louie-m

My new PC Visa arrived this week, earning me 2 points per £1. Until now I've been using my BMI Mastercard, earning 1 DC mile per £1.

I'm not likely to use all my BMI miles before the merger, but then again I don't have any immediate use for Priority Club points.

Which card should I use (for non-Amex taking places)?

jbfield

I would still value DC miles greater than PC Points...IMO PC Points are only useful for PointsBreaks and they're not exactly easy to come by at the properties you maybe planning to stay at, whereas DC miles can be used in a variety of ways whilst still coming out as excellent value.

IAN-UK

It seems you don't have any medium-term "need" for PC points or for a top-up of DC miles.

Given the uncertainty surrounding Diamond Club and its miles you could make a case for putting your spend into PC points, which can always be converted post-DC to Lufthansa miles or British Airways Avios.

If you average £420 spend a month you'd get 10000 PC points in a year, which convert to (a not-so impressive) 2000 Avios etc

Put the same spend directly into DC and you'd get 5000 miles, which might - or might not - get converted to Avios etc on a 1:1 basis. Of course, they could go up in smoke ...

It's a gamble - but unless you have serious spend on your Visa, the stakes are not nail-bitingly high.

Roger

It sounds like your PCR Visa is the £99 p.a. version and your BMI MC is the £0 fee version. (The fee-free PCR Visa offers 1 point per £.)

Just another factor for the comparison.

Raffles

I value an Avios at about 0.75p (1.5p if you have the BA Amex and generate a 241 voucher) when used on long-haul J. I value a PC point at about 0.33p - those friends and family discount rates do reduce the value of the points. So they are about equal.

It is down to personal needs. No points having Avios if you can't afford a hotel at your destination!

jbfield

No point having a hotel if you can't get to your destionation!

RAPC

Don't necessarily need a flight to get to a destination though.

Personally I'd probably go with the PC points. Partly to earn as you've paid a fee for it, plus it gives you a broader portfolio of points and miles to cash in. PC is my 3rd hotel scheme, but having points there is handy from time to time, whether it be pointsbreaks redemptions, or in my case, a room for a couple of nights in London for the Olympics.

Flying Bat

This is interesting, the grey market price for Avios remains over 1p. But I am inclined to agree with a figure sub 1p.

BMI has uncertainty attached, my guess is 0.6p, used to see them trade higher. PC points recent uplift on some hotel point rates, for me no higher than 0.3p, especially given the ease of discounted purchase.

jbfield

True...didn't think of that...guess I'm too used to accruing the miles.

louie-m

True - it's mainly utility bills, though hubby has a £1,000 bill to pay for a place which doesn't take Amex which is what prompted the question.

Correct, but I got the PCR Visa through the recent offer where you got 40,000 points plus a refund of the £99. I'll probably keep it until renewal.

I've got more Avios than we can use right now - we work too hard and have too many commitments to be able to have many long haul holidays! So they'll have to wait until I can take early retirement. On the other hand, I have an aversion to most chain hotels. But if these companies keep on throwing miles/points at me, I just can't turn them down can I?

I think I'll stick with with BMI for as long as I can and then move over to PCR.

pazza2000

I am in the exact same situation. I have both cards, and although I still value BMI worth more (1 BMI > 4 PC approx); I am not going to spend them all before the 'end', with them likely becoming Avios 1:1 at best. I have far too many Avios, and so 2PC per £ it is, which I think is not too bad a rate for a non-amex.

Roger

Our position, too. I used to think it must be great to have a lot of miles and points, and of course it's true if you can use them. Apart from a pile of Avios and DC miles, I also have a mountain of Flying Poo miles which have proved difficult to redeem - Icelandic volcano and snow at Gatwick forced cancellations. But I know I have to do something about them sooner rather than later.Yes, but a word of caution. FFPs change, status can disappear, taxes fees surcharges and sursurcharges can increase. Things may become more difficult over the years. I'm coming round to the conclusion that I should blow the lot over 2-3 years. After all,the Grim Reaper won't be able to inherit unused miles.

I've found Raffles's valuations of miles and points to be invaluable. Wishful thinking: it would be great to have some sort of ready reckoner to compare values of miles and points in different programmes. I can't see it being a practical possibility. Too many variations would apply, such as status, routes, seasonality (some AA redemptions depend in part on time of year), class of travel, location etc.

How do I usefully compare the value of an Avios point when earned through (a) flying, (b) hotel stay, (c) car rental, (d) online shopping, (e) Tesco Clubcard points *, (f) bonuses and so on?

* That's further complicated by grandfathered earning and conversion rates. I convert £2.50 to 800 Avios and earn 1 point per complete £2 on general Tesco credit card purchases. This compares with 600 and 1/£4 for newer members. I think this means I earn 1.6 Avios for Tesco credit card general purchases of multiples of £2 (better with purchases at Tesco) and is therefore better than the 1.5 Avios per £ with the BA AmEx PP (better with BA) once the 2-4-1 has been earned.

Probably rhetorical, but I wonder if there is a 'better' offer. My brain hurts when trying to compare the PCR 2 points/£ with or without the annual fee.

louie-m

I know. But it's been so easy to accrue many, many Avios over the last 18 months since I started, what with cc sign up and referral bonuses, Tesco spend, 100% bonus MR point offers, etc that they've cost very little really. And we'll be spending a lot of time in Australia in 3 years, so will have regular use for Avios then (hoping there's some chance of using Avios for getting to Australia then) and precious little chance of earning many more out there, so that's the risk we have to take.

I know the feeling!