20,000 BA Miles for £35!! (Amex Gold relaunch)
Apr 21, 2010, 1:37 pm
#121
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA, VS, HH, IHG, MB, MR
Posts: 26,871
Yes, used my LH Amex last year
Apr 21, 2010, 1:45 pm
#122
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA IHG
Posts: 1,370
and yes, I've used both BA Amex and BMI Amex and neither treat it as a cash advance so no extra fees. Got to be only a matter of time before AMEX sort out the IT on these kinds of transactions.
Apr 21, 2010, 2:08 pm
#123
Join Date: May 2009
Location: UK
Posts: 3,951
...moving on. Besides the great deal of MR points given with this card. Are there any other benefits associated with the Gold Charge Card??
When i took out the AMEX PP+ i never even knew that it came with some great travel insurance benefits. I understand it is a charge card which differs to credit cards in terms of payment, however does it differ in terms of protection when making purchases with it?
Sorry if these are general questions, i have never owned or been aware of a charge card.
Apr 21, 2010, 2:28 pm
#124
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Hove, UK
Programs: BA Bronze; Hyatt GP; Radisson; etc...
Posts: 130
There are probably a couple of hundred FT'er happily loading Paypal cards from their Amex cards ... It SHOULD be a cash advance but Amex's IT is not clever enough to differentiate between different types of Paypal payment. Mastercard / Visa have higher quality IT monkeys.
Apr 22, 2010, 5:56 am
#126
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: London, England
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 3,772
Amex called me at work today just to ask me a question about my credit report (my father who has the same name keeps making a cameo appearance on my report which confuses everyone). She said they will let me know within 5 days.
Like everyone else still no tracking.
Like everyone else still no tracking.
Apr 22, 2010, 5:56 am
#127
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 17
Exactly the same for me - card is on its way according to Amex, despite the e-mail saying it would take up to 10 days to review my application. So that's 3 Amex cards now, looking forward to another 20k points for #4 in a few months time!!!
Apr 22, 2010, 6:17 am
#128
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: London, UK
Posts: 282
Same here, got the successful app call a few hours ago, can't wait to get the card!
Quidco hasn't tracked for me yet though, but it seems like it hasn't tracked for others too, so will wait. One problem is that although I started my app online, they couldn't give me an answer immediately, so I got approval by phone, so not sure if the system will pick that up as a successful online transaction.
Fingers crossed and hoping!
Quidco hasn't tracked for me yet though, but it seems like it hasn't tracked for others too, so will wait. One problem is that although I started my app online, they couldn't give me an answer immediately, so I got approval by phone, so not sure if the system will pick that up as a successful online transaction.
Fingers crossed and hoping!
Apr 22, 2010, 6:20 am
#129
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: London, UK
Posts: 282
Just wondering... for this extra points promo, which airline FF do you think is the best value, in terms of the value of points? I see for example like you can get 20k points with either British Airways or BMI, but obviously the points are worth different amounts... and I have several FF memberships.
Can anyone shed some light on the value of frequent flyer points?
Can anyone shed some light on the value of frequent flyer points?
Apr 22, 2010, 6:32 am
#130
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA, VS, HH, IHG, MB, MR
Posts: 26,871
This is a totally pointless question in itself as you haven't said what else you have or where you want to go or in what class. It's like saying 'what can I do with 10p?' - not much, but if you've got £19.90 already you'll then be able to buy a £20 shirt that you couldn't buy before.
Fundamentally, a BMI mile is worth 1.5p and a BA Mile 0.75p (but this doubles to 1.5p if you use a BA Amex '2 for 1'). These are my own numbers but they work OK compared to buying J tickets for cash. It is meaningless, though, on its own. If you travel in Economy they are worth far less. If you only ever go short-haul they are worth far less. If you would usually buy F tickets for cash they are worth far more. Personally, I buy J tickets for cash - my own cash - so a fair comparison is comparing J as I would be buying a J seat if a miles seat wasn't there.
On their own, 20k is worth FAR more in BMI because you can get a one-way in business class to the US, Canada, South Africa etc for 18,750 on 'cash and miles'. 20k on its own in BA gets you nothing long-haul (well, a one-way in Economy to Dubai). Transfer 20k to Priority Club, though, and your 30k points = 2 nights at the new Candlewood Suites in Times Square, NYC - probably worth more than either of the above.
In general, most people use Amex MR points to 'top off' other programmes as they are so flexible. If you have some BA, some BMI, some Hilton, some Starwood, some Priority Club, some Eurostar etc already you may find the best use is to move just enough to each programme to reach a suitable redemption level.
Fundamentally, a BMI mile is worth 1.5p and a BA Mile 0.75p (but this doubles to 1.5p if you use a BA Amex '2 for 1'). These are my own numbers but they work OK compared to buying J tickets for cash. It is meaningless, though, on its own. If you travel in Economy they are worth far less. If you only ever go short-haul they are worth far less. If you would usually buy F tickets for cash they are worth far more. Personally, I buy J tickets for cash - my own cash - so a fair comparison is comparing J as I would be buying a J seat if a miles seat wasn't there.
On their own, 20k is worth FAR more in BMI because you can get a one-way in business class to the US, Canada, South Africa etc for 18,750 on 'cash and miles'. 20k on its own in BA gets you nothing long-haul (well, a one-way in Economy to Dubai). Transfer 20k to Priority Club, though, and your 30k points = 2 nights at the new Candlewood Suites in Times Square, NYC - probably worth more than either of the above.
In general, most people use Amex MR points to 'top off' other programmes as they are so flexible. If you have some BA, some BMI, some Hilton, some Starwood, some Priority Club, some Eurostar etc already you may find the best use is to move just enough to each programme to reach a suitable redemption level.
Last edited by Raffles; Apr 22, 2010 at 6:39 am
Apr 22, 2010, 6:43 am
#131
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 191
edit: I now see littlevoices post where this was already posted on the previous page.
It also says:
It's not crystal clear but that implies,
1) 1 normal point per pound + 2 additional points for Travel
2) 1 normal point per pound + 1 additional point for groceries + petrol
I'm sure travel is only 2xMR (not 3) - but possibly groceries+petrol are also 2xMR due to the first year bonus .... ?
It also says:
It's not crystal clear but that implies,
1) 1 normal point per pound + 2 additional points for Travel
2) 1 normal point per pound + 1 additional point for groceries + petrol
I'm sure travel is only 2xMR (not 3) - but possibly groceries+petrol are also 2xMR due to the first year bonus .... ?
Apr 22, 2010, 9:50 am
#132
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Manchester, England
Programs: Bonvoy LT Plat, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, BMI Gold (RIP)
Posts: 8,021
Same thing for me yesterday. They didn't want any additional info, just confirmed it had been approved and processed.
Apr 22, 2010, 10:04 am
#133
Join Date: Dec 2009
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Diamond, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,314
And me, they confirmed it had been approved on the Monday after my weekend application. I asked why the referral, apparently they have some issue with volume on internet applications and communication with the credit check agency. No quidco tracking yet though..
Apr 22, 2010, 11:37 am
#135
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Manchester, England
Programs: Bonvoy LT Plat, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, BMI Gold (RIP)
Posts: 8,021