Airmiles changes [separate discussion from BAEC changes]
Sep 10, 2011, 8:37 am
#106
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Sep 10, 2011, 9:09 am
#107
Join Date: Jan 2009
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AirMiles to Avios: suggestions for concessions
Airmiles members are being taken advantage of under the current Avios proposals. Rather than let the corporates run roughshod over us as they usually do, Airmiles members need to come together and propose reasonable and proportionate concessions that the Airmiles community can support and that the Mileage Company will have difficulty in refusing. This is the thread for such a discussion.
Sep 10, 2011, 9:12 am
#108
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 134
Here are a few thoughts to kick off the thread.
1) 1 Airmile is considerably more expensive to acquire than 10 BA Miles. E.g. two 1st class tickets to New York with Airmiles requires £75,000 of Tesco spending. Many BAEC members can acquire this with their regular business travel (that they probably didn't pay for themselves) and an annual 241 voucher from their favourite credit card.
2) 1 Airmile is considerably more valuable than 10 BA Miles. E.g. currently New York return WT 5,000 Airmiles vs. 50,000 BA Miles + £300 implies a drastically different conversion rate.
3) Most Airmiles collectors faced with having to pay BA's current nonsensical "taxes and fees" (a large proportion of the BA cash fare), on top of expensively and hard-earned Airmiles, will simply fly with another airline for less cash and use their Tesco vouchers etc. for genuine value elsewhere.
4) Possible concessions (for Airmiles/Avios members only):
a) abandon any change - not going to happen
b) change the conversion rate to better reflect the value relative to BA Miles
d) earn Avios points on redemptions, like revenue fares, back into your Avios a/c.
Over to you!
1) 1 Airmile is considerably more expensive to acquire than 10 BA Miles. E.g. two 1st class tickets to New York with Airmiles requires £75,000 of Tesco spending. Many BAEC members can acquire this with their regular business travel (that they probably didn't pay for themselves) and an annual 241 voucher from their favourite credit card.
2) 1 Airmile is considerably more valuable than 10 BA Miles. E.g. currently New York return WT 5,000 Airmiles vs. 50,000 BA Miles + £300 implies a drastically different conversion rate.
3) Most Airmiles collectors faced with having to pay BA's current nonsensical "taxes and fees" (a large proportion of the BA cash fare), on top of expensively and hard-earned Airmiles, will simply fly with another airline for less cash and use their Tesco vouchers etc. for genuine value elsewhere.
4) Possible concessions (for Airmiles/Avios members only):
a) abandon any change - not going to happen
b) change the conversion rate to better reflect the value relative to BA Miles
d) earn Avios points on redemptions, like revenue fares, back into your Avios a/c.
Over to you!
Sep 10, 2011, 9:18 am
#110
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Sep 10, 2011, 9:28 am
#111
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On the other hand, they did alone to bleat out nonsense about taxes, charges and fees being outside their control. I wouldn't mind paying fees so much if they were purely 3rd party, but there is the small matter of the fuel surcharge!
I can also tolerate airmiles becoming a worse proposition going forward, but it is wrong to devalue existing miles so badly, especially when people have bought them directly! It would be fairer to improve the conversation rate at start up.
Sep 10, 2011, 9:28 am
#112
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges and Environmentally Friendly Travel
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Airmiles members are being taken advantage of under the current Avios proposals. Rather than let the corporates run roughshod over us as they usually do, Airmiles members need to come together and propose reasonable and proportionate concessions that the Airmiles community can support and that the Mileage Company will have difficulty in refusing. This is the thread for such a discussion.
Prospero
Moderator: BAEC forum
Sep 10, 2011, 10:05 am
#113
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Airmiles members are being taken advantage of under the current Avios proposals. Rather than let the corporates run roughshod over us as they usually do, Airmiles members need to come together and propose reasonable and proportionate concessions that the Airmiles community can support and that the Mileage Company will have difficulty in refusing. This is the thread for such a discussion.
I think its about time that Airmiles collectors manned up, Pay the £27 odd per sector and stop whining at the end of their free lunch
Sep 10, 2011, 11:02 am
#114
Join Date: Feb 2008
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Posts: 129
I respect it but disagree. Airmiles is a cousin of BAEC. We have respectfully posted within the BAEC forum to date. If I were the Airmiles moderator, would you be pleased that I put ALL BAEC discussions into one thread?
No. It is a silly proposition.
These are major changes, much more for Airmiles members than for BAEC members. There is no separate forum for us. If we are not allowed to discuss here, what is the point of flyertalk?
No. It is a silly proposition.
