Oxon Flyer

Eligible Participants will receive up to 35% more BAEC Avios ("Bonus Avios") when they convert Qualifying Hotel Loyalty Points into Avios during the Qualifying Period. "Qualifying Hotel Loyalty Points" means a minimum of requirement of loyalty points earned through the Hotel Loyalty Programme. Minimum amounts vary between hotel partners: Club Carlson - 2,000 points; Hilton HHonors - 10,000; Hyatt Gold Passport – 5,000; IHG Rewards – 10,000; Marriott Rewards – 10,000; Shangri-La Golden Circle – 2,500 and Starwood Preferred Guest – 2,500.

"Qualifying Period" means: Between 20th June and 5th July 2016 for Club Carlson, Hilton HHonors, Hyatt Gold Passport, IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Rewards, Shangri-La Golden Circle and Starwood Preferred Guest

redct

Guess who just cashed out 35K SPG points on Saturday... I wonder if the 1.35x multiplier is applied on top of the Starwood bonus or not. If so, that's one heck of a deal.

Blueboys999

I guess that will only become clear when the bonus posts some weeks later but I would be surprised if the 35% is applied to the 25% bonus as well. Worse case scenario would be that you get one or the other.

AJLondon

Any link or definition of "eligible participants"?

Thanks.

Oxon Flyer

I can't find a link to a promo page in the email I got from BA, but I did find this at the bottom :

nov11

I am pretty sure it does. I've transferred SPG to Avios before in the past and i get the BA bonus plus the 25% bonus from SPG. From BA's perspective, you are transferring 25,000 SPG points into Avios, not 20,000.

nonesuch flyer

How do the value of Avios compare to AA miles? I am considering joining BAEC and am trying to compare with AAdvantage.

Blueboys999

As ever, it depends.

Both programmes have their 'hotspots' although AA's are as hot as they were a few months back but for long haul still superior in my view. IME BAEC is very good for short haul 'Reward Flight Savers' (RFS) but if you aren't UK based that benefit will be somewhat limited.

As a result, anybody considering switching to BAEC needs to closely assess their travel patterns before doing so.

AJLondon

Thanks. I just transferred 20k out. Let's see what credits to BAEC!

eefor jfp

If you're not familiar with BAEC, tread carefully. Surcharges are high and award levels are too. For example, most US cities to London are 200,000 miles for a round trip ticket in First class. But there are cheaper off-peak awards and the northeast is cheaper (160,000; even less for off-peak). And there are a LOT of dates that are off peak.

Plus those "free" tickets can carry fees and taxes of over $1000. And if you want to go on to somewhere else in Europe (or if you need to connect to a BA gateway in the US from a smaller city) then even more points are needed.

On the other hand, since tickets are priced per leg by distance, short haul flights can be a good deal. Not as good as they were before the latest devaluations when you could get a round trip for 9,000 points for flights under 500 miles but there are still some values to be had.

The point is, you need to be familiar with the program and know what you want to redeem for before transferring SPG points.

If you're already a member of the Exec Club and need more points for an award, then obviously you know what you are doing. Personally, I have plenty of BA Avios, can never find upgrade space on the flights I want, and am always short of hotel points for vacations. So this isn't a deal I will take, but others may find it attractive.

travelbarefeet

Re: July 5th deadline

Is it the date you initiate the transfer or the date the transfer must post w/ BA?

Anyone know this? I've searched around and can't find a definitive answer.

mahasamatman

Since it's BA providing the bonus, I would assume it's the date they need to post by.

Dennis

Nope, it's the date when you initiated the transfer of points/miles since you don't have any influence when the transferred points/miles will be posted into your BA Executive account.
(But it could be, that you'll have to ask for the bonus afterwards.)

travelbarefeet

Yeah, it would be weird because the promotion runs from June 20 to July 5. If it was the date that BA receives the points, then the only way to make the June 20 date is to transfer before June 20 w/o knowing about the actual promotion (unless the promotion was announced beforehand).

But then, it would be pretty much impossible to time it perfectly to make the June 20 date. Do you transfer on June 1? June 2? What if you transfer on June 1 and it posts on June 15? It doesn't fall within the promotional period.

I don't think it's was a well thought out promotion regarding the dates.

mahasamatman

Do you have a reference? How would BA know when you initiated the transfer?