The BMI to British Airways integration continues

BMI Diamond Club members received an e-mail yesterday confirming what most people already knew – that holders of Lifetime Gold status under BMI were getting nothing special from BA, that BMI gold card-holder upgrade vouchers are no longer valid (even on flights which still have a BMI flight code) and that Europcar and Purple Parking are no longer BMI partners.

I suppose we should be grateful that the remaining perks such as redemptions on Virgin Atlantic are (at least for now) still available, but anyone planning on a VS redemption should get a move on.  The information in this post re Europcar should therefore now be ignored.

It is difficult to know how to feel about this.  These moves are certain very sudden – I’m sure people had eGUV’s in hand to use tonight, and probably prepaid Europcar bookings as well.  On the other hand, it is difficult to say what exactly IS a BMI flight now given that most are losing their BMI flight numbers – flights booked on a BMI code are being cancelled and immediately rebooked with a BA flight number.

The plane may or may not be repainted in BA colours.  I’m sure there will be similar gripes about the loss of Lifetime Gold, but I’m not sure what else BA could have done – most Lifetime Gold’s will have flown the majority of those miles on other Star Alliance carriers anyway. 

At the end of the day, remember that BA has been very generous with the takeover of DC – most forum commentators were expecting a Diamond Club to Avios conversion of worse than 1:1, if at all, and certainly not a direct Gold to Gold status match.  And now it is clear that the match can be for as long as 23 months if you time it right, and includes a soft landing to Silver and Bronze.  Really, there is nothing to complain about there.

One other interesting titbit has appeared on the BMI website, but was not in the newsletter:

Please note, we are implementing a “status freeze”, which means that until further notice no Diamond Club members will be downgraded from their tier level as at 14 June 2012.

Whilst this appears generous (and for some people will work out well, especially those who can now delay doing a BA status match until their BA membership year ticks over), I think BA sees it as another way to kill off Diamond Club.  After all, if you don’t need to requalify for DC status, there is no point crediting your flights there.

Meanwhile, BA is offering Europe and Africa based Executive Club members double miles on certain ex-BMI routes from 4th July to 31st August, with a maximum of 10 sectors qualifying.  Given that this is hardly the most generous promotion ever, and in any event requires registration by the BAEC member before it kicks in, it seems odd to restrict it to non-UK members.

FWIW, I also had to cancel a Diamond Club redemption today.  It was very straightforward, and you would hardly have known BMI has been taken over.  I got the same Indian call centre, the same ID process and my flights were cancelled for the standard £25 per person fee.  The miles are already back in my account, and hopefully the taxes will soon be returned too.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.