divetheblue

Hi everyone,

Now I’m quite new to this forum (and only just joined the BAEC – currently have 10k in VAFC). Just having a browse around and there seems to be lots of threads about new sign-up bonuses for credit cards. Which got me thinking; I’m going to be putting $1,500 through my (UK) paypal account in the next couple of weeks, and then another $1,500 in mid-October. Plus about £1k or so in flights in the next month or so, with more on spending abroad if the deal is right (I currently use the Halifax Clarity for this at the moment).

So I’m thinking it might make sense to put this through one of these credit cards which offers you a good deal. The AMEX Gold card (I’ve never had an AMEX card) seems a good deal with 20k Avios, no fee and £10.10 cashback through TCB. I think I also read something like it gives you double points on all travel spend (flights etc)/foreign currency transactions?

Are there any better offers?

Thanks

layz

Due to the takeover of bmi, it's possible to move miles from bmi diamond club to BA Exec club. If you follow my advice below then you should sign up with bmi diamond club before applying for the card. You can freely transfer miles from bmi to BA at the rate of 1 mile = 1 avios.

The bmi Amex offers a decent deal, the free version has a 20k sign up bonus, gives you 1.5 miles per pound on Amex spend and comes with a companion Visa which gives you 0.75 miles per pound.

There's also a paid version which is £85/year which gives you a sign up bonus of 24k and 2 miles/£ on amex and 1 mile/£ on Visa. By the sounds of your spending you might not spend enough to make it worthwhile.

Think of the bmi options as short term options as bmi won't be round for much longer but as these cards are issued by MBNA, not directly from Amex they won't affect your ability to get new sign up bonuses on Amex issued cards.

Also worth getting a BA Amex, the free one is only 1 mile/£ but it's double miles on spend on ba.com.

If you think you can spend £10,000 in a year, it's worth considering the paid BA Amex card (£150/year), it's only 1.5 miles/£ (so the same as the free bmi one), but you get a 2 for 1 voucher when reaching £10k which makes your miles go further.

Raffles

You may want to think about Amex Plat, given the 50k sign up bonus. The fee is £450 but you get a prorata refund when you cancel, so if you do the spend quickly it won't cost much. There is also £60 cashback so your net cost could be close to zero.

Failing that, get the Amex Gold for one year fee free.

Whichever Amex you get, also get the BMI cards as well for the 20k bonus. This is a no-brainer.

If you've not seen the credit card page on my blog http://headforpoints.com/jul-cards-update/ then that should also be helpful.

T8191

*cough*
Really?
I get 1:1 every time we book flights.
Have I been robbed because I have to call BAEC, as ba.com can't do Multi-City + MFU?

origin

It would appear that the 1:2 has gone from the main sites.

http://www.americanexpress.com/uk/ba...?filter=credit

http://www.americanexpress.com/uk/ba...?filter=credit

http://www.americanexpress.com/uk/co...rd5&card=card4

It was there previously, but no longer.

NeverFirst

Only on the "Premium Plus" card.

http://www.britishairways.com/travel...s/public/en_gb

T8191

Thanks, that's what I thought. The Free BA Amex doesn't do that.

Didn't want divetheblue getting the wrong idea.

louie-m

This suggests it's only the BAPP that gets double Avios for BA spend....

ETA - Looks like I'm far too slow.....

crazyarmadillo

Sorry for getting in on this thread with a question, but it is related - why would you need to sign up to the diamond club before applying - we just applied for the card and were accepted - the terms state that if you are not already a member they automatically enroll you into the club. Hope we havent messed up because we were looking forward to 20,000 miles each to transfer to avios...

louie-m

Probably because neither MBNA nor BMI tend to tell the new accountholder their BMI account number, so you have to ring MBNA to get it. No biggie but it's obviously easier to find the account number if you set up the account yourself.

crazyarmadillo

Okay - thanks! I was fretting for a while thinking I screwed up getting us 20k miles each ! Especially as they will no doubt withdraw that offer soon.. Thanks

mackdaddy

Previously, it was worth signing up with BMI before applying for the credit card as you would get 1000 bonus pouts for signing up to the Diamond Club online. Then you could get the bonus credit card miles on top of that. However, I can't find a mention of that offer on the website now, so it might have been pulled...

Raffles

The reason to join first is that you are never told your BMI account number if MBNA creates the account. Your 20k miles will be sent to a new BMI account, but you won't be able to access it! At some point you will need to get on the phone to MBNA or BMI and try to find your number.

cornishsimon

Spot on

And welcome to flyertalk


cs

divetheblue

Wow thanks guys, all the advice much appreciated I've never joined a frequent flyer program before and let I've done lots of flights over the years...Never knew there was all these ways to earn extra miles, I always thought you just had to fly lots (which is why I never joined)!

So...I've now joined the diamond club as per the advice. Saw there was a box for voucher code on signup, so a quick search, and using code 1JA1KD seems to have got me 1000 destination miles in the account

Next, onto the bmi credit card!