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BMFA Membership Card


Gary Manuel
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BMFA renewal now includes the option of a high quality plastic membership card at a cost of £3.50.

The card apparently gives access to a range of discounts and other benefits applicable to the hobby. It appears to be a "Vectis Card".

I have looked on the VECTIS WEB SITE for details of the benefits that are on offer, but the details aren't visible until you have a Vectis membership number which appears on the card.

Does anyone already have a Vectis card or know where details of the available offers can be seen?

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Posted by cymaz on 07/12/2019 17:58:09:

 

Does THIS help??

I'm not sure whether it helps or not Cymaz.

I've never heard of most of them and certainly never used them (apart from W H Smiths). Is that perhaps because the offers are tailored to the hobby / company / business that's partnering with the card company? Maybe these offers are more suited to Driving Instructors than Modellers?

I was rather hoping to see companies more in tune with Hobbies / Tools / Boys Toys and other technical stuff. When Andy Symons did his presentation at our AGM. I thought I saw companies such as Halfords, Screwfix, Sky etc on his presentation slide.

Edited By Gary Manuel on 07/12/2019 20:34:27

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Thanks for that Scott. Not very good reviews about the App, but the responses suggest that the app has been fixed.

I've downloaded the Android App by searching for Vectis on Google Play Store to see for myself. It appears to be working OK but not finding the stores I would have liked. Only ones I'll use are Halfords = 10% and Go Outdoors = extra 10% off their discount card price. Worth having then, but not going to change the way I shop.

 

STOP PRESS - I found THIS which allows you to use your browser to search for discount locations near you. This is exactly what I was looking for to start with. Not sure why you can't access this from Vectis web site, which asks for your membership number before presumably taking you to the link I found..

Edited By Gary Manuel on 08/12/2019 12:11:14

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Looks like a lot of 'hoops 'n hurdles' and restrictions apply on most venues/shops, In most, if not all, it's not a straight present the card and get 10% off. e.g. Obtain a voucher, only valid on certain items, must be presented before getting the bill etc. etc. Will be interested to hear user experience(s) once/if it gets wide spread adoption by the BMFA community.

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I received a Re-Affiliation pack from the BMFA. In it was a leaflet describing the advantages of the card. It showed a lot of logo's including B&Q, Argos and Amazon, plus the details that it will give you 4% off all purchases at Tesco's and 5% off at Sainsburys. I also went on-line as per Gary Manuel's post and only Halfords came up in the search, even though I have a B&Q and Argos just down the road. Interesting that.

Edited By Tony Packe on 08/12/2019 18:01:29

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Posted by Capt Kremen on 08/12/2019 13:30:02:

Looks like a lot of 'hoops 'n hurdles' and restrictions apply on most venues/shops, In most, if not all, it's not a straight present the card and get 10% off. e.g. Obtain a voucher, only valid on certain items, must be presented before getting the bill etc. etc. Will be interested to hear user experience(s) once/if it gets wide spread adoption by the BMFA community.

Around Birmingham area a quick sample only came up with a couple (like Halfords) where a voucher was needed, most (like Prezzo) state proof of current valid card only, ie have the card on you!

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Posted by Richard Acland on 08/12/2019 19:41:06:

The Blue Light card is worth having. It is available to a wide range of members of the Emergency services and ex forces personnel. Also the Defence Discount card for serving and ex forces has some good discounts.

I'm not eligible for either of these cards, so I'll have to make do with the BMFA card.

On a more positive note, the BMFA card is just as good as either of these two for smoothing out glass fibre, scraping ice off car windscreens etc wink

 

Edited By Gary Manuel on 08/12/2019 20:03:44

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  • 2 months later...

On renewal of my BMFA membership I paid £3.50 for their Vectis membership card last December and still have not received it. As an armed forces veteran I have a Defences Discount Card and the Vectis card gives similar discounts eg. 10% off at Go Outdoors etc. So it is definitely worth having. I have emailed Vectis to find out what has happened with the BMFA card

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Only one club member out of almost a hundred that I put through via the Portal requested and paid the extra few quid for the card. He simply preferred a physical card to show at indoor meets rather than worrying about the discount side. He does have a smartphone and is IT savvy. AFAIK, he's still waiting for it.

