[SimonRowberry]

UKFly – yes, typical.

Martyn – lucky you. BA don’t use BHX anymore, ergo I rarely use BA, preferring LH or LX. Therefore, if I have to make the schlep to LHR, I’ll use someone a little more egalitarian in their offers, such as AY or QF 😉

Regards to both,

Simon

[PAMPASBULL]

[QUOTE]UKFly79 – 28/04/2011 21:08 GMT

Same old story; another great offer for non-uk BAEC members![/QUOTE]

It does seem as if BA do tend to bend over backwards to keep non UK European members not to mention N American members sweet with deal after deal while at the same time ignoring those members from the rest of the world.

[VintageKrug]

We are completely free to move our accounts to whichever country of residence suits best, so the geographical barriers to taking up this and similar offers are simply non-existent.

This offer is targeted (so not every BAEC member in the countries listed is eligible), and BA is perfectly within its rights to market to its customers in whichever way it sees fit.

Those considering a move should be aware that there is a 6 month restriction on changing one’s address back, and obviously if you choose a European address you will need to be able to receive post at that address as it’s where your BAEC card will be sent and without it lounge access is not guaranteed, regardless of your current BAEC elite status level.

The only other point to note for UK-based BA Amex holders is that while you enjoy your sojourn in Europe, your BA Miles, and eligible spend for 2for1 voucher threshold, will accrue to your BA Amex account, but won’t post to your BAEC account until your return to the UK. A move to Europe may also render any currently available 2for1 vouchers on your account unusable until your move back to the UK.

There are other small changes which are of less significance which you should be mindful before moving your account country of membership.

It’s wise to research any such move fully, to ensure you’re not disadvantaged, but it’s certainly easy to change your residence for now, although I am aware that BAEC is more closely examining patterns of those who move accounts, which could presage greater restrictions in future.

Such European promotions balance out the very generous BA Amex and 2for1 voucher schemes not available to non-UK residents.

I should also point out it is only moving to Continental Europe which has the beneficial effect on Tier Point thresholds; moving to USA does not have this effect.

Back to the topic of this post, it’s a great deal as it’s only €1400 incl. tax round trip for a BizSeat (much better than most airlines’ premium economy) Paris Orly-Washington DC this summer and the 75,000 BA Miles is just 5k BA Miles short of a return in Club Europe and Club World from Nice to Dubai aboard BA.

For those not in possession of a Silver card, and who would get value from the bonus miles, lounge access and other perks, it makes sense to pay the extra for a BizBed and use this as a springboard to a BAEC Gold card.

http://www.flyopenskies.com

[MartynSinclair]

“BA is perfectly within its rights to market to its customers in whichever way it sees fit”.

I am positive you are right on this, oh great defender of all things BA.

The point being made, however, is that it would be nice if BA actually went some way in showing how much it values its loyal UK clients/cutomers as it seems to me that you get more benefit from “moving” to Europe.

[stevescoots]

I agree with VK, they are within thier rights, and I agree with Martyn. However rather than excluding UK residents it would have been better to make the offer open to all countries but possibly to non BAEC members as a way of getting non BA users to sign up to BAEC.

In a similar fashion that banks give out special deals to non customers to encourage them to switch banks. while it would have still upsec BAEC existing members, at leats it did not discriminate by country

[VintageKrug]

Yes, I agree it would be a good idea for it to be open to UK residents, and especially UK based non-BAEC members as a teaser to sign up.

But, as is clearly explained, it’s easy enough even for current UK members to take advantage of this if they really want to.

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

steve

Captive market thinking, I’m afraid.

Very short sighted, but hey ho.

One of these days in the future, BA will smell the coffee, look at the penetration of their market by competitors and regret allowing the home customers to slip away, e.g. Simon Rowberry.

I make no bones about the fact that the BAEC setup benefits me as a resident of Malta, but still think it is not clever CRM.

[SimonRowberry]

Hi Disgusted,

Just for clarification. and avoidance of doubt.

I used BA a lot when they flew from BHX. Indeed, when my now wife lived in AMS and I lived here, I used them every week for some 5 years (along with the wonderful and late lamented NLM CityHopper). I was also a very early member of BAEC, in the days when it was invite-only.

Since they sold the Connect operation to FlyBe, I use them very rarely, perhaps 6 times a year, and never long haul. Indeed, although OneWorld silver, I tend to use other OW carriers such as Finnair, CX, QF and IB. More so, I use Star Alliance carriers who provide good connections from BHX and good service levels, such as LX and LH.

Why do I not use BA more? It isn’t that I have any prejudice or dislike of the airline – I’m ambivalent towards them as I am towards many other airlines. I have no views on the BASSA issue, for example, because I don’t understand it as it doesn’t affect me and I don’t have the time to read up on both sides of the argument.

