With news emerging this week that British Airways
has made sweeping changes to its frequent flier program starting next year, many of its customers have been left upset at what they feel are unfair status thresholds. The carrier is shifting to a revenue-based tier system from April 1st, 2025, with its Executive Club renamed to The British Airways Club.
British Airways revamps frequent flier program
The British carrier’s new loyalty program—The British Airways Club—will reward frequent fliers based on the amount of money spent, a move that many other airlines have also implemented.
Photo: British Airways
Now, members will earn Tier Points based on how much they spend with BA and its holiday operations, rather than the previous arrangement, which rewards travelers based on multiple criteria, such as cabin class and distance traveled.
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British Airways Launches The British Airways Club With New Ways To Earn Tier Points
Britsh Airways is rebranding the Executive Club to The British Airways Club and switching to Tier Status based on total spending.
While the airline has heralded its revamp as offering “more ways to earn Tier Points than ever before,” customers have done the math and realized that previously attainable status tiers are now most likely out of reach. For example, to reach Gold tier, members will need to fork out a minimum of £20,000 ($25,000). Even to access fairly basic perks like Club Lounge access, extra baggage and free seat selection, members have to spend £7,500 ($9,400) to reach Silver status.
Photo: British Airways
The thresholds for each tier, at a rate of 1 point per £1 spent, are as follows:
- 0 for Blue
- 3,500 for Bronze
- 7,500 for Silver
- 20,000 for Gold
- 65,000 for Gold Guest List
Bear in mind that points are only rewarded for “eligible spending,” which does not include non-airline taxes and fees, so reaching these tiers will cost a fair bit more than the advertised rate. These thresholds are huge leaps from the current points requirements—for example, Gold currently requires 1,500 points, while Silver needs just 600 points.
For Gold Guest List, at least 52,000 points must be earned through British Airways-marketed flights, qualifying add-ons and British Airways Holidays packages. It will also require 40,000 annual points thereafter to retain, 32,000 of which must be attained through the above conditions.
Photo: British Airways
On the plus side, points are earned on ancillary purchases – such as seat selection and excess baggage – and when using the airline’s branded American Express Premium Plus credit card (although this is capped at 2,500 points per year). Spending on packages booked with British Airways Holidays will also earn points without any limit.
Passenger backlash
Many disgruntled BA passengers (and some of its staff, too) have vowed not to fly with the British airline due to the changes. One Gold Guest List member noted on social media that their current level of spending would only get them to Bronze tier, with another noting they are “not going to spend £3.5k a year just for priority boarding.”
Photo: British Airways
Paddle Your Own Kanoo published excerpts from BA’s internal message board revealing that its own staff are not too pleased about the changes either. One wrote that the carrier “seems to be on a mission to annoy, alienate and drive away loyal customers,” with another noting that Silver status will be “unattainable” for the majority of customers.
In its defense, an airline spokesperson said that its changes have adopted “a similar model used by many other airline loyalty programs across the world.” The carrier has also faced criticism recently for scaling back its lunch service for Club World passengers on select flights, switching to a smaller “Great British Brunch.”
