Amex BA card - what happens to pts after cancelling?

proformance

Hi forum

I'm new to the world of Amex point hunting. I wanted to get an Amex BA card and cancel it once I earned the referral points. 

Two questions:
- If I cancel, will i lose the points accrued?
---- If yes to the above, I suppose I should convert the points to AVIOS (or the like) before cancelling, is that allowed?
- If I cancel, after qualifying for the BA companion voucher, will the companion voucher still be valid for us through BA?
- If I cancel, will I receive a prorated refund? 
---- The card I'm thinking about is £250p/a - so if I cancel after 6 months for example, it should only have cost me £125?

Thanks in advance!

Z

dcfc67

you have a set amount of time to transfer you points to the 3rd party (avios for example). Usually 28/30 days from when you cose the account.

I moved my points then closed the account

proformance

dcfc67 said:

you have a set amount of time to transfer you points to the 3rd party (avios for example). Usually 28/30 days from when you cose the account.

I moved my points then closed the account

Thanks!

So as soon as I qualify for the 1) Bonus points, and; 2) Companion voucher - I should wait approx 30 days and then close the card I'm aware that I should either downgrade to the free card, or, retain any other Amex, to execute the companion voucher)

The_Urbanite

dcfc67 said:

you have a set amount of time to transfer you points to the 3rd party (avios for example). Usually 28/30 days from when you cose the account.

I moved my points then closed the account

That’s how it works with the Membership Rewards scheme. The British Airways card works quite differently.

Amex transfer accrued Avios to British Airways once a month. If you want to cancel the card, stop spending on it, make sure all your accrued points are sent in the monthly sweep then cancel it the day that is done. 

If it is cancelled mid credit cycle you forfeit the Avios for that month. Though in my experience the Avios for that month just get trapped in Amex’s system and they will send them manually if you ask them. 

Once the points are sent to British Airways, Amex can’t take them back, same with the 2 for 1 voucher. The annual fee refund is pro-rata to the day. 

WillPS

The_Urbanite said:

Once the points are sent to British Airways, Amex can’t take them back, same with the 2 for 1 voucher. The annual fee refund is pro-rata to the day. 

Do note that you'll need an Amex (any Amex) to book using the 2 for 1 voucher though.

proformance

Both - thanks a heap! Certainly cleared a lot up for me!

So, as I understand from the posts above - the BA Amex works slightly differently from the non-BA Amex cards, where points are automatically (and mandatorily) transferred to  AVIOS (BA Points) each month.

Should anyone wish to cancel their BA Amex, they should:

a) wait for any bonus points they (hopefully) qualified for
b) wait for the companion voucher they (hopefully) qualified for 
c) then, stop spending on that BA Amex card
d) wait for that month's points & companion voucher to appear in their BA account
e) instruct BA to close the card account
f) ensure one has another Amex (or co-holds another one) to redeem the companion voucher


Last Q - regarding the £250 annual fee - is this taken at the start of the contract and thus refunded prorated, or will I owe them a prorated amount at the time of closing?

WillPS

Annual fee is added to first statement. It is refunded pro-rata.

Marchitiello

proformance said:

….
e) instruct BA to close the card account
…

Instruct AMEX to close the card, BA has nothing to do with it.

Back to your first post about Amex point hunting and confusion about converting points to Avios (or the like), I think you should first really ascertain what is your objective and  FF scheme you want to go after… BAEC Avios is great, but for instance if all you went after is the 25,000 bonus, all you get at the end is 29,500 Avios (assuming not BA spend included), and I cannot think of any great return from it (assuming reward flights). Even if you go for the companion voucher, and thus get to 40,000 Avios plus the voucher, you will not maximise the return from your Avios. 

With my wife, we earn at least 150,000 Avios per year, some time like this year, about 500,000, and permanently have both the BAPP and Platinum card, make great return from both 

proformance

Marchitiello said:

proformance said:

….
e) instruct BA to close the card account
…

Instruct AMEX to close the card, BA has nothing to do with it.

Back to your first post about Amex point hunting and confusion about converting points to Avios (or the like), I think you should first really ascertain what is your objective and  FF scheme you want to go after… BAEC Avios is great, but for instance if all you went after is the 25,000 bonus, all you get at the end is 29,500 Avios (assuming not BA spend included), and I cannot think of any great return from it (assuming reward flights). Even if you go for the companion voucher, and thus get to 40,000 Avios plus the voucher, you will not maximise the return from your Avios. 

With my wife, we earn at least 150,000 Avios per year, some time like this year, about 500,000, and permanently have both the BAPP and Platinum card, make great return from both 

Not really sure what you're advising? Is there a more rewarding alternative that you think I should go for?

Marchitiello

All I am saying is that going after Avios or another FF miles without having a good way of using the rewards may not be a good idea. For instance, going after the Companion voucher and immediately  cancelling the card with 40,000 Avios only is definitely a bad strategy. 

Have you planned other ways of earning 100k Avios per year or at least within two years (the life of the companion voucher)? 

proformance

No tbh, I'm quite new to this. Any quick tips? You seem oreetyy clued up 🤔