Airmiles CC not Amex

planteria

further...i think it is fair that deano gets answers to his own questions now:D
if there is any further info on this from anyone in this thread, perhaps best to start a new thread. and if i don't reply it will mean i haven't seen it, so if you remember please pm me to prompt me:).

MPH80

Lazyloki wrote: »

Very subjective as it doesn't take into account any FF status etc the OP may have, nor does it consider future activity.

By buying a premium economy ticket and upgrading to club world with avios, the OP will still receive the base avios and (more importantly, tier points) from the underlying WT+ booking.

On a roundtrip LHR to SFO that comes to 13,396 avios and 180 tier points each for the OP and his wife. Easily enough for a reward flight saver to a european destination and almost 2/3 of the way towards bronze membership of BAEC (assuming no current status). Depending on his future plans, I reckon that is a better deal than with Virgin.

I agree that the LHR Clubhouse is a fantastic lounge but the BA lounges aren't exactly dumps!

With regards to the other post about availability of reward tickets, you can now book with cash (the premium economy ticket) and upgrade instantly with avios in the same booking - i.e. you can see all the availability for each flight in front of you. So long as the OP is reasonably flexible with the day of the week/time of flight, I don't see getting the upgrade being too difficult.

Also worth noting that in order to upgrade - the calculation originally outlined was incorrect as that was an east-coast flight.

For LHR->SFO return upgrades W to J for two will require 50k avios (12.5k * 2 people * return) - not 40k.

And that's assuming availability opens up - which on LHR->SFO is tricky to get.

w211

Might be worth looking at the BA Premium Plus Amex, if there's someone travelling with you, as you'll get a free ticket if you spend over £10,000 a year on it. Worth looking at that and the Amex Gold charge, and deciding which is best. Need to consider the annual fees for both cards (the BA one is £150/year), and eligibility.

dean00_0

Thanks guys

reclusive46

Get the Lloyds avios Amex and Mastercard. Good for getting Avios and free to use abroad. (Sorry if this has already been mentioned, I'm on phone)

InsideInsurance

Lazyloki wrote: »

Very subjective as it doesn't take into account any FF status etc the OP may have, nor does it consider future activity.

By buying a premium economy ticket and upgrading to club world with avios, the OP will still receive the base avios and (more importantly, tier points) from the underlying WT+ booking.

On a roundtrip LHR to SFO that comes to 13,396 avios and 180 tier points each for the OP and his wife. Easily enough for a reward flight saver to a european destination and almost 2/3 of the way towards bronze membership of BAEC (assuming no current status). Depending on his future plans, I reckon that is a better deal than with Virgin.

I agree that the LHR Clubhouse is a fantastic lounge but the BA lounges aren't exactly dumps!

With regards to the other post about availability of reward tickets, you can now book with cash (the premium economy ticket) and upgrade instantly with avios in the same booking - i.e. you can see all the availability for each flight in front of you. So long as the OP is reasonably flexible with the day of the week/time of flight, I don't see getting the upgrade being too difficult.

Agree it doesnt take into account any current status but by the nature of the questions asked I am assuming they arent a frequent flyer.

Likewise with VS they would receive miles and tier points with an upgrade. With both BA and VS their initial elevated tier level (Bronze/ Silver) bring very little benefit beyond extra miles.

BA business class lounges arent dumps but they arent materially better than many of the fee paying lounges. Even most the BA First class lounges arent that great but I have never been in the Concorde Room.

My bugbear with BA business class is the fact the window seats are trapped by their neighbour when its converted to a bed, likewise the middle seats if neighbours on both sides convert which either (a) leaves you trapped or (b) means you are woken up as someone tries to get out. VS on the other hand is much more similar to BA First in its layout with the herringbone setup so that you are never trapped in or woken by a neighbour as your seat is 100% independent

BA Reward flights, assuming the OP doesnt do long/ mid haul often would be my only reason to consider BA above VS