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James Hillier is to leave British Airways Executive Club

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James Hillier, the man whose signature has probably adorned over one billion British Airways Executive Club emails over the years, is leaving the company this month.

A lot of people don’t believe that James exists.  After all, his name has appeared on BAEC emails for so long that it started to feel unlikely that one person wouldn’t have changed job in that time.

James Hillier leaving British Airways

James is real, however, and I met him last year at a BAEC event.  He was a really nice guy, but to protect his identify he didn’t want to be photographed.

His LinkedIn profile is similarly blank, but if you search his name on social media it is linked to so many BA rants that I don’t blame him.  Being the ‘face’ of the Executive Club is probably not always a good thing.

James has been at BA for just short of 30 years and has spent 22 years working on Executive Club.  I wish him well for the future.

He will be replaced by Niall Rooney, who currently has the intriguing job title of ‘Interim Head of Ground Experience’.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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 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 card

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.

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.

Comments (164)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • NYC123 says:

    OT: I have a SPG AMEX, I referred my wife for the Amex preferred rewards card, will my referal bonus come in the form of Reward points or Starwood points? Obviously 9000 Starwood would only equate to 3000 mr?

  • Qwerty Bertie says:

    I just saw a list of about 50 countries that have said no to the particular Boeing model, and Ethiopia isn’t on it! (CNN)

    • BJ says:

      Now grounded worldwide by Boeing as I understand it.

      • Alex W says:

        I am slightly confused by the news reports as I didn’t think the manufacturer/certificate holder had the authority to ground an aircraft. The regulators may have issued a mandatory Airworthiness Directive on the recommendation of the certificate holder, but the authority comes from the regulators and not Boeing.

        • Alan says:

          Although surely if a manufacturer issued advice saying not to fly that aircraft (which let’s face it is very unusual!) it would be a pretty silly airline that ignored it?

    • Michael says:

      I think it was the airline and not the regular that chose to ground the MAX.

  • GRIMZ says:

    Sorry I posted this last night. Thanks to Jon for replying and I would appreciate any other advice.
    I want the Lounge access, but can I save more in taxes cancelling the domestic leg on my business ticket?
    OT, I have just secured my return flight from MIA to ABZ which i added to my outbound ticket on a Lloyd’s upgrade voucher. My problem is that my domestic up to ABZ is on a plane 2hrs later than the rest of my family. I had a backup reward flight in economy booked MIA to ABZ in case I did not find my return In CW. On cancelling my economy backup booking it opened up a ET seat on the same domestic leg with my family up to ABZ. I booked this for 4500 Avios and £17.50. What will happen if I do not turn up for the domestic leg on the later plane? I don’t want to cancel because I won’t get into the lounge, but I want to be on the same plane as my family up to ABZ even if it is economy. I have just booked all this so any advice would be helpful and I can sort it without fees as I will be within 24hrs.

    • Shoestring says:

      nothing will happen, it’s just a missed flight that you won’t have checked in for

    • Yan says:

      Some airlines would block or cancel duplicate bookings, but you would be fine with BA
      I would avoid checking any luggage on your MIA-ABZ booking and get a mobile boarding pass for the earlier Avios flight you intend to take.
      The worst that can happen is that BA picks it up (unlikely) and cancel your Avios booking with a full refund

      • Shoestring says:

        yep don’t get your luggage checked thru MIA to ABZ on the first ticket!

    • John says:

      Not sure I understand. So you are booked in CW from MIA-LHR, but you have two bookings for LHR-ABZ? The earlier one in economy which you want to fly, and the later one in business that you don’t want to fly?

      Well, firstly you’ll get into the lounge at LHR on the strength of your inbound long-haul business flight, it doesn’t matter that the domestic is in economy. So you can safely cancel the later LHR-ABZ if you like.

      However if you don’t or can’t cancel it, then as Yan says, do not check in any bags. BA is unlikely to cancel the double booking, but more likely that you can’t check in online and will have to get a BP at the connections desk (may be faster to go landside anyway).

      • Alan says:

        Agree with John – I don’t quite follow the question but if it’s as he states then totally agree – you’ll have access from inbound long-haul CW ticket, both to the airside Galleries Club lounges and the landside Arrivals Lounge anyway.

  • Yuff says:

    OT: is it possible to transfer my wife’s MR points to my MR account if she closes her account?
    I’m sure I read in a previous article that Amex do do it but don’t make it easy!

  • JS says:

    OT: Does anyone know if the amex platinum insurance include airline failure (eg the airline going bankrupt, strikes etc.)?

  • Russ says:

    Don’t know too much about Opodo, do you still pick up loyalty air miles?

  • xcalx says:

    OT Tesco CC transfer to Uber does the Tesco clubcard holder need to have an Uber account or can the voucher be applied to any Uber account. How long does the transfer take.

    Thanks

    • Rob says:

      Anyone can use the code. Code arrives in 30 mins max and can be used instantly when applied. Only valid in UK.

    • Yuff says:

      Is ÜBER a sensible way to get from LGW to Hilton Syon park on a Saturday evening around 7pm?

      • ADS says:

        depends how you like to travel !

        personally i would probably do Gatwick – Clapham Junction – Richmond by train
        then Richmond to Syon Park by Uber/taxi

      • Rob says:

        Compared to the rail alternatives, yes.

  • Jonny says:

    OT: Anyone who took out the free HSBC premier credit card (and spent >£1000 in first 30days) been awarded the 10,000 HSBC bonus points yet? Opened mine in mid Jan, but nothing as yet. TIA

    • Allycat says:

      Had the statement this week, just showing the normal points at the moment. I guess the bonus will follow in due course …

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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