[Anonymous]

[JimAziz]

On May 27, I received a generous offer from BA, as a gold card holder, for a 15% reduction on flights booked from May 27 to June 30. Apparently this promotion was for Canadian Gold Card holders, only.

The primary condition was that any bookings, and payment, had to occur through BA’s website and the offer was not open to travel agents.

On May 28 and again May 29, attempted to book a flight from London to Cairo but there was no discount applied on either date. Normal rates applied.

Contacted the Gold Guest List program (for BA Gold members who accrue over 3000 tier points per year) and spent over an hour with first an agent, and then a supervisor. After much negotiation and persistence, they reluctantly provided me with the 15% discount and admitted the website did not calculate the discount, as it was supposed to do.

Then, on June 9, attempted to book a flight to London using the same website and determined there was still no 15% discount calculation. Contacted the Gold Guest List program people and this time there was nothing they could do (perhaps they have been told that what they did for me the first time around was not acceptable and not to do it again). So, rather than have to spend more time cajoling BA staff to provide the discount, they offered, went to my travel agent and booked the flight without the benefit of the discount they had offered.

My travels are completed using flexible business class tickets. 15% discounts would be in the range of $1000 to $1500 Canadian dollars.

So, in a nutshell, BA offer their frequent travelers what amounts to a meaningful discount and then you are left to figure out how to obtain the discount through the website you were asked to use even though the website does not provide the discount. So if you do not have the time, inclination and/or persistence to go after the offer they initiated, then ‘tough luck’.

One would have thought that before offering such a program that ‘testing’ would have been completed to ensure the discount calculation actually worked.

It is this type of mismanagement of what could be a tremendous customer benefit, generating much goodwill, which ultimately turns out to be something that generates bad feelings, that continues to haunt BA. Didn’t something like this recently occur with the opening of Terminal 5? One can only scratch one’s head to try and comprehend these events.

My guess is that they would only like to apply the 15% discount to economy class fares and not Business or First.

I have had many other problems with BA, of late, similar to this and that is why my tier point level (over 5000 annually the past several years) will drop to around 3000 this year. Have discovered there is life beyond BA in the form of Emirates and Singapore Airlines.

One can only feel sorry for the outstanding cabin crews who provide exemplary service only to be downtrodden by the seeming incompetence of their ground support staff working out of London.

Jim – Baja Group Consultants
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Save 15% on any fare, in any cabin, to any destination. Book now.
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a webpage.

Hello Ms. Aziz
Member Number: 44468986

SAVE
15%
on
any fare
in
any cabin*
to
any destination

OFFER ENDS
JUNE 30, 2008

FLY BETWEEN
MAY 28, 2008, AND
SEPTEMBER 3, 2008

This offer — exclusively for Executive Club members — gives you the perfect opportunity to visit London and beyond this summer. This discount is available only when using the link in this email to book any fare in any cabin you wish. Click here to book >

© Copyright 2008 British Airways Plc. All rights reserved.

*Terms and Conditions:
1. 15% savings is based on round-trip purchase of any published retail fare (exclusive of charges, fees, taxes and surcharges) on ba.com, valid for outbound travel May 28-September 3, 2008, on British Airways services only, from a Canadian gateway to or via London.
2. Fares subject to government approval and do not include security, insurance and fuel surcharges, airport fees, Air Travellers Security Charges and taxes.
3. For new bookings only made May 27-June 30, 2008.
4. Discounted fares are identified by D.
5. Valid on British Airways only and is not combinable with any other offer.
6. Refunds to itineraries booked in select fares are not permitted.
7. All rules of any fare purchased apply, including advance purchase, minimum/maximum stay, stopovers, weekend add-ons, changes and cancellation/refund rules. Please refer to individual rules per ticket before purchase.
8. Executive Club members can earn BA Miles per the terms and conditions of the Executive Club.
9. Offer can only be booked online at ba.com. 15% savings will not apply if booked through a British Airways call centre or travel agent.
10. Executive Club members may take advantage of this offer as many times as they like during the offer period. Members may use the discount for a maximum of eight additional travellers all on the same itinerary, all booked and paid for at the same time via the ba.com booking engine. Bookings are subject to cancellation when the originating member cancels or changes their booking regardless of whether fare rules permit such cancellation or changes. British Airways reserves the right to review all bookings made with this offer for compliance with these terms and conditions and may revoke any discounts applied to any bookings which are not in compliance.
11. 15% savings does not apply to infant fares. Infant without seat will pay 10% of adult fare. Child discount will allow for a child to pay 80% of the discounted adult fare.
12. Unaccompanied minors permitted for a $50 surcharge each way.
13. Open to Canadian residents paying in Canadian dollars only.
14. Subject to availability.

To ensure delivery to your inbox, please add
<a href="mailto:[email protected]“>[email protected] to your address book.

You can update your email address, unsubscribe from the Executive Club email service, or update your communications preferences by logging in to your account. Please note that we may communicate some news, offers, partner or BA Miles promotions by email only. We’re sorry, but email sent in reply to this message will not be answered. If you have questions, please contact us via email.

British Airways will not sell your data to any third party for direct marketing. View our privacy policy.

This email was sent to <a href="mailto:[email protected]“>[email protected], membership number 44468986, by British Airways Plc, Waterside, Speedbird Way, Harmondsworth, UB7 0GB, United Kingdom. This email is intended solely for the addressee(s) and the information it contains is confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, (a) please delete this email and inform the sender as soon as possible, and (b) any copying distribution or other action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance upon it is prohibited and may be unlawful.

DeleteReplyForwardSpamMove…

[FrequentTraveller]

You should consider editing your first post, to remove your personal email address, name and membership number. Some people and automated systems scan internet forum sites for email addresses and other personal information etc. With the intention of using them for their own gain, not yours.

I understand your frustration with British Airway’s booking procedures. I have am come across other impossible situations in the past.

[Author]

Posts