The Mileage Company
The UK experts in designing, developing and managing reward & loyalty schemes
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The Mileage Company enhances Companion Voucher reward for British Airways American Express Premium Plus credit cardholders
Monday 8 June 2009 - The Mileage Company, the travel reward experts behind Airmiles and BA Miles, the loyalty currency collected by BA Executive Club members, has improved the latter scheme’s popular 'Companion Voucher' reward, after conducting an in-depth customer feedback programme.
A Companion Voucher reward is given to British Airways American Express Premium Plus Credit Cardholders when they spend £10,000 or more on the card in a year.
When Cardholders book using their BA Miles, the Companion Voucher allows them to take a companion on the same flight and in the same cabin class without paying the flight price.
Now, all Companion Vouchers earned from 1 July 2009 will be valid for an extra year. This means, when booking a flight(s) using BA Miles, Cardholders:-
- have 24 months, instead of 12 months, to plan and book that special trip
- can use two Companion Vouchers for the same trip, i.e. use BA Miles for two flights and take two companions on the same trip, without paying the flight prices
- can significantly cut the cost of a holiday, saving much needed cash in this recession
- have a longer time to accrue more BA Miles, so they can fly to more far-flung destinations or upgrade their class of travel
Driven by customer feedback, the enhancements strengthen the position of British Airways and American Express as market leaders in rewarding Cardholders.
Andrea Burchett, Director of Relationship Marketing and Insight at The Mileage Company, says: "We've listened to customer feedback and made major improvements to the Companion Voucher, an already highly motivating reward for British Airways American Express Premium Plus Credit Cardholders. This enhanced reward means we're helping customers significantly cut the cost of a trip in these difficult times, as it means a family or group can go on holiday and save much needed cash. In addition, Cardholders now have greater flexibility as to when they can travel, as the Voucher now has two years' validity."
The following destinations were the most popular choices for British Airways American Express Premium Plus Credit Cardholders when using Companion Vouchers in 2008:-
- New York, USA
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Los Angeles, USA
- Miami, USA
- Bridgetown, Barbados
Key British Airways American Express Premium Plus Credit Card product features Cardholders get:
- a Companion Voucher when they spend £10,000 or more on the card in a one year period
- when a Cardholder uses BA Miles to book a BA flight(s), they can use their Companion Voucher(s) for another seat(s) on the same flight, in the same cabin class, without paying the flight price
- automatic enrolment into the British Airways Executive Club frequent flier programme, if not already enrolled
- 1.5 BA Miles for virtually every £1 spent on the Card - whether it's for shopping, travelling or entertaining
- double BA Miles for every £1 spent, which is 3 BA Miles per £1 spent, on the card with BA and BA Holidays
- 6,000 bonus BA Miles on the first purchase with the Card. There is no minimum spend or timeframe for this bonus
- access to frequent special offers from British Airways and American Express to boost their BA Miles balance, e.g. double miles when shopping with various high street retailers
- The typical APR on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Credit Card is 19.9% on all purchases. There is a £150 annual fee for the Premium Plus Credit Card. In line with regulations set out by the Consumer Credit Act, American Express is required to show the total cost of borrowing combined with the annual fee for the Card, which equates in this instance to an APR of 46%. However, this is not the interest rate Cardholders would be charged on any balances that are not paid in full each month by the payment due date. This per annum rate would in fact be 19.9%
-- Ends --
Notes to Editors:
Airline taxes, fees and charges apply for all travellers using BA Miles and Companion Vouchers for flight bookings.
The Mileage Company www.themileagecompany.com
The Mileage Company is the UK expert in running reward schemes. In the last year alone, four million people have collected or redeemed miles with one of The Mileage Company's schemes, from the global BA Miles currency to UK-based Airmiles.
The Mileage Company works with over 200 brands through the UK's largest travel and leisure reward schemes.
Building long-standing partnerships, the business adds value and enables our partners to drive customer engagement and loyalty with compelling rewards.
British Airways Executive Club and BA Miles www.ba.com
The currency of the British Airways Executive Club, BA Miles is key to BA's reward strategy for the airline's global customers.
The Executive Club is a global frequent flyer scheme, with most BA miles collected by flying with British Airways or oneworld® alliance and partner airlines on selected fares. However, scheme members can also top up their miles by purchasing them or collecting on everyday spending and travel.
By collecting BA Miles, members can get 'reward flights' to any destination in British Airways' worldwide network - and with partner and oneworld® alliance airlines like American Airlines, Cathay, Qantas and Iberia.
The Companion Voucher can only be used for BA tickets with a BA prefix flight number. It can't be used for tickets that are on franchise, codeshare or alliance flights.
BA Miles can also be used for cabin upgrades to World Traveller Plus, Club Europe, Club World and First. The British Airways Executive Club features a tier system - with members moving between tiers depending on the frequency, cabin class and distance they fly with British Airways.
Members can collect miles by staying at selected hotels, using BA Miles' car rental partners, shopping online with over 120 retailers at the BA Miles eStore, exchanging Tesco Clubcard Vouchers and using a British Airways American Express Credit Card.
For further information, images or to arrange interviews please contact:
Susan Barber
Head of Corporate and Consumer PR
The Mileage Company
Tel: +44 (0) 1293 722 252
Email: susan_barber at themileagecompany dot com
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