70k or 35k Amex BA offer

[tominoz]

Sad to see the comments have been closed on the original post because this seems to be a problem affecting many people. I have just spent 2 hours online to Amex about only being registered for the 70k Avios bonus despite using the (correct) HfP link and clicking for the Premium Plus card offer via the ba.com website. I got through to a helpful supervisor who found the issue I had, it may apply to many others.
So, it appears that if you were not logged onto your ba.com exec account at the time of clicking the link on the ba.com page (I would say that clicking the link on ba.com meant that you were applying using a ‘ba channel’ as they call it in the terms and conditions), then you will be redirected to the standard 35k Amex page. This application page is identical to the 70k application page, so at this point there is no way to know if the link you have clicked has put you through to the right page on Amex.
I suspect alot of people, like me, were mislead into just clicking the application link via ba.com…….but did not log into their account….and this is why there are many, many people who are not getting the 70k. The description next to the ‘apply’ tabs does not say anything about ‘logging in’ and the terms and conditions are very vague saying that the application must come from a ‘ba channel’
I am raising a formal complaint with Amex (and probably BA eventually) as this is misleading marketing for a financial product and I suspect the FCA would not be impressed (I just wish they had teeth!).
The terms and conditions say this:
QUOTE> You must apply through an eligible British Airways channel or communication to receive this offer. Applications made through other channels may receive a lower offer. You must be a British Airways Executive Club Member to receive the limited time welcome bonus. Offer ends 21 February 2023. <

[Harrier25]

Surely to prove that you are a British Airways Executive Club Member you’d know that you need to log in before clicking through the link? I did and the 70,000 bonus points counter is showing on my account.

[ianwardz]

How did you know that you were applying for 35K not 70k?
My son applied last night via the link on HfP and the first page he went to says 70K, he wasn’t logged into his BA account.
He then clicked Apply Now. I have checked again this morning and the next page does not appear to have any reference to the Avios awarded, 35K or 70k.

[Harrier25]

It’s fairly easy to work out really. If your son logged into his British Airways Executive Club account prior to going through the link then he’ll get a 70,000 sign-up bonus. If he didn’t then he’ll receive 35,000 points.

[JDB]

My son applied after I told him about the 70k. He was careful to follow all the right steps and has the 70k counter. He took screenshots and said there were reassuring steps during the process. I don’t understand what the basis of these formal complaints to Amex/BA would be.

PS I’m not sure those regulated by the FCA or anyone who has experience of its actions would describe it as “toothless”.

[alig4th]

Ib think the OP’s point is that, from memory, there is nowhere on the BA offer page (in the headlines or in the T&C) that says you have to be logged in to your account when applying to be eligible, just that you have to follow the link from the offer page (which is viewable without logging in).

[JDB]

alig4th wrote:

Ib think the OP’s point is that, from memory, there is nowhere on the BA offer page (in the headlines or in the T&C) that says you have to be logged in to your account when applying to be eligible, just that you have to follow the link from the offer page (which is viewable without logging in).

It isn’t necessary to be logged into your BA account (you don’t even need to be a BAEC member to apply with the 70k); that’s just an extra precaution some might choose to take.

[alig4th]

JDB wrote:

alig4th wrote:

Ib think the OP’s point is that, from memory, there is nowhere on the BA offer page (in the headlines or in the T&C) that says you have to be logged in to your account when applying to be eligible, just that you have to follow the link from the offer page (which is viewable without logging in).

It isn’t necessary to be logged into your BA account (you don’t even need to be a BAEC member to apply with the 70k); that’s just an extra precaution some might choose to take.

But OP said an AMEX supervisor told him he needed to be logged in, which is the basis of their original post

[Harrier25]

The fact that it says ‘you must be a British Airways Executive Club Member to receive the limited time welcome bonuses’ is the giveaway sentence for you to log into your account first, otherwise no 70,000 bonus points!

[JDB]

alig4th wrote:

JDB wrote:

alig4th wrote:

Ib think the OP’s point is that, from memory, there is nowhere on the BA offer page (in the headlines or in the T&C) that says you have to be logged in to your account when applying to be eligible, just that you have to follow the link from the offer page (which is viewable without logging in).

It isn’t necessary to be logged into your BA account (you don’t even need to be a BAEC member to apply with the 70k); that’s just an extra precaution some might choose to take.

But OP said an AMEX supervisor told him he needed to be logged in, which is the basis of their original post

As regularly reported on here, Amex agents talk a lot of rubbish and when they attempt to give a ‘reason’ for something, they have a list of random excuses like BA does for not paying delay compensation. The 70k link seems to work for a lot of people…

[JDB]

Harrier25 wrote:

The fact that it says ‘you must be a British Airways Executive Club Member to receive the limited time welcome bonuses’ is the giveaway sentence for you to log into your account first, otherwise no 70,000 bonus points!

