Programs: BA Silver, BD Silver, Amex Plat, Hertz #1 Gold
Posts: 1,708
Just tried to buy some miles - is the BMI Amex still not working for miles purchases - I remember seeing some discussion on it not working but I imagined it would be fixed by now.
OK. This is one where you would expect FT'ers to be able to come up with creative solutions!
What is the cheapest thing, inc postage, that can be bought from the shopping mall?! I presume you could sell things to yourself on ebay, or buy some 1p ebooks, but I've never actually had any ebay miles track properly so would be wary of that.
Any other ideas?
EDIT - I see Waterstones is offering free delivery on everything, so a few very cheap childrens books may do it. As may booking some hotels and then cancelling later. itunes is another obvious one.
Is it me, or have the terms for the buying of miles changed?
Previously it was 20,000 in a calendar year wasn't it? Now the landing page for this promotion is saying max 20,000 miles in a transaction or a 12 month period.
Given that bmi arent keen on posting/approving e-shopping, is it worth it? Still not heard any positive experiences on bmi shopping. Or does this campaign signify bmi pulling their socks up on this one? ... I hope so.
And at 7 points/£, one of the better earning options on there (along with Figleaves (7), La Senza (8), BuyaGift (8), Greenfingers (8), Thorntons (7), L'Occitane UK (7) Natures Best (10!) The Body Shop (7) and lots more around.
Alas eBay has dropped from 2 points/£ to 1 , so ebay is becoming a very unattractive option.
Given that bmi arent keen on posting/approving e-shopping, is it worth it? Still not heard any positive experiences on bmi shopping. Or does this campaign signify bmi pulling their socks up on this one? ... I hope so.
I purchased an iphone from the Apple store via BMI shopping and on the same day items from Figleaves.
The Figleaves order wasn't recorded and BMI seem not to care.
The iPhone miles posted into my account approximately 3 months after said item arrived in my hands.
Given that bmi arent keen on posting/approving e-shopping, is it worth it? Still not heard any positive experiences on bmi shopping. Or does this campaign signify bmi pulling their socks up on this one? ... I hope so.
Please keep in mind it is NOT bmi being slow with this. It is the validation process used by the ecommerce providers. It is up to them to validate the sales within a period. I have had miles take almost 12 weeks (the maximum within the program) to post and I've had some transactions come through in about 4 weeks.
The miles won't post faster than this typically if a retailer is doing their validation correctly, otherwise people will be able to fraudulently collect miles (or revenue) through transactions that are then cancelled and refunded. It has been a scam used by a number of affiliates and savvy consumers to exploit not very well managed affiliate programs.
I'll be using this promotion and it will be interesting to see how they handle the paying of bonus miles. I suspect it will mean quite delay in posting the bonus miles if they are waiting for the pending transactions to clear before deciding the bonus level (as it is tiered)
It looks like a good chance to earn bonus miles on normal purchases, the ceiling of 5,000 miles overall though means that there isn't a huge value in making lots of additional transactions just for the sake of it.
Unless you need the extra miles vs additional expense, I would had thought that the tip point was 5 purchases to get 3000 miles (unless you're buying kids books with free delivery...)
Still, points.com and the vendors really needs to get their act together and improve the turnarounds.
And when BMI IT and other IT services mix and match - its time to watch the fireworks go off...
Programs: BD*G, HHonors Gold, MG Plat (In Training)
Posts: 4,933
I have to admit, I've done a bad job of keeping track of some purchases. I have had one lot of miles post in a lump sum but without proper tracking, some appear, some don't, I'm not sure where they're from.
That is pretty much the best way by the look of it to do it for minimum outlay. 5,000 miles retails at £60, so for £8 investment it is a tidy return
Even buying 5000 for £60 isn't a bad return if used properly!
As this promo runs to 15 June, there is plenty of time to do the odd trial itunes purchase then wait to see if it tracks OK before doing another. No need to spend 80p unnecessarily! HOWEVER ... since miles are based on spend per £1, you may (not sure) need to spend at least £1 per transaction. Otherwise you won't have earned any miles, and therefore I doubt it will trigger any bonus. Min spend is therefore probably £16 (10 x £1.60 for 2 tracks).
, so ebay is becoming a very unattractive option.
