T8191

^ that ... the little benefits that smooth your path through the process.

BUT ... who knew those details when they joined BAEC, which is the question!

I just joined, because there was no reason not to. I knew NOTHING about BAEC status privileges, and now find myself using F check-in by right, and using posh lounges. It just made sense to jump on the roundabout for free at the beginning.

Oh, Bless BAFT ... you have taught me so much over the last 6 years. It has, quite honestly, transformed our lives. Thanks. folks!

Woody12354

For all the negative comments we hear on here on a regular basis about BA's hard product especially, I think for the "normal" traveller it's a great, relatively low cost extravagance!

I think we need to remember that we are very lucky in the hobbie we have to be able to travel the world in great comfort at minimum cost and to receive status benefits in doing so.

My friends and family can't understand why I go through all the trouble of earning miles. So when I show them pics of 747 UD 64k and tell them it cost me £500 they are absolutely astonished!

But it takes a certain type of almost 'Anal' person to Persue this game ... And if that's me then that's fine ... I love it !

allturnleft

I first discovered business travel in the late 90s when i used to escort patients across the world. I still remember my first few club worlds in those large chairs that used to recline and they used to bring the wine round in those wire baskets and top up regularly. I soon became a Gold card holder in those days.
Then i stopped doing this sort of work and couldnt justify the flying to maintain status.
Then a few trips to Australia and the US got me back to silver and with the new rules that penslise non status passengers like seat slection I started to enjoy silver privalages
Now in year two as silver I have sort have become re-addicted. The new planes and destinations have helped as have the the one world links. If BA continue to innovate they will keep me on board. The club Europe downgrade was a bad move.
Lets hope they will intoduce wifi soon. Love the special experiences like when they used to do Club World on a 747 to Moscow, the retirement concorde flight and hopefully mid haul club world to Stockholm next week

missdimeaner

Hmmmm,
I wonder how many of us (I am talking leisure flyers here) would still be blue if it wasn't for FT ?
After I joined I would sometimes look at the different tiers, my earning patterns and only dream of reaching the heady 'heights' of silver.
Thanks to Flyertalk and in particular the BAEC board I now enjoy not paying to book my seats also lounge access, these two benefits are the ones I have saved a few quid on.
As a side note, BAEC has been the FFP that I can redeem on, I never earned enough to make Virgin FC worth it and couldn't figure out how to earn status on AA.

aidy

me addicted to travel and would be silly not to get miles out of it, also from Joining FT, this will be my first year as a silver, at a very low cost, so v happy with that!

Also always been a fan of BA as my aunt was HR director for BA hols, and me i work for a charter(I do more work on the German side and were scheduled there!) tour operator

EDI_Martin

Bronze at best for me.

My work colleagues struggle to believe how I do what I do and im a novice at it. My family all think im loaded

flatlander

I joined BAEC because of the HHA feature, my partner's daughter was going to be flying a lot while under 18. My main allegiance is still AA, though having got 2/3 of the way to BA Gold I'm putting in a bit more effort (££££) to achieve it, while considering the future of AAdvantage. Not that BAEC is great for earning or redemption (except RFS) if you're not a manic credit card optimiser, so AA would have to go far downhill for me to abandon them.

missdimeaner

I know the feeling, I love my trips away. Yes, I think most people seem to think I'm better off than I am, I just keep them guessing.

BlackBerryAddict

I don't tell them any more about trips, or say something like "We're going to Holland" - while technically true, I am not mentioning this is just the positioning flight for somewhere further afield.

And I certainly don't mention the class of travel anymore.

missdimeaner

Yes, my Tokyo trip became Berlin, and I always travel Y !
Don't like to stir the pot, only breeds discontent.

golfmad

If my memory serves me correctly I joined prior to the days when tier points were on offer. My first memory of the BA frequent flier programme was around 1991 when they offered a case of wine and dinner for 2 subject to flying a given number of sectors. I think the modern variant of BAEC started a short while later.

EDI_Martin

Friends and family have a belief that I love Dublin, whilst technically true it's not why I like going

jcm9000

I would be silver i reckon and thoroughly miserable from lots of y flying...whereas thanks to ft i have never done a tatl in y. W yes, but that was before ft and when i lived abroad where dublin was Much closer to my destination than starting point!!