Bits: could YOU stop BA’s next IT meltdown?, 500 bonus Avios from Amex working

News in brief:

How you can stop the next British Airways IT meltdown

After losing an estimated £80m due to the total IT failure a couple of months ago, British Airways has a plan.  Maybe you know someone who can help.

Business Resilience Executive

Are you interested in working on crisis management, emergency response and business continuity across British Airways? If so, the role of Business Resilience Executive could be for you.

This new position offers a fantastic opportunity to join the Business Resilience team in a challenging role that will require you to work with colleagues across the whole of British Airways.

You will be responsible for the administration and development of the team’s resilience plans, processes, learning portfolio, communications, facilities and technology. As such, you will be a core member of the team that helps ensure the airline is in a constant state of readiness to deal with any disruptive event – through both planning ahead and responding appropriately.

This role will allow you to develop a great understanding of the wider airline and partner operation and build personal and organisational resilience in the face of the most challenging situations.

Key skills presumably involve a) stopping weekend contractors pressing the big red ‘off’ button at the data centre and b) making sure Alex Cruz’ hi-viz vest is ready for use at all times.  Apply on ba.com here.  Thanks to Marc.

That odd email from Amex …..

If you have a British Airways American Express card, you probably got an email from Amex yesterday asking you to sign up for a new cashback deal.

All you had to do was spend £20 across WH Smith, Ocado, Shell and the Post Office, in as many transactions as you like, and you received 500 bonus Avios.

There was a button to ‘save to your card’, but it didn’t work.  Amex told one reader yesterday that it hadn’t been added to the system yet.  It told another that all 20,000 registrations had already gone, which I doubt is true as I clicked through within 30 seconds of receiving the email.

It did start working at about 9pm last night and I was able to register myself and my wife successfully.  If you tried and failed during the day yesterday, try again now before the 20,000 registrations cap is reached.

PS.  Talking of Amex IT cock-ups, American Express has just told holders of the British Airways Corporate American Express Card that it has fixed an IT error in setting up new Avios accounts.  This error has been in place since 2015.  Amex has only just got around to dealing with it, even though it impacted everyone who did not have an Avios account in place at the point of their BA Corporate Amex application.

There is also an IT issue regarding the Starwood American Express card which Amex still refuses to admit exists and which cost me 10,000 SPG points.  This has been going on for at least 3 years …..

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – March 2023 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Successfully apply for either of the Barclaycard Avios credit cards by 2nd April 2023 and you will be entered into a free draw to win ONE MILLION AVIOS! Full details are on the application forms here (free) and here (paid). This competition is exclusive to Head for Points readers. T&C apply.

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

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

Until 30th March 2023, the sign up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to 120,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. The bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to 60,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. T&C apply, see the application forms for details.

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.