bmi diamond club - Hugs & Kisses, Gavin (re no more miles on bmi hotels, parking, Europcar, gifts...)

Come back Keeley!

New email from Gavin states:

- no more earning/burning on bmi hotels
- ditto for Europcar
- no more earning on Purple Parking
- Gold Upgrade vouchers have now turned to dust
- no more burning on Gifts and Treats after 17 June

Full details of the email here:


Dear RAPC

We would like to take this opportunity to provide you with a further update on changes to Diamond Club as part of the ongoing transition of bmi into British Airways.

Earning and spending miles with partners
Gold upgrade vouchers
Your invitation to join the Executive Club

1. Earning and spending miles with partners

With immediate effect, the following partner benefits will no longer be available to Diamond Club members:

Earning and spending your destinations miles on bmi hotels
Earning and spending your destinations miles on car hire with Europcar
Earning destinations miles with Purple Parking

However, you can continue to earn destinations miles with all remaining partners until further notice. Please
click here for further information.

Additionally, you will only be able to continue spending your destinations miles on Gifts and Treats until 17 June 2012.

Although we have announced a number of changes to the partner benefits today, we would like to confirm that you can continue to earn status miles on bmi flights with a bmi flight number and earn and spend your destinations miles on bmi and British Airways flights.

Gold and Silver members can also continue to access bmi and selected British Airways lounges at London Heathrow and London Gatwick.

2. Gold upgrade vouchers

If you are a Gold Diamond Club member in receipt of a Gold upgrade voucher, you will no longer be able to use this on any flights with immediate effect.

3. Your invitation to join the Executive Club

British Airways is inviting all Diamond Club members, who are not already members of the Executive Club to enrol at ba.com/welcomebmi.

If you are a Diamond Club Gold or Silver member, you can also apply for matching tier status within the Executive Club.

British Airways does not currently offer a lifetime status or set of lifetime benefits for their Gold customers and as such, Diamond Club Lifetime Gold members will be tier matched at Executive Club Gold for a minimum of one year.

Finally, as we have previously announced, from 3 July 2012, Diamond Club members will be able to transfer their destinations miles to Executive Club Avios at a rate of 1:1. The online transfer tool will allow Diamond Club members to undertake transfers between their Diamond Club and Executive Club accounts.

For more information on the changes please visit ba.com/diamondclub.

Regards (no hugs and kisses from me, maybe just a firm handshake)



Gavin Halliday
Commercial Director

Awful news.

I think we'll only be hearing from Gavin a further two times:

1) on/around 3 July, telling us how to "magick" our miles into Avios
2) sometime afterwards, drawing the shutters down on Diamond Club, and warning us that our miles, if not already turned to Avios, will go Adios!

It was pretty clear that the de-facto earning of 1,000 Avios per hotel night wasn't going to last long but given how well-planned and professional the DC integration had been handled so far, I am surprised about the "immediate effect". Clearly, some people have booked hotel stays with the expectation that they will earn bmi miles/Avios. Suppose I checked into a Hilton hotel this morning only to find out that by the time I check out tomorrow the rules have changed. How unprofessional.

It's all going to plan, a smart one at that. Chip, chip, chip and come 03 July there will be next to no reason for anyone not to transfer their balance to Avios; then it's RIP Diamond Club.

really sucks for Lifetime golds!

I may be wrong but I understood bmi hotels to be booked using the bmi website and the earnings with Hilton and other chains is separate and stays for the meantime?

One thing to note for the hotels part is that it is referring to the bmi Hotels booking engine. Hotel partnerships (e.g. Hilton HHonors) still appear to be continuing.

[Edit: +1 to hugolover too who beat me to it!]

+1 indeed RAPC.

One thing to note for the hotels part is that it is referring to the bmi Hotels booking engine. Hotel partnerships (e.g. Hilton HHonors) still appear to be continuing.

That'll be next week's email. Wouldn't want to hit us with it all at once.... ;)

Awful news.

Doesn't look like they have any interest in retaining BMI members.

Title updated.

If you're watching Gavin, I think you owe us all a clarification stating whether bookings made in good faith with these partners before this "immediate effect" announcement will be honoured with a miles credit.

That'll be next week's email. Wouldn't want to hit us with it all at once.... ;)

Very true, although there is a bit more work involved and notice periods required to wind those kinds of partnerships up. The ones dropped immediately today are all hosted via the bmi website, so just a flick of a switch will do the trick.

