Mar 27, 2015, 9:09 am
Last edit by: corporate-wage-slave
If you are new to this thread, please read this wiki before posting a question.
It's here to summarise what we know so far. It will save you the trouble of skim-reading the whole thread and should only take a minute to read. Thanks!
The very short version is:
If all your BA Avios have vanished, don't panic. They have probably been temporarily frozen by BA, not stolen by hackers.
British Airways have issued an FAQ on the issue:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...s?p_faqid=5249
Starting on 27 March 2015, a very large number of people have found that their Avios balance has been reset to zero. Their list of transactions shows an "Ex-Gratia" deduction of their entire previous balance. Other people are also reporting they are unable to access their accounts at all, with their BAEC number not being recognised.
As of 17 hrs BST 30 March 2015, some members of FT have seen their Avios returned, as an equal Ex-Gratia credit to their account.
BAEC call centre staff do not seem to have received a thorough briefing and are giving at times contradictory information. However, an email has gone out to some, not all, BAEC members affected by this issue, with the subject "Executive Club Password Change", details here in post 181. At present there is no definitive information about the exact cause, but it's clear that BA believes there has been a serious security breach (or that there was a serious risk of such a breach).
Can I fix it myself?
Not at this stage. Early posts described a two part process but that no longer works, perhaps because there were too many cases. It will be necessary to reset your password if you are affected. After that you can login to your account, but at the moment those affected will still see zero Avios. Tier Points are unaffected by this incident.
Do I need to reset my password?
If you can't get into BA.com then yes. There seems to be two ways to do this:
1) If you received the email in post 181 above, follow the link to generate a new password. Note that you should double check that this is the precise same email shown in the link. There is a facility to view this email in a browser, top right, this is hosted by ed4.net
2) On the front page of BA.com -- when not logged in -- there is a "Forgotten PIN/Password" option. This should send an email to your registered account and from there you can reset your password.
There are, however, many reports of option 2 not working, although it is working for some BAEC members on some occasions. As always, check your spam box. If you can't get it to work, you can telephone the call centre (service centre) and after asking additional questions to verify identity, they can generate the email too.
I haven't received the email but I have been locked out / zero'd, what should I do?
Try to reset your password as above, and you could ring BA to find out if you need to take additional action. However the chances are that at the moment you will need to wait at least a few days until the situation becomes clearer.
I haven't been blocked, do I need to do anything?
No. But if you are worried you can reset your password inside BAEC, just go to My Executive Club / Manage My Account / Update My Personal Information / Login Details. However with so many BAEC members inhibited in making bookings at the moment, now may be a good time to take advantage of unclaimed availability.
Have other Avios partners been hit by this?
Yes, Iberia have been, Avios.com apparently not.
How do I look for or book redemptions?
If you have been zero'd then the Book with Avios or Money tab on the left side of My Executive Club may be blocked. However, you can at least check availability via Executive Club / Reward Flights / Book a Reward Flight. BAEC call centre staff are able to book redemptions for you. Remember to check that any booking fee is waived (hopefully they will do this without prompting). In other cases call centre staff have offered to put a redemption booking on "hold" pending the resolution of this issue. Alternatively if you have an Avios.com account with Avios already available there, then this maybe another way of handling this matter.
Statement of March 28 by AwardWallet.com : https://awardwallet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=6616&sid=28d901e85aafebb62044 609dc1a1ae7b
It's here to summarise what we know so far. It will save you the trouble of skim-reading the whole thread and should only take a minute to read. Thanks!
The very short version is:
If all your BA Avios have vanished, don't panic. They have probably been temporarily frozen by BA, not stolen by hackers.
British Airways have issued an FAQ on the issue:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...s?p_faqid=5249
Starting on 27 March 2015, a very large number of people have found that their Avios balance has been reset to zero. Their list of transactions shows an "Ex-Gratia" deduction of their entire previous balance. Other people are also reporting they are unable to access their accounts at all, with their BAEC number not being recognised.
As of 17 hrs BST 30 March 2015, some members of FT have seen their Avios returned, as an equal Ex-Gratia credit to their account.
