OK, here we go. To save all the questions! Feel free to let me know if I've made any mistakes. Obviously we do not know when BA will stop allowing matches, which is the last unknown factor.
The status match online form is
here.
Please note that the way BA is treating matches where your BA tier changes, giving up to 23 months of status, is different to what was stated would happen on ba.com. BA has confirmed, see link below, that this is meant to happen and will not be rescinded later.
Note that this post assumes that DC will continue for the forseable future. In reality, the last BMI flight is likely to take place in October with the end of the Summer timetable and DC may be finally closed at that point. This may mean that, in any event, status matches will have to be done by October. But we have no proof of this.
1. Are you currently BA Silver and BMI Silver, or BA Gold and BMI Gold?
If no, go to 2.
Your key dates are a) the day your BMI membership drops a tier - this is NOT the expiry date of your BMI card, it is 1-2 months earlier (if you will already renew your BMI status at the current level, the key date is your NEXT BMI year-end) and b) your existing BAEC year end. a) is your last date for doing the match. You then need to look at your BAEC year end AND your current flight plans.
Possible scenarios:
i) You are BMI Gold(or Silver) and BA Gold (or Silver), and your BMI year expires first, and you will NOT retain your existing BA status.
Do a match as late as possible before your BMI status drops (the only exception to this is to do it a bit earlier if you have some BA flights coming up that you want to count towards renewal next year). This gives you an extra period of BA status, from a few months to nearly a year depending on how your BA and BMI years match up. Your tier points will drop to 0 and your membership year will reset.
ii) You are BMI Gold (or Silver) and BA Gold (or Silver) and your BMI year expires first, and you WILL retain your existing BA status
There is no point doing a match. Let your BA status renew automatically. The ONLY possible exception would be if you had some BA flights coming up that you would like to count towards renewal next year, in which case the reset of your BA year may be helpful.
iii) You are BMI Gold (or Silver) and BA Gold (or Silver) and your BA year expires first and you will NOT retain your existing BA status
WAIT until you drop down a BA tier, and then match ASAP. Your BA status will go back up to where it was, and you will get status for all of the current BA year and all the next one, so c 23 months, as outlined in 2) below.
iv) You are BMI Gold (or Silver) and BA Gold (or Silver) and your BA year expires first and you WILL retain your BA status
Once your BA year has renewed, keep an eye on your BMI year end. At some point before the BMI year end, think about whether it is worth doing a BMI match. It will extend your BA year by a few months, but at the loss of your BA tier points to date. The trade off may or may not be worth it. The loss of the TP's you have already accumulated towards renewal may make the match pointless or even negative, if you can no longer get the TP's for the next renewal in time.
You will have noticed the interesting corollary between the last two scenarios. A BA Gold may be better off by ensuring they do NOT renew their BA Gold before matching, since a BA Silver does better from a match to BMI Gold than a BA Gold.
As a general comment for all of the above, a match is best done on the 9th of the month or later, since all membership years run to the 8th and doing it on the 9th gives you an extra 28 days compared to doing it on the 7th.
Clarification on dates
The offical position is :
Once your tier match is accepted, your EC tier will be adjusted to match your current Diamond Club tier. Your new tier status will last the duration of your current EC membership year plus 12 months beyond that.
2. Are you NOT matching BMI Silver to BA Silver or BMI Gold to BA Gold, and thus going up a tier in BAEC or joining BAEC from scratch?
Do you have a BA account already? If no, go to ii), if yes:
i
) I already have a BA account
In this case, your issue is simply when to match. You will NOT see a reset of your BA membership year and you will NOT lose any tier points.
The key dates are a) your BA year-end and b) your BMI year-end (which is 1-2 months before the date on your card). If you will already renew your BMI status at the current level, the key date is your NEXT BMI year-end.
If b) is earlier than a), match now. You have nothing to lose, since you must match before your BMI status drops and BA gives you status for all of your current year and all of next year anyway.
If a) is earlier than b), then your best bet is to WAIT until the start of your new BA year. This is because BA gives status for all of your current year and all of the next one. If your BA year expires 9 July, a match in June would only get you 13 months of status. A match in August would get you 23 months of status.
ii) I do not already have a BA account
This is the easier bit to understand.
Look at your BMI year end (not the date on your card, it will be 1-2 months earlier). This is your last date to match. Then decide if you need BA status before that for any upcoming flights - if you do, you may want to match earlier.
Open an Executive Club account online a couple of weeks before you intend to match and then match. You get status for all of the current year and all of the next one, so 23 months of Gold or Silver. A Gold will then an additional year of Silver as a soft landing. The reason for not opening a BAEC and matching on the same day is that you may find you just get status for 12 months.