News Bits: Bonus Avios on Chase BA card, Delta considering lower transatlantic fares
In this edition of News Bits, you will learn how you can earn bonus British Airways Avios if you have a Chase British Airways Visa Card. Also, Delta Air Lines, coming under pressure from low-cost carriers, is considering its options for lower transatlantic fares.
Get bonus Avios for charges of $1,000 or more on the Chase British Airways card
Earn an additional Avios per dollar for purchases over $1,000 charged to the Chase British Airways Visa card.
If you have a Chase British Airways Visa Card and you have any large purchases to make, you are in luck. Between now and December 31, 2016, any time you charge any kind of purchase of $1,000 or more on your card, you will earn an extra Avios per dollar spent, up to 8,000 bonus miles. For an airline credit card, this is a great rate on spend since most of these cards offer a single mile per dollar on charges other than with the sponsoring airline. The downside is you have to make a very large charge, and that is why I won't be pulling out my BA card - I just don't make many $1,000+ charges. Even if I did, since I just recently obtained the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card, I am focusing my spend on that card to earn my sign-up bonus of 50,000 Amex Membership Rewards points. However, if you can take advantage of this offer, this is a great opportunity to pad your Executive Club account.
Delta considering lower transatlantic fares
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that Delta Air Lines is considering its options for offering lower transatlantic fares. The airline is undertaking this analysis to better compete with ultra low-cost carriers such as Norwegian Air. Delta president Glen Hauerstein made his remarks as part of the company's third quarter earnings call. He noted that Delta has a strong brand and is attractive to customers but that the company's offerings need to align with what customers want.
“You don’t need to create an airline within airline, you just need to adjust to what people want to buy in the marketplace. And the closer we can get to what our customers want to buy in every sector, the more successful we’re going to be — and transatlantic is no exception to the rule.”
It will be interesting to see how Delta responds to the competition. Further segmenting its customer base on price sensitivity by unbundling many of the services that a full-service airline offers should allow Delta to better address a larger portion of the market. Many customers simply want a cheap ticket and are willing to forego many of the traditional airline amenities in order to pay less. It's this customer that is fueling the growth of companies such as Iceland's WOW air, Norway's Norwegian Air, and Germany's Eurowings. A recent interview in Airways Magazine with former Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza touched on how low-cost carriers approach this segment of customers.