[Anonymous]

[FlyingDoc]

Hi
I wonder whether anyone has found him/herself in the same situation as mine: I have tried to redeem BMI points from LHR to BIO in Spain – according to the redemption charts at the BMI website, it would be 18,000 points for a return in C class from zone 1 (UK) to zone 2 (Spain), but they are quoting me just over 29,000 as I shall be taking 4 flights in total. I tried to explain to the person at the other end of the telephone what the website says, but to no avail – I guess I’ll have no option but to use the extra points, but I feel cheated even when we are not talking such a big amount…

[Baggageinhall]

From the BMI redemption chart:

“All connecting flights for journeys where the final destination is within zone 1 or zone 2 will be charged at 7500 miles”

http://www.flybmi.com/bmi/src/html/diamondclubhowtospendmiles.html
(Row 1 of the table showing which zone a country is in)

[FlyingDoc]

Thank you – I stand corrected !

[Baggageinhall]

It’s an annoying rule. In my view, it often makes redemptions that attract the surcharge, unattractive.

[tarisingh]

I feel altogether cheated with BMI diamond club – have accumulated hundreds of thousands of points but for 2 years not been able to get any business class ticket to India, Nairobi, SFO or sydney

[Baggageinhall]

The BMI program is very generous. In the last 3 years I have flown to India, the US, and South East Asia in F and C.

The secret is to sign up for an ANA frequent flyer account (don’t credit any miles to it!) and then use the tool they provide to look for the flights you want.

[gordo66]

It’s supposed to cost 29250 miles, because:
Zone 1 to 2 redemptiton is 12000 miles + 7500 miles for the connection = 19500 miles * 1.5 for business class = 29250. So in that case (and only in that case) the call center is right.

[VintageKrug]

When you look at that redemption, it doesn’t look great value to me.

A return flight to Bilbao would probably cost about £60 on Easyjet, and at least be direct (albeit not from LHR) and LGW isn’t that tricky to get to.

With all the hassle of the connection and still the need to pay taxes, it seems daft to redeem 15,000 miles for a decidedly average European Business Class experience.

Especially when you could redeem, using cash + miles option, a longhaul business class ticket to the USA for just 18750 bmi miles one way.

The ANA or Expertflyer tools are excellent at getting the rewards you need; I have seldom had to vary by plans by more than one day to ensure I get the flights I want.

But you MUST do this research yourself before calling Pune, and make sure you have all the details (flight numbers/departure times) to hand when you book.

[theavidtraveller]

It does take a lot of patience but there are flights out there for redemption. You will often find premium flights on United into one of their hubs. Try booking well in advance (11 months max) if you know where you want to go. The cancellation policy is quite generous at £25 per person so it’s a cheap option if you want to secure yourself a seat.

[FlyingDoc]

Thank you everybody.

Personally I have always found BMI Diamond Club difficult to deal with – I have now used almost all my points, but although I managed over the last 18 months to get F class returns to SFO and NRT, I ended giving any alternative flying options to the staff at Diamond Club rather than the other way round ! I guess I am just trying to get clear of my last few points and forget about BMI, which has gradually become more and more of a disappointment over the last two years. I am planning to join a different Star Alliance frequent flyer programme, which one would you all advise, considering I am based in the UK, most flights I take are to USA/Oz/Far East, along with short hops to mainly Western Europe ?

Incidentally,VintageKrug, the best option London – Bilbao would be Vueling, who code shares with Iberia, from LHR… Easyjet flies from Stansted on this route, which is considerably more difficult to get to for me, LHR and LGW being my local airports. Furthermore, I have only flown with Easyjet 3 times, but I swore never to fly with them ever again…

[MarcusUK]

Agreed.
BMI DC is India based & their knowledge, is poor, as is the telephone link & generally a very poor service.

I have also had “No seats” on anything on 45 diff travel dates on AC or Air NZ, even booking months ahead. They dont know the airlines, routes or airports, and they deny seats are available when they are coded on other sites within the Star Alliance, & clearly available.

If you do manage to book anything, they hardly ever send yr e-ticket out to you, as with my booking on LH for a c class from DXB – LHR the other day.
I have had to fax the UK to get this done!

Can you ;
1. With ANA see the star alliance booking availability then?

2. Use yr BMI miles & use their booking tooL

Very interesting is possible.
Any other gateways to see a star alliance availability rather than calling India?

BMI wont exist for much longer being sold off, so redemption on yr miles i highly advised before the scheme closes or transfered.

[Author]

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