Why some people are missing their 15,000 Avios BA Amex loyalty bonus

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

I wrote earlier last week about the generous bonus of 15,000 Avios points which British Airways has awarded to anyone who has held a British Airways American Express card since it launched in 2001.

Well, not quite ‘anyone’.

I have had a few emails from people who have held the card since 2001 and have not received the bonus.

BA Premium Plus American Express card BAPP

Almost all of these people have one thing in common:

At some point between 2001 and today, they upgraded from the free BA Amex to the Premium Plus card.

So, the situation is:

If you have had the free card for 15 years, and are actively using it, you got 15,000 Avios

If you have had the Premium Plus card for 15 years, and are actively using it, you got 15,000 Avios

If you upgraded or downgraded from one card to the other during the past 15 year, you did NOT got a bonus

I genuinely do not believe that British Airways intended this to happen. They will have asked Amex for a list of everyone who has held a card continuously since 2001 and this will have excluded people who upgraded or downgraded during that time.

Plenty of Avios, Amex and BA employees will read this, so hopefully they can take another look and issue the bonus to those people who do deserve it but have been tripped up on a technicality.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus.

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers.

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending:

Barclaycard Select Cashback Credit Card

1% cashback and no annual fee Read our full review

Category

British Airways American Express

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Will Edward says:

21 Nov21 November 05:45

After I read your note I checked with Amex first. They said I had been a BA/Amex card holder since 2001 (they gave me the specific date). I checked with the BA Priority line folks who were totally disinterested that I hadnt received the points. This sort of ‘act first/think later’ marketing seems to becoming quite regular at BA (last week it was the Qatar discount fares/no tier points debacle).
- Alan Young says:
  
  21 Nov21 November 08:51
  
  I am having a similar issue with Qatar Airways at the moment. They sent me a 20% discount promo code if I use my miles before 31/12/2016 for a booking, however the promo code does not work. Obviously an IT problem. 3 phone calls & 5 emails later they are still using the same useless statement ”that it will work” even though their own staff in Poland can’t get it to work.
Baggageinhall says:

21 Nov21 November 05:57

I’ve had a Premium Plus card since 2001. Not upgraded or downgraded. I have not however, ever paid anything close to the full annual fee. I’ve paid £30pa and held a second card that has no annual fee. I’m making an assumption that paying comparatively little has excluded me.
- Dave says:
  
  21 Nov21 November 07:41
  
  Go on then, how have you managed to pay a reduced annual fee?
  - Rob says:
    
    21 Nov21 November 08:29
    
    Anyone who had any other Amex card in 2001 got BAPP for either nothing or £30, for what seems to be life.
    - Baggageinhall says:
      
      21 Nov21 November 19:11
      
      Quite. My first Amex was a Blue Credit Card back in 1998 (no annual fee) and I got a mailshot in 2001 offering me a BAPP for £30 instead of whatever the annual fee was. My Blue became a Platinum Credit Card when the Blue card was discontinued. I feared that the recent annual fee hike would be the end of my £30pa deal but not so.
      
      15k Avios would be nice, but given my annual fee saving I’m not too bothered.
- Sean says:
  
  21 Nov21 November 08:39
  
  Same here. I have had the card since 2001. I haven’t upgraded (or downgraded) – no point as I get the BAPP for free as I have the Amex Platinum card. No bonus at all.
  
  Stories below of upgraders and downgraders getting the bonus. As Amex would presumably be buying the Avios from BA it would be in BA’s interest to fling as many of these out as possible, no?
- trickster says:
  
  21 Nov21 November 12:38
  
  I too only pay £30pa and I got the 15k points.
SLS says:

21 Nov21 November 06:04

O/T but I was about to book Iberia flights from London to Havana yday (potentially business on the discounted business promo rate). Thought I would find out if they had a Black Friday promo last year and it seems they have 25% off base fares which seems pretty good! Does anyone know if this is likely to repeat this year? Thanks
- Rob says:
  
  21 Nov21 November 08:31
  
  Not heard anything yet re BA or Iberia.
  - SLS says:
    
    21 Nov21 November 10:21
    
    Thanks Rob. Would save a decent amount so if you do get whiff of anything would be great to know. That’s assuming prices don’t go up beforehand!
Sam wardill says:

21 Nov21 November 07:08

I’ve upgraded and downgraded and cancelled the card many times but still got the bonus
- Elt says:
  
  21 Nov21 November 08:16
  
  Me too
Nate says:

21 Nov21 November 07:35

OT – I was looking to use my 2-4-1 voucher online and wanted to take advantage of the current BA Amex offer where you save £100 when spending £500. I am planning to travel to the Caribbean in first class (2 adults 1 infant). Is there anyway to split the cost across 2 Amex cards (ie get £200 off)?
- the real harry says:
  
  21 Nov21 November 08:18
  
  your only hope would be to explain what you want to do when you book by phone – I’m sure it won’t be the first time the agent has been asked to split a payment over 2 cards
DaveP says:

21 Nov21 November 07:42

I too hope that Amex reconsiders and sorts the technicality. 15 years is a long time to show loyalty in the credit card market.
Paul says:

21 Nov21 November 07:59

I had the (now defunct) Premium card when launched and downgraded at some point to the free card. No sign of the bonus here, either.
Alan says:

21 Nov21 November 08:08

You have way more faith in BA’s intentions and willingness to solve this than I do, Rob! For those who have missed out (not me, I only get the BA cards for their sign up bonuses!) I do hope I’m proven wrong though! 🙂
- the real harry says:
  
  21 Nov21 November 08:22
  
  yep I think there will have been a budget for this, which will have been used up by now
  
  the vast majority of people who ‘should’ have got the bonus points won’t be disappointed because they’ll never have heard of the bonus in the first place
  
  probably worth a saccharine email asking for the points, though, maybe explaining you know about it thanks to a colleague etc