Why Gold is worth it
Jul 27, 2011, 9:50 am
#61
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: London
Programs: BA GfL & GGL, EK & VS Gold, Amex Cent
Posts: 1,736
F-checkin, F-lounges, 1A/K, no change-fees on eg miles bookings, and non-proven better chance of OpUp for another 800tps of travel. Strong. But I still go for it!
Jul 27, 2011, 10:49 am
#62
Join Date: Oct 2007
Programs: Plat:US,DL (ex KL,AF,LX,LY) Gold:BA,VS (ex CO,UA).Plat.SPG,HGP Diam.HH. ICHG Plat RA. Amex Centurion
Posts: 673
Jul 27, 2011, 11:55 am
#63
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: From ORK, live LCY
Programs: BA Silver, EI Silver, HH Gold, BW Gold, ABP, Seigneur des Horaires des Mucci
Posts: 14,271
Tell me about it. I looked at the route map in the onboard magazine last week and I said to myself "there's not even half a dozen places on this list that I would be even vaguely likely to visit". BD*S is going to be vanishing from my profile next April (and hopefully to be replaced by BA Silver!)
Jul 27, 2011, 11:58 am
#64
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 7,464
)It is a real shame since the BD ground crews (at outstations) are fantastic, the best in the business in my opinion.
Jul 27, 2011, 12:04 pm
#65
Moderator: GLBT travelers, India-based Airlines and India; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Asia
Programs: Yes!
Posts: 15,512
Currently based in the US and doing a lot of AA domestics.
BA Gold is VERY useful. Especially when transiting thru ORD, LAX and JFK!
And at times of irrops AA have actually done more for me (as a BA Gold) than BA themselves often did.
A recent eg. I was flying SAN-DFW and my 1pm departure was going to be delayed by 2 hours causing me to missing my onward connection. At 10am I got a phone call from a gentleman at the Admirals Club telling me of the delay, and that I was already protected on the 3pm SAN-DFW flight with the connection also rebooked. He also told me that if I could get to SAN check-in in 30 minutes he would even hold a seat for me (on the completely full!) 11am departure and that I should just head to a desk no. x where they will be holding BP's for all the above scenarios for me! I made it to SAN in time, got on the packed 11am (ahead of 17 other standby pax) and also found that the kind person had blocked an exit row aisle seat for me.
All of the above on a cheapo economy ticket. Only because I was BA Gold. And a lot more than BA themselves have often done for me in case of such irrops.
IMHO, BA Gold's greatest worthiness is on CX and AA.
BA Gold is VERY useful. Especially when transiting thru ORD, LAX and JFK!
And at times of irrops AA have actually done more for me (as a BA Gold) than BA themselves often did.
A recent eg. I was flying SAN-DFW and my 1pm departure was going to be delayed by 2 hours causing me to missing my onward connection. At 10am I got a phone call from a gentleman at the Admirals Club telling me of the delay, and that I was already protected on the 3pm SAN-DFW flight with the connection also rebooked. He also told me that if I could get to SAN check-in in 30 minutes he would even hold a seat for me (on the completely full!) 11am departure and that I should just head to a desk no. x where they will be holding BP's for all the above scenarios for me! I made it to SAN in time, got on the packed 11am (ahead of 17 other standby pax) and also found that the kind person had blocked an exit row aisle seat for me.
All of the above on a cheapo economy ticket. Only because I was BA Gold. And a lot more than BA themselves have often done for me in case of such irrops.
IMHO, BA Gold's greatest worthiness is on CX and AA.
Jul 27, 2011, 1:08 pm
#66
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: MAN/BHX
Programs: ABBA
Posts: 6,027
What left a bad taste in the mouth was that for a Gold ticketed in First, neither the BA staff at the airport nor the Gold line would tell me whether BA would reimburse me the 150 I would have to pay for a one-way taxi ride back home to Canary Wharf (HEX/Tube was down and the cabs were running pre-neogitated fares with their meters turned off).