bmi Diamond Club closes today for non-UK members

I’m sure no-one needs reminding of this, but bmi Diamond Club finally closes its doors today to members outside the UK.

Technically, Australia and New Zealand-based accounts will also remain open, but will be frozen until BA decides what to do with them.  Residents of those countries cannot join British Airways Executive Club due to a deal with Qantas – a deal, of course, which ends in March 2013.

As of tomorrow, Diamond Club will exist only for the benefit of a few thousand holders of the MBNA Diamond Club credit cards in the UK – as that is now the only way to collect DC miles.  The only way to spend them is to transfer them to Avios.

If you still have miles in your DC account (and I don’t – I transfer them to Avios as soon as they hit each month from the credit card) then you may want to double-check that the address on your account is a UK one. 

If you have lived overseas at any point in the last few years, you may have changed it over and not changed it back.

My memories of Diamond Club

I did an article a couple of months ago, when the Diamond Club credit card closed to new entrants, about what DC had done for me.  As I wrote then:

And bmi miles were worth more than Avios, because:

availability to spend them was better,

you needed fewer of them for most places,

the multiplier for business class was 150% (BA is 200%) and first class was 200% (BA is 300%) and

you could do ‘cash and miles’ redemptions, allowing you to effectively ‘buy’ half the miles you needed for 0.7p each

I’ve lost track of the redemptions I did, but they included:

3 friends and myself to Dubai (Lufthansa first class out, business back)

3 friends and myself to New York (Lufthansa first class out, business back)

Swiss first class out to Singapore, back from Tokyo

Singapore Airlines first class Singapore to Tokyo

Myself and my wife to the Maldives (redeemed to Dubai, cash ticket to Male)

Business class to Moscow for myself and my wife (on a bmi plane, amazingly!)

Continental business class to New York for my brother and his wife

Happy memories.  But tomorrow is literally a new year, so we must move on!

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 60,000 points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

American Express Business Platinum

Up to 120,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Up to 60,000 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.