Status: checked against official sources; automated independent review
GUIDE
Barclaycard Avios Plus vs Barclaycard Avios: what £20 buys
Barclaycard Avios Plus is the paid tier of Barclaycard's Avios credit cards in the United Kingdom: it charges a £20 monthly fee and collects 1.5 Avios for every £1 spent, while the free Barclaycard Avios card charges no monthly fee and collects 1 Avios for every £1. [1] [2] The fee also halves the spending needed for a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher, from £20,000 to £10,000 within 12 months. [1] [2]
Facts checked: 18 October 2026
Key takeaways
- Avios Plus costs £20 a month and pays 1.5 Avios per £1; the free Barclaycard Avios card costs nothing each month and pays 1 Avios per £1. [1] [2]
- The cabin upgrade voucher arrives at £10,000 of spending in 12 months on Avios Plus, against £20,000 on the free card. [1] [2]
- Avios Plus shows a representative APR of 80.1% variable, against 29.9% variable on the free card, although both quote the same 29.9% p.a. variable purchase rate. [1] [2]
- The extra half-Avio per pound has to be worth enough over a year to cover the fee, so the crossover point depends on what one Avios is worth to the cardholder. [1] [2]
What does the £20 monthly fee buy?
Both are personal credit cards from Barclaycard in the United Kingdom, both run on Mastercard, and both pay Avios into a linked The British Airways Club account. [1] [2] The differences sit in the fee, the earning rate and the spending thresholds.
| Feature | Barclaycard Avios | Barclaycard Avios Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | £0 [1] | £20 [2] |
| Representative APR (variable) | 29.9% [1] | 80.1% [2] |
| Purchase rate | 29.9% p.a. variable [1] | 29.9% p.a. variable [2] |
| Avios per £1 on eligible purchases | 1 [1] | 1.5 [2] |
| Welcome bonus for customers new to Barclaycard | 5,000 Avios after £1,000 of spending in the first three months [1] | 25,000 Avios after £3,000 of spending in the first three months [2] |
| Cabin upgrade voucher threshold | £20,000 of spending within 12 months, or 7,000 bonus Avios [1] | £10,000 of spending within 12 months, or 7,000 bonus Avios [2] |
Barclaycard quotes smaller bonuses for existing customers who switch to one of the Avios cards: 1,000 Avios after £1,000 of spending within three months on the free card, and 5,000 Avios after £3,000 within three months on Avios Plus. [1] [2] The bonus can be collected only once, so a cardholder moving from one Avios card to the other does not receive a second one. [1] [2]
How much more Avios does Avios Plus earn?
Avios Plus pays 1.5 Avios per £1 on eligible purchases, against 1 Avios per £1 on the free card, so the gap is half an Avios for every pound spent. [1] [2] Over a year the extra Avios come to half the number of pounds put through the card. [1] [2]
| Spending in a year | Free card (1 per £1) | Avios Plus (1.5 per £1) | Extra Avios |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | 7,500 | 2,500 | |
| £10,000 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 5,000 |
| £20,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 10,000 |
| 30,000 | 45,000 | 15,000 |
Reaching the spending target in a 12-month period lets either cardholder choose a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher for an Avios Reward Flight booking or 7,000 bonus Avios instead. [1] [2] The voucher moves a booking up one cabin class where availability allows, cannot upgrade a booking to First, has to be applied when the reward flight is booked, and the travel must begin within 24 months of the voucher being issued. [1] [2] Barclaycard says one voucher can be collected for each 12-month period in which the target is reached, and the mechanics are set out in the cabin upgrade voucher guide. [1] [2]
Avios Plus adds Airport Lounge Membership, which Barclaycard describes as access to more than 1,000 airport lounges at a discounted rate of £24 per lounge pass, per person, with selected lounges bookable in advance at £6 per person per visit. [2] On both cards, Avios collected are transferred to the linked The British Airways Club account on the second working day of the following month. [1] [2]
When does Avios Plus overtake the free card?
Avios Plus costs £20 a month. [2] Set against that, the extra half-Avio per pound means £10,000 of annual spending produces 5,000 more Avios than the free card, £20,000 produces 10,000 more, and further annual spending produces more still. [1] [2] The paid card therefore comes out ahead once those extra Avios are worth enough to the cardholder, so the annual spend at which it wins depends on the value that person puts on an Avios. [1] [2]
The voucher thresholds create a second crossover that does not depend on valuation. At any annual spending between £10,000 and just under £20,000 within a 12-month period, Avios Plus reaches the cabin upgrade voucher threshold while the free card does not. [1] [2] In the first year the new-customer bonuses also differ by 20,000 Avios, 25,000 on Avios Plus against 5,000 on the free card, but that gap is paid once and is not repeated in later years. [1] [2]
Exceptions and limits
- Neither card collects Avios on cash withdrawals, wire transfers or the purchase of currency, on transactions that are later refunded or returned, or on spending above the credit limit. [1] [2]
- Barclaycard may offer a different rate of 31.9% APR variable depending on individual circumstances, and both pages state that the rates shown may differ and that approval depends on financial circumstances and borrowing history. [1] [2]
- Money spent on an existing Avios card does not count towards the spending targets for extra rewards after a switch, and no second welcome bonus is paid. [1] [2]
- The cabin upgrade voucher is limited to Avios Reward Flight bookings, one cabin up and not to First; taxes, fees and carrier charges per person still apply, and reward flights and upgrades depend on availability. [1] [2]
- To use Reward Flight Saver pricing, a member needs to have collected at least 1 Avios in the previous 12 months. [1] [2]
- Barclaycard says Premier customers who open Avios Plus and switch on Barclays Avios Rewards, a separate Barclays product with its own £12 monthly fee, receive £5 back into their current account each month. [2] Applicants should also read the UK credit card application rules before applying. [1]
Frequently asked questions
Is Barclaycard Avios Plus worth the £20 a month?
It pays 0.5 Avios more per £1 than the free card and halves the cabin upgrade voucher threshold to £10,000. [1] [2] Whether that covers the annual fees depends on what the extra Avios are worth to you. [2]
How much do I need to spend to get the Barclaycard cabin upgrade voucher?
£10,000 within 12 months on Avios Plus and £20,000 within 12 months on the free card, or 7,000 bonus Avios instead of the voucher. [1] [2]
What APR do the two cards charge?
The free card shows 29.9% APR variable and Avios Plus 80.1% APR variable, both on a £1,200 credit limit, and both quote a purchase rate of 29.9% p.a. variable. [1] [2] A different rate of 31.9% APR variable may be offered instead. [1] [2]
Can I switch from the free card to Avios Plus?
Barclaycard lets existing customers check in its app whether they can change from one Avios card to the other, but spending on the old card does not count towards the new card's spending targets and no second welcome bonus is paid. [1] [2]
Sources
Sources checked on 18 October 2026. It covers only the two Barclaycard Avios credit cards in the United Kingdom; other Avios cards from UK issuers, and airline or hotel programmes that use Avios, are not covered here — see the UK Avios cards comparison for those.
- Barclaycard Avios card page and summary box, checked 18 October 2026
- Barclaycard Avios Plus card page and summary box, checked 18 October 2026