Airmiles - worth another look?
 

I got a letter from Airmiles yesterday telling me how I could exchange my Tesco vouchers for Airmiles. What interested me was the fact that I've got 623 Airmiles - no idea how I got them.

I assumed 623 would get me a one way train ticket from Manchester to Liverpool or something, but I had a look on their website anyway.

I fancied a weekend away, so I put in MAN-FRA for next weekend. Came back as 300 Airmiles + £55. The other option was 100 Airmiles + £67. These flights are with BA Connect, and afternoon/early evening flights.

Had a quick look on the BA site, and the cheapest fare was about £340. Lufthansa was £180. Neither of these were ideal timings either. To get an early evening flight pushed prices up further.

So I snapped up the BA flight for £67.

So, it may be worth dusting off your account (I had to phone them up to reset my password) and start looking for some bargains.

Cheers,
Rick

Currently in the lounge at MAN, waiting for a (delayed :mad: ) flight to Paris.

Used Air Miles (I've a years' old stash of 5,000-odd) for the first time.

Wanted a cheapish weekend away for my wife's birthday, but of course all the 'budget' airlines are anything but if you want away early Friday/back late Sunday.

500 Air Miles each (+ taxes obvio).

Can't remember how much it would have been through ba.com, but I'm definitely pleased.

Not sure I'd actually collect Air Miles, but they do seem to be easier to use/better value than when I've looked to do so in the past.

Thanks Rick. Good info. I also keep my Airmiles account ticking along, however I need to advise everybody of the point below:

WARNING - CURRENT TIMES AIRMILES PROMOTION

The fine print to the current Times promotion for Airmiles is woreth reading. These Airmiles EXPIRE. They are not an ordinary Airmile as you have been able to collect in the past. They need to be used by (I think) March 2007.

Thanks for the reminder. ^

Also, the heavily promoted offers to CDG, BUD, NYC etc are only guaranteed until (I think) September, after which they will most likely be enhanced. :rolleyes:

Yes, they expire. I was thinking of using some for a hotel booking, but all the terms & conditions I've seen seem to refer to "travel" being taken by a certain date, no mention of other uses, so I still don't know if it's possible to use them for things orher than flights.

No. I looked at this offer. As I remember it, the current batch of Times miles can ONLY be redeemed for one of the 'special' destinations and cannot be combined with your existing miles.

The wording is not too clear. However, this statement appears amongst the propaganda:

'If you have just started collecting, you can add Cut & Run Airmiles :rolleyes: to your exisiting Airmiles account, but you must redeem them by March 31.' even though (from the t+cs) 'Cut & Run Airmiles will appear in Airmiles accounts as "Vouchers" on June 30, 2006. They will not be added to your Airmiles account balance.'

In any case, as the maximum offered by the Times/Sunday Times promotion is 500 Airmiles per person (a combination of newspaper and online coupons), you MUST be able to use existing miles if you are (a) two or more people, (b) going to NYC, LAX and some other destinations, (c) a collector of fewer than 500 Times Miles, or (d) a combination of these.

I'm looking to do an unbudgeted NYC weekend.

Does anyone know what booking class Airmiles tickets in? Would also be interested to know what their biz class offerings are- apparently you have to call them about these, rather than use the website. Certainly they seem to be making efforts to refresh the brand. Maybe WWW plans a sell-off!

Recently, Airmiles bookings have been in revenue classes, exactly which depending on the 'price' (i.e. number of miles required). The advantage has been that if you get your EC number into the booking, BA miles have been awarded. I use the past tense because I don't know if there are changes since the refurbishment. (Well it makes a change from enhancement.)
Formally and informally, it's been on the block for ages. But who would buy the rejected former BA frequent flyer scheme cum loyalty scheme, now just loyalty scheme with few partners? Not an attractive proposition without significant investment.

I phoned BA and got my BAEC number put on the booking. In MMB, it's showing as earning 520 miles, so I assume that it's booked into a revenue class.

Cheers,
Rick

Apparently it is! The Sunday Times reported that Keith Mills, the original founder and now chair of Nectar, is bidding for AirMiles. Apparently BA wants 75 million pounds for it!

Yep - The article is here

Interesting! Combine with Nectar? Or just buy up the competition?

Thanks, Roger, I'll give it a try!

Can I convert Air Miles to BA Miles
 

Tried looking on the Air Miles website as to whether I can convert my 2500 Air Miles to BA Miles. Couldn't find anything on this - can it be done by any means?