MSE News: Costs to soar in Airmiles revamp: use points before they devalue

gardner1

IveBeenConned wrote: »

HELP - I need some good advice.

I've been ripped off!!!! by Airmiles and TESCO Clubcard. I fell for the Tesco LIE on its website "Use your Clubcard vouchers to get free flights with Airmiles".

I've exchanged £1,100 of Tesco Clubcard Vouchers (to date) for Airmiles (about 27,000) towards a big holiday (5 of us to the USA to visit family). Now, it's going to cost me (at least) an additional £1,500 in FEES to Claim my FREE Flights. The Airmiles are now completely worthless to me. I feel extremely ripped off by TWO big companies who should have given its loyal customers much more notice (as people save Airmiles for years not months). I have no intention of ever flying BA again, yet alone giving them an extra £1,500. As for Tescos, my wife has shopped there every week for 5 years. This morning, she went to Morrisons.

So, my Question ... What can I do with the 27,000 Airmiles?
(1) Is there any way of converting them back to Clubcard vouchers (as the Airmiles were mis-sold by Tescos)?
(2) Is there any other way of cashing in my Airmiles?
(3) I notice on eBay that there are a number of people selling their (electronic) Airmiles' accounts - is this legal?
(4) If (3) is legal, what is a realistic price for 27,000 Airmiles on eBay?

1 no
2 no
3 no
4 ????

richardw

Perhaps check availability now for part cash part miles with the 27000 miles you already have, or for say 3 people with airmiles and 2 paying cash on BA.com.

asus1987

well you havent been conned, you can still currently book under old scheme,

Any reward scheme offered by anyone will have something in there terms and conditions to say something along the lines of " rules may change at any time or within x notice period"

Airmiles did not decide years ago they would end the current scheme on x date,

so for all this time you could have used the points on anything,

yes its an annoyance that the better scheme is ending ( better for you in this case) but its not a con

when you signed up im sure your read the following

7. General
a. We can change the scheme and the products and services we provide, including the number of Airmiles needed for an offer. Where possible we will try to give you reasonable notice but this could depend on the nature of the change and the notice that we may receive from our suppliers or partners


so you must have been aware

malkie76

Transfer the points to BAEC. You'd have enough for three business class returns to the US, or two First class returns to the US. Roughly the same fees as economy.

Treat your partner to a First class trip to NYC for a long weekend

Get a BA Amex and spend enough for the 2-4-1 trigger then get double the value of your points.

SaveTheEuro

malkie76 wrote: »

My take it on it was that you could transfer points within the schemes without issue. Hence you could transfer your points from BAEC into Airmiles and use them as you previously would have used Airmiles.

I think you could be right. This is from an Air Miles Q and A:

Q: Can I merge the Airmiles in my British Airways Executive Club and Airmiles accounts?

A: You cannot merge an Airmiles account with a British Airways Executive Club or Iberia Plus account. However, from 16 November, your Airmiles will be converted into Avios. You'll be able to move Avios between British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus and Avios accounts. And back again - as many times as you want. There's no fee and no limit to the amount of Avios you move. And you'll be able to use them straight away.

If you move Avios from a British Airways Executive Club or Iberia Plus account to an Avios account, you won't be able to spend these moved Avios on Airmiles fares (which will be available until 15 December 2011).[/I][/U]

OverlandLandy

In Summary: (Avios VS Current Air/BA miles from next year.....)

Short Haul (UK)- More Expensive/worse off if using Avios points (if there is a low cost carrier and you book ahead & have no luggage?)
Mid Haul (Europe) = Better off (even vs a 'budget airline if you have luggage?)
Long Hall (rest of world) = Possibly Worse off if using Avios Points (however Taxes will always apply with all airlines I guess?)

Does that cover it or am I being too simplistic?

Any

OverlandLandy wrote: »

In Summary: (Avios VS Current Air/BA miles from next year.....)

Short Haul (UK)- More Expensive/worse off if using Avios points (if there is a low cost carrier and you book ahead & have no luggage?)
Mid Haul (Europe) = Better off (even vs a 'budget airline if you have luggage?)
Long Hall (rest of world) = Possibly Worse off if using Avios Points (however Taxes will always apply with all airlines I guess?)

Does that cover it or am I being too simplistic?

I think that is very fair summary...

There is few places which are MUCH better off, ie those that are moving to lower Zone (for me particularly Prague jumps out) and of course the luggage (which low cost carrier charge £20 + for) and credit card charges make a big difference to the price on any short and mid haul flights if you were to book with low cost carrier..

Pitty for long haul flights going belly up... it was good while it lasted.
But it is understandable that it was no longer financialy viable.

Any

SaveTheEuro wrote: »

I think you could be right. This is from an Air Miles Q and A:

Q: Can I merge the Airmiles in my British Airways Executive Club and Airmiles accounts?

A: You cannot merge an Airmiles account with a British Airways Executive Club or Iberia Plus account. However, from 16 November, your Airmiles will be converted into Avios. You'll be able to move Avios between British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus and Avios accounts. And back again - as many times as you want. There's no fee and no limit to the amount of Avios you move. And you'll be able to use them straight away.

If you move Avios from a British Airways Executive Club or Iberia Plus account to an Avios account, you won't be able to spend these moved Avios on Airmiles fares (which will be available until 15 December 2011).[/I][/U]

I don't get that... why would you not just merge them? Surely moving points accross here and there is just going to create lots of traffic and bother for customers (searching who has available seats), etc.. It would be much easier if they just merged them into 1 simple site?

Glowboy

OverlandLandy wrote: »

In Summary: (Avios VS Current Air/BA miles from next year.....)

Short Haul (UK)- More Expensive/worse off if using Avios points (if there is a low cost carrier and you book ahead & have no luggage?)
Mid Haul (Europe) = Better off (even vs a 'budget airline if you have luggage?)
Long Hall (rest of world) = Possibly Worse off if using Avios Points (however Taxes will always apply with all airlines I guess?)

Does that cover it or am I being too simplistic?

That's too simplistic. AirMiles and BA Miles are separate schemes with different rules and different implications from the change.

For current BA Miles holders I reckon it's generally good or neutral news: for flights in Europe the fees are now capped and some popular long-haul destinations now require fewer points. We already had to pay the fees.

Glowboy

becominganobsessivesaver wrote: »

Just to highlight a potential positive (assuming that BA do not change the current earning rates)this may make buying flights with BA more attractive than the competition. For example a flight LHR to LAX will earn over 10,000 avios - so for an additional £27 you could then get a free flight to europe zone 1. That seems like a pretty good deal to me (especially for families who like a long haul holiday one year and a short haul the next).

This assumes that BA is price-competitive on the flight to LAX. Are you sure that's the case? Otherwise you could simply fly with a cheaper airline and use the savings to go to Europe.