• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home » Air Canada » Why I Won’t Credit Any More Flights to British Midland
Air CanadaBritish MidlandStar Alliance

Why I Won’t Credit Any More Flights to British Midland

Matthew Klint Posted onDecember 5, 2010 6 Comments

The news that Air Canada is restricting elite status to those who fly at least 10,000 miles on Air Canada metal got me thinking about my habit of crediting 38K miles each year to British Midland (bmi).

Even before Lufthansa (bmi’s parent company) announced plans to devalue its award chart, I figured that I’m probably wasting a lot of time and benefits just to save a few hundred dollars on domestic lounge access. The process of swapping out my Untied number for my BD number at the gate every week is enough to drive me crazy…

In terms of Star Alliance revenue flights, I’ve flown only United, Continental, and Lufthansa this year. On CO, UA, and transatlantic LH flights I receive double redeemable miles when I credit to to my Mileage Plus account. Because I usually buy cheap economy tickets, I only get a 25% RDM bonus on British Midland. That means in crediting 38K flight miles to bmi I only received 47.5K RDMs as opposed to the 76K I would have received on United. That’s a difference of 28.5K miles, which equates to a domestic economy award or nearly the difference between a business and first class ticket from North America to Europe.

On top of that, I missed out on about 25K United lifetime flight miles, which would have pushed me closer to my million mile lifetime flight mile goal on UA. Furthermore, US Airways lounge membership, which includes access to United and Continental lounges, was offered for $249 earlier this year. That’s quite a bargain and 28.5K RDMs are certainly worth more than $249 to me. And to rub salt in the wound, I missed out on two SWUs and the chance to nominate someone to Premier Executive status by crediting to bmi instead of hitting 150K then 175K EQMs on UA. 

But this was my logic: I was already well-above 100,000 EQMs on United and I felt that crediting to British Midland would be worth if I get Senator status on Lufthansa for two years when Diamond Club mergers with Miles&More next spring. We still don’t know what will happen to the Diamond Club program, but I was simply allured by the possibility of becoming a LH Senator and figured that I might as well maintain my BD Gold status for another year. Plus, at least for now, BD has a generous award chart that I plan to take full advantage of before next spring before the LH chart takes over.

Looking back at my mileage crediting decision, this year, though, if I had to do it all over again I would have just stuck to crediting to Untied. My mileage balance is too low for my liking and I just hate the fact that I gave up those lifetime flight miles. It was one thing to qualify for BD Gold status on two ONT-TPA A fare trips with 300% EQMs, but I’ve done it through cheap(er) fares this year.

If LH grants Senator status to BD Gold members for the next two years, then all my miles wil be going to United next year. If not, then I’ll decide whether to credit to Turkish Airlines (40K miles required the first year for Star Gold status, then only 25K per year or 37.5K every two years to requalify), Aegean Airlines, (20K miles for one year of Star Gold status), or just buy a Red Carpet Club membership (which sadly will soon go up in price, again…). 

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Previous Article Reconsidering American Airlines’ "Your Choice" Boarding and Flexibility Package
Next Article The Verdict is Out: Continental Airlines to Blame for 2000 Air France Concorde Crash

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • United Airlines Southeast Asia

    Will United Launch More Nonstop Flights To Southeast Asia?

    April 28, 2025
  • Star Alliance Lounge Paris Review

    Review: Star Alliance Lounge Paris (CDG)

    April 25, 2025
  • Star Alliance ITA Airways

    ITA Airways Will Join Star Alliance In 2026

    April 4, 2025

6 Comments

  1. Darren Reply
    December 6, 2010 at 3:40 am

    The BD thing was a great idea to get red carpet club access, but have to agree million miler status is a great goal (assuming it will still be Premier Exec for life). Nice breakdown, Matthew, and thanks for the link!

  2. Michael D Reply
    December 6, 2010 at 1:56 pm

    With your 1K status (and with Premier Executive status) you have Gold status with Star Alliance and access to all Star Alliance partner’s lounges, right? If this is true why buy a Red Carpet Club membership? What am I missing?

  3. Matthew Reply
    December 6, 2010 at 4:40 pm

    @Michael: US Airways, United, and Continental do not allow their own Star Gold members access to their lounges when traveling purely on domestic itineraries without a membership card. This is probably because there are so many elites that the lounges could not handle the crowds. But if you have a Star Gold card with any other Star Alliance airline, you have lounge access whenever you travel, no matter the class of service.

  4. oleg Reply
    December 6, 2010 at 7:28 pm

    Note that Aegean gives 50% EQM for cheap United fares. And in both cases you have the 100% RDM bonus issues.

  5. Gary Leff Reply
    December 7, 2010 at 2:05 am

    I believe Turkish requires 40k in 12 months, but it does get you status for 2 years and you can either requalify with just 25k in one year or 37.5k in two.

  6. Matthew Reply
    December 7, 2010 at 2:20 pm

    Thanks Gary–you’re right.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for May

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Capital One Venture X Business Card
Earn 150,000 Miles Sign Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • a inside of a plane with lights
    Review: Korean Air 747-8 First Class May 27, 2025
  • a screen on a plane
    My Highly Productive Daytime Flight To London On JetBlue May 27, 2025
  • Southwest Airlines Checked Bags
    Suicide: Southwest Airlines Eliminates Free Checked Baggage May 27, 2025
  • Spring Break JetBlue SAS
    Booked! A Transatlantic Getaway On JetBlue + SAS May 26, 2025

Categories

Popular Posts

  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review
    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD) May 1, 2025
  • United Airlines Refresh Polaris Lounge Chicago
    First Look: United Airlines Reopens Renovated Polaris Lounge In Chicago (ORD) April 29, 2025
  • a hand holding a blue card
    Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K Bonus Offer Ending Soon May 2, 2025
  • Aegean Airlines Feast
    A Feast Fit For A King On Aegean Airlines May 23, 2025

Archives

May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

As seen on:

facebook twitter instagram rss
Privacy Policy © Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.