Last week, the long-standing Airmiles reward scheme was taken offline by its owners, The Mileage Company. A new scheme, Avios, was launched to replace it. Airmiles can still be used for a few more weeks by telephone before they are converted to Avios points. It is actually the end of day on the 15th December that Airmiles points are still available for redemption via telephone, but that is for travel anytime up to 50 weeks after that date.
The new Avios scheme also incorporates travel loyalty and reward points previously run by British Airways and the Spanish company Iberia.
As many as 2.2 million British consumers are members of the Airmiles programme. It promoted the collection of loyalty points, or ‘miles’, in order to obtain free flights, hotels and other travel products. Launched in 1988, it was one of the most innovative loyalty schemes of its kind and has remained popular thanks to partnerships with Shell and Tesco.
In contrast to Airmiles, Avios no longer offers totally free flights to customers. Taxes and fees are charged, although there is a cap on tax and charges of £27 on return flights with BA/Iberia from six UK airports. Customers can still use their points to purchase alternative products such as Eurostar tickets and entry to tourist attractions, and Avios miles can be accumulated through the same channels, such as the Shell Drivers Club, some Lloyds TSB Credit Cards and the
Tesco Clubcard.
However, consumers have reacted angrily to the decision to scrap the Airmiles scheme. Many are disillusioned that the switch to Avios was announced with less than three months’ notice, and only a fortnight after a marketing campaign offering cut-price Airmiles to Tesco customers.
Collectors say that The Mileage Company did not give long-term collectors enough time to collect the required number of miles for their intended itinerary. They also allege that it misled them into bulk-buying miles when the company knew the scheme was coming to an end.
A new website, www.fighttheairmileschange.co.uk, has been set up to oppose the switch from Airmiles to Avios. The owners of the site claim that Airmiles could be devalued by up to 90% when they are converted to Avios miles in December. Calculations on the site reveal that one return flight from London to New York cost £250 in Tesco Clubcard vouchers. The same flight will now cost £200 in Tesco Clubcard vouchers, plus £300 in cash for taxes and fees. For a
flight to Australia, the taxes and fees would cost £500-£600.
However, 2.1 million British Airways loyalty collectors, and 1.1 million Iberia Plus collectors, are likely to benefit from the switch.
Andrew Swaffield, managing director of The Mileage Company, told the Daily Mail that the increased tax on flying had made the Airmiles scheme “unaffordable and untenable”. Mr Swaffield points out that customers can now book one-way flights through Avois – something which was not possible with Airmiles – and miles can be collected on more flights.
Airmiles points are still available for redemption via the telephone only until the end of the 15th December 2011. Airmiles can be swapped for hotel deals if flights are not available. After this time, all remaining miles will be converted to Avios points.
