bmi Launches Two New Credit Card Accounts

CHESTER, England, November 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

bmi, British Midland International, has launched two new credit card accounts for customers in the UK, the bmi Credit Card Account and bmi plus Credit Card Account.

The new credit card accounts from MBNA offer new customers two contactless-enabled cards on their accounts, one American Express-branded credit card and one Visa credit card.

Customers will have just one account and one credit limit, but the benefit of two credit cards giving the opportunity to build a greater number of bmi destinations miles even faster when they spend.

The bmi Credit Card Account has no annual fee and, once accepted; new customers will receive 20,000 bonus destinations miles,^[1] plus double miles when booking at flybmi.com

For all purchases, new customers can earn 1.5 destinations miles for every £1 spent with their bmi American Express^® credit card from MBNA, or 1.5 destinations miles for every £2 spent with their bmi Visa credit card.

As an added welcome bonus an extra 5,000 destination miles will be awarded to new bmi Credit Card Account customers who are approved before 30 November 2011, taking them well on their way to some great rewards with bmi.^[2]

The bmi Credit Card Account has a representative rate of 16.9%APR (variable).

The bmi plus Credit Card Account includes an £85 annual fee and new customers will receive 24,000 bonus destinations miles,^[1] two bmi lounge passes annually, 4,000 status miles for their Diamond Club account annually, plus double miles when booking at flybmi.com.

For all purchases, new bmi plus customers can earn two destinations miles for every £1 spent with their bmi plus American Express^® credit card from MBNA, or one destinations mile for every £1 spent with their bmi plusVisa credit card.

The bmi plus Credit Card Account has a representative rate of 34.5% APR (variable).

Both of the new credit card accounts offer 0% on balance and money transfers for the first 12 months, as long as they are made within 90 days of the account opening date (a 3% handling fee applies to both).

In addition, the accounts offer 0% on all card purchases made in the first three months from the account opening date.

Anne Harris, Loyalty Programme Acquisition Manager for bmi said: "Our customers will love the flexibility of having two credit cards that are accepted globally but just one credit card account. It is ideal for people who love to travel and who not only want to get maximum benefit from using their credit card account but also maximise the potential to earn Diamond Club destinations miles. One account, one statement, one pin and one monthly payment make the simplicity of these accounts another added bonus for our customers."  

Matt Boss, Product and Marketing Executive for MBNA, said: "The innovative approach we have taken with these new bmi credit card accounts allows customers to earn destinations miles when they spend almost anywhere in the world. Together bmi and MBNA are opening up the opportunities for new customers to maximise the value of the rewards on credit cards and offer real value for customers."

bmi's Diamond Club, the UK's most generous frequent flyer programme, offers members the opportunity to earn and spend miles with bmi plus its many airline partners, including all the Star Alliance airlines, as well as hotel, car rental and a range of other partners. Diamond Club has three membership tiers, Blue, Silver and Gold. It is surprisingly easy to progress up through the membership tiers, where members receive a wide range of exclusive benefits and privileges such as lounge access and free upgrades, all designed to make travel more rewarding and enjoyable. More information can be found at http://www.flybmi.com/diamondclub.

For further information, including full terms and conditions or to apply for the bmi or bmi plus Credit Card Account, please visit

http://www.flybmi.com/bmi/en-gb/loyalty-programmes/credit-card/credit-card.aspx

Terms and Conditions

^[1] Destinations miles offer applies when a customer spends £250 within the first 90 days of opening the account

^[2] Applications that are not approved do not qualify for the 5,000 destinations miles welcome offer. The offer is not available on the bmi plus Credit Card Account.

About bmi

bmi, British Midland International, is the second largest airline at London Heathrow, one of the world's leading international hub airports. Across its mainline route network bmi operates to Aberdeen; Addis Ababa; Agadir; Almaty; Amman; Amritsar; Baku; Basel; Beirut; Belfast City; Bergen; Berlin; Bishkek; Cairo; Casablanca; Damascus; Dammam; Dublin; Edinburgh; Freetown; Hanover; Jeddah; Khartoum; London Heathrow; Manchester; Marrakech; Moscow Domodedovo; Nice, Riyadh; Stavanger; Tbilisi; Tehran; Tripoli; Vienna; Yerevan.

bmi is a member of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award, Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue1, British Midland International, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAM Airlines, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Avianca-TACA, Copa Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines have been announced as future members. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers more than 21,200 daily flights to 1,185 airports in 185 countries.

About MBNA Europe Bank

MBNA Europe is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) and is the recognised leader in affinity marketing. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.mbna.co.uk  or Bank of America's website at http://www.bankofamerica.com

Editor and supplementary notes:

The information contained in MBNA Europe's press releases is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions. Any consumer interested in finding out more about any of MBNA Europe's products should visit http://www.mbna.co.uk for full terms and conditions.