Update: Offer expired.  Instead, you should check out the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Initially, when Chase announced the 100,000 British Airways sign up bonus was coming back, I wrote that it was for an unannounced limited time.  A date in June surfaced as the expiration date, but it was later extended. (I honestly can’t remember if I blogged about the June expiration date.)

Anyway, it appears that July 18th is the last day to sign up for the card and take advantage of the promotion.
The 100,000 sign up bonus is the most lucrative current sign up bonus available. (Even the 50,000 bonus is near the top!)  So you should be asking yourself if you ought to pull the trigger on this card. In case you’ve missed it, here’s a quick overview

British Airways 100,000 Avios Sign Up Bonus Details

• After you apply and get approval, you need to use the card once, and you’ll get a 50,000 Avios sign up bonus.

• Spend $10,000 on the card in the first year, and you’ll get another 25,000 bonus Avois.

• Spend a second $10,000 on the card in the first year, and you’ll get an additional 25,000 Avios.

• Expires July 18th, 2012.

Thus, with $20,000 in spending, you’ll get 120,000 Avois (100,000 in bonuses and 20,000 for spending).  However, even if you can only make a single purchase (which I don’t recommend), you’ll still end up with 50,000 Avois. My wife is due for another Chase application soon, so I’ll be deciding in the next couple of weeks if she should get in on the offer.  The biggest thing holding me back is that I currently have over 225,000 Avios in my account.

What You Need to Know About Avois | The Love and Hate Saga

If you’re familiar with miles and points, then you should know that Avois is different than most major US programs.  Depending on your need, these differences can be positive or negative. Avios is a distance based program which means the number of miles required for a trip directly correlates to the distance between the two cities.  I love Avois because they provide options and alternatives for mileage usage compared to standard milage area based mileage programs.  But there are some trips where Avois either requires a bunch more miles, or they have crazy expensive fuel surcharges. For the record, I would never fly Avois to get to Europe because I have no interest in paying $500 in taxes, fees, and fuel surcharges for a ‘free’ ticket to Europe. To highlight the value or lack of value, I’ll discuss a few award trips I have booked to highlight how Avios can be either good or horrible.  For the sake of these illustrations, I’ll compare Avois requirements to American, United, and Delta.

One Way Bariloche, Argentina to Hawaii

*Note that not all airlines service Bariloche, so this is for illustrative purposes only.The flight is booked with American at the cost of 20,000 AAdvantage miles for the one way.  By the way, we also booked a two month layover in Dallas into the itinerary.

• American – 20,000

• United – 30,000

• Delta – 35,000 (round trip, as one ways use the same miles roundtrip)

• British Airways 45,000 Avios (from EZE – HNL only)

American is clearly the winner, and Avios is the worst.

One Way Denver to Dallas

• American – 12,500

• United – 12,500

• Delta – 25,000 (round trip, as one ways use the same miles roundtrip)

• British Airways – 4,500

Now, Avios goes from the worst to first.

One Way Hawaii to Quito, Equador

• American 15,000-17,500 (if you use partner flights, not just American)

• United – 22,500

• Delta – 27,500 (round trip, as one ways use the same miles roundtrip)

• British Airways – 37,500

One Way Quito, Equador to Toronto, Ontario

Round Trip Toronto to Chicago

• American – 25,000

• United – 25,000

• Delta – 25,000

• British Airways 9,000

So, what does all this teach about Avois?It tends to be either the best or worst program, depending on the distance you are flying.  That’s exactly why I love having Avois because it increases my redemption options.  I find that American, United, and Delta overlap each other a lot because they have similar award charts.  However, by adding Avois, you add the option to save a lot on select routes.  But, you’ve got to use them wisely or you’ll be wasting them if you fly the wrong routes. If you want to add a stash of Avois to your collection of frequent flyer miles, then I suggest that you do so before July 18th.