These are major changes, much more for Airmiles members than for BAEC members. There is no separate forum for us. If we are not allowed to discuss here, what is the point of flyertalk?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...s-changes.html
Sep 10, 2011, 1:09 pm
#115
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Check, and you will find that Airmiles redemptions will incur the full array of the various surcharges that BA manages not to include in BA redemptions, except for routes in zones 1-3 where the £27 applies to 'regular' collectors.
'Free lunch'? What's that?
Sep 10, 2011, 1:15 pm
#116
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[QUOTE=Roger;17087143]'£27 odd per sector'? If only!
Check, and you will find that Airmiles redemptions will incur the full array of the various surcharges that BA manages not to include in BA redemptions, except for routes in zones 1-3 where the £27 applies to 'regular' collectors.
'Free lunch'? What's that?[/QUOTE
sorry, perhaps I am just having a grouchy day. Airmiles isnt a frequent flier programme so even redemptions under the similar terms to BAEC seems a bit of a cheek that there are still complaints!
Check, and you will find that Airmiles redemptions will incur the full array of the various surcharges that BA manages not to include in BA redemptions, except for routes in zones 1-3 where the £27 applies to 'regular' collectors.
'Free lunch'? What's that?
[/QUOTEsorry, perhaps I am just having a grouchy day. Airmiles isnt a frequent flier programme so even redemptions under the similar terms to BAEC seems a bit of a cheek that there are still complaints!
Sep 10, 2011, 2:41 pm
#117
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Why would we need a new forum - this thread has hardly grown in the last week in comparison the BA related one and most of the posts are coming from one person. Anyway it will all be academic after 15th November as we will all be Avios members anyway.
Should the Guardian's headline not be 'Angry flyers say adios to Airmiles' ? or maybe 'Angry flyer says adios to Airmiles'
Should the Guardian's headline not be 'Angry flyers say adios to Airmiles' ? or maybe 'Angry flyer says adios to Airmiles'
Sep 10, 2011, 7:14 pm
#118
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I still remember pre 2008 having to pay taxes and everything else with Airmiles, true the taxes and fuel charges have gone up but so has everything else.
Theres plenty of other things i could use my Airmiles on, i've often found better deals for hotels through Airmiles than i have on Expedia.
I've only collected Airmiles through Tesco clubcard (if i don't shop then no points) and my lloyds duo credit card (again if i don't spend money then nothing doing) i've never actually bought Airmiles for cash, don't really see the point and no i'm not saving for long haul, i don't shop enough
Theres plenty of other things i could use my Airmiles on, i've often found better deals for hotels through Airmiles than i have on Expedia.
I've only collected Airmiles through Tesco clubcard (if i don't shop then no points) and my lloyds duo credit card (again if i don't spend money then nothing doing) i've never actually bought Airmiles for cash, don't really see the point and no i'm not saving for long haul, i don't shop enough
Sep 11, 2011, 1:53 am
#119
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You are of course speaking for yourself, as most of us on FT do. 
Others have different considerations. I do, but I don't regard my position as in any way typical.
There are quite a few of us who currently collect both BA Miles and Airmiles. In my untypical situation, my s/h redemptions with ex-Airmiles will not suffer like others' l/h redemptions, but that's just me.
As always, YMMV.
The pre-2008 reference is a little misleading. FWIW I've had Airmiles since they were the BA FF currency - BA Miles started later, remember. First, extras were included, then they weren't, then they were recalculated without extras, now about to be recalculated again with extras.
Others have different considerations. I do, but I don't regard my position as in any way typical.
There are quite a few of us who currently collect both BA Miles and Airmiles. In my untypical situation, my s/h redemptions with ex-Airmiles will not suffer like others' l/h redemptions, but that's just me.
As always, YMMV.
The pre-2008 reference is a little misleading. FWIW I've had Airmiles since they were the BA FF currency - BA Miles started later, remember. First, extras were included, then they weren't, then they were recalculated without extras, now about to be recalculated again with extras.
Sep 11, 2011, 6:47 am
#120
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I was only 2 when Airmiles started so i'm afraid your knowledge on that would be better than mine
I joined in 2006 when taxes etc still had to be paid, true they've done their calculations a little wrong for some places, if you're going to ask people to pay then really you should be asking for less points to be redeemed on all routes
I also collect both Airmiles and BA miles and understand that after November 16th when they all become Avios (the currency) i could move my avios from my "Airmiles" account to my BAEC account, i'm a little unsure about whether it'll still be worth having both accounts
I joined in 2006 when taxes etc still had to be paid, true they've done their calculations a little wrong for some places, if you're going to ask people to pay then really you should be asking for less points to be redeemed on all routes
I also collect both Airmiles and BA miles and understand that after November 16th when they all become Avios (the currency) i could move my avios from my "Airmiles" account to my BAEC account, i'm a little unsure about whether it'll still be worth having both accounts