Physical BAEC Bronze cards and bag tags eliminated
Jan 19, 2021, 9:58 am
#16
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: TPA/ABZ
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold. GGL/CCR.
Posts: 13,275
I'll miss being able to use my cards in the hotel room wall socket so that I can leave my laptop and gadgets charging while out of the room without running the risk of leaving a credit card behind. Apart from that I will not miss them at all.
Jan 19, 2021, 10:09 am
#18
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: London Stratford, E7
Programs: BAEC Gold! Thanks to FT
Posts: 3,403
Either ask for 2 keys at check in or your Boots/Tesco/Morrison/other loyalty card will also do the job.
Jan 19, 2021, 10:09 am
#19
Join Date: May 2013
Location: west coast best coast
Programs: TINDER GOLD, STARBUCKS GOLD, COSTCO EXECUTIVE!!
Posts: 3,989
I won't complain until they start removing it from Golds to cut cost, like Finnair did to their Platinums. Many lounges still want to see physical cards, and I despise having to hand over my phone to agents to check digital cards.
Jan 19, 2021, 10:11 am
#20
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: TPA/ABZ
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold. GGL/CCR.
Posts: 13,275
Jan 19, 2021, 10:19 am
#21
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: LON
Programs: Mucci, BAEC, Eurostar
Posts: 3,304
Boots and numerous supermarkets still provide loyalty cards which are the right size, and actually my local coffee shop's paper loyalty card (which doesn't have my name on it) works in most places.
Jan 19, 2021, 10:31 am
#23
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: TPA/ABZ
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold. GGL/CCR.
Posts: 13,275
Jan 19, 2021, 11:39 am
#24
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Sussex, UK
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 489
Or just ask for 2 keycards at checkin..
Jan 19, 2021, 11:43 am
#25
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Surrey, UK
Programs: BA Gold, *A Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 657
As others have mentioned, I was still given the option to order a Gold card.
And another +1 from me for having the physical card to access lounges. Admittedly, its not every day I’m asked (especially at the moment), but there has been the odd occasion when they do need a physical card. Most notably at the EI lounge in Dublin when flying with them - they needed to swipe the card, which wouldn’t have been possible with a digital version. And with them not being in OneWorld, status wasn’t mentioned on my boarding pass either.
And another +1 from me for having the physical card to access lounges. Admittedly, its not every day I’m asked (especially at the moment), but there has been the odd occasion when they do need a physical card. Most notably at the EI lounge in Dublin when flying with them - they needed to swipe the card, which wouldn’t have been possible with a digital version. And with them not being in OneWorld, status wasn’t mentioned on my boarding pass either.
Jan 19, 2021, 11:46 am
#26
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Mostly UK
Programs: Mucci Extraordinaire, Hilton Diamond, BA Gold (ex BD)
Posts: 11,210
I've been in a few hotels where it only takes hotel keys (it must read the NFC chip), it seemed to detect if a housekeeping key was in the holder as when my room was getting cleaned a housekeeping in progress light was on the panel outside my room. Anyway, that's drifting totally off topic.
I've never had to show a BA card to access a lounge and I first became silver in 2012 and then gold the year after.
I've never had to show a BA card to access a lounge and I first became silver in 2012 and then gold the year after.
Jan 19, 2021, 11:48 am
#27
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London
Programs: Mucci. Nothing else matters.
Posts: 38,644
But I have once been stymied in a hotel that I've now stayed at several times, where the card slot for that purpose really does not work unless you leave one of the hotel's key cards in it.
[ETA:] I see that layz has had the same experience!
Jan 19, 2021, 1:31 pm
#28
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 64,018
And another +1 from me for having the physical card to access lounges. Admittedly, its not every day I’m asked (especially at the moment), but there has been the odd occasion when they do need a physical card. Most notably at the EI lounge in Dublin when flying with them - they needed to swipe the card, which wouldn’t have been possible with a digital version. And with them not being in OneWorld, status wasn’t mentioned on my boarding pass either.