British Airways is scrapping its Diamond Club loyalty programme after terminating its deal with credit card giant MBNA, meaning members will no longer be able to earn Avios points unless they switch to the BA Executive Club.
The Diamond reward scheme was first launched by BMI and was bought by BA in 2012. Members earned up to two destination miles for every £1 they spent on their fee-free credit card, and also got 10% off BA flights.
Members now have two months to use up their points, although they will no longer be able to collect Destinations miles from 30 September 30. Those who do not transfer to the Executive Club will lose anything they have accrued.
On the scheme’s website, a statement read: “We are sorry to inform you that the Diamond Club will be closing on 30 November 2016. Please be assured that up until this date, you can still use your 10% discount on British Airways flights.”
If you have a Diamond Club Credit Card issued by MBNA, you will no longer be able to collect Destinations miles from 30 September 2016, however you will be able to convert them in to Avios using the Combine My Avios tool when you log in to your Executive Club account You will need to do this by 30 November 2016, otherwise your miles will not be transferred and will expire.
On Flyertalk.com, a forum for frequest flyers, most users seemed sanguine about the move, with one writing: “Damn shame, but I’d been expecting the worst like most of you for a while.”
However, it is the way the move has been communicated which seems to have irked many.
He added: “Odd for BA to be the ones to inform me before MBNA. One month notice is also pretty much unheard of for something like this, pretty stingy. The timing of this along with all the other cuts recently makes me think BA must have had a huge review of where to trim the fat. I’m not really surprised by this change, especially for non-fee cards in the current climate, but it’s another reason not to be as loyal as I have been.”
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