Fatpenguin

I have been reading the comments on the various threads about the changes to the BAEC, for my part it means redemptions will cost more which is a pain but I never go out of my way to collect miles buying stuff I don't need, or faffing about buying things to sell on eBay, so they are a happy consequence of purchases I make. The good part for me is that it may mean less silvers so therefore the lounges when I fly, we only fly leisure and normally CE or CW sometimes payed sometimes on miles, may be better.

I have read a lot of people talk about loyalty, taking their Ł4,500 spend elsewhere etc etc, but can a lot of you do anything about it? My thought was that perhaps BA have looked at this and realised that a lot of GCH/SCH are flying on business, so their company dictates who they fly with, so it is not really about loyalty, it is a case of they fly with who they are told. Now I know a lot of you are not like this, but the ones who are, well why waste time belly aching, you can't do anything about it. Before the, "well it is a little perk as I have to spend so long flying" lots of people spend lots of time doing things they not rather do for their jobs without perks, get another job if you think you should get something extra from the job you willingly took.

I expect i may get some abuse from some, but I really wonder if BA have looked at this.

FP

stu1985

One word - No.

Unless of course you take your business elsewhere.

Fatpenguin

But if your company tells you who to fly with, how do you do this?

FP

the_real_a

Same waffle when airmiles changed... It will blow over in a few weeks.

stu1985

Move job!

BLHD

Flip it the other way... If your customers demanded to continue being rewarded in a certain way that cost you more than you were comfortable spending, would you stand up and make changes?

nux

Just because you fly BA doesn't mean you need to credit those flights to BAEC..

orbitmic

the vast majority of large companies have corp contracts with multiple airlines and do not impose BA flights.

TPJ

I always thought oneWorld does not have an equivalent of A3 (Aegean) or OZ (Asiana) Star Alliance has (low Star Gold requirements, reasonable earning/burning ratio). Many programs like QF & LA have higher Emerald requirements than BA).

Cerebrito

Everywhere I have worked - you have been able to chose your flights within reason, and a lot of people chose BA flights not for convenience of timings or routings, or the comfort/quality of BA, but to get avios/tier points.

Land-of-Miles

Completely agree, I have never worked with a company that had zero choice of airline. It simply isn't in the companies interest either since loads will vary between airlines at given points in time and tying to a single airline would impose significant unnecessary cost.

This idea that individuals have no choice in the airline they fly for corporate business is a complete fallacy that seems to have been repeatedly trotted out here.

Many individuals will choose BA over VS or other options for business trips because of BAEC benefits not because they had no choice. There will be some downside impact to BA's future business as a result of this. Given the focus on maximising the profitability in 2014/15, I am amazed that BA would have chosen to do something like this with such significant revenue downside (and little upside) ahead of the full year end, unless they calculate that forward redemption booking income from fees will offset any revenue shrinkage from changing passenger behaviour.

x229cle

Let me suggest - You should research the various programmes then select those that work for you, in the knowledge that the rules for each programme changes over time.
I have benefitted from bonus Avios on credit card sign up (far more with BA than with UA) - but I have found it easier to book UA seats, especially at short notice.

I agree that the BA scheme is poorer than it was - but the key question in a competitive world is whether it is poorer than other schemes.

LondonElite

Heavens to Betsy, can we merge all these threads moaning about the same thing?

Raffles

If your company is paying for your flights, then theoretically any Avios or status you get is totally free and should be treated as a bonus?

There should be a Plaza Premium lounge in T5 within a couple of years so you need to soften him up to buy a Priority Pass.

I have more sympathy with people who have loyally picked up Avios via Tesco, credit card spend etc (points which are NOT free) and have had the rug pulled out.

Andriyko

It is natural for people to vent their frustration on public forums. But most threats to take business elsewhere are nothing more but a plea to be heard with a secret hope that the intended recipient will change its ways. But the main recipients of these threats to leave are the authors themselves. It must make them believe that they are powerful and that it is not just in the hands of the service provider to change the rules of games and that they retain the 'nuclear' option of taking their business elsewhere so all is not lost.