T8191

Very interesting [and bookmarked]. Thanks for that ^
Sadly it doesn't seem to acknowledge WT+ for cheapskate MFU-ers

Globaliser

Assuming that, being a cheapskate, you want to see only T class fares on BA:

In the From box: lhr::ba+ /f bc=t
In the To box: iad::ba+ /f bc=t

T8191

Now on an electric PostIt on my desktop ... thanks, Guv'nor, you're a Toff ^

dvo1029

I can understand BA wants to make it more valuable for their prime base on UK based travelers and they do not care much about its NA customers, but the way in this happened makes me sick. Before we have any notice of the change Amex runs its best promotion ever with a 50% bonus on transfers, seemed great at the time. Right after the promotion ends BA announces there will be changes to the program and had I known I would have assumed it would make my miles less valuable and I never would have transferred them. Next BA announces that 97% of routes will not increase in points, of course a big lie. I feel cheated, mainly because of the Amex promotion, this seems like collusion to me and it makes me sick. I travel a lot on BA, but will not anymore more of course, and used my miles on CX to travel from JFK to MNL in F. Before it cost me 150,000 miles, a great deal, whereas now the same trip will cost me 250,000 miles (same trip is only 140,000 on AS). Thanks for the 67% increase in the cost of my trip, collusion and lack of transparency is what Amex and BA seem to do best. I have cancelled my Amex card and will not fly BA anymore out of principle.

ale.penazzi

Here we begin again.. How many people are not flying with BA anymore today?

globalste

I think that is a bit far-fetched. It sounds like you are complaining about non-BA routes?

If so, think about what you are complaining about, you got 50% extra miles for doing nothing what so ever, and then you complain about the cost going up to use those very miles on an airline that you didn't earn them with in the first place.

The number of miles to fly to Europe has decreased substantially, maybe go there instead on F or if the Far East is your preferable destination then the recommendation is always to join the frequent flyer programme of the airline most suited, in this case Cathay Pacific

T8191

I'm not flying BA today, and I won't tomorrow either.

I won't be looking for 'free flights' either, because I'm old enough to know that nothing is free. I will use my Avios wisely, in my declining years, in the hope that one day an Undertaker [Funeral Director if you must] will sign up for the program[me] and offer me a nice wooden box for 75,000 Avios [plus taxes]


[PS ... I love America and Americans, and spend a lot of time there. Fortunately I don't seem to mix with the same people I see on here. Sorry if that offends some of you, but Jeeeezzz ]

dvo1029

I am complaining because I transferred my points for the sole purpose of using them to Asia which is a benefit i was entitled I am entitled to. So I got 50% more points hardly for free since the route I was using them for is now 67% more points. I would have used my Amex points on something else had I known in advance and was not lied to about 97% of routes not changing. The BA cheerleaders are amazing and for I have no use of the points going to London as it is always for company paid business. I do however, have a choice in carriers and all I am saying is my incentive to fly BA is now gone and I am sure I am not alone on this. If BA was upfront and honest I would not be upset, but as many have stated they were not and I refuse to fly an airline that treats their customers in such a manner.

crazyMRer

My previous preferred use of BA miles increased by 100%.
Cathay F class NYC/ORD-HKG/Asia went from 150K BA miles to 300K BA miles.

HOWEVER, there are now many good new values to be had with your BA miles:

sjmoss23 - Do you realize now:
LGA/JFK to/from YUL or YYZ or YHZ or BOS or DTW or CLE or PIT or CVG or CMH or CRW or CLT or RDU or BWI or DCA or ORF
Flying American or American Eagle now only cost you 4,500 BA each way or 9,000 Roundtrip. This is less miles than most any other program and an exceptional value.

Even LGA/JFK to/from BDA or MIA or FLL or MCO or TPA or STL or ORD now only cost you 7,500 BA each way or 15,000 roundtrip. Again, this is less miles than most any other program and an exceptional value.

No.
Why do you think you are entitled?
Did you read the BA terms and conditions regarding their rights to change redemption levels?
BA deserves ridicule for how the changes were made but you are not entitled.

BA has reduced the number of miles it costs to fly many places from your home airport, as I illustrated for you above. It is not BA's fault if you do not want to go to any of the places that are now the best value redemptions for you.

BA deserves ridicule for:
- Tremendously changing the redemption playing field, increasing some of our favorite awards by 100%, without fair advance warning and giving misleading statements about the positive upcoming changes.
- Not publishing an award chart after the changes.
A helpful BA Avois chart put together by a third party can be found here: http://www.awardguru.com/blog/?p=425

Some BA Chase US customers deserve ridicule for:
- Not doing their research before earning BA miles to learn about and understand how fuel surcharges work (they have existed for some years) on BA redemption tickets

Some BA UK based defenders deserve ridicule for:
- Claiming the changes to the award structure are small or minor, ignoring the fact that some of our favorite awards have gone up 100%. Other awards cost less than 50% what they used to. The changes are NOT minor or small for those who consistently get excellent value out of their miles on redemption tickets (not MFU). MFU is not the industry standard way people use miles; the industry standard (based on InsideFlyer data) is to redeem them for “free” tickets.

