BIG NEWS: BA Amex annual fee AND voucher qualifying spend to rise sharply

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• Occasional Ranter says:

  10 Apr10 April 23:27

  500th 😉

• Jet says:

  10 Apr10 April 23:44

  501!

• Martin S says:

  11 Apr11 April 00:21

  I’ve held the BAPP for a number of years and got some good value from it, but for me its value has decreased sharply lately. This is because it’s become very hard to find availability for the places and times that I want to go, except short haul where the surcharges are practically the same price as a cash ticket anyway. As such I’ve let a few 241s expire, so the annual fees for now say £600 for me per voucher if I only use every other one. On that basis, the fee and target should NOT rise with inflation. If anything, the fee should be cut to reflect how the cards usefulness has declined for me.

  I would be happy with this increase in annual fee and spending target, and even a larger increase than what is proposed, if they opened up more availability on popular routes.

  Although it won’t affect me personally, moving the goal posts mid year is a scummy business practice. One of the reasons to hold an AmEx is supposed to be the better customer service where they don’t do shady stuff like this. A pro rata refund doesn’t really cut the mustard. It’s not as if that spend can be retrospectively put on another card. The only honourable thing to do is make the new rules apply when people’s next card membership year starts.

  • Rob says:

    11 Apr11 April 06:36

    Availability with the ‘extra’ Club seats for BAPP holders is pretty good.

    • Erico1875 says:

      11 Apr11 April 07:41

      Yes. Per my reply yesterday’s chat forum. Specific dates, 5 CW to LAX and 8 back from SFO that are not available without a 2 4 1

    • Anne says:

      11 Apr11 April 12:44

      Agree with this and we’ve benefitted from it twice now. We were able to upgrade our return 241 leg from Dubai at new year thanks to I class availability opening up when all standard Avios seats had gone. We’ve also been able to switch a Miami Club return flight to Orlando recently, we’d changed our holiday plans since we’d originally booked the flight and the ability to access I class availability with the 241 made this possible.

• Gary says:

  11 Apr11 April 00:25

  Sorry, I have not read all the comments as I am in Jamaica on questionable WiFi.
  I read an article saying that the taxes on avios club tickets had gone from £350 each to £900 each? So £1400 to £3600 for a family of 4. This increase plus the yearly fee and increased spend, no longer makes this card deliver the value it used to? Sure to god?

  • Josh B says:

    11 Apr11 April 00:55

    The surcharge is if you use Avios to upgrade – it’s effectively a £200 increase. If you use Avios to book the whole flight it’s still £350 each.

  • Rob says:

    11 Apr11 April 06:35

    Er, no.

• Mhairi says:

  11 Apr11 April 07:07

  Looks like we’ll be cancelling one of our cards.
  The new fees and spend required not going to work for both of us.

• BJ says:

  11 Apr11 April 07:10

  I’m wondering if there’s something up eith the ongoing pro rata refund saga, either amex are just afraid of doing it or something is preventing them doing it. I am thinking it is increasingly unlikely to happen and amex are now more focused on tightening things up with rule changes line those we have seen yesterday and previously. Given their small market share in the UK however there must be a limit to how far they can go with all these changes we have seen in the last 2 or 3 years.

  • Rob says:

    11 Apr11 April 07:36

    If you can’t get a fee refund it becomes hard to change the rules mid-year. It will have a cost to Amex.

    • Josh B says:

      11 Apr11 April 08:01

      Agree. A full refund is warranted. If you are cancelling (and if Amex aren’t offering this when they inform you of the change) then ask for it. If refused tell the agent you wish to raise a formal complaint. They will then need to investigate and formally reply. You can then complain to FOS if unhappy and I’d say your chances there are decent.

  • JDB says:

    11 Apr11 April 08:07

    @BJ – I had already highlighted here some weeks ago that an impending BAPP price increase (after Plat & Gold) was a one likely cause of deferring implementation of no pro-rata refunds. The other outstanding issue is for Amex to confirm Plat dining and HN credits will continue into 2025.

    Virgin made changes to its cash type transaction charges but took over a year to implement them but I’m sure Amex will implement them as soon as they can; their inability to do so to date looks pretty incompetent and certainly the number of smash and grab punters taking advantage of the 100k Plat offer will have been very costly.

    • Josh B says:

      11 Apr11 April 08:47

      You may have a better insight in this than I but I’d be surprised if the number of motivated switchers was that significant compared with the inertia of those who justify it with the idea it more or less covers its own costs

    • TGLoyalty says:

      11 Apr11 April 09:14

      This forum and its comments aren’t representative of the whole market. But even here you see plants of people that haven’t smash a grabbed big bonuses and are still holding the card.

    • BJ says:

      11 Apr11 April 10:59

      Wasn’t just that, having took the 100k they then banked retention bonuses of around 50k before cancelling. As a former serial vhurner ( albeit never holding any card for less than 6 months) and someone who has never asked for a retention bonus ever I feel embarassed at the scale of what some have done in recent years. It just foes not feel fair play but then amex have only themselves to blame for continuing to allow it.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        11 Apr11 April 16:39

        Continuing to reward loyalty? I’ve had 3 retention bonuses and not churned … just happily keeping the cards as do many others. Maybe they need to fix the system so it doesn’t offer serial churners retention offers

• Finn says:

  11 Apr11 April 08:08

  I’ll probably hang on to both cards. The Platinum more or less covers its cost and the 2-4-1 has taken us on some marvellous holidays. While it’s not the best use of a 2-4-1 we are flying GLA-LGW-ACE in CE this year for £4 (and a whack of Avios). Now, it does mean a whole day travelling, but I do like the LGW lounge 🙂

• Richie says:

  11 Apr11 April 09:29

  By doing this aren’t they creating a gap in the market that may now need filling? A card with a £240 fee and £9k spend?

  • Gareth says:

    11 Apr11 April 09:45

    The Barclaycard is £240 pa and has a £10k spend

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