How to beat British Airway’s dramatic factors purge – and bag your self coveted gold standing

Frequent flyers were not slow to criticise British Airways’ announcement last week that it was dramatically changing its loyalty programme from April 1.

Put simply, points will no longer be given to passengers for distance flown but rather for the amount they spend. In turn, this means that it will be far harder to achieve the coveted status of BA gold flier.

This gives privileges such as airport lounge access, priority seat booking and boarding, plus extra baggage allowance. Similarly, it will also be far harder to achieve the silver or bronze statuses.

Outraged travellers turned to X, formerly Twitter, to criticise the move, which they said would ‘no longer reward loyalty’, and would drive them into the arms of rival carriers. 

‘BA is effectively washing its hands of the leisure market and going all-in to attract the dwindling band of full-fare business travellers,’ says Rob Burgess on travel website Head For Points.

Here, we explain exactly how the loyalty scheme works, what the new rules mean for you and how you can still save money on your family flights.

What exactly is BA’s loyalty system?

Membership of the British Airways Executive Club, which is being rebranded as The British Airways Club from April 1, gives passengers privileges that correspond to four different tiers: blue, bronze, silver and gold.

Anyone can join for free and it makes sense to do so because even the entry-level blue tier gives you free internet on board. If you progress to bronze, you can choose your seat from a week before you travel, with preferential check-in and priority boarding.

Silver members get sought-after lounge access, extra baggage allowance and the ability to choose their seats when they book. And gold members receive extra benefits such as the use of Heathrow Terminal 5’s Concorde Room lounge.

How do you get through tiers?

You earn tier points when you fly with BA or one of its Oneworld airline partners. Oneworld is one of three major global airline alliances where you can earn privileges and rewards across its network of members, which include Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways.

Tier points are different from Avios, which is a rewards currency to spend on flights, hotel rooms, supermarket shopping and car hire. Tier points cannot be spent but determine your status when flying with BA and its Oneworld airline partners.

How do you earn tier points?

Under the old system you could earn tier points depending on the distance of your flight, as well as your fare class. With the new scheme, it’s how much you spend, rather than the distance flown which will accrue tier points.

One tier point is the equivalent to £1 on the price of your ticket (excluding taxes such as Air Passenger Duty). 

If you spend extra money on seat selection for a flight and booking additional baggage that also qualifies for points. Non-airline taxes and fees, such as airport charges and taxes, do not earn tier points.

Under the old scheme bronze could be achieved with 300 tier points (soon to be 3,500) silver with 600 (7,500) and gold was more achievable at 1,500 tier points – but will soon require 20,000 tier points. 

For example, a flexible economy return fare to New York this week is from £366 plus taxes and would give you 70 tier points for the 3,461-mile flight. 

Under the new scheme you would earn 366 – the same as the ticket price minus the taxes. Tier points are only valid for one year so you have to start collecting each year.

Who wins under the new system?

The clear winners are business travellers whose companies don’t balk at the cost of business-class fares. 

Rhys Jones, aviation editor of Head For Points, says that most families and leisure travellers will find it difficult to achieve above bronze status without spending thousands on a British Airways Holidays package.

‘More and more high-end leisure travellers are looking at the numbers and seeing there is no real reason to fly with BA any more,’ he adds.

How else can I earn points?

British Airways Holidays packages will also offer tier points that are evenly split among the people on your booking (toddlers and younger cannot earn tier points!). 

There are 26,000 listed on the website from £200 per person.

For every pound spent, you will receive a tier point plus Avios points. 

For example, if you make a flight and hotel booking for two people to Barcelona for £1,000, you and the other passenger will receive 500 tier points each plus Avios points. Whoever makes the booking also receives 1,000 bonus Avios points.

Any more tips for cheaper flights?

If you use your Avios points to reduce the cost of a flight, you will still be awarded the full-flight fare of tier points. 

For instance, a return economy flight in August from Gatwick to Catania in Sicily would normally cost £401 pp, but if you use 65,000 Avios each, it would cost £145.07.

You would still be eligible for 395 tier points (it excludes taxes) and if you book before February 15, you receive 100 bonus tier points.

What if I book before April 1?

BA is at pains to point out that customers who have already booked will not lose out when their tier points are converted from the old to new system.

It has also announced that it is offering bonus tier points

for bookings made before February 14 for travel from April 1, based on cabin class. However, as these only range from 50 for euro traveller to 330 for first, they are a token offering.

Can I drop from gold to blue?

Not straight away. Someone with gold status who earned no tier points from April 1 would go down to silver in the first year and bronze in the second before reaching blue in the third.