The Heathrow Rewards programme is moving to a new platform – My Heathrow – but the execution has left us scratching our heads. The migration promises to merge Heathrow Rewards with Official Heathrow Parking and Reserve & Collect into one account, which sounds convenient in theory. In practice, however, it raises serious questions about how this process is being managed.
At 18:42 on 27 January 2025—just 3 hours and 18 minutes before the planned outage—Heathrow sent an email informing members of a four-day service shutdown. That’s right: no points collection, no balance checks, no redemptions, and no way to access your account until 05:00 on 31 January. This alarmingly short notice makes you wonder: do they really have this under control?
Members who spend money at Heathrow during the downtime are being told to keep their receipts to claim points later. But how exactly will that work? Heathrow hasn’t shared any details, leaving travellers guessing. For a programme that promotes itself as a seamless way to reward frequent flyers and shoppers, this lack of preparation and communication feels amateurish.
The decision to take everything offline for four full days is equally baffling. In today’s world, complex systems undergo major upgrades with minimal disruption. So why does the Heathrow Rewards migration require a complete blackout? Could the explanation lie in outdated systems, poor planning, or something else entirely? Heathrow hasn’t said, and the radio silence is doing little to reassure its members.
To make matters worse, the migration comes with the end of some key loyalty partnerships. From 27 January 2025, you can no longer convert points to Emirates Skywards miles or exchange Miles & More points for vouchers. Heathrow hints at new partnerships on the horizon, but for now, this change limits flexibility for travellers who value these options.
On the bright side, I’m hoping this disruption leads to a more cohesive and useful digital product. The new My Heathrow platform promises to introduce a digital Rewards Card – although I’ve had mine in a third digital card app for years! Points will also expire after 36 months of inactivity, and the Premium status perk – double points for those spending £750 annually – remains intact. I’m also hopeful that it will be easier to link parking bookings with a rewards account number, or possibly even save address and car registration details for future sessions!
Still, these updates do little to offset the frustration of the poorly communicated migration. With minimal notice, no clear process for claiming points, and a long outage, members are left wondering what’s really going on behind the scenes – and whether Heathrow knows what it’s doing. Keep those receipts handy. You’ll probably need them.
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