Raffles

Last updated: October 2011

I’ve been hearing good things about the BMI credit card!

Well, you’d be right. Whilst it is not the bonanza of a couple of years ago, when you could apply for card after card after card, picking up a bonus each time, the BMI credit card still offers the best sign-up bonus of any UK miles or points earning credit card. The earnings rate isn’t bad either.

Who can apply for the card?

Only UK residents can apply for the BMI card.

What sort of card is it?

You will receive two cards - an Amex and a Visa - issued by MBNA. This is an important point to note, because any credit decision is based on what MBNA thinks of you rather than Amex. If you have any other MBNA cards (eg Lufthansa Miles & More or Virgin) then it will impact the decision on whether you get one or not. If you are refused and already hold an MBNA card, many people including myself have had success by ringing MBNA and agreeing to split the credit limit on their existing MBNA card across that card and a new BMI account.

I keep seeing posts about the BMI Mastercard …..

The BMI Mastercard was officially discontinued in early 2008. Those of us who had one have been allowed to keep it so far. There are 2 variants, both branded as 'platinum' : the basic card which pays 1.5 miles per Ł1, and an 'annual fee' card which pays 2 miles per Ł1.

Until October 2011 it was possible to ring MBNA and get one of these cards, with a 12k sign-up bonus and 1 mile per Ł1 earning rate. I assume that this has now been discontinued given that the Visa has been launched, but I would be interested to hear evidence to the contrary!

Where can I find official details on the Amex cards and apply?

See here:

http://www.flybmi.com/bmi/en-gb/rewa...edit-card.aspx

Basically, the standard card is free, earns 1.5 miles per Ł1 on the Amex and 0.75 miles per Ł1 on the Visa (doubled for purchases at flybmi.com and with the call centre) and has a 20,000 destination miles sign-up bonus. Until 15 November 2011, the sign-up bonus is increased to 25,000 destination miles.

The premium card costs Ł85 per year, earns 2 miles per Ł1 on the Amex and 1 mile per Ł1 on the Visa (doubled for purchases at flybmi.com and with the call centre), comes with 2 BMI lounge passes (only useful to non-status members) and has a 24,000 destination miles and 4,000 status miles sign-up bonus. You also get an additional 4,000 status miles bonus at each annual renewal. Both cards require you to spend Ł250 within 90 days to trigger the bonus.

Is the premium card worth the Ł85 fee?

Probably not until November 15th, given the increased sign-up bonus until that date. Get the free card unless you are a very heavy spender - and if you are a heavy spender, you can always upgrade the card later.

After November 15th, then I would recommend you get the Ł85 card for the first year – even if you don’t need the 4,000 status miles that also come with the premium card. After the first year, though, you need to do the maths.

I personally reckon that BMI miles are worth at least 1.5p each, assuming you do long-haul cash and miles redemptions. (They will be worth less when Lufthansa merges your DC account into Miles & More, but I’m assuming you will spend them before that days comes!)

At 1.5p each, it is a no-brainer to get the premium card for the first year. You get 4,000 more destination miles (24k v 20k) which should be worth Ł60. You will also receive an extra 0.5 miles for every Ł1 you spend.

After the first year, you may want to trade down to avoid the fee. If miles are worth 1.5p each and you get an extra 0.5 miles per Ł1 with the premium Amex card, then I reckon the break-even figure for keeping the premium card is Ł12,000 of spending per year. You’d be getting 6,000 extra miles on Ł12,000 spend which to my mind is worth the Ł85. However, if you don't think you'll spend the miles until after LH has taken over DC, then the break-even spot becomes something nearer Ł17,000 per year - I value LH miles at just 1p and at Ł17k card spend you are getting an extra 8,500 per year x 1p = Ł85.

If you spend less than Ł12,000 per year on the card, it may be worth trading down. However, you may find that the extra 4,000 status miles - which are awarded every year, at least until/if the M&M/DC merger completes - make it worthwhile keeping the premium card as it could make the difference between retaining your status or not.

If you a regular BMI Gold Card holder, you should keep the premium card in any event. This is because the 4,000 extra status miles mean that you will hit 55,000 status miles more quickly and therefore start doubling up your destination miles more quickly. Those 4,000 extra status miles are therefore effectively worth 4,000 extra destination miles each year.

Can I earn miles on balance transfers?

No

Are there any cashback sites offering cashback for applying for the card through them?

No

Is there any equivalent to the BA Amex ‘2 for 1’ voucher?

No. Although BMI miles are worth twice as much as BA Miles anyway ….!

Any bonus miles for buying BMI flights?

Yes! You earn double miles for any flights booked at flybmi.com, as well as double miles on the taxes and, if applicable, cash part of any redemption booking made via the call centre. You do NOT earn double miles if you buy BMI miles on the card via the website as this is processed by points.com, not BMI.

From April 2009 you no longer get the credit card booking fee waived for using the BMI credit card.

Can I apply for more than one card?

You can apply for multiple cards for your own use - this may be useful if you need to separate personal and business expenses, for example. However, you will only qualify for one lot of 20,000 bonus BMI miles, so there is no point in cancelling and then re-applying, or taking out numerous cards at the same time. This also means, in theory, that you also won’t get the miles if you upgrade from the Mastercard to the Amex or from the free Amex to the paid one. That said, some people have got lucky.