BAEC call centre staff do not seem to have received a thorough briefing and are giving at times contradictory information. However, an email has gone out to some, not all, BAEC members affected by this issue, with the subject "Executive Club Password Change", details here in post 181. At present there is no definitive information about the exact cause, but it's clear that BA believes there has been a serious security breach (or that there was a serious risk of such a breach).
Can I fix it myself?
Not at this stage. Early posts described a two part process but that no longer works, perhaps because there were too many cases. It will be necessary to reset your password if you are affected. After that you can login to your account, but at the moment those affected will still see zero Avios. Tier Points are unaffected by this incident.
Do I need to reset my password?
If you can't get into BA.com then yes. There seems to be two ways to do this:
1) If you received the email in post 181 above, follow the link to generate a new password. Note that you should double check that this is the precise same email shown in the link. There is a facility to view this email in a browser, top right, this is hosted by ed4.net
2) On the front page of BA.com -- when not logged in -- there is a "Forgotten PIN/Password" option. This should send an email to your registered account and from there you can reset your password.
There are, however, many reports of option 2 not working, although it is working for some BAEC members on some occasions. As always, check your spam box. If you can't get it to work, you can telephone the call centre (service centre) and after asking additional questions to verify identity, they can generate the email too.
I haven't received the email but I have been locked out / zero'd, what should I do?
Try to reset your password as above, and you could ring BA to find out if you need to take additional action. However the chances are that at the moment you will need to wait at least a few days until the situation becomes clearer.
I haven't been blocked, do I need to do anything?
No. But if you are worried you can reset your password inside BAEC, just go to My Executive Club / Manage My Account / Update My Personal Information / Login Details. However with so many BAEC members inhibited in making bookings at the moment, now may be a good time to take advantage of unclaimed availability.
Have other Avios partners been hit by this?
Yes, Iberia have been, Avios.com apparently not.
How do I look for or book redemptions?
If you have been zero'd then the Book with Avios or Money tab on the left side of My Executive Club may be blocked. However, you can at least check availability via Executive Club / Reward Flights / Book a Reward Flight. BAEC call centre staff are able to book redemptions for you. Remember to check that any booking fee is waived (hopefully they will do this without prompting). In other cases call centre staff have offered to put a redemption booking on "hold" pending the resolution of this issue. Alternatively if you have an Avios.com account with Avios already available there, then this maybe another way of handling this matter.
Statement of March 28 by AwardWallet.com : https://awardwallet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=6616&sid=28d901e85aafebb62044 609dc1a1ae7b
27 Mar: Large numbers of BAEC accounts being Locked/Zeroed Out/in Audit ('Ex-gratia')
Mar 27, 2015, 10:53 am
#136
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Near Edinburgh
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 9,034
Alternatively, why didn't they just freeze those accounts with outgoing transactions (e.g. redemptions, transfers)?
Mar 27, 2015, 10:58 am
#137
Join Date: May 2006
Location: ORD
Posts: 35
Yeah, that makes sense. Those pesky hackers flying flights and crediting them to my account. And they've linked their credit card earning to my account too.
Alternatively, why didn't they just freeze those accounts with outgoing transactions (e.g. redemptions, transfers)?
Alternatively, why didn't they just freeze those accounts with outgoing transactions (e.g. redemptions, transfers)?
So the "March transaction" theory might break down at some point.
Last edited by concuss; Mar 27, 2015 at 10:58 am Reason: mis-attribution
Mar 27, 2015, 10:59 am
#138
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: BA Exec - Silver
Posts: 38
They take on too much IT in too short a time. April Changes, March HBO's, Apple Watch updates, BA app constant updates. Add a stupid percentage counter of completeness.
Currently I can't even log in. Bloody useless. Why not get one thing right before moving on to the next.
Currently I can't even log in. Bloody useless. Why not get one thing right before moving on to the next.
Mar 27, 2015, 10:59 am
#139
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Near Edinburgh
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 9,034
I've only flight credits and credit card Avios in my account in March and its been zeroed out.
