Free flight just for joining BMI Diamond Club

allyjb

BMI offering a free flight just for joining their diamond club. Seems no strings attached. More details at:
http://www.flybmi.com/bmi/en-gb/reward-schemes/diamond-club/promotions/free-flight-terms-and-conditions.aspx

dmg24

Taxes are payable, but still a good deal if you need to fly one of their routes.

seekit

Hi have u tried booking a flight?

This offer does not include taxes.

I tried to book a return flight last week to Amsterdam from Heathrow in March and the total came out as £68 plus 9000 miles i received for signing up.

allyjb

Taxes do still need to be paid - but that's normally the case for most frequent flyer schemes, apart from the Airmiles/Lloyds Duo Mastercard offer that's currently on - it includes all taxes but you need to book a night in a hotel via airmiles, which isn't the cheapest.

Not tried to book a flight yet, but would imagine it's the same as any other scheme in that respect too - subject to availability. But as dmg24 says, if you need to fly the route, why not try. I'd rather pay only taxes than taxes and fare..plus BMI fly to mainstream airports...none of your "Oslo" Torp/"Glasgow" Prestwick/"Frankfurt" Hahn nonsense as with some budget airlines. :-)

oranabana

There seems to be no update on the 9000 miles... Does one have to wait a few days for them to become available/accessible?!



does this look like this in the middle of the page for others...!?

allyjb

You have to wait a bit of time for the miles to be allocated, unfortunately it doesn't happen instantly. As a certain famous advert says....good things come to those who wait! :-)

blindman

Collecting and using "Free" FF miles from a loyalty card promotion is not really a good MSE idea.

As stated you still have to pay taxes on this 'free' flight and this cost can equal or be only slightly cheaper than a 'budget' airline.

Also there is the problem of availability. No airline is going to give every seat on every flight to these 'Reward' tickets. So getting the dates\flights you want can be hard.

Booking.
BMI web-site is really pants these days so reward booking on there is not easy.
If you call the (Indian) call centre (use the 01332854274 number NOT the 0870 one) their knowledge and 'helpfulness' is variable.

The best way to utilise these "free" miles is to fly Business class and use the BMI FF option Miles + Cash.

This will result in good value ticket as opposed to a 'free' one.

One other way to get free miles is to sign up to the BMI AMEX card

Spend £250 in 90 days and you will get 20,000 miles.

Useful thread on Flyertalk re reward miles and booking.

allyjb

blindman wrote: »

Collecting and using "Free" FF miles from a credit card promotion is not really a good MSE idea.

As stated you still have to pay taxes on this 'free' flight and this cost can equal or be only slightly cheaper than a 'budget' airline.

Also there is the problem of availability. No airline is going to give every seat on every flight to these 'Reward' tickets. So getting the dates\flights you want can be hard.

One other way to get free miles is to sign up to the BMI AMEX card

Spend £250 in 90 days and you will get 20,000 miles.

Confused by the above Blindman. You say that collecting and using FF miles from a credit card is not a good MSE idea - then you recommend taking out a credit card for 20,000 miles - but having to spend £250 in the first place to get them. That's not a good MSE tip I would say - as its jut cost £250 to get them.

What I would say is FF reward credit cards are good for those without debt, as they offer some of the best £ for £ rewards out there, as pointed out in previous MSE weekly emails.

Acknowledge your point on budget airlines, but I know I'd rather fly to a mainstream airport than one which is basically a shed and a strip of tarmac an hour away from the city it represents e.g. Oslo Torp. So if I can save money and have a better experience, I'd say it's a good MSE idea.

At the end of the day, I thought it would be worthwhile pointing out that free flights are available to those who want them, and can be flexible with their dates, and are happy to pay the tax. I don't think it deserves being slammed as a not very good MSE idea - especially as a relatively new user to the boards.

blindman

allyjb wrote: »

Confused by the above Blindman. You say that collecting and using FF miles from a credit card is not a good MSE idea - then you recommend taking out a credit card for 20,000 miles - but having to spend £250 in the first place to get them. That's not a good MSE tip I would say - as its jut cost £250 to get them.

What I would say is FF reward credit cards are good for those without debt, as they offer some of the best £ for £ rewards out there, as pointed out in previous MSE weekly emails.

Acknowledge your point on budget airlines, but I know I'd rather fly to a mainstream airport than one which is basically a shed and a strip of tarmac an hour away from the city it represents e.g. Oslo Torp. So if I can save money and have a better experience, I'd say it's a good MSE idea.

At the end of the day, I thought it would be worthwhile pointing out that free flights are available to those who want them, and can be flexible with their dates, and are happy to pay the tax. I don't think it deserves being slammed as a not very good MSE idea - especially as a relatively new user to the boards.

First off I wasn't slamming anyone, no idea how you got that impression.

People have to be aware that "FREE" is a misnomer, these flights will cost you taxes, which can be considerable. So it is NOT a Money SAVING idea as you can get equivalent if not cheaper flights for less hassle.

If you have good credit and would usually spend £250 within 90 days then if you wanted to get more FF miles to use as I described above then this is one way to do it.
Cashback cards probably give better returns for your money so I wouldn't advocate using the AMEX all the time.In fact AMEX is not accepted in as many places as Visa and Mastercard.

allyjb

blindman wrote: »

If you have good credit and would usually spend £250 within 90 days then if you wanted to get more FF miles to use as I described above then this is one way to do it.
Cashback cards probably give better returns for your money so I wouldn't advocate using the AMEX all the time.In fact AMEX is not accepted in as many places as Visa and Mastercard.

It's clear what you mean now, but wasn't at the time.

For best rewards from credit cards, have a look at this table:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/reward-card-comparison-table

BMI classic up there at number 5...but I'd say that was a good deal for most people when it was Mastercard. As Blindman says, the AMEX offering probably isn't as good given a lot of places don't accept it. On saying that, with the 20,000 miles he mentions, and the fact relative rewards are still the same as the Mastercard, may be worth looking in to - even if its acceptance rate at retailers is lower.

seftonsun

You are going to pay the taxes with whoever you fly with. So, if BMI fly there and you can get a seat may as well have it for “free”, surely?