Is high tier BAEC worth it?

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Viewing 9 posts - 31 through 39 (of 39 total)

  • JonathanCohen09
    Participant

    I have read the various posts here with great interest and clearly for many posters there are sufficient benefits to justify the effort that they make to achieve Silver or Gold status in the BAEC.

    It is also interesting to note that many of you achieve that status without needing or wanting to fly on BA or by flying with them the minimum amount possible but in that regard each to their own as we can all choose to fly with whichever carrier works for us and I totally respect that.

    I think that when you are flying long haul and are fortunate enough to be able to fly in the premium cabins that people get the most out of their avios and tier points and of course then it is much easier to achieve and maintain the higher tiers. I am not so so sure that the same applies to short haul flying when you look at cost v benefit.

    In the last 2 weeks I have been to Aberdeen on business flying out on a Wednesday evening from LGW at 18.30 and returning the next day to LTN at 15.50. On each occasion the cost of my ticket with EasyJet has been £109 return. The cost on BA for flights at comparable times on both occasions was around £490 so my companies total spend on flights for the 2 trips was £218 whereas with BA it would have been £980 so a saving on this occasion of £762. I have an EasyJet plus card which I pay for myself which costs me £199 but this gets me free seat selection, priority boarding and fast track security at the vast majority of airports that I travel to with EasyJet so the cost is more than covered and I am already in profit and my card is not due for renewal until the end of April next year. I would have to pay for the seat selection myself so I gain the benefit of having the card. These 2 trips were booked with 4 days notice.

    I am going to Aberdeen again on the 20th of September so more notice this time and the EasyJet flights are costing £63 with BA costing £219 for their hand baggage only fare so a saving this time of £156.

    Based on these real examples, I am not sure how you would justify the additional cost of the flights against the benefits that you get from Silver or Gold status, if you have some degree of choice in the matter as I know that many of you do not. At most airports for between £20 and £30 I can pay for lounge access so even if you add that to the cost which then gives similar benefits to someone with silver status, for me the cost v benefit does not add up.

    LTN TLV is the route I fly the most at present, almost every month and I make huge savings on this route as well. For example 23rd to 26th November, my next personal trip, EasyJet wanted £221 and BA wanted £492 so another saving, this time £271. El Al were just as expensive as BA

    What do others think, do the silver and or Gold benefits give the kind of value equal to the money saved?

    This is absolutely not a BA bashing post as the savings can be just as good compared to AF/KLM or Lufthansa if I am flying to Europe so the question equally applies to any posters who have high status in the Star or Skyteam alliances.

    I am genuinely interested in the views of others as this was the question posed by the original poster?

    My apologies for the length of this post!


    stevescoots
    Participant

    I have been BA gold for several years, although almost all points earned on other OW carriers. As I avoid BA as much as possible the main benefits for me come from reward flights, I burn almost all of mine with CX, Taking the 767 to HCM in J for 15,000 avios and £38 quid, that is usually around a £500 flight. Lounge access, sat in the F Wing lounge at HKG as I type this, 2 weeks ago was using same lounge when flying MH economy. T5 new F channel on the odd time i use BA (about twice a year)

    In short its worth it depending on how and what opportunities you get to use it


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    Jonathan

    Your comments make a lot of sense – I think it is a matter of one’s travelling patterns and needs.

    I think BA sucks as a company and as a service provider it is third quartile amongst European airlines.

    Having said that, my short haul flying has reduced tremendously in recent years and my main flying is 10-12 round trips every year to the Middle East and live within walking distance of Lancaster rail station, which connects directly to MAN in 1h20 mins (no, it was NOT me who complained about the extra tea bag!).

    I can usually get a return BA WT+ ticket for ~£600-650 (and recently got one for well under £500).

    If I bought EK in Y, it would cost me ~£375-425, so I’m paying a premium of ~50% for a far better seat in a less dense cabin (38″ v 31-33″, 18.5″ v 16.7″, 8 across v 10 across).

    EK has better F&B and IFE. BA has a better FF scheme (easier to gain status).

    I’d prefer to fly direct, but having GCH status on BA does give more protection on overbooked flights than silver on Skywards (even with 10-12 flights per year, I wouldn’t get gold, because of the way EK credits flights – fair enough).

    Yes, it is a pain travelling inbound through LHR, though the First wing eases it to some degree.

