Why BA (Executive Club)?

TonyHancock

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So what has driven me to the fickle mistress that is BA? :?:

Well......where do I start? First up QF has played a big part, the changes last year really knocked me for six. I used the mASA extensively and also traveled on OW airlines. Whilst relatively minor the lack of Lifetime QF Platinum also played its part.

That is all very well I hear you say but why BA and not AA? The redemption rates with AA are much better I am told.

Whilst redemptions do matter they are not the most important thing for me. My travel is booked the best part of 12 months out and is primarily to the UK, 5-7 times per year. In order to maximise the benefits of status I like to fly with the airline I hold status with. I have been P1 with QF for four years and enjoyed the benefits associated with it.

The use of mASA's with QF, alongside two or three paid J fares allowed me to average about $5k per UK trip in J. This also allowed me to maintain P1 status and reap the rewards of multiple complimentary upgrades and excellent service recovery when things went, or looked as though they might go wrong.

I worked out that if I could hit GGL in year one, 5000 TP's, I had a shout at maintaining that level in subsequent years. (3000 TP's per year) Why did GGL matter I hear you ask? Well on the way to that level one picks up upgrade vouchers and upon reaching GGL one collects "jokers" that allow redemptions into revenue buckets. In some respects this will give me similar opportunities as mASA's. :idea:

What I did not realise is just how inexpensive some ex Europe fares could be, and by using MH/UL for positioning into the UK I could book a series of returns from Norway for under $5k per flight in J. :D Of course there is a bit of faffing about, four hours of unnecessary flying and the associated time on the ground.

So for the foreseeable future I have a sustainable means of flying J and maintaining status. As with all FF schemes there is always the spectre of devaluation lurking in the background but for the time being I am happy with my lot.

I hit GGL in just over ten months and in the penultimate flight to make GGL received an op up to F on a LHR-SIN sector.

Three of my UK/US work colleagues are particularly happy as I was able to gift a gold status and two silvers. :cool:

So for the next nine months I will be a QF P1 and a BA GGL..........but it is the P1 that will go by the wayside.
 
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The issue I have with BA is that J is adequate but suffers by comparison with the offerings of CX, QR and QF (even if the skybeds droop and window seats don't have aisle access). J food has been pretty abysmal - not that I eat that much of it, I prefer to eat in the lounge - and service, even in F can be very poor. Katiebell's experience certainly rings true, and contrasts with the service I have received from QF when things didn't go as planned. I will fly BA if the price is right, but my expectations aren't high, I'm afraid.
 
I've never lived in the UK but I've visited quite a few times. I've always liked BA - probably coloured by excellent upgrade rates (booked BOM-LHR in WT, upgraded to WTP; booked NRT-LHR in WTP, upgraded to CW. booked AUH-LHR in CW - well, didn't get upgraded, but it was a 787-9 so didn't expect to).

Even on Y flights that I didn't get upgraded on, I've found the service to be really good.

This year I've got a great deal - flying KUL-LHR and LHR-JFK in Y+ for about A$2300, which includes LHR-INV, DUB-LHR and LGA-MIA in Y. I thought it was good value.

As for the food - I have no complaints - flew AUH-LHR return in J last year and I thought it was awesome. Mind you my expectations were low as I was living in AUH at the time ;)
 
And today booked my first 2 QF flights using my BA number.As an NB I often could get row 10 or less.BA nobody gets you row 20 plus.
 
So checked my BAEC account to day and bless their cotton socks BA have extended my year end date to early December 2018 so I will get 3.5 trips in and my reckoning is I will get to 2510 tier points for the year.
 
It has has been a while since I provided any updates on my progress with BA and at 2 months into a new year for me it is probably about the right time.

Last year I hit 9000 TP's and at 7,8, and 9k opted for two single upgrades for one (GUF1). That gave me a total of 8 upgrades for one and one upgrade for two for the year. (Don't forget these are used over an entire trip and not just a single sector - but only on BA metal with BA flight numbers.)

These upgrades are very valuable to me as I am spending more time in the UK. It allows me to book Y+ and automatically upgrade into J for trips to the US and Asia.

I am continuing with the ex EU fares but the loss of SVG and BGO has meant I am back to OSL again and the timings are not great. It does mean one or two overnights this year. I am booking J and upgrading to F using the GUF1's.

The BA hard product may not be the best in the world, but the FF program is excellent for my needs.

I may have been a little on the conservative side on my estimate for LTG. I am currently sitting at just under 25k and should be at 30K by the end of December. If my travel continues at its current rate I should be LTG by the end of 2019.......of course you never know what is around the corner...
 