Everything on my phone with a hard copy of my insurance in the glove box of my car as a back up. Whatever works for the individual.

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Posted by Neil Hobbs on 11/02/2020 07:17:19:

On renewal of my BMFA membership I paid £3.50 for their Vectis membership card last December and still have not received it. As an armed forces veteran I have a Defences Discount Card and the Vectis card gives similar discounts eg. 10% off at Go Outdoors etc. So it is definitely worth having. I have emailed Vectis to find out what has happened with the BMFA card

I'm in the same situation as you. In fact my wife has a scheme too so I already have access to two schemes. I'm expecting the BMFA one to be identical, same retailers, same discounts.

I did think twice about getting it but gave in because

(i) it is only £3.50 so not much to try

(ii) I like the idea of the BMFA membership card

(iii) The inital advertising put out for the reward card included the Amazon logo. This is what made the decision for me. But to be honest I will be very surprised if Amazon are included, they aren't in any of the schemes that I have seen and I have seen quite a few.

It will also be interesting to see how easy it is to use. The two I have access to at the moment are a bit of a faff to be honest. The way these schemes are presented might make you think that you turn up at John Lewis, flash your card and get 5% discount. But that isn't how they work, you have to first buy vouchers off the reward company - so you buy a £100 John Lewis card, they charge you £95, and they provide you with one or more voucher codes which you can use for online purcahses. the other way you can do it is to request a John Lewis top up card which is sent to you in the post. When it arrives you can link it with your reward account and then add funds to it. You can then use the top up card in-store.

I'm pretty much expecting the Vectris card to work exactly the same way.

My card should turn up this week so will find out. Hopefully, Amazon are included but not holding my breath.

Cheers,

Nigel

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Posted by Kevin 216 on 18/02/2020 07:15:31:

Has anyone received theirs yet? They were apparently posted on the 11th Feb - must be coming by shankes's pony express.

Not as of the weekend. I am working away from home this week so won't know until Thursday evening. But if it really was sent out on 11th then it should be waiting for me when I get back.

From my experience the term "it has been posted" can get used very loosely, especially off the back of previous delays. It often doesn't mean that it has actually been posted, more that it is entering into a lengthy process that will culminate in it being posted.

Also posted from where? Where are the cards being made? "It has been posted" could mean that the cards have been sent in bulk from the printers (who may be in China) to the BMFA (or appointed distributer) who on receipt will then have to separate the consignment into individual addressed letters to be sent out to members.

Cheers,

Nigel

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Most of these so called discount cards and schemes are hardly worth the bother. They wouldn't be in existence if they weren't actually in the wider interest of the stores and businesses. The ones for ex-servicemen and the one my wife had as an NHS worker being the exceptions perhaps (they stopped the NHS one a while back, so obviously it was too good!). The BMFA one is an exception, as I suspect that the 'discounts' will be of little interest to the holders who just want a membership card and are happy to pay a few quid for the time being.

Clever marketing and convincing the less cynical among us that we're getting something for nothing is their MO but in truth, they're designed to make you spend more overall and hence pay for the 'discount'. Nothing new.....the oldies will remember Green Shield Stamps and the less well known S&H Pink Stamps. Smoke yourself to death more quickly with the coupons in packets of fags as well back in the day.

My better half has an M&S 'Sparks Card' on which points are collected with each purchase and in theory can be used as a discount. The problem is that the discounted lines are emailed to her as specific items and not as a general discount on all purchases. She has thousands of points but can't use them unless she buys something that she doesn't need and never buys anyway. It's clear what they're up to.........M&S can easily see the buying habits of my wife and others so I believe they deliberately avoid sending offers on stuff that they know customers will and do buy regularly in their stores (i.e. a true reward and a thank you for being a loyal customer) but they send offers for stuff that she'd never or very rarely purchase. The discounts seem to follow the same pattern i.e. more expensive top of the range goods (certain clothes, perfumes and financial services as a few examples).

