Bits: you may get £400 from Mastercard, BA’s refusal to check through bags begins to bite
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News in brief:
Mastercard may owe you £400
The Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that a class action lawsuit is being prepared against Mastercard in the UK. This will be one of the first cases to be brought following changes to the law via the Consumer Rights Act 2015 which made them possible.
The case comes after the EU found that Mastercard had broken the law by charging ‘excessive’ interchange fees to retailers between 1992 and 2008.
The crux of the case is this:
“Mr Merricks argues that because MasterCard’s fees have already been found to be illegal by the European Commission, this ‘follow-on’ claim need only prove the damage consumers suffered as a result of Mastercard’s anti-competitive behaviour.”
As retailers were forced to pay Mastercard more than necessary for accepting their cards, you may think that it should not be difficult to prove that consumers suffered ‘damage’. The total overcharging is believed to total £19 billion which would result in a £400 payment to anyone who had a Mastercard during that period.
There is no need to ‘opt in’ to the case. The case will proceed and, if Mastercard loses, you will be able to apply for a share of whatever money Mastercard is forced to make available. Based on what I have seen from similar US cases, I would imagine this to be a flat sum and not based on your actual Mastercard spending between 1992 and 2008.
You can read more on The Daily Telegraph site here.
The new oneworld policy on through-checked bags bites
Last month I wrote about a new policy adopted by the oneworld alliance airlines, including British Airways.
Historically, it was alliance policy to check through bags to separate flights on separate tickets when both airlines were members of the alliance. From 1st June, this is no longer the case.
BA has taken it a step further. It will no longer check through bags TO ANOTHER BA FLIGHT if it is on a separate ticket. This policy hits Avios redemptions hard because many regional customers will buy a cash domestic flight to connect to a long haul redemption.
This story was on Flyertalk yesterday and shows how it works in practice:
I had my first terrible experience under this new system with exactly this trip today. When I checked in at First desk in LHR I was firmly told they wouldn’t route the bags through. Connection time was 3.05hrs (2.05hrs before Madrid checkin closed) which I thought wouldn’t be too much of a problem.
However, we landed 45min late due to French ATC strikes, and I had naively thought Terminal 4S was a separate terminal rather than just an outstation of Terminal 4. To collect and recheck my bag I therefore had to run all the way through 4S, clear immigration, wait for the little train and then run to the baggage carousel in Terminal 4. I got there with 15 minutes to go before check in closed (yes it took a full hour from plane landing to do this!)
Unfortunately though, Madrid baggage handlers are even slower than I am, and the bag didn’t appear until T – 3 minutes! Queue a mad sprint up to departures and I arrived at the desk at T + 1 minute.
AA agents initially refused to check in my bag, until I literally got down on my knees and begged. I think had it not been for flying J, as OW Emerald, and having clearly been running for far longer than my doctor would recommend, they wouldn’t have let me on.
Obviously I then had to rush all the way back again to 4S and got on the flight with 10 minutes to spare. However rather than departing relaxed, having spent the past hour in the lounge, I arrived hot, tired and stressed – having almost not made the flight at all. All because of this ridiculous new policy.
Not good at all ….
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (August 2022)
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
25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher for spending £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher for spending £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
25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable card perk – the 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 £12,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.
EDIT: Until 25th October 2022, there is an exceptionally generous sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card. You will receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points – double the usual amount – and £200 to spend at Amex Travel. You need to spend £6,000 within six months to earn the bonus.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
60,000 points, £200 travel credit and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,000 Avios.
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
10,500 points bonus – the most generous Avios Visa for a limited company Read our full review
You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
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
40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits 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.
(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)
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