It may say that somewhere, but on the BA site it says “ Welcome bonus: Get 70,000 bonus Avios when you spend £3,000 in the first 3 months of Cardmembership and join the Executive Club if you’re not already a member. Offer ends 21 February“

i.e. you can join during or after the application, but you can’t get the 70k unless you have joined which is self evident.

[alig4th]

Harrier25 wrote:

The fact that it says ‘you must be a British Airways Executive Club Member to receive the limited time welcome bonuses’ is the giveaway sentence for you to log into your account first, otherwise no 70,000 bonus points!

Bit of leap (it just means you have to have an Avios account to collect the Avios you earn, to my reading).

Anyway, JDB just said they think you didn’t have to be logged in, so you it can’t be both.

Although I think the OP made the mistake of taking at face value anything a CHAT agent has said. Much better to call and ask to speak to a UK-based rep who know the products better and have more accesses and authority (from my experience)

[Harrier25]

How would they know if you were a British Airways Executive Club Member if you don’t log in first and have every Tom, Dick and Harry applying through the link and registering to become a member at a later date?

[sloth]

You didn’t NEED to be logged in to avail the 70k offer however it would make more sense to be to ensure less chance of issues. I wasn’t logged in, however, but still got the 70k offer.

As JDB says, a lot of the cust service agents spk rubbish as they don’t know the answer so just make it up, this is the same with many companies

You also provide your BAEC number during the application which is the giveaway if you have a BA account or not…

[robkeane]

It is it a “members only” offer then the first thing the offer page should do when you click apply is make you sign in.

[JDB]

robkeane wrote:

It is it a “members only” offer then the first thing the offer page should do when you click apply is make you sign in.

It clearly isn’t a “members only” offer (see below) BUT the terms do say that you must become a member if you aren’t one already which is fairly obvious as they need somewhere to award the Avios.

“Welcome bonus: Get 70,000 bonus Avios when you spend £3,000 in the first 3 months of Cardmembership and join the Executive Club if you’re not already a member. Offer ends 21 February“

[davefl]

There is no reqirement to be logged in. The button on the BA website tracks the offer via the code cpid=100504447 whether you’re logged into your BA account or not.

Pretty sure the application process asked for your BAExec number or to apply for one to add to your account ifyou hadnt got one.

The tracker for 70k in the Amex account doesn’t appear immediately, it can take up to 48 hours to display and the totals in that counter are typically a day behind the cleared transaction.

[PaulP]

I applied via the correct link from HfP. I was an existing BAEC member, and logged in because I did so to supply my number during the application. I reached the spend in a week. Aaaaaand, only got 35k points. Amex chat agents just flatly refused that there was a problem. HfP closed the comments on the article because many people are having this problem and they didn’t want to look bad. So I think we’re just screwed.

[Rob]

Comments close automatically on articles after 21 (I think) days.

We are going to dig into this but Sinead runs the Amex account and anyone on our Insta feed will know that she is on a review trip to The Maldives, albeit back Monday. Hopefully we can get somewhere next week.

As I have mentioned elsewhere, this offer has cost us a five figure sum in terms of lost commission (we’ve not sold any BA Amex cards for the last few weeks, won’t sell any until 22nd February and the level will remain depressed for some time after – all other Amex card sales are also well down).

[sloth]

Why are people using the chat function? Ring them up and speak to Brighton

[soneillirl]

These are the contact details for UK customer service. I called the 01273 number and lodged a complaint. The customer service agent listened at least and said they would respond in 15-35 days.

Consumer Credit and Charge Card Members
UK Executive Customer Relations
American Express, Department 333, 1 John Street ,
Brighton, East Sussex, BN88 1NH
Phone: 0800 917 8047 or +44 (0)1273 696933

[ianwardz]

@Harrier25, I appreciate that he will find out which reward he will get once he hits the spend requirement, but the OP implied that he found out at application time (or that’s how I read it).
Also, they will know you are a BA member because during the application process you are asked if you are a member and if you say yes, it asks for your membership number.

[Harrier25]

I didn’t say he will find out which reward he will get once he hits the spend requirement.

Everyone will find out which bonus they have signed up for when the spend tracker appears after activating the card

[PaulP]

Harrier25 wrote:

The fact that it says ‘you must be a British Airways Executive Club Member to receive the limited time welcome bonuses’ is the giveaway sentence for you to log into your account first, otherwise no 70,000 bonus points!

That’s just not correct. For a start, Amex would have no way of knowing you were logged into your BAEC account. Unless the development teams for both companies were sharing cookie data, which is incredibly unlikely (the URL is identical, logged in or not). Also because I was logged in, supplied by membership number (correct way of info sharing) during application and they have *still* only given me 35k points.

[davet]

I logged a complaint too stating the resolution as honoring the 70k advertised at sign up or closing my account, I signed in to my account in the morning, the sign up page is not authenticated so there’s every chance my account timed out and logged out and it wouldnt show.

I would have got another 14k miles if I had referred my wife instead of going direct to get the promo, no mention anywhere of needing to sign in, only requirement was to have a BAEC account, not our fault they haven’t set it up right