I have to say, I preferred Gavin when he was at Autoglass. ;) (Apologies to non-UK members who won't have a clue what I am on about)

This sucks ( the Europcar and hotels are a big hit for me).

No shocks really but still not very nice. Bye bye DC (it really is death by a 1000 cuts!)

The only remaining issue, and it is a big one is the MBNA cards, with the FSA regulations surly they can't just stop the earning on these with immediate effect as they with some of the partners today? There has to be some notice period, I'm surprised MBNA are sill offering the BMI cards to new applicants.

Phew, because in the DC email sent out on the 8th (the one which announced Keely's departure - they advertised double HHilton miles for June!

https://www.flybmi.com/bmi/en-gb/loyalty-programmes/diamond-club/members/news-centre/offer-double-your-hhonors.aspx?cmp=em22945

Would have been very annoying if they ditched it today mid way through something they only advertised a week ago!

The only remaining issue, and it is a big one is the MBNA cards, with the FSA regulations surly they can't just stop the earning on these with immediate effect as they with some of the partners today? There has to be some notice period, I'm surprised MBNA are sill offering the BMI cards to new applicants.

"Earning" is a perk or benefit associated with the card...I don't think this would fall in any sense under any part of FSA regulations. If a credit card company can change the APR/interest rates, or a bank notify you that they are terminating their free banking, I don't see why minimal notice of any changes to Mileage Earning would even show up as a blip on the FSA's radar.

The FSA is presumably more concerned with whether the credit facilities being extended are as advertised, and wouldn't care about whether any loyalty aspects are being honoured or not. You can always terminate your contract with the card holder, if things change in a way that displeases you, I presume?

I have to say, I preferred Gavin when he was at Autoglass. ;) (Apologies to non-UK members who won't have a clue what I am on about)

...and I'm sure uhh....bmi's Gavin, looks forward to being back at his desk at Waterworld in a few months.... ;)


Phew, because in the DC email sent out on the 8th (the one which announced Keely's departure - they advertised double HHilton miles for June!

https://www.flybmi.com/bmi/en-gb/loyalty-programmes/diamond-club/members/news-centre/offer-double-your-hhonors.aspx?cmp=em22945

Would have been very annoying if they ditched it today mid way through something they only advertised a week ago!

For reference it's the Hilton HHonors Q2 promotion, not bmi, and has been in effect from 01 April; it's not just for June.

One thing to note for the hotels part is that it is referring to the bmi Hotels booking engine. Hotel partnerships (e.g. Hilton HHonors) still appear to be continuing.

[Edit: +1 to hugolover too who beat me to it!]

Yes, you're right. Sorry - should have read the message properly.

Makes picking hotels easier. Makes earning miles harder. :/

The reference to the hotels is very unclear. I would very much like to know if I am going to continue to earn 2000 bd miles per-hilton stay until the end of June.

Yes, you will continue to earn with Hilton - I don't believe the message is that unclear at all.

You can always terminate your contract with the card holder, if things change in a way that displeases you, I presume?

You can, although if you've paid your annual fee of £85 or whatever it is for the privilege of earning miles then you might be entitled to feel miffed if they don't honour it (or at least give you a pro rata rebate of the annual fee).

Overall I think everything about the transition has been fair except for the fact that they keep springing things with no notice. They pulled status miles earning from quite a few flights with absolutely zero notice, now the GUVs go up in smoke effective immediately, and all this after they've described it as "business as usual" and told us that we can continue to book "with confidence". Of course we all knew the GUVs wouldn't be valid forever, but there was no reason why it had to be specifically today that they stopped working and no reason at all why they couldn't have told us (say) a month in advance of when they were going to be pulled.

The e-mails are certainly less fun to read than they used to be, and the monthly e-mails with subjects like "June news and offers" would probably be better renamed "June news and latest cuts to Diamond Club".

I think "book with confidence" means that you are guaranteed that the flight will operate. Even for mileage junkies, the main reason we buy a flight, afterall, is to get from a to B (except for when we are mileage running!).

I think we all know that DC is gradually being wound down, so these sort of developments shouldn't really be so shocking, and "continue to book with confidence" and "business as usual" should be construed solely in terms of flight operations - not in terms of also referring to miles and the workings of the FFP. We are quite clearly being shooed over to BAEC.

The only remaining issue, and it is a big one is the MBNA cards, with the FSA regulations surly they can't just stop the earning on these with immediate effect as they with some of the partners today? There has to be some notice period, I'm surprised MBNA are sill offering the BMI cards to new applicants.

