Bits: new Amex cashback deals, Amex wine deal, 35% ‘buy Avios’ bonus

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• stuart says:

  18 Apr18 April 09:35

  O/T on the BA AMEX

  I had the blue card, was approaching 10k spend so changed to the paid for PP card. Got to the 10k mark and triggered voucher. I was sent 2-4-1 voucher but it was for the blue card (ie one year expiry) saying thanks for the 20k spend.
  I assumed this was wrong and phoned up but got told it was triggered on the blue card and that i got the correct voucher. Am I in the wrong or are they?

  • Peter K says:

    18 Apr18 April 10:20

    Sounds wrong. It is only triggered after 20k spend on the blue card and they should be able to see you did not do that. I’d try ringing them again.

  • Vish says:

    18 Apr18 April 10:21

    what was the time and £ gap between triggering the voucher and moving to the paid card?

    • stuart says:

      18 Apr18 April 10:31

      @ vish It was very close. I think within a day or two as it seemed to happen when my card was in the process of being ‘upgraded’ to the fee paying card.

      @peter, thanks I think I will get back in touch with them.

      I think the main thing is my email says I have spent £20k to earn the voucher which is patently wrong.

      Thanks for your replies.

      • Crafty says:

        18 Apr18 April 11:32

        “Morally” you don’t have a leg to stand on, do you? You’ve done all your spending on a free card.

        • stuart says:

          18 Apr18 April 12:19

          All the advice I have read on here over the last few years indicates that you can upgrade your card and the spend would continue towards the target. Nowhere does it say that the voucher that comes with that relates to the blue card.

          If I have misunderstood all the stories on this site so be it but I can’t see any comments on any of the articles that say that this is the case, hence my questions looking for any advice or past history from the (usually helpful) posters on here.

          And as for morals – I have paid exactly the same fee that anybody who gets the card on day one has paid have i not? I hadn’t spent enough to earn the via the blue card, so with 2 months left I have decided to pay for the black one.

        • Leo says:

          18 Apr18 April 14:36

          Don’t understand the reference to “morals”. I’m no expert on credit matters and maybe someone else here can say if there is something specifically relevant but in general terms, both parties agreed to vary the terms of the contract – you can show both parties did this, you by paying the fee and Amex by issuing the voucher at 10K not 20K. So why are Amex not agreeing to be bound by the terms of the black card? I would contact them to discuss.

  • meta says:

    18 Apr18 April 13:22

    I had the same issue. Called both Amex and BA. They were a bit clueless, but said they’ll investigate and call back within a week if any problems and if I don’t see it changed to call again. I was away on holiday, so it was tricky to call, but checked regularly by logging in. In the end it took them 12 days to change. When calling, I just said I have BAPP and as per T&C, the voucher is valid for 2 years (quoted actual clause!). I also mentioned that I recently switched from free card, so it might be an IT issue. Do bear in mind that if you do any refunds after switching you might loose some Avios on spend as it will refund as 1.5 instead of 1 per £1. I also think that I lost some other Avios on spend during switch over as until the switch is fully processed any spend is caculated as 1 per £1.

    • stuart says:

      19 Apr19 April 16:13

      thanks for all the helpful replies.

      Called again today and got a very helpful agent who knew exactly what they were talking about and said it was an error and they have contacted BA to rectify.

      They didn’t mention my morals 😉

• Vish says:

  18 Apr18 April 09:57

  O/T

  I have a 2-4-1 as does my wife in her own name (she is part of my household account).

  Does anyone know the best way to sear for availability using 2x 2-4-1 in different names? I had hoped that both vouchers would be visible on my BA Exec as the Head of the Household account but I see that’s not possible.

  I was hoping to search for all 4 reward seats online by using both vouchers – or is it as simple as searching for 4 reward tickets, then phoning BA to book them together by redeeming both vouchers?

  • Peter K says:

    18 Apr18 April 10:24

    Why not have two windows open in different browsers (eg internet explorer and also in chrome) with your account open on one and hers on the other. You only need to look for 4 seats being available on the flight you need and then look for the same on the other account and then book.

    You can ring the call centre but you will have to pay the fee they charge.

    • John says:

      18 Apr18 April 11:07

      You can just use a private tab

• Nick says:

  18 Apr18 April 10:10

  OT:
  Raffles, I’ve been reading HfP since (almost) day 1 – but don’t recall any feature on the Amex Centurion Black Card?

  I know it may not be as desired as it was say 15 years ago – but a real in depth article would be fascinating and surely be a big traffic winner in years to come?

  ie. application criteria, fees, benefits, photos of accompanying material etc.

