The New British Airways Club: Fools Fighting Over Fool’s Gold

British Airways will shift to a revenue-based program for earning Tier Points in 2025, thereby tying elite status to spending. The status qualification changes to the British Airways Executive Club have certainly stoked a wide range of emotions, from those upset that their relatively easy path to Gold status will be disrupted to those gleefully mocking those who are upset and celebrating the changes. But both sides really miss the point: British Airways does not offer a valuable elite program in the first place and there is no indication that the program will meaningfully improve even though the spending required to earn status is going way up.

British Airways Shifts To Revenue-Based Loyalty Model In 2025

Starting on April 1, 2025, British Airways Executive Club will rebrand to British Airways Club and Tier Points will be earned based on spending rather than segments, fare class, and distance traveled.

You’ll collect 1 Tier Point for every £1 of eligible spend with British Airways, which includes:

flights (government taxes will not earn Tier Points)
seat selection fees
excess baggage fees
sustainable aviation fuel purchases
British Airways Holidays vacation packages

Later in the year (at an unspecified date), you will have the opportunity to earn Tier Points via co-branded credit card spending, but that will be capped at 2,500 Tier Points per year and limited to the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card.

Elite status will be earned via the following metrics:

Tier
Tier Point threshold

Blue
None

Bronze
3,500

Silver
7,500

Gold
20,000

Tickets issued on other carriers will earn tier points based on a percentage of miles flown.

In short, you’ll have to spend a whole lot more than before to earn status, particularly Gold status.

British Airways says these program changes are “based on our members’ feedback” which I find, to use a British term, bollocks. It’s a shame BA does not have the honesty to simply say, “We are trying to reduce the number of Silver and Gold members and this is how we are doing it.”

The Value Proposition Of British Airways Drops Further

For purposes of this discussion, I will focus on British Airways Gold Status, but note at the outset that Silver status, beyond oneworld Sapphire status, has little value beyond lounge access.

Let’s review what British Airways Gold status actually gets you:

No seat fees: Gold members can choose seats for free in all cabins of service and have access to 1A and 1K when traveling in first class
First class check-in: Gold members have access to first class check-in desks worldwide
Priority boarding: Gold members get priority boarding regardless of their cabin

Lounge access: Gold members can access over 600 airport lounges worldwide. 

Cabin upgrades: Gold members receive a voucher for a cabin upgrade for themselves and a companion after earning 2,500 Tier Points. After earning 3,500 Tier Points, they receive two Gold Upgrade for one vouchers.
Additional reward seats: Gold members receive access to additional Economy Class seats on select flights at standard pricing or can use double the Avios for any seat on any flight, if the booking is made at least 30 days in advance (Gold Priority Reward)

While I don’t dismiss there is some value of these benefits, I also find them lacking…upgrades are rare, standby is not allowed, Gold Priority Rewards require you to book a month in advance, and free seating in business class only showcases BA’s nickel-and-diming (like charging Gold members to cancel standard reward tickets).

The new program changes not only squeeze out leisure travelers, but squeeze out corporate travelers flying in economy class. And that’s the irony: who needs elite status when you have to buy business class or first class fares to get that status? You already have priority boarding, extra baggage, lounge access, and priority boarding.

What moves people to spend thousands in the first place to chase status that is only marginally useful? It’s like fighting over Fools’ Gold (pyrite).

Will the program get better now that it will be so much more difficult to qualify? BA teases “we’re adding some additional milestones between each Tier, starting with bonus Avios,” but bonus miles? Come on, now.

With the high spending requirement (and no option to earn status through credit card spending beyond 2,500 Tier Point at some unspecified future point), free agency will make sense for so many more travelers…and that will impact far more than the “gamers” who earned status for the lowest possible out-of-pocket spending.

I think it makes little sense to reward the corporate traveler buying last-minute business class tickets using other people’s money, but I will shelve the “who is actually loyal” question for another day. I don’t think these changes are squarely to address travelers engaging in “shenanigans to beat a system for the lowest cost, while maximizing every bit of reward at the greatest cost,” but more about squeezing out every penny it can because of the lack of competition in the British market.

The result: most consumers lose, but perhaps some will find liberation in stepping off the status hamster wheel for benefits that were not worth the cost in the first place.

CONCLUSION

I’m not crying and I’m not rejoicing about these changes. Instead, I’m pointing out that chasing British Airways Gold Status is like chasing Fool’s Gold…it’s simply not worthwhile going forward if you are spending your own money. If British Airways wants people to spend a whole lot more to earn elite status, it should reward those who do meet those spending thresholds with more than extra economy class seats and one upgrade per year…your move BA.