/pedant on
The FSA doesn’t regulate consumer credit, the Office of Fair Trading does.
/pedant off

Same point applies though!

I think ... "continue to book with confidence" and "business as usual" should be construed solely in terms of flight operations - not in terms of also referring to miles and the workings of the FFP. We are quite clearly being shooed over to BAEC.

Fair comment regarding "continue to book with confidence" but the "business as usual" reassurances were specifically about Diamond Club (e.g. "Business remains as usual for Diamond Club, therefore all other benefits remain unchanged" - from an e-mail on 1 May). Instead, why not admit that the programme is being wound down and give us some information about how and when so that we can plan accordingly?

The only remaining issue, and it is a big one is the MBNA cards, with the FSA regulations surly they can't just stop the earning on these with immediate effect as they with some of the partners today? There has to be some notice period, I'm surprised MBNA are sill offering the BMI cards to new applicants.

Seeing as the Mbna deal is similar to the Amex offering I hope that it survives. Having said that cc bonuses is going to be a major source of Avios for me soon.

Business remains as usual for Diamond Club, therefore all other benefits remain unchanged

..and remaining as normal and unchanged they were, until they changed :)

I didn't see any "forevermore" attached to the email :D

Fair comment regarding "continue to book with confidence" but the "business as usual" reassurances were specifically about Diamond Club (e.g. "Business remains as usual for Diamond Club, therefore all other benefits remain unchanged" - from an e-mail on 1 May). Instead, why not admit that the programme is being wound down and give us some information about how and when so that we can plan accordingly?

Fair point.

I suppose they intended it as:

With the exception of everything we've told you, and everything that's changed, so far - and notwithstanding further changes which are hurtling towards us at a rate of knots and will once more upset the apple cart - it's business as usual in Diamond Club Land!!!

I didn't see any "forevermore" attached to the email :D

Hugs and kisses forevermore,
Gav
xoxo

Does anyone think the ICC has been told about the eGUVS?
I phoned and was told I have zero vouchers left...but I'm intersted to know if that actually was the case or if any remaining ones have been removed as I thought I had 3 left?

No point making any more bmi bookings now if I can't upgrade them...

This from flybmi.com. Contrary to the impression given, this information is not yet on the BA website FAQs

Diamond Club FAQs (14 June 2012)

The FAQs on ba.com and flybmi.com have been updated to reflect today’s announcements to Diamond Club members.

Can I continue to redeem destinations miles for gifts & treats?
The last day on which you will be able to redeem destinations miles for gifts & treats will be 17th June. From 18th June onwards you will no longer be able to redeem destinations miles for gifts & treats

Can I continue to redeem destinations miles for discounts on hotel or hotel + flight packages through Expedia?
Diamond Club members will not be able to redeem for discounts on hotel or hotel and flight packages from 14th June 2012.

Can I continue to redeem destinations miles for car hire with Europcar?
No. The Diamond Club partnership with Europcar ended on 14th June 2012 and members will no longer be able to redeem for car hire bookings.

If you made and completed a car hire booking prior to the 14th June, you can claim destinations miles retrospectively using the missing miles tool through your online Diamond Club account.

You will be unable to claim mileage if you booked your car hire prior to 14th June, and the car rental has not yet taken place.

Can I continue to earn destinations miles with Europcar?
No. The Diamond Club partnership with Europcar ended on 14th June and you can no longer earn destinations miles on any future bookings.

Can I continue to earn destinations miles with Purple Parking?
No. The Diamond Club partnership with Purple Parking ended on 14th June and you can no longer earn destinations miles on any bookings.

Can I continue to earn destinations miles on hotel or hotel +flight packages through Expedia?
No. The Diamond Club partnership with Expedia ended on 14th June 2012 and you can no longer earn destinations miles on any bookings.

Can I continue to use my gold upgrade vouchers when travelling on bmi?
No. From 14th June onwards, Gold upgrade vouchers are no longer a benefit of the Diamond Club. Any existing Gold upgrade vouchers will automatically become invalid on 14th June and no further Gold Upgrade vouchers will be issued.

I have a redeemed my destinations miles for a Europcar discount voucher, which I would like to cancel, what should I do?
Europcar discount vouchers are non-refundable. Please contact your local bmi service centre if you would like to cancel your booking.

I have redeemed my destinations miles with a gifts & treats partner, which I would like to cancel, what should I do?
Gifts & treats are non-refundable.