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It has has been a while since I provided any updates on my progress with BA and at 2 months into a new year for me it is probably about the right time.

Last year I hit 9000 TP's and at 7,8, and 9k opted for two single upgrades for one (GUF1). That gave me a total of 8 upgrades for one and one upgrade for two for the year. (Don't forget these are used over an entire trip and not just a single sector - but only on BA metal with BA flight numbers.)

These upgrades are very valuable to me as I am spending more time in the UK. It allows me to book Y+ and automatically upgrade into J for trips to the US and Asia.

I am continuing with the ex EU fares but the loss of SVG and BGO has meant I am back to OSL again and the timings are not great. It does mean one or two overnights this year. I am booking J and upgrading to F using the GUF1's.

The BA hard product may not be the best in the world, but the FF program is excellent for my needs.

I may have been a little on the conservative side on my estimate for LTG. I am currently sitting at just under 25k and should be at 30K by the end of December. If my travel continues at its current rate I should be LTG by the end of 2019.......of course you never know what is around the corner...
I too have started the BAEC ride. It has been six months and I am at 2,000 TPs. I 'may' make LTG (OW Emerald) by the time I retire.

For me the reason to 'jump ship' was that after LTG with QF (OW Sapphire) there was nothing for me to aim for.

@TonyHancock are you likely to make it LTGGL? (100,000 TPs)
 
@TonyHancock are you likely to make it LTGGL? (100,000 TPs)

Sadly I won't make LTGGL. My intent is to make LTG next year, at about 4 and a half years of crediting BA, and I suspect I will cut back on the travel. It is unsustainable for me and affecting my health. I'll hit 9000 TP's this year and 7 MEL-LHR trips a year is too much. LTG will secure F lounge access for as long as LTG lasts and my Avios points balance will keep me going for a while.
 
Hi Tony, have you had any experiences with the new CW catering? Thoughts?
Also doing BA F at Christmas to Singapore which will be my first BA F flight in 4 years. Am I likely to notice any great differences?
 
Hi Tony, have you had any experiences with the new CW catering? Thoughts?
Also doing BA F at Christmas to Singapore which will be my first BA F flight in 4 years. Am I likely to notice any great differences?
I flew BA F SYD-SIN and back a couple of months ago. I reckon it is a brilliant J product.
 
Hi Tony, have you had any experiences with the new CW catering? Thoughts?
Also doing BA F at Christmas to Singapore which will be my first BA F flight in 4 years. Am I likely to notice any great differences?

To be honest I rarely fly Club world and on the three or four occasions I have this year I have either eaten in the lounge or been fed from the F Cabin. (BA are reasonable in looking after GL's) I am in the minority because I actually like the Club World seat - whilst the cabin is cramped and rubbish the seat is one of the few I can sleep well in. (I am fortunate enough to have a rear facing bulkhead window seat with direct aisle access though.)

The reviews on the new catering on FlyerTalk have been generally positive.

I have flown 26 long haul segments with BA in F this year and it is comparable to QF F in my opinion. Neither is a great product and have their strengths and weaknesses....but for AUS4.5-5.2k per trip to the UK I am in no position to complain. I get well looked after in the CCR and on board.
 
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Has anyone got a status match with BA from another program? I'm QF Gold and want to switch to BA - do they do anything like an accelerator program if they don't status match?
 
Has anyone got a status match with BA from another program? I'm QF Gold and want to switch to BA - do they do anything like an accelerator program if they don't status match?

I've not heard of one though have heard anecdotally that someone rising through the ranks quickly may get the odd op-up.

I understand that most people use QF status to enter lounge etc then change FF number to credit to BA while going up the ranks.

Statusmatcher only shows some Air Berlin during an offer in 2017and a single LH Senator
 
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I've not heard of one though have heard anecdotally that someone rising through the ranks quickly may get the odd op-up.

I understand that most people use QF status to enter lounge etc then change FF number to credit to BA while going up the ranks.


Hi, thanks. That's what I will do. I am 15 points away from renewing QF Gold which I will do later this month. I'm moving back tot the UK in April, so want to switch to BAEC, so as you say I will keep using my QF Gold/OW Sapphire for lounge access while I build my BAEC status.
 
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Has anyone got a status match with BA from another program? I'm QF Gold and want to switch to BA - do they do anything like an accelerator program if they don't status match?

Intra-alliance status matches are almost universally excluded from such offers.

It wasn't that long ago you couldn't even join BA Executive Club with an Australian address.
 

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