Mar 27, 2015, 11:04 am
#140
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: MSN
Programs: AA, BAEC Gold
Posts: 3,929
Without going back and re-reading everything I can't be sure but it seems as if most people who can't log in at all are using BAEC numbers. It won't fix the frozen avios but it may be that numbers have been locked out and emails will still work for logging in.
Mar 27, 2015, 11:05 am
#141
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 198
Saw this thread and checked my account via Awardwallet. Couldn't access. Then reset password through BA site and saw 0 in my account, drained from 45,000 +/-. Called the international line (as overseas) and spoke to a nice agent after aboyt 15 minutes on hold. Was told there was a third party attempted hack on some accounts so BA froze many as a precaution. Answered about 5-6 security questions and was told all points should be restored in 24-48 hours, but that BA could book and hold me a seat if I wanted to make/reserve a flight in the meantime.
Mar 27, 2015, 11:07 am
#143
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: London. Or a plane.
Programs: "Only" 50,000 TPs until BA GGLfL
Posts: 2,774
Dear BA. This is awesome.
*You devalue avios by 30%
*You render status worthless on any tickets where the baggage is not included (for a £10 discount - meant to cover your costs of handling baggage)
* No more than 3 OpUps per year, regardless of whether you're a blue who flies 3x a year or a GGL who flied 100x
*You cheerfully zero avios balances of a big chunk of your frequent flyers, just in case anyone wants to spend avios before the devaluation
I can safely predict next month's enhancement is a trumpet sound everytime a plane lands, and for May: a personalized cowpat sent from that nice Mr Hillier?
I never really use them, but I'm getting out the Aegean and Etihad Gold cards...
*You devalue avios by 30%
*You render status worthless on any tickets where the baggage is not included (for a £10 discount - meant to cover your costs of handling baggage)
* No more than 3 OpUps per year, regardless of whether you're a blue who flies 3x a year or a GGL who flied 100x
*You cheerfully zero avios balances of a big chunk of your frequent flyers, just in case anyone wants to spend avios before the devaluation
I can safely predict next month's enhancement is a trumpet sound everytime a plane lands, and for May: a personalized cowpat sent from that nice Mr Hillier?
I never really use them, but I'm getting out the Aegean and Etihad Gold cards...
Mar 27, 2015, 11:08 am
#145
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 11,969
I say this with a terrible sense of foreboding. 
When I use AwardWallet to invoke the family BA accounts, when it gets to an account it has previously tried to access during this debacle, it now trips on quickly as though I have been locked out through too many login attempts and only tries on accounts not previously tested "today".
I do so hope that BA does a rollback to a data point before today so that all those that have made several login attempts today don't need to go through an "enhanced" process to generate new passwords. And as we all know those will not be passwords we currently have and therefore cannot repeat.
When I use AwardWallet to invoke the family BA accounts, when it gets to an account it has previously tried to access during this debacle, it now trips on quickly as though I have been locked out through too many login attempts and only tries on accounts not previously tested "today".
I do so hope that BA does a rollback to a data point before today so that all those that have made several login attempts today don't need to go through an "enhanced" process to generate new passwords. And as we all know those will not be passwords we currently have and therefore cannot repeat.
Mar 27, 2015, 11:08 am
#146
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Plat Hilton Gold, SPG Gold, Club Carl Gold, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,002
Here's another data point. I was able to sign in to my BA account earlier this morning without issue. Now, I CANNOT log into my account -- BA does not recognize my number. I'll just let it play out.
Mar 27, 2015, 11:10 am
#147
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 228
don't use awardwallet, had transaction many times in March, login fine and balance not zero... *knock knock* on the wood...
but with all this happening... I planned to do some adjustment to my booking... I guess I need to wait... and the reward seat still around when this is all settle
but with all this happening... I planned to do some adjustment to my booking... I guess I need to wait... and the reward seat still around when this is all settle
Mar 27, 2015, 11:14 am
#148
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London
Programs: Mucci. Nothing else matters.
Posts: 38,644
As a matter of interest, how would you have worded this if BA had failed to put precautionary measures in place and some hacker had stolen all your Avios?
Mar 27, 2015, 11:14 am
#149
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: GLA
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 2,962
No, I only have my BAEC number to log in, and am still fine (touchwood for the third time).