British Airways Devaluation Update and Campaign to Keep the Single Oneworld Partner Award Chart
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here - British Airways Visa Signature Card
Yesterday I wrote about some upcoming changes to the British Airways program and they seemed okay for their European members, though I had some major questions about their partner airline award chart. Right now, the biggest value of British Airways miles for most North Americans is the ability to use miles on Oneworld partners (like American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Lan) for travel from the US to South America for 40,000/80,000/120,000 (coach/business/first) roundtrip and Asia for 50,000/100,000/150,000 miles roundtrip. Not only are these good deals in terms of mileage, but the steep fuel surcharges BA adds on to flights to Europe do not apply to these awards. This is the reason why I got the 100,000 mile Chase British Airways Visa back in April and why I transferred a bunch of Amex points to British Airways in July at the 50% bonus.
However, now the British Airways rep on Flyertalk confirmed that partner award chart is drastically changing:
"Sorry if it wasn’t clear in my earlier post, partner rewards will be priced the same as BA. So – a single pricing table for itineraries which are: BA only, BA +1 partner or partner only
For multi-partner itineraries these will be priced using the current oneworld multi carrier redemption. The pricing will be based largely on a distance banded model for all reward sectors. We are not purposefully withholding anything or trying to hide anything – I will be as informative as I can and try to keep up with your questions. Please do feel free to prompt me if you feel I am missing something important that needs a detailed or urgent answer."
Excuse the crude reference, but in my opinion this is a perfect example of a sh*t sandwich: you deliver seemingly good news (20% decrease in some awards), followed by terrible news (huge increases in partner awards), then follow it up with some good news to hope that people forget about the bad news (TBD)
Update from BA Rep on Flyertalk:
With regards to the pricing queries you have, we are working towards sharing the detail with you in a more structured manner as soon as possible. I'm sorry that we cannot publish the full details at the moment. We will be communicating more detail in the lead up to the changes actually happening. Can I please ask that you do not send me individual pricing queries by route via PM as I cannot answer these due to a rapid increase in queries and while I appreciate everyone has personal concerns, the wider community share some of these too as well as the general day to day account concerns. What I will say is that the general consensus concerns have been noted."
I then Tweeted BA asking for more clarification on the award chart and the response was:
BritishAirwaysBritish Airways N.A.
@thepointsguy Hi. We will be issuing further details on Partner reward pricing in the coming months. Thanks for tweeting.
Coming MONTHS? They can't be serious.
Until a BA rep can prove otherwise, I think we were all served a hearty portion of said sandwich. While routes like JFK-London come down in miles by 20%, their fees and surcharges are over three times more than their US counterparts.
American, Delta and Continental all priced at 40,000 (AA off-peak) - 60,000 miles roundtrip for a coach New York (JFK or Newark) to London, whereas a British Airways award will cost a whopping $563.29.
I've always dismissed these insane fuel surcharges and instead recommended that you redeem your miles on partner awards to/from anywhere but Europe. With that option becomes much less lucrative come November 16, 2011 - I would encourage everyone to redeem as many miles as they can before that date.
In addition, I think it's also smart to express your opinion of these pending changes. Not only should you email, Facebook and Tweet British Airways, but also get in touch with the credit card companies to let them know you aren't happy that British Airways is making negative changes to the program.
The credit card companies are the ones with real power here. They buy billions of dollars in miles from the airlines, so if their top customers are raising a fit about the major devaluation of their currency, the credit card companies can put pressure on the airline to scale back the severity of the changes. You can send secure messages online to American Express and Chase or simply call the number on the back of your card.
While you may think your opinion doesn't matter, it does. The issue at hand here is that the airlines are major copycats. If every other airline sees that British Airways can devalue their miles and pull the rug out from their members - just months after enticing them with lucrative offers, what will stop everyone else from following suit?
I don't recommend getting crazy, but voicing your frustration via social media and through your relationship with your credit card company can be very powerful. It seems that British Airways has made their mind with the changes, but that shouldn't stop us from giving them constructive feedback that they should keep their single Oneworld partner award chart intact. They made positive changes for their European-based members, so where is the love for the North American members? I don't even need any "enhancements" - just leave the single Oneworld partner chart alone and I'd be satisfied.
What are your thoughts?
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| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. |
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You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.As High As 100,000 points. Find Out Your Offer.Annual Fee
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Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.