If you have had a BMI card in the past (even if cancelled) then you are not eligible for another signing on bonus. However, some people have received one. If you do not put your DC number on the application, MBNA open a new one for you and this seems to make it more likely you will get the bonus. However, you will need to call BMI after a few months to merge the accounts (or use the family account feature to move them into your other account each month).

Is there another way round this?

Sort of. Remember that BMI lets you book one-way awards, and that it lets you book awards in any name. Nothing stops you asking your parents to apply for a card, for example, and then using their 20,000 bonus miles to book you a flight. For example, you could use your 20,000 bonus to book a one-way cash & miles business class flight TO the US, whilst you could use your parents 20,000 bonus miles to book yourself a return flight FROM the US.

I’ve got a small business …..

It's tough luck now! MBNA Small Business Visa Card used to come with a 20,000 BMI miles sign-up and 1 mile per Ł1 spent in return for a Ł69 fee. This card was discontinued and MBNA sold its small business card portfolio to Barclaycard in 2011.

What happens if I live outside the UK?

Residents of the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands (Germany seems to have been dropped recently) can convert American Express Membership Rewards points into BMI miles. In the UK programme, the conversion rate is 1 : 1. Once in a blue moon there is an extra bonus for converting points but don’t hold back – we are talking literally once every 2-3 years and the bonus last time it happened in the UK it was a one-off 500 miles for making any transfer.

If you have a Platinum Amex charge card in the UK, remember that you can buy 10,000 Membership Rewards points in any 12-month period for 1.5p each. These can be transferred directly into BMI miles.

Membership Rewards points are NOT convertible into Lufthansa Miles & More miles, so if you are contemplating moving your points over then you need to do so before Diamond Club is merged into M&M (see below).

What happens when Lufthansa takes over BMI and closes Diamond Club?

It seems likely that Diamond Club will be merged into M&M at some point. At this point, it seems likely that BMI credit card holders will be asked to migrate to the LH Miles & More Amex and Visa combo.

You may want to apply for one of the Lufthansa M&M cards NOW (see http://www.miles-and-more.com/online...en&cid=1000243 after logging in). Whether or not you have a Miles & More account already, you WILL have one when your Diamond Club miles get transferred! The LH Amex and Visa combo comes with 1,500 free miles to get your started (very poor, but better than nothing) - and its unlikely that you will be able to take advantage of this promotion once your BMI card becomes a M&M card automatically, as you would be classified as an existing cardholder. The earning rate is the same as for the free BMI cards - 1.5 per Ł1 on the Amex and 0.75 on the Visa.

TuxTraveller

I would agree with your general assessment though I think it is worth adding that the 3,000 status miles (which are received for every annual renewal) also have value beyond the 1st, even for those that travel a lot. The value would be to reach the 55k earlier than you otherwise might. This could therefore equate to 3,000 more destination miles on their own, which is almost worth the Ł60 annual fee alone.

Btw very good FAQ Raffles.

Raffles

Agreed - I didn't know this. I will amend the above.

TuxTraveller

Yes it's also clearly stated in the T&C:

The award of blue plus status or 3,000 status miles credit for existing blue plus, silver or gold members may take up to 35 days following account approval. blue plus status and/or the award of 3000 status miles will be applied to your Diamond Club account on an annual basis once the annual fee for the bmi plus credit card has been paid. This benefit is only applicable to the bmi plus credit card.

dsf

Hmm, I didn't know that. Maybe it's time I ditched my Mastercards and moved to the Amex, hopefully even fluking another 24k miles in the process!

Saracenn

Is there any word on switching from the standard to premium card? Is it possible?

Jetstreamer

I know it is the official line that you only get the bonus miles for bookings on flybmi.com but for my last telephone redemption booking I got double miles for that too. Anyone else found this?

Thanks for the FAQ BTW - very useful.

Raffles

Easily. You could ring them up and it would be done immediately, but I'd recommend making a fresh application on the BMI website. This gives you an outside chance of accidentally being given the 24k bonus!

xcalx

Yes me too, 3 lots of redemptions over the last 2 statements have produced double miles on some hefty YQ + taxes

Nice work raffles ^

Raffles

I had almost £2,000 of telephone cash and miles redemptions + taxes last month and did NOT get double miles - annoyingly!

Singapore_Air

Might want to adjust the part about the bmi Mastercard. There is a possibility to get it by applying over the phone.

uk1

I misunderstood the fee, applied and then cancelled - and the fee was refunded for mrs uk1 and myself. I had forgotten all about it until I noticed a few days ago that the 3000 status miles still arrived on both accounts.

OttoMH

Can anyone confirm whether they have received the additional 4k dest and 3k status miles when upgrading from BMI AMEX to BMI AMEX Plus?

And how did they apply? Phone or online?

RAPC

You wouldn't. The bonus miles are a one time only reward. Some posters have reported getting an additional full bonus when taking out a 2nd card, but since MBNA / DC tightened up their procedures these happen infrequently. YMMV though.

Upgrading card for one with more miles will not come with the additional destination mile rewards.

Raffles

.... although you arguably should get the 3k status miles, and you certainly will on the first and subsequent renewal of the £60 card.