bmi Diamond Club – the final curtain for members down under

It’s hard to believe, but for anyone unlucky enough to live in Australia or New Zealand (not that there is anything unlucky per se about that!) and a member of bmi Diamond Club, their miles have now been frozen for almost a year.

Here is a quick reminder of what happened.  As part of its deal with Qantas when BA and Qantas had a joint venture on flights to Australia, BA agreed to ban residents of Australia and New Zealand from joining the Executive Club.

bmi, of course, had no similar rule with regards to Diamond Club.  When BA acquired bmi, it was not able to offer these people the chance to transfer their miles across to Executive Club, unlike the rest of us.  And, of course, all of the other redemption options from Diamond Club were removed!

When the BA and Qantas joint venture ended in March 2013, most people thought that BA would allow Australian and New Zealand residents to join BAEC once again.  However, it seems that the legally binding contract between the two airlines does not break even if the flying joint venture is broken. 

Anyway, the following compromise has now been posted over at diamondclub.org:

As a South West Pacific (Australia and New Zealand) based Diamond Club member, what will happen to my account and destinations/status miles?

As we do not have an Executive Club programme in Australia or New Zealand, we advise you choose one of the following options available:

Existing Executive Club Members

If you are already an Executive Club Member registered at an address outside of Australia and New Zealand, or would like to register as a new member with a valid address in a country where we have an Executive Club programme, you can transfer your destinations miles to Avios using the Combine My Avios tool by logging into your Executive Club account on ba.com.

Temporary Enrolment in the Executive Club

If you do not have an address outside of Australia or New Zealand, we will be happy to enrol you as a temporary member so that you can transfer your destinations miles to Avios, which you can then spend on flights, upgrades, hotels and car hire. Your temporary membership will be valid until 31 December 2013 and all destinations miles must be transferred to Avios and used before 01 January 2014. After this time any unused miles and Avios will be expired and your temporary membership will be closed. To enrol in the Executive Club, please contact us using our online query form with your full email and date of birth and we will create your temporary membership for you.

Transfer your destinations miles to another Executive Club member

If you would prefer to transfer your destinations miles to another Executive Club member please let us know using our online query form, providing your name, Diamond Club account number and the name and Executive Club number of the person you would like to transfer these to. When the destinations miles are transferred to Avios in the account of the Executive Club member you nominate the Avios will belong to them and only the member can spend them under the Terms and Conditions of the Executive Club.

If you do choose to enrol on a temporary basis or transfer your destinations miles to another member, please allow 7 days for us to process this for you. Any destinations miles not transferred to Avios using one of the options detailed above by 31 December 2013, will expire and the Diamond Club and temporary Executive Club accounts will be closed.

This is certainly a bit of a fudge.  However, at the same time, if you know someone with a bmi account in Australia or New Zealand, this is a chance to a deal with them so they agree to transfer their miles to your Avios account!

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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.