Tier point shake-up in new British Airways Club scheme
December 30, 2024
Under an overhauled loyalty scheme set to go live on 1 April 2025 (no, it’s not an April Fool’s joke), British Airways has drastically moved the goalposts by which its members may qualify for tier threshold status, although describes the overall substitutions as in line with feedback already received.
British Airways chief commercial officer Colm Lacey believes the renamed programme “better rewards [customers’] loyalty and reflects their changing travel needs,” introducing a number of new ways for members to earn tier points. Initial amendments will include uncapped tier points based on the price of BA holiday packages, and a flight cost-based point allocation on applicable spend. With the upcoming UK SAF mandate to take effect in January, customers can also earn up to 1,000 tier points a year when purchasing a contribution to the sustainable fuel.
The newly renamed British Airways Club supercedes the existing British Airways Executive Club. However, having ditched the suggestion of exclusivity from its name, some commentators have suggested that the airline appears to be on a drive to attract business travellers – with casual holidaymakers unlikely to reach the newly-increased threshold for each reward category.
Critically, this is because the number of points required to meet each tier thresholds have increased dramatically across the board. Bronze (previously set at 300 points across at least two eligible flights a year) has increased more than tenfold to 3,500, while silver has gone from 600 (across four flights) to 7,000. Gold status, however, has been raised from 1,500 points to 20,000.
Although the eligible spend with which to reap these points does not include airport fees and taxes, BA has confirmed that add-ons such as seat selection, additional baggage or cabin upgrades will remain eligible for Avios accrual. Later in 2025, additional benefits to BA American Express Premium Plus cardholders will also be rolled out, along with what BA calls “more milestone moments between tiers”. These will start with “gifts of 2,500, 4,000 and 5,000 bonus Avios at milestones within bronze and silver”.
The overhaul follows BA’s 2023 move to a spend-based Avios (rather than a distance-based model), with one point earned for every eligible £1 spent. “This move has seen British Airways issue more Avios than ever before, with the majority of customers collecting either more or the same as they did under the previous model,” concluded the airline.
