Bits: BA trialling improved ‘cash for Avios’ with EU261?, Etihad launches A380 from Paris

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• Phil says:

  19 Mar19 March 05:34

  “Qatar’s A380 First Class redemptions are far easier to get via Paris than via Heathrow.”
  Qatar doesn’t allow any F redemptions at all on the LHR route.

  • Rob says:

    19 Mar19 March 09:38

    Is that official policy?

    • Phil says:

      19 Mar19 March 15:40

      Yes, sadly – it’s explicitly stated on the Privilege Club web site:

      “Award tickets for First Class are not available on our A380 services to or from London. Business or First Class award flight requests are not valid for infants (below 2 years).”

      • Rob says:

        19 Mar19 March 16:36

        Had never seen that. Thank you.

• Scott says:

  19 Mar19 March 08:07

  I think BA compensation would need to comfortably be under 1p/avios before I would consider it being generous. What sort of cash to flight voucher ratio have been offered in the past? e.g. If the option has been £200 cash or £300 flight voucher then 25k Avios might not be unreasonable since it can also be used for things other than flights.

  • RussellH says:

    19 Mar19 March 10:51

    Yes, in the distant past (1990s) I was offered $200 cash or $300 voucher for voluntary bumping to a later flight at SFO.

    They then miswrote the voucher so that it was encashable for $300 – and then they misread it at EDI and gave me £300 in used £20s.

• StuartJ says:

  19 Mar19 March 08:11

  I was also offered the enhanced 20,000 Avois each option when my family of 4 was delayed recently (over half term) returning from ALC. Still took the cash, especially as the rate was 1.14 when BA eventually confirmed the values.

• Anon says:

  19 Mar19 March 08:17

  I was offered 50k Avios per pax instead of €600 (~£522) for our EU261 claim for the 14+ hours delay home.

  So approx the same rate as Rob mentioned.

  Don’t know if/when I’ll be making a redemption on BA in the next year or so, so stuck with the flexibility of cash.

  • RussellH says:

    19 Mar19 March 10:54

    If you are applying from within the UK (if it lasts) do you have the option of getting real Euro, or do you have tp accept Sterling?

• Daniel says:

  19 Mar19 March 08:26

  It sounds like a move in the right direction but just not far enough! With some of the recent BA ‘service enhancements ‘ I have been using Cityjet more often. Recently I experienced my first significant delay with them. After filing a claim I was given the option of the 250 Euro cash or 350 euro in travel vouchers. It was a very simple process to file the claim. Despite the pain of the delay I would commend Cityjet for their excellent customer service. (Plus they still give you little drink onboard )

• nick says:

  19 Mar19 March 09:14

  OT:

  Can I, as an Amex platinum holder, issue a supplementary gold card to a person who lives outside the UK

  And what impact, if any, would this have on their medical and travel insurance coverage

  • Rob says:

    19 Mar19 March 09:39

    I doubt it unless they still have a UK credit file as Amex does ID checks.

    Insurance would be invalid as you would breach the cap on annual days out of UK.

  • Maciek says:

    19 Mar19 March 17:37

    This can be done, no problem. You just need the usual document check, including getting someone from a reputable profession to sign the copies.

    Not sure about the insurance, If I remember correcty it doesn’t mention UK, but country of residence in the T&C.

    • Maciek says:

      19 Mar19 March 17:50

      *not sure about the medical insurance. Travel insurance appears to apply, my supplementary card holder has successfully claimed last year and they aren’t UK a resident.

      • Maciek says:

        19 Mar19 March 17:51

        s/UK a resident/a UK resident/

• Harry says:

  19 Mar19 March 09:42

  Is there any reliable information out as to how many AVIOS expire each year as a percentage of AVIOS issued? I am surprised more airlines do not offer their FF miles instead of cash for EU261 claims. Money paid out is for sure cash lost now; FF miles may be used one day or may just disappear from the balance sheet. I imagine many occasional travellers never use the FF miles they get on their annual holiday, that is if they even bother to join the airline’s FF club in the first place.

  • Rob says:

    19 Mar19 March 12:33

    Very few I imagine because BA is VERY generous with the expiry rules – eg ANY activity keeps them alive.

    Compare this to:

    KLM / Air France – you MUST credit a cash flight every 24 months or your miles die
    Lufthansa – your miles die three years after you earn them irrespective of how much activity you have, unless you have the LH credit card and use it every month
    Etihad – your miles die 2-3 years (would need to check) after you earn them irrespective of how much activity you have

    • TGLoyalty says:

      19 Mar19 March 16:34

      Emirates die 3 years after you earn them too.

    • the real harry1 says:

      19 Mar19 March 17:36

      I’d say more like 10% a year, people are generally useless in these matters – cf gas & electricity – would be good to find out

      • Rob says:

        19 Mar19 March 18:38

        But who has NO activity on an Avios account? Earning or spending? Yes, you might have a couple of thousand earned by accident a couple of years ago, but that is more likely to apply to a non-UK resident who did a one-off BA flight.

        The larger your balance the less chance you will ever have any expire.

• TripleB says:

  19 Mar19 March 09:45

  I got this in response to my latest claim at 7am this morning (19/3).

  The distance of your disrupted journey was between 1,500km and 3,500km and this has been calculated in accordance with EU legislation. This means you’re each entitled to €400.00 in compensation.

  We would like to offer you 32,500 Avios points as an enhanced compensation payment. Subject to availability, you can put your Avios points towards future bookings or use them to upgrade your class of travel next time you fly with us. They can also be used for hotels and car hire. Please visit http://www.ba.com/executiveclub to find out more.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    19 Mar19 March 10:43

    I’m not sure what their game is here it isn’t really a mouthwatering amount of Avios so I’d take the flexibility of cash

    Since their BOB has set the rate at 0.8p per point I think they need to be about 10k higher to get people seriously thinking of taking the avios every time

    • TripleB says:

      19 Mar19 March 15:44

      32500 does not fall within my definition of enhancement – so I will be taking the cash. Hopefully my bank doesn’t screw me too much on a EUR deposit into my current account (or BA don’t apply a horrible exchange rate when depositing a GBP amount).

      I have basic current accounts with Lloyds, Nationwide and Metro Bank. I suspect of the 3 Metro Bank is probably the least likely to screw me (their account and credit card has saved me many hundreds of pounds in fees and FX conversion outrages when travelling in the eurozone).

      • Alan says:

        19 Mar19 March 17:34

        Metro Bank are excellent on that front – I saved a large amount paying a USD cheque in to them! BA will convert and pay you in GBP automatically though (assuming you’re claiming from the UK).

      • Arun T says:

        19 Mar19 March 23:12

        Assuming you live in the UK – the cheque will be in GBP from BA. (They set the FX rate monthly I believe and convert accordingly). I got the equivalent of EUR600 last month, and got a GBP cheque in the post.

    • Sundar says:

      19 Mar19 March 17:30

      Aren’t outstanding Avios tallied differently on their balance sheet as opposed to “spent” cash ?
      Anyone, What is the conversion rate BA(or IAG) claims on its balance sheet for 1 Avios ?
      IF that is a better rate than what they are offering us, then can we give a counter-offer at that rate ?

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