British Airways Executive Club Changes | The New Status Strategy in 2025
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- The British Airways Executive Club has made Gold and Silver Status a lot less attainable. What are the alternatives within Oneworld, and other airlines alliances such as SkyTeam and Star Alliance?
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Correction on the Qatar section; it’s 300 QPoints for Gold. Slightly affects the maths, and makes the Qatar scheme more favourable than stated in the video, but doesn’t change my conclusion that at least for me, needing to guarantee the minimum number of cash flights with Qatar each year might be a little too much hassle to be worth it.
The requirement is 4 segments, that’s one return flight per annum via Doha… I don’t know how anyone can consider that a problem
QR is good for EU Y class, usually 7 Qpoints and 14 in return. For 300 points, this is 21 trips, if do one EU-Asia J with Qatar (120 Qpoints), then you need only 13 EU return flight, which is not a lot.
Don’t forget that the £7500 spend to get silver could be actually nearer £8500 because certain fees and taxes aren’t included in the spend needed to get to silver
True, but only if booking flights separately. I pretty much always book cash flights as a BA holiday, and the full amount on those bookings earns 1 point per £, so if you do that the actual spending on flights will be much less than this
@charlesontravels How will you avoid the BAH TP split or are you collectively putting £15k through BAH each year?
Banking on the BAPP Amex bringing the spend required down to £5k. Very feasible we might spend £5k each (£10k collectively) per year as a household on BA hols. Won’t happen every year, but probably more often than not.
@michaelslattery9923 to be fair, some of those UK duties are high because (apparently) they’re designed to reduce the carbon footprint of flying. If taxes spend were included, it would be akin to allowing fines to be tax-deductible
@@ashwilliams999 if you believe that rubbish, climate may be changing but it’s not the catastrophe the elites would have you believe, it’s all about control and keeping us in our place. Why do you think elites around the world are getting upset because their beloved Governments are getting kicked out all over the place.
Idea for another oneworld airline loyalty program: Alaska Mileage Plan. You don’t have to fly their flights (mostly in/out of Seattle) to get status with them. And yes, they’re distance-based.
I'm platinum for life on AF/ skyteam, gold on Star Alliance and have been gold on BA for many years. Will be switching to Qatar which is a much better airline. Shame on BA, an overall medioccre expérience and now with hubris will lose many loyal customers.
Exactly Charles, as a Jersey man I can’t just dismiss BA they normally chuck the Jersey to LHR connection in at a decent rate! EasyJet are as expensive if not more!
I have flying blue gold and it's pretty decent (I travel a lot overseas for work and BA don't fly the route.) I use BA for companion vouchers. I took out the BA card, got the sign up bonus of 70,000, got the voucher , then cancel it. Then my other half gets a card, got 60,000 sign up and then the voucher, then cancelled. Then she took out the barclaycard avios + and got 25,000 avios. I have just taken out the Platinum card and the offer is 95,000 reward poinnts (1-1 into avios.) Then I will cancel the platinum and take out the BA amex again. That will be 250,000 avios earned in 2 1/2 years, just from sign up bonuses. Cash is king, but as you know, in rewards flight, avios are king. I don't really care about status levels, for me it's all about avios. Enjoyed your video.
I'm also currently Gold with Flying Blue, just below Platinum. I find it a very rewarding & beneficial programme.
You not worried about the cancellation of the cards so soon then applying for newer ones? Or do you keep them for a minimum amount of time
@azhalhalil9429There are no issues taking out a card, getting the benefits, cancelling and then taking it back out after the specified period. Remember, you can’t actually do anything wrong because Amex control your access to the cards. They have your records so they know when you previously held a particular Amex card. So absolutely nothing to worry about.
Since when can you use Avios points with KLM/Air France? I thought it was BA only?
How are you able to get the signup bonus back to back on different Amex? I thought the signup bonus is only for those who have not had an AMEX for 2 years?
I'm a silver (just) and do like it but I doubt I can afford £8k a year to keep it up. My friend who is a BA Gold For Liife says if he didn't have that - he would struggle £20k per year. He thinks BA have done this to stop what they think are "riff raff" "Tier Point Runners" eating up all their profits and getting lounge access that upsets their actual high spending flyers. Oh well. I get Priority Pass Lounge Access with my credit card so think that's about as luxury as I will get moving forward 🤣
@@AFXGuru I think your friend is right
It is interesting as most airlines earn a very large chunk of their income from Frequent Flyer programs, so BA could very much damage both their brand and their hip pocket with such a major change as people realise it just isn't worth their while anymore to spend to get to the higher tiers.
Reached the same conclusion. I’m just going to fly whichever airline gives me the best combination of quality (experience), convenience and cost for the destinations I’m flying to. No more defaulting to BA, even though I’d booked flights to lock in Gold till April 2027. I fly premium cabins on long haul, so the only real benefit of status is seat selection. That’s not worth £20,000 plus, or even £7,500.
