series on Maximizing British Airways Avios. Posts include: Master FAQ Post on Chase British Airways 100,000 Avios Offer, Spotlight on Taxes and Fees, Distance-Based Awards, Travel Together Companion Ticket, Household Accounts, Using Avios to Upgrade Paid Tickets, The Avios and Cash Option, Save Money on Fuel Surcharges by Transferring British Airways Avios to Iberia, Using Avios For Non-Flight Redemptions.

Do you have questions about this offer, or suggestions for other readers on how to meet the spending requirements for this bonus? Leave a comment below.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author.s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.