While talking to BA EC (US) member service today, I asked when I should expect my card, given that I'd signup in May but only got my welcome letter in November. They told me that they no longer send cards to ANYONE (ie, they implied it didn't have to do with me being lowly Blue or with me not having taken a paid flight yet or anything like that). I then asked about the online kiosk instructions which say to insert your BAEC card, and how you're supposed to use an airport kiosk if you don't have a card. They said that was a question for Reservations, and transferred me. Reservations first said it was a question for Membership, but when I balked and asked specifically how a member without a card is supposed to use a kiosk, they said I should insert my ticket. Then I asked what if I have an e-ticket and no physical ticket, and they claimed that I just type in my ticket number, that I need no card of any kind to establish my identity.

How much of any this is true?

My mother signed up the the EC (UK) in November and got her blue card last week. With regard to typing in your ticket number - there isn't a key pad on the kiosk!

The reservation number part is true.

You can put in a BAEC card if you have one, or a credit card if that is registered as the e-ticket ID, and that will work.

However, if you put in any old card (to start the transaction), and it's not associated, there will be an option to put in your reservation code.

You can do this.

Or, if you don't have it written down, you can put in a bogus code (the people helping at LHR always seem to use 'EEEEEE'.

Then you put in the flight number.

If it matches the name carried on the card you put in... Voila! A printed ticket.

But...

If you have a BP from a machine, you will be flagged for an ID check. The exception to this is UK Dom, for which a credit card is an acceptable form of ID.

A touch screen keypad appears if required.

It took BA (NA) about 6 months to send me a gold card, and when I called (several times) to follow up, I was given a different answer each time as to why I hadn't received a card. I find that BA (NA) member services to be rather unhelpful. (By contrast, I find Reservations staff seem to be exceptionally pro-active.)

So if I don't need my EC card to use a kiosk, and I remember my EC number (so I can provide it verbally when asked or online when prompted), is there ANY need for a physical EC card, at least for a Blue?

(The famously-always-confused BA website makes my browser -- EITHER N or IE -- not realize that my EC number and PIN are like a username and password that the browser could keep track of for me, so I've typed in my EC number SO many times in the upper right corner at ba.com that I probably have it memorized for life by now! )

My understanding is that BA will not send out a membership card until after your first qualifying flight posts.

That would be alright if they actually said that when I signed up (back in May). Frontier has that policy, and clearly spells it out on their website. But when I signup up for BA EC (NA) in May (ie, pre 1 Jul), it just said I'd get my card in about a month or so, no requirement for a flight (and, as you recall, there was no requirement for a flight to join either BACK THEN).

Anyway, what exactly is "qualifying" in this case? Is an award flight booked with BA qualifying? Is a flight on AA metal for which I earn BA tier points (because I provide my BA EC number instead of my AAdvantage number) qualifying? (The relative cost in cash to the relative cheapness of using just miles makes me wonder when I'll ever pay for a BA flight, especially if it turns out they can't get me from Brussels to Bergen next summer [see separate thread].)

I requalified for gold for next year by more than triple the minimum amount of tier points (and no I do not have the speedbird card) and my card is expiring 12/31/03 when I called BAEC US to see where is my new card they told me it's in the mail......

[This message has been edited by lakid (edited Dec 17, 2003).]

I am an EC blue and have never used my card. I enter my number using OLCI and then that is it.

Not true. I called EC(NA) and there is(was) an option to request a replacement card. I tried it and within 4 weeks I got my blue card. Suck on that BA!

Just curious: how long ago did this happen? My guess is that it was more than six months ago.

Never heard of that.

Yeah, you're right. It was in March I believe. You can still give it a try.