The only scheme that seems to work for me is Nectar. We buy our fuel at Sainsbury's and over the course of the year rack up enough points for a few treats at Christmas - probably about £40 or £50 at most. They were at one time charging a penny or so per litre more than the very cheapest other local supermarket (ASDA) but have reduced their prices to match recently, so a better deal if you use it correctly.

I don't believe in  paying  up front to make a saving........................the only exception to my rule is our IWM Premium Membership that costs £80 annually for two people and gives unlimited access to Duxford and other IWM sites, ticket discounts and certain other purchases. It's around £40 for a day ticket to Duxford for two people and as we visit several times year, we make a considerable saving overall.

The fact is if you want to save money, simply buy less 'stuff' that you really don't need..................

 

Edited By Cuban8 on 18/02/2020 09:33:48

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Posted by Cuban8 on 18/02/2020 09:20:03:

Most of these so called discount cards and schemes are hardly worth the bother. They wouldn't be in existence if they weren't actually in the wider interest of the stores and businesses. The ones for ex-servicemen and the one my wife had as an NHS worker being the exceptions perhaps (they stopped the NHS one a while back, so obviously it was too good!). The BMFA one is an exception, as I suspect that the 'discounts' will be of little interest to the holders who just want a membership card and are happy to pay a few quid for the time being.

Clever marketing and convincing the less cynical among us that we're getting something for nothing is their MO but in truth, they're designed to make you spend more overall and hence pay for the 'discount'. Nothing new.....the oldies will remember Green Shield Stamps and the less well known S&H Pink Stamps. Smoke yourself to death more quickly with the coupons in packets of fags as well back in the day.

My better half has an M&S 'Sparks Card' on which points are collected with each purchase and in theory can be used as a discount. The problem is that the discounted lines are emailed to her as specific items and not as a general discount on all purchases. She has thousands of points but can't use them unless she buys something that she doesn't need and never buys anyway. It's clear what they're up to.........M&S can easily see the buying habits of my wife and others so I believe they deliberately avoid sending offers on stuff that they know customers will and do buy regularly in their stores (i.e. a true reward and a thank you for being a loyal customer) but they send offers for stuff that she'd never or very rarely purchase. The discounts seem to follow the same pattern i.e. more expensive top of the range goods (certain clothes, perfumes and financial services as a few examples).

The only scheme that seems to work for me is Nectar. We buy our fuel at Sainsbury's and over the course of the year rack up enough points for a few treats at Christmas - probably about £40 or £50 at most. They were at one time charging a penny or so per litre more than the very cheapest other local supermarket (ASDA) but have reduced their prices to match recently, so a better deal if you use it correctly.

I don't believe in paying up front to make a saving........................the only exception to my rule is our IWM Premium Membership that costs £80 annually for two people and gives unlimited access to Duxford and other IWM sites, ticket discounts and certain other purchases. It's around £40 for a day ticket to Duxford for two people and as we visit several times year, we make a considerable saving overall.

The fact is if you want to save money, simply buy less 'stuff' that you really don't need..................

Edited By Cuban8 on 18/02/2020 09:33:48

Agree 100%. I already have access to two schemes through work and to be honest I barely use those.

I went for the BMFA one primarily for the plastic card and only then because it was 'throw away money'. Even then I questioned whether it was worth it, but what tipped me over the edge was one piece of marketing included the Amazon logo suggesting that this is one of the discounted retailers. If so that will be a winner for me but I'm not holding my breath because Amazon have not participated in any of the schemes I have seen previously and I can't see the BMFA one being any different.

As for the discounts - I do use them occasionally but it requires that perfect storm of the retailer having what I want at the best price and the discount being worth the hassle and anxiety.

Cheers,

Nigel

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I think it's good that the BMFA plastic card is available to those that want one, it's not dear when one includes postage etc and if it makes life easier for an individual then that's great. I don't see any benefit myself because I rarely have to prove my BMFA these days, except when flying at the occasional meet at OW and then it's on my phone and hard copy in the car.

Talking of discounts............I did actually get a few cents off a Hobbyking purchase a while back for being in their words "a fantastic loyal Premier Customer" or something like that. Made me laugh.

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