BA is changing frequent-flyer rules again — here’s what it means for you - The Times
British Airways is raising thresholds for its loyalty programme after previous changes meant airport lounges were too busy.
From April, the airline is making it harder for its customers to qualify for perks such as lounge access, priority boarding and free seat selection.
To reach the second-highest level, silver, flyers will need to earn 8,000 points within 12 months, up from 7,500 — an increase of 6.7 per cent. The threshold for gold will rise by 5 per cent, from 20,000 to 21,000. Blue, the entry-level tier, and bronze, which requires 3,500 points, will not change.
Passengers earn about one point for every £1 spent with BA. Crucially, that excludes non-airline taxes and fees, which on a standard short-haul economy flight account for about half the total cost.
In addition, BA’s points expire at the end of the 12 months from April 1. That is unlike Avios frequent-flyer miles, which do not expire unless you do not collect or use at least one in three years.
Rob Burgess, founder of business travel website Head for Points, said the BA scheme’s top tiers would now only be reached by those who “work for a big company which is happy to pay for you to travel in fully flexible business class”.
Burgess said: “It’s exceptionally difficult for a normal person to spend £7,500 before taxes and charges on BA each year to get silver — and I include small company owners like me in this — and these are the people who have genuine loyalty to the airline.
“Bankers going to New York on a £10,000 ticket might get silver status in one go, but it is not a frequent-flyer programme any more … it is a higher-spender programme.”
BA revamped its loyalty programme last year, awarding points based on spending rather than distance travelled and therefore making it harder to achieve the higher statuses.
After a backlash from frequent flyers, the airline introduced a bonus offer giving passengers more points per flight. However, it is understood that too many passengers achieved elite status, making some of the first-class and business-class lounges offered by the airline too busy.
The largest downgrades will be for first-class and business-class tickets. Customers who were able to earn up to 1,250 extra points per booking for the most flexible first-class long-haul flight will instead get 900, a fall of almost a third. A standard ticket in the Club World business-class cabin will earn 60 per cent fewer extra points, down from 500 to 200.
Bookings made by November 25 for travel before April 1 will earn bonus points at existing rates.
BA said: “Our loyalty programme has grown in the last 18 months, with more members than ever achieving tier status, and we expect this to continue. As a result, like other loyalty programmes we’re updating our thresholds so that we can recognise our most loyal customers and ensure the benefits associated with each tier, such as lounge access, continue to deliver the high-quality experience our members should rightly expect.”