The things that put me off BA are the seat selection charges (especially in premium cabins) and a lot of the stuff that gets written on here by passengers about service levels on board, cabin cleanliness etc.

Ironically, it is exactly something like the OS offer that, if it were available without the hassle of registering abroad, would probably entice me back into the BA fold. Once enticed back, and with tier status in BAEC, I would then be locked in to some extent and BA would doubtless have a fair amount of my custom (as long as I could tolerate the seat selection charges and the service levels were acceptable, of course).

As you say, disgusted, not the most intelligent example of Customer Relationship Management.

Cheers, Simon

[Binman62]

Simon, agree with you. BA have abandoned the UK Market preceding instead to focus on the USA and Mainland Europe. Pulling out of BHX was an awful decision and if like you I lived there BA would not see me.
I did move my address to Europe and I am now a euro cheat, for this year at least as I will no longer fly BA first other than with miles, and that is increasingly as described on other posts.
Currently there is again a 100,000 mile giveaway in the USA and this silly offer on open skies who are clearly struggling.
Flew first to/from Phoenix recently in first. Crew superb, food satisfactory, wine good but aircraft dirty and in need of serious cleaning. This included the new first product which is simply a refurb rather than anything new.
For this BA are demanding £9000 return and frankly they have to be joking.
Whilst in the US there was extensive article on airlines generally selling miles to generate revenue but restricting availability. This is certainly true of BA where many routes have no seats at all for 9 or 10 months of the year.
I have asked this question here before but got no answer. Since the 50% redemption offer 3 years ago when was the last significant offer to UK passengers and exec club members? Indeed when was the last time they ran any advertising here?

[SimonRowberry]

Aye, Binman. Sad, isn’t it?

The issue of cleanliness on BA really is one that perturbs me and you are far from being alone for posting here about that problem. Mr Sepsas has shown some fairly disturbing photos of BA cabins on some other threads.

I must admit that, when it comes to mileage redemption, I have been extremely lucky. With AY I have never had a problem getting first-choice availability for redemption, whether that be in J for myself or an upgrade on the same flight as me from Y to J for my wife and child. And this hasn’t just been on a single occasion.

With SK EuroBonus I also have never had a problem getting first choice redemptions, always in Business, whether that be with SK itself or (more often) redeeming a few more points and going on LH. Also, with SK I have even changed (admittedly on their own flights) a few days beforehand with no penalty.

I haven’t been a member of BAEC since something like 1988 so clearly I am in no position to comment on their restrictions on redemption. Indeed, in my day there were no points, as far as I remember, and it was effectively a “lounge access club”. I also accept that they are a much bigger airline than SK or (even) LH. However, when I read comments like yours, Binman, it makes me understand why and how frustrated some BAEC members are.

Kindest regards, Simon

[Bullfrog]

FrequentFlier miles are now the largest ‘currency’ in the world, and have been for some time. As certain posts point out, it i easier to ‘spend’ (redeem) those miles with some airlines compared to others.

I can’t make alot of comparisons between airlines, but I can comment on BA.

I am very flexible with my dates & days of the week, always avoiding school holidays. BA Club World is virtually impossible to obtain but F is always available.

[VintageKrug]

My direct experience of successfully redeeming 750,000 BA Miles this year in a mix of BA Club, First and MFUs would go against the assertion that “Club World is virtually impossible to obtain”.

It’s always good to diversify your mileage portfolio so for routes where there is limited availability, or where your plans cannot accommodate flexibility, you can try alternative schemes.

This is a great deal from Open Skies and well worth taking advantage of if you are able to do so.

[Binman62]

If using BA’s double miles and are a gold card holder then there is no restriction on mileage redemption as seats are booked in any available class. Sadly not everyone is able or willing to spend twice the required miles to get a seat.
Currently as well as no seats to bkk sin or syd for almost 10 months there are no club Europe to or from Dusseldorf of all places in December. IMHO further evidence that BA redemption policy is seriously flawed and overly restricted and a huge disinsentive to flying BA from the UK.

[VintageKrug]

That’s not my experience – I never invoked the double miles option and we were able to fly in our preferred premium cabin within one day of every trip I wanted to take.

I have noticed availability is tight for the next 12 months, but this seems to be more of a trend towards releasing seats closer to the time of travel, rather than far in advance. Handy if you want to MFU.

I have noticed that large blocks of redemption seats do get “dumped” from time to time, and it’s as well to keep checking back.

As ever, BA Miles do not give you a “right” to a redemption seat, but those prepared to make a little effort will find they are generally able to get the seats they need, as I have demonstrated on more than 15 planned redemption sectors during 2011.

But of course the more people are put off acquiring BA Miles, the fewer people we have to compete against.

[VintageKrug]

Just a week left to take advantage of this offer.

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