I have redeemed my destinations miles for a discount voucher on hotel or hotel + flight packages with Expedia which I would like to cancel, what should I do?
Expedia discount vouchers are non refundable. Please contact your local BMI service centre if you would like to cancel your booking.

The FAQ’s are updated regularly so please check for the latest updates at http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bmi-faq/public/en_gb

W:eek:w -- I don't ever think I've seen so many "No" responses in one place from a single program. diamond club was a loyalty pr:rolleyes:gram, right?

What do you expect? They want people to move away. As I said up-thread it's a smart way to do it; gently push the members across to EC....

Gav, that was wasn't a nice update at all. Why abrubtly end Europcar and GUVs today with no advance warning and give 3 days to spend on gifts and treats? What's so special about today then? Come back Keeley!!!

Let's face it, we all knew the shutters were coming down, slowly but surely and they are definitely only going one way. Once the miles transfer is open and the summer schedule comes to an end that will be it folks.

Given the rather generous status match by BA, the ok-ish BA miles transfer and some good and successful *A match opportunities I really can't complain (just don't ask me about the previous owners :mad:), but that's just me.;)

Gav, that was wasn't a nice update at all. Why abrubtly end Europcar and GUVs today with no advance warning and give 3 days to spend on gifts and treats? What's so special about today then? Come back Keeley!!!

No doubt BA would have forced this through whether or not Keeley was still officially the diamond club manager. At least she didn't have her name associated with these recent changes.

Gavin is a BA guy: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/gavin-halliday/5/b35/4b?_mSplash=1

I'm annoyed that the 'business as usual' promise was made, it would have been nice if we'd been given some more honest timescales about the closure of diamond club. There's no reason why they needed to make changes from immediate effect.

Still it could have been worse, at least we have the opportunity to transfer miles to BA soon enough, they didn't need to do that.

Gavin is a BA guy: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/gavin-halliday/5/b35/4b?_mSplash=1


He has a nice portrait over at Getty Images (http://www.gettyimages.nl/detail/nieuwsfoto%27s/gavin-halliday-area-general-manager-europe-for-british-nieuwsfotos/97714903)!

Its death by a thousand cuts isn't it? Why they didn't just say "DC is closing in three months and all your status and points will be transferred to BAEC, bye bye" I don't know. Actually I prefer what they have done so long as I can delay status matching but this piecemeal withdrawal of benefits is becoming really rather silly.

I'm aggrieved at the pulling of the gifts and treats with such short notice.

I have been saving up for a pair of green wellies and am still 43018 miles short. With only three says left to earn (assuming the cut off is based on UK time), can anyone suggest a mileage run that would credit in time for me to redeem?

:rolleyes: See what happens when you emigrate? Green so so last year..... what you want is a Gold (http://www.hunter-boot.com/original-great/gold) pair. Although looking at your current status, technically you should only be allowed to buy them in Silver (http://www.hunter-boot.com/original-great/silver)

:rolleyes: See what happens when you emigrate? Green so so last year..... what you want is a Gold (http://www.hunter-boot.com/original-great/gold) pair. Although looking at your current status, technically you should only be allowed to buy them in Silver (http://www.hunter-boot.com/original-great/silver)
My bad - I'm now blue in everything except VN - where silver is the new blue. But those Gold boots are quite something. Diggiloo Diggiley indeed.

Having been impressed with the way the transition has been handled until now, the immediate notice of these changes is a bit disappointing.

"Earning" is a perk or benefit associated with the card...I don't think this would fall in any sense under any part of FSA regulations. If a credit card company can change the APR/interest rates, or a bank notify you that they are terminating their free banking, I don't see why minimal notice of any changes to Mileage Earning would even show up as a blip on the FSA's radar.

The Payment Services Regulations require any change to terms and conditions on a framework contract (of which a credit card agreement is an example) to have two months' notice. As mentioned above, this is an OFT issue, but an issue nonetheless.

Having been impressed with the way the transition has been handled until now, the immediate notice of these changes is a bit disappointing.

I understand the DC teams only gets notice from BA of these changes a day or two ahead of us and have no choice but to relay the bad news - and it's evident that whoever is now pulling the strings at BA has little or no experience with customer loyalty or customer service.

Way to sour a well handled process, whoever you are!

