British Airways announces several tweaks ahead of its switch to a revenue-based system for earning elite status
Editor's Note
As 2024 came to a close, British Airways announced it would rebrand its British Airways Executive Club loyalty program to "The British Airways Club" and shift to a revenue-based program for earning tier points on April 1. (For those unfamiliar, British Airways tier points are the metric by which you qualify for elite status with the airline.) This announcement was big, especially for travelers who currently earn airline elite status with British Airways.
Since then, we've learned a bit more about the upcoming changes and an improvement to the bonus tier points offer. So, here's what you need to know.
Changes to earning tier points
Currently, tier points toward British Airways elite status are earned based on flight distance and fare class. But beginning April 1, loyalty program members will earn 1 tier point per British pound (around $1.25) on many — but not all — flights and ancillary purchases like seat selection, excess baggage and sustainable aviation fuel purchases.
Starting April 1, most flights marketed by British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia will earn tier points based on total eligible spend (including qualifying add-ons for flights marketed and operated by British Airways or Iberia). However, you won't earn tier points on any spend allocated to nonairline taxes and fees, such as airport charges and government taxes.
If the fare is unavailable or undisclosed (as is often the case with vacation packages), you'll earn tier points based on a percentage of miles flown, cabin class and booking class. Likewise, you'll earn tier points based on a percentage of miles flown, cabin class and booking class on flights marketed by partners besides American Airlines and Iberia.
To see how many tier points you'll earn on flights marketed by partner airlines (besides American and Iberia), visit the partner airlines page and select your partner airline. For example, here's how you'll earn tier points on Alaska Airlines-marketed flights starting April 1:
How you'll earn on British Airways Holidays vacation packages with a travel date from April 1 is also changing. Specifically, you'll earn 1 tier point per British pound (around $1.25) spent on the total price of your holiday package, but the tier points will be evenly split between the number of people on the booking. However, the lead booker will still earn 1 bonus Avios per British pound spent on the holiday package, and each traveler will still earn Avios on their flights.
Finally, cardmembers of the U.K.-issued British Airways American Express® Premium Plus Card will be able to earn up to 2,500 tier points each qualification year by spending on their card. More details won't be available until later this year, though, and it's unclear whether the British Airways Visa Signature® Card (see rates and fees) will gain any new abilities to earn tier points.
The information for the British Airways Amex Premium Plus has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Best ways to redeem British Airways Avios: From flights to Hawaii to island hopping in the Caribbean
New British Airways status requirements
In addition to the shift to how you earn tier points, British Airways will also implement new elite status requirements. Here's a look at how many tier points you'll need to accrue for each tier starting in April:
- Bronze status (Oneworld Ruby): 3,500 tier points
- Silver status (Oneworld Sapphire): 7,500 tier points
- Gold status (Oneworld Emerald): 20,000 tier points
- Gold Guest List status (Oneworld Emerald): 65,000 tier points to initially earn; 40,000 tier points to retain
If you want Gold Guest List status, you'll need to initially earn at least 52,000 of the 65,000 required tier points through British Airways-marketed flights, qualifying add-ons and British Airways Holidays packages. To retain your status, you'll need to earn at least 32,000 of the 40,000 required tier points through British Airways-marketed flights, qualifying add-ons and British Airways Holiday packages.
In February, British Airways also announced that members who use its flights to commute will be able to earn Bronze and Silver status based on the number of sectors they travel. Specifically, you'll need 25 British Airways-marketed flights for Bronze and 50 British Airways-marketed flights for Silver.
Finally, as a reminder, British Airways announced changes to its tier points collection year in 2024. We're currently in an alignment phase, but starting in April, you'll accrue tier points between April 1 and March 31 each year.
Bonus tier points offer
British Airways expects to always have an active bonus tier points offer, which will let members who opt in earn extra tier points on flights marketed by British Airways.
The airline just launched a new bonus tier points offer for which you can opt in. This offer is better than the previous one announced in December, but you'll earn based on the new and improved offer if you booked a flight under the previous bonus tier points offer.
Here's a look at the bonus tier points you can earn per leg of travel under the new offer:
- Euro Traveller (short-haul economy): 75 bonus tier points
- Club Europe (short-haul business): 175 bonus tier points
- World Traveller (long-haul economy): 150 bonus tier points
- World Traveller Plus (long-haul premium economy): 275 bonus tier points
- Club World (long-haul business): 400 bonus tier points
- First (long-haul first): 550 bonus tier points
With this offer, you can earn bonus tier points on bookings with a British Airways flight number when you book by Dec. 31 and travel on April 1 or later. These legs can be operated by other airlines, as long as they are marketed by British Airways and carry a British Airways flight number.
To put this offer in perspective, consider a British Airways-marketed Euro Traveller round-trip itinerary with 300 British pounds (around $375) of eligible spend. You'd need to opt into the bonus tier points offer and then take this round trip 17 times to earn 7,500 tier points. Alternatively, flying nine British Airways-marketed Club Europe round trips with 500 British pounds (around $625) of eligible spend per round trip would earn 7,650 tier points.
Related: So, what exactly is elite status in travel — and how can I get it?
Bottom line
It is always startling to see a loyalty program change how you earn elite status. Many travelers who have learned to maximize the current tier points system are sad to see British Airways move to revenue-based elite status tiers.
Under the new program, it will certainly be more difficult for deal-seeking travelers who love to fly far at a low cost to earn elite status. While the new bonus tier points offer will help Europe-based flyers who frequently fly on flights marketed by British Airways, it won't be as useful to U.S.-based flyers who primarily earn British Airways status by crediting partner airline flights to the program.
Just as there are ways to maximize tier points earnings under the current system, travelers may find ways to maximize the percentage-based tier points earning rates available through most partner airlines. However, travelers should run the numbers and consider how these changes will affect them. In some cases, it might make sense to earn Oneworld elite status through a different program once the current qualification period ends.
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