Are 'airline' credit cards worth it?

DullGreyGuy

lr1277 said:

I have not flown BA business class nor Virgin Upper Class recently.

However I am under the impression that both BA business class and Virgin UC are priced as business class fares.

However Virgin UC is a better product.

So in terms of ranking from worst to best it would go:

BA business -> Virgin UC -> BA First

Am I right in my thinking? Advice from anyone who has flown all these classes?

BA has Club... the real product is Club World on long haul flights; VS only do long haul flights and has Upper Class. Both are mapped to Business when comparing to other airlines.

I'd agree with your mapping but both BA and VS are in the process of updating their aircraft and so a new BA CW may be closer to the old VS UC etc whereas a new UC is even further above the old CW.

Its now getting more confusing though as some airlines are dropping or reducing First and introducing a "business suite" class instead... you get the full height door privacy etc from First but you drop from Krug Vintage and caviar to Cristal and filet steak. 

Then you have the likes of Ethiad's The Residence... I dont have enough kidneys to sell to ever try it

Marchitiello

The new Club World are known as Club Suite, all direct aisle access (old CE you may have had to hop above someone legs), and have completely close mini cabin with door. That brings it generally in line with the newer trend however IMHO not great for tall people as the lower legs are squeezed in a foot well and restricted above by the table tray. It does give plenty of storage space and privacy by I am still not sure I prefer it against the old Club World on a purely comfortable flat bed terms.

in any case the new Club Suite is in full roll out and more planes are being converted as we write this. 

the soft product (food and drinks) has deteriorated massively during covid and only very recently the old level of service has resumed

Upper Class by Virgin was a great product when it launched  and they are also updating it with a full enclosed Upper Class suite, I think mostly available on their A350 planes. However by itself it would not make me opt for Virgin instead of BAEC/Avios as I look at long terms travelling and variety of destination being more important that the hard products in limited possible destination. If I would just aim for that, than I would plan to transfer and use my Avios on Qatar  q-suite.

adamp87

Perksy5 said:

artyboy said:

... or go for the Amex Platinum credit card (the £25/year one) and get 1.25% cashback, plus the introductory 5% rate, plus a £35 referral bonus (and if you ask for a referral on here, you'll be swamped with offers!).

Honestly... I'm an amateur fanatic when it comes to airline miles and status, but I just can't be bothered with the hoops I'd need to jump through to get substantially more value out of an ' airline' credit card. And the BA one in particular comes with a big fee if you want one that gives you a voucher for anything other than an economy flight.

So, I keep it simple with CCs, go for straightforward cashback, and earn my Avios in other ways...

How else would you earn your Avios if not by the credit card route?
Also is avios the best one? What about the virgin Atlantic points as an alternative?

Just curious why one would choose one over the other etc.
Thanks!

There is a prepaid master card - 1 Avios for every £2 spend and 1500 points if you spend £500 in the first 90 days.

I’d rather use a CC but there is a debit card option 

http://theclub.ba.com/may-2022/en/collect-avios-with-mastercard/

WillPS

adamp87 said:

Perksy5 said:

artyboy said:

... or go for the Amex Platinum credit card (the £25/year one) and get 1.25% cashback, plus the introductory 5% rate, plus a £35 referral bonus (and if you ask for a referral on here, you'll be swamped with offers!).

Honestly... I'm an amateur fanatic when it comes to airline miles and status, but I just can't be bothered with the hoops I'd need to jump through to get substantially more value out of an ' airline' credit card. And the BA one in particular comes with a big fee if you want one that gives you a voucher for anything other than an economy flight.

So, I keep it simple with CCs, go for straightforward cashback, and earn my Avios in other ways...

How else would you earn your Avios if not by the credit card route?
Also is avios the best one? What about the virgin Atlantic points as an alternative?

Just curious why one would choose one over the other etc.
Thanks!

There is a prepaid master card - 1 Avios for every £2 spend and 1500 points if you spend £500 in the first 90 days.

I’d rather use a CC but there is a debit card option 

http://theclub.ba.com/may-2022/en/collect-avios-with-mastercard/

£2.99/month fee after month 6.