£300 US Biz Class Return on British Airways discussion

johnedwards3005

Along the same lines as Martin's BA experience, I've had tremendous benefits from my Virgin Atlantic Black (for double miles) Amex card (operated by MBNA), especially when used for full miles redemption with Upper Class trips (even better when they have promotional periods - generally to US in summer). Use it enough (not hard nowadays) and you get free companion vouchers and free upgrade vouchers every year - although these always require the purchase of full price tickets first! Oh, and you get miles doubled again for expenditure with VA and further concessions on Virgin Holidays.

Also, I use Capital One Cashback World Mastercard for non-Amex outlets - especially because it offers some good travel perks - including free full insurance for those horribly expensive car hire excess deletions that you always feel you should take (especially in USA).

Naturally, although absolutely everything possible goes on these cards (unless the vendor charges an acceptance fee!), I always pay in full each month - by D/D to avoid the risk of error. Both provide downloadable paper-free statements, so I can easily transfer the expenditure detail into Money (and save the planet - shame about the flights though!!!!).

meester

Raffles99 wrote: »

Get the BMI Amex card - the most under-appreciated piece of plastic in Britain if not the world!

Sign up for the premium card (£60 fee) and you get 24,000 BMI Diamond Club miles. You get 2 miles per £1 spent. When you get to 37,500 miles (so just £6,750 of spending needed) you ALREADY have enough miles to redeem for a business class ticket to the US, South Africa, Caribbean etc.

The only catch is that you need to pay £255 in addition to the taxes - see 'cash and miles' on the BMI website for details. And, of course, because BMI don't fly to many places you are likely to be travelling on Lufthansa, Swiss, United, Air Canada or one of BMI's other partners. I have just booked a First Class ticket to Tokyo for May on Swiss with my BMI miles and am off to Dubai on Lufthansa (First Class) in January.

I take it the taxes are the standard charges of the individual partners?

I had a look at Singapore Airlines, LHR - SIN for a random day in January costs £420 + £210.30 in fees in Economy, £3,351 plus £264.10 in fees Business, or £5749 + £270.90 in fees in First (although this might not be the best idea, as I'm assuming you wouldn't get an R class (Suites) redemption, so you'd be on the 747 rather than the A380).

(BMI itself is obviously a waste of time, they only have two long-haul destinations, Barbados and Antigua, and only in Y class - I didn't see SOuth Africa there)

Costs are (excluding Europe, which is not worth it) for economy redemptions

The Gulf, Nigeria and everywhere in Africa North of it: 40,000 miles or 20,000 + £140
Canada, North America, Central America: 45,000 or 25,000 + £140
Caribbean, South America, Southern Africa, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan 50,000 or 25,000 + £170
East Asia: 70,000 or 35,000 + £240
SE Asia + Bangladesh + Hawaii: 80,000 or 40,000 + £270
Australasia: 100,000, or 50,000 + £340

Business is a very reasonable 50% on top of the miles and cash, i.e. a return to Sngapore would cost 40,000 * 1.5 = 60,000 miles + £270 * 1.5 = £405

So the total cost would be £669 inclusive of taxes (which is about the cost of an economy ticket) for Business Class return plus the 60,000 miles (which means £30,000 of spending).

The obvious 'deal' in terms of miles relative to flight duration would be a flight to LAX on Air New Zealand (or United, but NZ will have the better business product) - which would mean spending just £6,750 on the card, enough for Business Class flights to the West Coast of the US. (I guess your husband/wife could get another card.)

Fees are £330, so the cost would be:

£330 + £210 (miles + money charge) + £60 card fee + (arguably) £67.50 lost by not getting a straightforward = £667.50

Which compares with the straight cost of Business of £2.5k, or the economy flights at £400.

The question is, which is better, BA or BMI?

The answer?

BMI gives 2 miles instead of 1.5 per £. BMI has the edge
The mileage zones are very similar, but BMI's are better in a few areas (East Asia, North America), the killer is that these are ECONOMY redemptions. FF miles are wasted in economy. BMI only charge 50% more for Business, BA charge double.
The Star Alliance network and includes better airlines than BA (as well as worse ones).
The Star Alliance network has far more destinations than BA.
BMI lets you pay half the miles and add cash, a boon.

If we take the £66,666.66 necessary to earn 100,000 miles with BA (enough for a business class redemption + use of companion ticket to the US or to Southern Africa), then the costs are
annual fee £150 + £330 * 2 = £810

Meanwhile, with BMI, you'd earn 133,333 miles. A business class redemption to the US costs 67,500 miles, so you'd (almost) have enough for two.

The cost is then £60 + £330 *2 = £750

This comparison, however, is designed to flatter BA's card, because it's the minimum to really make use of the free companion ticket - reality is, hardly anyone will manage to spend £70k/year. And despite this flattering comparison, the BMI card still holds its own.

On a more realistic spending level, say £37.5k, the BMI card would earn 75,000 miles, which is enough for two 'plus money' business class redemptions to the US. With the BA card you'd only earn 56,250 miles - but a redemption costs 100,000 miles - in other words, the free companion ticket would go to waste every other year.

In other words: BA free business class flights for two every two years, pay £300 in card charges. BMI: free business class flights every year, pay £530 in card charges + flight fee.