  • John says:

    18 Apr18 April 11:08

    I think you have to be invited by Amex? It would just be a general interest piece

  • Rob says:

    18 Apr18 April 15:17

    The problem is, given that it is invite only, the article has little real use.

    Here is the only trick I know. If you have a friend who has one, pay them £500 to issue a supplementary card on the account for you (£500 is what Amex charges). They can keep the card if they are worried you will spend anything! You can then claim all the benefits – Hilton Diamond etc.

    • Lumma says:

      18 Apr18 April 22:05

      Isn’t there not that much point in having it over platinum these days, other than for the status symbol of pulling out the metal card from your wallet.

      Which you may get with platinum anyway soon, if they do the same as they’ve done in America

      • Rob says:

        18 Apr18 April 22:06

        Agreed. Jumeirah Gold would be handy for my Dubai trips but that is about it. I did turn down an ICC Centurion 6-7 years ago as I couldn’t see the value.

  • RussellH says:

    18 Apr18 April 16:53

    Amex, but not the Centurion Black Card!

    I just got an invitation to take out the Amex Gold Credit card as a partner to my Amex Pref Gold card. IIRC this is not usually directly available on the Amex site.

    I would get 3 000 MR points for spending £500 in three months As there is no charge, it seems like a no-brainer, even if not very exciting!

    Anyone else had this, or nay thoughts as to whether applying might be good or bad for my relationship with Amex??

• JamesB says:

  18 Apr18 April 10:25

  OT @Polly, your comment regarding intrepid and other companies allowing land tours only that you can combine with your independent flights and other arrangements. I believe most of the smaller high-end and niche tour operators do. I recall seeing info on such buried someplace in broshures if not obviously stipulated. If you find nothing it is always worth a quick call or email.

• mark2 says:

  18 Apr18 April 10:37

  The email that I received a few days ago about these new statement credit offers included Esso but I have not seen it on any of our cards.
  Has anyone else been offered Esso?

  • Peter K says:

    18 Apr18 April 12:03

    It was in the email but not available for my wife’s cards or mine.

• Ben says:

  18 Apr18 April 10:57

  O/T but I just got an e-mail from Amex offering 3000 miles if I also add the credit card to my Gold account. May have to do that as a nice little add on.

  I am very keen on this 20k platinum upgrade though. I will call them to see if its an option!

  • JamesB says:

    18 Apr18 April 11:28

    Anybody know what happens to the gold credig card if we subsequently upgrade to platinum? Is there an option to add credit card with platinum and is it likely to be any more lucrative than adding the gold?

  • Sam says:

    18 Apr18 April 17:16

    Point to note, if you upgrade your PRG to Platinum on the phone you do NOT get the 20k upgrade bonus. The offer is only for online upgrade via the link that’s been circulating. Offers are different for online and phone but everything else is the same.

• ThinkSquare says:

  18 Apr18 April 12:03

  So no red wine offer?

• Phil says:

  18 Apr18 April 12:26

  Hi Rob, sorry for going OT.

  Is there an article somewhere on the best ways to redeem avios? My limited experience would suggest that a direct, long haul flight from LHR tends to be an awful way to redeem in most cases. In the case of S. America for example, Iberia seems to have some great deals
  from Madrid.

  • John says:

    18 Apr18 April 13:06

    It’s not OT, it is what this entire site is about…. your observations are correct (especially in economy), and are mentioned roughly once a week either in a main article or in the comments

  • Leo says:

    18 Apr18 April 14:15

    The issue here is define “best”. It’s a hugely subjective and sometimes divisive question! What cabin class are you talking about? Are you using a 241. Do you have a preference where you fly from? Peak or off-peak? In reality I think all you can do is keep an eye on the debates here and ultimately choose what’s right for you.

    • Kathy says:

      18 Apr18 April 16:24

      Yes, some people would say the ‘best’ redemptions are the ones with the highest ppa return, whereas some would say the ‘best’ redemptions are the ones with the lowest cash outlay. Personally my ‘best’ redemptions are the ones that allow me to do something I wouldn’t otherwise be able to.

  • the real harry1 says:

    18 Apr18 April 14:23

    Most people tend to think it’s either
    – upgrading LH with Avios https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/spending-avios/upgrading-with-avios
    – European RFS Avios redemptions
    – Two for one Avios redemptions when you hit spend targets on the British Airways plain or premium Amex cards (see link next post)

    • the real harry1 says:

      18 Apr18 April 14:23

      https://headforpoints.com/2015/08/31/how-to-use-british-airways-american-express-241-companion-voucher/

  • Rob says:

    18 Apr18 April 15:07

    Good place to start is the 17 article in the Avios Redemption University series which you can find here – https://headforpoints.com/category/avios-redemption-university/

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