Several years ago, BA, LH, AF, and many other airline's frequent flyers foolishly did not organize and revolt when their airlines started imposing fuel charges on miles redemption tickets. Now fuel surcharges are continuing to spread across more and more airlines on every continent, vastly reducing the value of many people’s miles for their anticipated use. Those who assume that FFers (when a substantial number join forces and work together) cannot influence the way their airline's program works deserve ridicule. FT BA avid program supporters have themselves to blame for BA fuel surcharges on what used to be free tickets. This is of course is old news and not related to the recent Avios program transition.

dvo1029

I agree with you say about the awards from my home airport (they are a great value) but I have no need for those really, again the only reason I transferred my Amex points was to go to Asia and you say it yourself that BA deserves ridicule for this and I agree. So I am upset by a lack of transparency which you yourself seem to agree with, that is all I am saying.

globalste

Every FF program has its little loopholes, that is almost why Flyertalk exists.

With free redemptions, one should try and redeem miles with someone like KLM who charge an eye-watering amount to make redemptions. Or try and redeem miles with someone like SAS Eurobonus, there never are any and you end up burning them at some horrifying rate on a partner award.

I am pretty sure that BA said "On 97% of our routes there will be either no change or the route will require even fewer Avios than the current BA Miles". This to me, means 3% of BA's routes will require an increase to the number of Avios points required. The only ones I have yet found are to Mauritius and Capetown, and for me this more a case of when it was going to happen because they were such a bargain. I don't interpret New York to Asia on Cathay Pacific as "our routes", they sound like partner routes to me and therefore do not apply to the statement.

I personally have lost out on the new system because BA have halved the number of Tier Points given when taking a domestic in Spain, this means I now earn 25% less on my twice monthly trip between Spain and the UK - they are all paid for in advance up until April, so I have more had the carpet pulled from underneath me than the goalposts moved.

Fuel surcharges and taxes on every airline for rewards is just a matter of time.

crazyMRer

Fair enough, although their statement was still misleading.

If you read in between the lines, you could guess that partner awards were not included in that 97%, yes.

I take issue with the 97% claim on BA metal (ignoring partner airlines for the moment) because I want to use BA beyond LHR. Typical use of BA miles on BA metal for me would be:
BOS-LHR-CPT
BOS-LHR-LUN
BOS-LHR-JED
BOS-LHR-DME
etc

My BA tickets on BA metal world does not revolve around LHR. MOST (not 3%) of my BA probable award desired itineraries have gone up substantially.

Ignoring where I want to go, looking at ALL the places I could fly BA metal (connecting in LHR originating in BOS), far more than 3% of my options have vastly increased the number of miles required.

Crampedin13A

Obviously most people complaining don't understand the true value in BAEC is in MFU's as opposed to straight redemptions.

Here is an example of one upcoming trip I have.

YYZ-LHR-MUC

Booked in WT+ for $747 +$697.89 taxes=$1444.89 CDN

Avios cost of MFU from WT+ to CW is 24,500 (confirmed upgrade and seat # at booking,no waitlist,no gatelotto as with a lot of other FFP)

Avios points earned on this booking 18300 ( includes 100% bonus as SCH) + 2890 from RBC BA Visa so the trip earns me 21190 points plus 220 TP towards requalification.

So the total Avios points cost in the end is 3310 for me. How is this poor value for your Avios points? Granted you actually have to fly on BA for this but isn't that why you are in the BAEC in the first place?

crazyMRer

That is an ignorant statement.

Some of us understand and appreciate the value of MFUs but have no personal use for MFUs because we do not have $1444.89 per passenger in cash to pay for our redemption tickets. We earn a few hundred thousand miles a year to finance our leisure travel (from various promos, partners, and extensive travel paid for by others) and expect to continue using those hundreds of thousands of miles we earn to get us and our families to places we want to go without spending $1444.89 per passenger cash for our plane tickets in addition to miles.

Another factor to consider: If most BAEC miles collectors try to use their miles only for MFU, MFU availability will become increasingly difficult to confirm. It is a good thing for those who consistently MFU that not everyone can afford WT+ tickets to MFU on.

G-BOAC

Well then tough. I don't have $10,000 a pop to fly paid First every time, much as I'd like to. I can't afford to drink vintage Champagne and eat Caviar every day, so I don't. If you can't afford the game, don't play it.

I must have suddenly missed when it became an inalienable right to get everything for nothing in this life?