    Then there are the Avios – reading Flyertalk, some people go to immense lengths to try for upgrades or free long haul flights – good for them; personally, I’ve better things to do with my free time. However, short haul reward savers are very useful and save a lot of money. In the last year I’ve used them for leisure trips to

    Paris (x2)
    Nice (x2)
    London (x4)

    and I’ve got trips booked to

    Basel (x1)
    Lisbon (x2)

    So it works for me, on the cynical basis that I know I’m choosing a more comfortable seat on a poor quality airline and I get some cheap holidays.

    If I reverted back to my old travelling patterns with more shorthaul, there is no way I would fly via London, when easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair and Monarch offered such a good direct route network from MAN (and LPL). Also, I believe that your evidence about BA short haul prices is valid, they are offering BoB service at full service pricing – sure there are some really cheap headline offers or loss leaders but overall they ain’t good value on shorther flights.


    rferguson
    Participant

    Agreed with what you say Jonathan.

    The irony with Exec club is that you can fly BA once a month every month of the year on a short haul flight (paying as you said c£500 a pop) and find it difficult to attain the tier points for Silver. Alternatively, you can buy a heavily discounted J class ticket for c£1000 on say Qatar and achieve the tier points for BA Silver on one trip. SO it can be the case that the least loyal BA flyers enjoy the best benefits when they do fly BA and the most loyal get nada.


    JasmineBear
    Participant

    I pretty much agree with everything said so far.

    My circumstances are probably slight different to the thread as a GCHFL, GGL and CCR holder for a number of years, the answer to “Is High Tier BAEC worth it?” is overwhelmingly yes.

    For me, GCH status aside, the biggest benefit is reaching GGL, where the Spacesaver Rewards are provided. I found it incredible difficult to use the GU vouchers or to spend any Avios for that matter until that point.
    Now, with not too much advanced planning, haven’t had any issues in using the GU vouchers or spending Avios on any flights in my cabin of choice and timings of choice since then. Also, the GGL dedicated line is pretty amazing and they do bend over backwards to help.

    If you are fortunate enough (read… stupid enough to have to do enough flying) and accept that BA CW hard product is dated, soft product is hit and miss but theoretically improving, in the scenario where you are at 4,900 points in one year or 3K+ and 2,900 points in a second year and are about to choose your next long haul flight and carrier, I’d choose a One World carrier for that trip, to get to GGL any time.


    capetonianm
    Participant

    I view most airline loyalty schemes as little better than a sophisticated and glossy scam, and I speak as someone who was once Top Tier with LH and with SAA. The aggravation linked to trying to redeem the paltry value of the Miles/points renders the operation usually more aggravation than worthwhile. I choose my flights based on when and where I want to travel, and if in the process I earn brownie points, fine.

    My wife is as much of a BA fan as I am not, using the airline for roughly 12 s/h trips a year and 4 longhaul in what they have the cheek to call Business class. She’s at Ruby level (she enrolled with Iberia) but until very recently was Sapphire. Last week we travelled together LHR CPT, with me in ‘business’ class and her in PE. They refused her admission to the business class lounge at LHR. Computer says ‘no’. I fully understand the rules and the need to apply them as and when, but the very pleasant chap on the gate clearly had no discretion to override the computer after scanning the boarding passes. We only wanted to sit in the lounge for half an hour to get some peace and quiet away from the madding crowds on a busy evening and weren’t even going to drink or eat as we’d had dinner beforehand.

    I travel with BA when it suits me, and in this case I got a very cheap C class fare and it suited us to travel together, but in general, BA can put its Avios and its ‘Business class’ where the sun doesn’t shine.


    K1ngston
    Participant

    I agree with all points here, the nice people at BA have just dropped me down to “Bronze” I simply dont fly OW enough. However in 2 weeks I fly SIN – LHR in PE and then in November I am flying QR J return from BKK ( ridiculously stupid price couldn’t ignore) and was wondering from you people in the know whether that will get me back to Silver??

    Cant remember with the lovely people of BA if when you hit the threshold you change or have to wait for your year to end?

    “Bronze” how will I face you all now 🙂


    SimonS1
    Participant

    As soon as you hit the required TPs for silver your status will change (normally within 48h).


    K1ngston
    Participant

    Thank you Simon

Viewing 9 posts - 31 through 39 (of 39 total)
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