It's quite clear, the BMI card is much better, because you earn 33% faster, and the redemptions cost 25% less (1.5x base rather than 2x), and you don't have to worry about inflexible 'companion vouchers' to make up the difference. The great thing is even if you are only spending a low amount, the miles will continue to accumulate, and you can spend them at your leisure.

bokkie21

There seem to be some (older) threads on discussion boards online to suggest that when you collect BA Miles, you can only redeem them after you have flown with BA and paid full price in cash (no miles used). Does anyone know if this is true?

Raffles99

bokkie21 wrote: »

There seem to be some (older) threads on discussion boards online to suggest that when you collect BA Miles, you can only redeem them after you have flown with BA and paid full price in cash (no miles used). Does anyone know if this is true?

BA didn't use to let you join Executive Club unless you bought and flown one flexible - not cheapo non-refundable - flight.

They scrapped this about two years ago, though.

esperluette

dear Meester
I am most impressed with your detailed analysis of the respective benefits of the cards.Could you say whether things are the same in 2010?I have come to the end of my one year amex platinum cashback and am thinking of saving up miles over the next 2-3 years to fund a very long trip just for myself.My spending would struggle to cross 20K per year and that would include paying for some holidays with the credit card and therefore incurring a fee.I think the miles accrued would make it worthwhile if I get a business class flight at the end of it! My reading of your analysis seems to indicate BMI amex would be much better.many thanks:A
have I got this right?

meester wrote: »

I take it the taxes are the standard charges of the individual partners?

I had a look at Singapore Airlines, LHR - SIN for a random day in January costs £420 + £210.30 in fees in Economy, £3,351 plus £264.10 in fees Business, or £5749 + £270.90 in fees in First (although this might not be the best idea, as I'm assuming you wouldn't get an R class (Suites) redemption, so you'd be on the 747 rather than the A380).

(BMI itself is obviously a waste of time, they only have two long-haul destinations, Barbados and Antigua, and only in Y class - I didn't see SOuth Africa there)

Costs are (excluding Europe, which is not worth it) for economy redemptions

The Gulf, Nigeria and everywhere in Africa North of it: 40,000 miles or 20,000 + £140
Canada, North America, Central America: 45,000 or 25,000 + £140
Caribbean, South America, Southern Africa, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan 50,000 or 25,000 + £170
East Asia: 70,000 or 35,000 + £240
SE Asia + Bangladesh + Hawaii: 80,000 or 40,000 + £270
Australasia: 100,000, or 50,000 + £340

Business is a very reasonable 50% on top of the miles and cash, i.e. a return to Sngapore would cost 40,000 * 1.5 = 60,000 miles + £270 * 1.5 = £405

So the total cost would be £669 inclusive of taxes (which is about the cost of an economy ticket) for Business Class return plus the 60,000 miles (which means £30,000 of spending).

The obvious 'deal' in terms of miles relative to flight duration would be a flight to LAX on Air New Zealand (or United, but NZ will have the better business product) - which would mean spending just £6,750 on the card, enough for Business Class flights to the West Coast of the US. (I guess your husband/wife could get another card.)

Fees are £330, so the cost would be:

£330 + £210 (miles + money charge) + £60 card fee + (arguably) £67.50 lost by not getting a straightforward = £667.50

Which compares with the straight cost of Business of £2.5k, or the economy flights at £400.

The question is, which is better, BA or BMI?

The answer?

BMI gives 2 miles instead of 1.5 per £. BMI has the edge
The mileage zones are very similar, but BMI's are better in a few areas (East Asia, North America), the killer is that these are ECONOMY redemptions. FF miles are wasted in economy. BMI only charge 50% more for Business, BA charge double.
The Star Alliance network and includes better airlines than BA (as well as worse ones).
The Star Alliance network has far more destinations than BA.
BMI lets you pay half the miles and add cash, a boon.

If we take the £66,666.66 necessary to earn 100,000 miles with BA (enough for a business class redemption + use of companion ticket to the US or to Southern Africa), then the costs are
annual fee £150 + £330 * 2 = £810

Meanwhile, with BMI, you'd earn 133,333 miles. A business class redemption to the US costs 67,500 miles, so you'd (almost) have enough for two.

The cost is then £60 + £330 *2 = £750

This comparison, however, is designed to flatter BA's card, because it's the minimum to really make use of the free companion ticket - reality is, hardly anyone will manage to spend £70k/year. And despite this flattering comparison, the BMI card still holds its own.

On a more realistic spending level, say £37.5k, the BMI card would earn 75,000 miles, which is enough for two 'plus money' business class redemptions to the US. With the BA card you'd only earn 56,250 miles - but a redemption costs 100,000 miles - in other words, the free companion ticket would go to waste every other year.

In other words: BA free business class flights for two every two years, pay £300 in card charges. BMI: free business class flights every year, pay £530 in card charges + flight fee.

It's quite clear, the BMI card is much better, because you earn 33% faster, and the redemptions cost 25% less (1.5x base rather than 2x), and you don't have to worry about inflexible 'companion vouchers' to make up the difference. The great thing is even if you are only spending a low amount, the miles will continue to accumulate, and you can spend them at your leisure.

shery13

We used the air miles plus one companion voucher last May to fly to San Francisco (the furthest US city for 100,000 miles I think). We flew Business Class and saved ourselves a fortune. You do have to pay taxes but it is still great value.
:j:j:j We received another companion voucher this week and are planning to go to USA or Japan business class with this next year, (the companion voucher is valid for two years:beer:

Great site Martin