BA Promotion

[ddutil]

I usually use my BA miles to book flights on AA, so I think it is better to get the 50% bonus even if using AA. Also, BA somewhat regularly runs promotions where all awards are half price. I got two Business tickets to IST for half the normal number of miles and I got a 50% bonus when I got the miles, that worked out very well for me.

Originally Posted by sdsearch

I'm not convinced it's as great a feature as it used to be, and having little to do with Diners.

Since the start of the runup in oil prices last year, BA miles have become way less valuable, given that you have to pay $$$ in (mostly fuel) surcharges on the same award trips that AA charges at most $$ in surcharges on. This is especially obvious if you want to book an award trip on a third OW airline such as CX (so both awards would be for exactly the same flight), but I've found the same thing (though obviously not on the same flights) on TATL flights. I've also found that, besides the bigger fees, BA also charges more miles to many parts of Europe than AA does, because it breaks Europe into more zones.

So I'm not sure any more if 50% more BA miles isn't worth about the same as normal AA miles! (Unless you specifically only want to fly BA TATL, that is, given that you can't use AA miles for that.)

[starflyer]

Originally Posted by ddutil

Also, BA somewhat regularly runs promotions where all awards are half price.

I didn't realize this was a (somewhat) regular event. How often do these sales occur?

[sam-i-am]

Originally Posted by starflyer

I didn't realize this was a (somewhat) regular event. How often do these sales occur?

The only time I remember was once, several months ago. Anybody remember any other time?

[CountinPlaces]

The lack of the BA promotion this year is a little disturbing. Hopefully they do something special this fall.

[JIMCHI]

Yes, it is disturbing. Without this promotion before the end of the year, I can find no reason to renew the card when it becomes due in January.

[yanxfann]

Originally Posted by JIMCHI

Without this promotion before the end of the year, I can find no reason to renew the card when it becomes due in January.

How about this:

Originally Posted by JIMCHI

Just called the special retention number and was given 10,000 points (2,000 points a month for 5 months- 1 purchase required) to keep the card another year. No questions, no negotiation. Great service.

As long as they give the equivalent of 10K miles (on several airlines, including BA - even without the BA promo) in return for paying the $95 annual fee personally I'd keep the card.

[Flying Dutchman]

Originally Posted by CountinPlaces

The lack of the BA promotion this year is a little disturbing. Hopefully they do something special this fall.

Still no sign of a BA promotion, and we're well into October . . .

[flysfromPIT]

I was hoping to xfer miles to BA and then cancel the card instead of renewal... I've since moved on to AmEx. I've called a few times this summer asking about the BA promotion and was told (obviously) that they did not know when it would happen again. I'll keep an eye out here for the next update....

[yanxfann]

This doesn't have anything to do with a DC BA promo, however if you need at least 30K relatively cheap BA miles you might want to read this post from Gary's View From the Wing blog: click here.