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First the good news: The British Airways Premium Plus American Express card has whacked up its sign up bonus from 18,000 Avios to 25,000 Avios, while the standard card offers a bonus of 9,000 Avios (up from the standard 3,000).

The bad news? While the standard card remains free, the fee for the Premium Plus card has risen from £150 a year to £195. This isn’t enormously bad news – this is the first fee increase for the Premium Plus card since it began, and the additional 7,000 Avios more than soften the blow.

In any event, if you take out the Premium Plus card for the principal reason of getting the British Airways “two-for-one” (or “companion”) voucher, there’s an easy way to do this very cost-effectively.

How do you benefit from the sign up bonus? 

For the Premium Plus card, you need to spend £3,000 within the first three months to get the 25,000 bonus Avios, while the standard card requires you to spend £1,000 within the first three months to receive the 9,000 bonus Avios.

The higher bonuses expire at the end of 15 June, 2015.