Keep this up and you'll be losing a small percentage of potential high-value customers who have the option of choosing BA or another network carrier. If you're clever, you'll have figured out the value of the cash saved won't exceed the value of the opportunity cost of acting like an arrogant ham-fisted arse... as swanny said, wouldn't it be easier to just publish a deadline and make everyone secure in the roadmap? I know contractual obligations with partners have to be dealt with, but surely you could manage this without making a complete bags of the customer base at the same time?

With the exception of everything we've told you, and everything that's changed, so far - and notwithstanding further changes which are hurtling towards us at a rate of knots and will once more upset the apple cart - it's business as usual in Diamond Club Land!!!

Watch out, Gavin: someone is after your job!

...and of course DC is still "one of the world's most generous frequent flyer programmes", according to the web site.

Having been impressed with the way the transition has been handled until now, the immediate notice of these changes is a bit disappointing.Agreed, same feelings here.

Why they didn't just say "DC is closing in three months and all your status and points will be transferred to BAEC, bye bye" I don't know.

Well they wouldn't want to transfer everyone's points with no opt-in - this is a handy way to wipe out a few unattended balances off the books.

The Payment Services Regulations require any change to terms and conditions on a framework contract (of which a credit card agreement is an example) to have two months' notice. As mentioned above, this is an OFT issue, but an issue nonetheless.

But do the frequent-flyer aspects appear in the terms and conditions of such credit card agreements?

Never having taken out a UK credit card, I don't know.

But do the frequent-flyer aspects appear in the terms and conditions of such credit card agreements?

Never having taken out a UK credit card, I don't know.

I would have to look it up, but currently the regulators in the UK are taking an extremely dim view of failures in the area they call "Treating Customers Fairly".

I'm not even sure they can legally do this without any notice. I have STILL not received ANY official communication, email etc. about any of the changes from BMI. There was nothing wrong with receiving communications, I seemed to get their offers etc., before, but I have never received an email from BMI advising of ANY changes or new conditions.

I continue to be vexed by the lack of emails from bmi about this, and Mrs Antichef too. Surely it can't be too difficult to send it to all of us? Few mails ever seem to be sent, I read about them here!!

Ah well, I have had just as much success with email response after applying for a status match from A3, but since I have got 2/3 of the way to gold with them in the last 12 days if we wait another week I will be beyond caring!

Those who do not receive e-mails - have you checked the e-mail address in your Diamond Club account for errors? Have you checked the spam folders in your e-mail account?

Also have you checked that the the string 'bmi' doesn't appear as part of the email address? Once upon a time, when they de-duped the mailing lists, they used to remove internal email addresses in that fashion. Dunno if that still holds.

Also have you checked that the the string 'bmi' doesn't appear as part of the email address? Once upon a time, when they de-duped the mailing lists, they used to remove internal email addresses in that fashion. Dunno if that still holds.

Ah! That explains it! I always wondered why I mysteriously stopped receiving emails a few years ago, until I changed my email address. That's a pretty stupid way of doing it - I'm not the only person that creates a specific email address featuring the name of the company each time I sign up to something new...

That's a pretty stupid way of doing it - I'm not the only person that creates a specific email address featuring the name of the company each time I sign up to something new...

What's the benefit of creating a new email address for each new "use"? If you forward or "consolidate" all your email addresses into a single account, why not just use that one address? If not, why the hassle of having to individually check a multitude of email addresses?

It seems like more work for no benefit, to me at least.

What's the benefit of creating a new email address for each new "use"? If you forward or "consolidate" all your email addresses into a single account, why not just use that one address? If not, why the hassle of having to individually check a multitude of email addresses?

It seems like more work for no benefit, to me at least.

... but it does tell me where any unsolicited mail of a canned meat variety comes from ;)

I also can route various email addresses to different places. Some mail coming to my firms .com address for example is specific to a user, and thats where I can do with putting a specific name in the address eg firmname@xyz.com as it can then be forwarded to a specific persons email.

ways of skinning cats etc ...

It seems like more work for no benefit, to me at least.

Spam tracking and avoidance. I can find out which companies have sold/lost my email address (as they are the only people who I ever gave that particular address to), and if/when it starts generating large amounts of spam, can be shut off altogether. Also allows email from certain companies to be easily dumped into my "propaganda" folder, which is rarely opened!

To bring it slightly back to bmi relevance, I used to get spam emails from The Alpine Club to my unique bmi address (ironic, since I still got them even after bmi stopped sending me emails to that address...). I changed my address with bmi and shut that address down.

Interesting! Thanks.