Last week Avios, British Airways and Barclays announced they would be collaborating on the Barclays Premier accounts, with full details to be released “later in the year”.

What was slightly confusing though was the lack of detail at this present moment!

What we do know

Current accounts for Barclays Premier customers (those with a gross salary earning above £75,000pa, or equivalent unearned income, or over £100,000 liquid assets) were specifically mentioned as those who would receive benefits. The requirements are obviously quite high and would probably exclude some readers of this blog, not least those who do not have a UK-sourced income!

What can we expect?

I predict one or more of the following:

• a large Avios sign-up bonus to incentivise people to switch from their existing competitor accounts
• Avios-earning debit and/or credit card. It will probably earn something on par with HSBC Premier cards – 0.5 Avios for every £1 spent for the free version or 1 Avios per £1 for the paid version which also gives an airport lounge card.

What else do we want to see?

Let's face it, giving Avios for an account sign up is pretty run-of-the-mill and nothing special. So how about some creativity with other financial products? I am completely disconnected to the discussions at Avios/Barclays but I would hope to see bonus Avios for other retail products like:

• ISA account openings
• Mortgages (obviously you will need to do the maths to make sure the interest rate is still favourable!)
• Travel, household, life or other medical insurances

If they wanted to be a bit more creative too, then they could try offering various business insurances (3rd Party Liability, Professional Indemnity, Employer's Liability etc.) as these are pretty commonly purchased.

Bottom Line

The details are sparse but this could provide some interesting opportunities for those who qualify for these products. As with all financial products though, I'm not in a position to provide legal guidance on what you should/shouldn't do, so caveat emptor.