British Airways makes major change to loyalty scheme, upsetting customers
British Airways is making big changes to its loyalty programme, starting next year.
Previously, travellers earned ‘tier points’ according to the number of miles flown. The more you collected, the higher your status, with blue being the basic status, then bronze, silver and gold.
But as of April 1, 2025, The British Airways Executive Club (which is separate to Avios, another frequent flyer virtual currency used by BA) becomes simply The British Airways Club, and travellers earn tier points on money spent rather than miles.
Under the new rules, customers will be awarded one point for every £1 they spend, with eligible purchases including plane tickets, seat selection and extra baggage.
While travellers could previously acquire status by clocking up miles without breaking the bank, the new approach shifts focus to a spending-based points structure.
Under the new system, to achieve BA Gold status (which offers benefits like first class lounges and enhanced luggage allowance) you’ll need to rack up 20,000 tier points in a year. This is a significant change from the 1,500 points currently needed.
For Silver – which offers Club lounge access, free choice of seats at the time of booking and additional baggage allowance – you’ll need 7,500 tier points. Currently, members only need 600.
Meanwhile, reaching Bronze level – which includes preferential check-in, priority boarding and seat selection a week ahead of travel – will require 3,500 tier points – a significant jump from the 300 points currently needed.
For British Airways’ most exclusive tier, the Gold Guest List – which grants access to the prestigious Concorde Room in Heathrow Terminal 5 – travellers must now accumulate 65,000 points to qualify as a new member (up from 5,000) or 40,000 points to renew their status (up from 3,000).
The basic status, Blue, remains free for everyone, and includes Free WiFi alongside the chance to collect Avios points.
On top of these changes, BA is also introducing ‘milestone benefits’, allowing members to unlock rewards before they reach each new tier, as well as bonuses for those who use a BA American Express Premium Plus card or buying sustainable aviation credits.
The opportunity to earn tier points on BA Holiday packages will now be unlimited too, allowing customers to potentially earn status by purchasing just one or two packages.
Not all customers are happy with the move though. Some have taken to X to express their concerns that the new points system focuses on spending rather than rewarding frequent fliers, including one who said: ‘I’ve been British Airways Silver for 12 years, doubt I can even make bronze with this.’
‘It will now be impossible for me to retain my Gold membership status and it’s highly unlikely I will even retain Silver,’ @craftymiss shared. ‘There’s now no need to keep loyal to the brand, EasyJet will now benefit from my 8+ holidays pa.’
Another, @Tiffywren, wrote: ‘As my travel is 100% self-funded there’s no way I can maintain status with @British_Airways. And if I don’t get any status perks then there’s no point in choosing to spend with them, is there?’
‘This is a significant change,’ added a third user. ‘The amount of people I know who are loyal to British Airways based on having the ability to earn Gold or Silver status are probably all going to have their heads turned now. Why pay a fair premium to be loyal, when the loyalty carrot is removed.’
On the upside, existing members don’t need to worry about losing their accumulated points. British Airways has confirmed that any bookings made for travel will earn points ‘based on a conversion of the current method’.
The airline stated: ‘Any existing bookings will earn the same number of tier points, or more, as they would under the current system.’
From April, to qualify for BA gold status passengers will need 20,000 points (Picture: Getty Images)
Colm Lacy, British Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, said: ‘The changes we have announced today underline our continued investment in our loyalty programme and in our customers.
‘Based on our Members’ feedback, we’ve built on the changes we’ve already made – including how customers collect Avios and their membership year – in a way that we believe better rewards their loyalty and reflects their changing travel needs.
‘While we have announced a number of positive changes today, I particularly wanted to highlight better rewarding our customers who book through British Airways Holidays and making this a permanent part of our proposition, removing the limit on earning.
‘We know that many of our customers make their holiday plans during our annual January sale period, so it’s great to be able to announce this today.’
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