I think that’s how your flight choice should be. As someone who never flies enough to achieve any form of status, it seems to me (and my apologies for my bluntness) that some people bleating on here that they’ll never fly with BA again are forgetting (1) that BA is often the only reasonable choice for some people and (2) a cottage industry has grown up educating people on how they can work the system and obtain maximum freebies from BA for minimum buck. Should we really be surprised that BA is keen to discourage all that? After all, why should flyers with economy seats get access to the lounge by virtue of status? I get why people are miffed but they should really be thankful that they’ve got away with tier point runs for so long.
I find it interesting that a lot of people based in the UK who would have pursued BA Gold under the old program have decided that BA Silver in the new program makes the most sense for them. I wonder if fewer people will book Club Europe going forward because it's no longer needed for tier points or if more people would book Club Europe because they no longer have status and want access to a lounge.
If you need more reasons to stick with BA rather than switch to KLM, OneWorld Sapphire is more valuable than SkyTeam Elite Plus because SkyTeam elites generally don't get extra legroom seats on partner airlines when flying in economy and SkyTeam tends to be more stingy with lounge access. For example, Flying Blue elites need to fly in a premium cabin to get access to the Virgin Atlantic lounge in Heathrow and do not get access to lounges on domestic Delta flights.
It all gives me a headache. I just can't be bothered anymore. I'm done with status. I'll simply take each flight on its individual merits from now on. I'll continue to collect Avios for long haul upgrades.
Seems like the best approach going forward!
Thanks for the video, generally have no interest in Ba Silver status or Oneworld Sapphire as generally always fly business anyway so get all the perks bar seat selection. I have just dropped down to ba silver from gold so have this for all my 2025 travels. Since I have no interest in BA silver and Ba Gold is unattainable now I will just use my avios for flights on BA/QR etc and when spending cash will be looking at best value/route/times etc. this may mean BA but I will not be actively choosing it like I have done in the past. If anything cash fares I’d rather go elsewhere given the changes as this has left a sour taste
My view completely. Was looking at a BA/Car holiday to the Caribbean today getting a car is like rocking horse s**t i just said to myself am done. Ordered the flight and the car separately. Like you I drop down to Silver so not an issue until next year but no loyalty now.
I flew Club Europe to Dublin for £150 return just before xmas in their October sale, so there are some good value flights. And as you say AVIOS is still a lucrative way of flying club europe/world and the 2 for 1 on the BA Amex still makes it a strong proposition. Just banked 8,000 AVIOS for purchasing travel insurance through BA Shopping portal for my mum who has multiple health conditions and not cheap cover for a few months in Asia.
I got fed up of the UK, so I got residency in Dubai. Now I'm fed up of BA, I am moving to QR. This makes sense as I do trips between the Middle East and UK. Plus, I can fly from a more local airport to me (BHX). QR also offer extra luggage allowance and lounge access at HIA on their Silver tier (oneworld Ruby) so is already appealing to me.
Good video Charles, looking forward to another, hopefully with more info like this and perhaps reviewing other airline options..
Really useful video, thanks. My wife & I are silver until April 26 so have a while before we have to worry about what to do. We’re like you in liking Avios & OneWorld so may look at Finnair. Qatar is good but don’t see any eastbound trips in the future other than our planned Singapore journey in September.
Virgin certainly missing a trick by not flying manchester to Dubai
I think your approach is very sensible. Most benefits make travel easier but not essential
I just booked my next flight on Star Alliance! After over 600 flights with BA during the last 9 years I will be avoiding BA.
Which Star Alliance airline are you going with?
@charlesontravels Lufthansa because that suits my travel needs best. The only disadvantage is North America but for the rest of Europe that will be a good fit.
The trip from the Midlands to a London airport and in some cases an overnight stay tended to boost the cost in gaining BA status. Not great for Western travel but the Qatar offering out of Birmingham to Doha makes a lot of sense in continuing to accrue One World points. A couple of Qatar economy flights in 2024 to Hanoi and from Bangkok weren’t great so I will need to look at the premium cabin options. I have quite a few Avios to spend and they seemed to go further with Qatar than BA.
Thanks for your thoughts.
I'm asking here because the didnt reply to my email. How does it work at a badic label. I'm travelling to New York in july and then to Spain in September. Could i get some avios from the first flighr to get a discount on the second?
And let's not forget the unreliability of BA. Last year, my brother and I booked four flights. His flight to Geneva? They lost his skiing equipment, taking half of his holiday to reunite him with it. The flight back? They cancelled it, pushing him onto a flight the next morning. He had to arrange his own accommodation. They quibbled about the bill, and his compensation took SEVEN months to arrive. My flights were OK. So, a 50% screw-up rate.
This year? I had four flights booked. My flights to/from Santorini in June have just been cancelled and moved to LHR. I took the option to cancel those and get a refund, booking replacements with EasyJet, and leaving me £110 out of pocket. Again, a 50% screw-up rate. And achieved in the first week of ....... January.
Hi again Charles-any thoughts on the sky blue status match and its perks? Thanks
Yeah, I think I’ll be doing the status match. I only currently have one upcoming SkyTeam flight, but KLM and Air France are decent options for me so I’ll probably be more likely to consider flying with more if I’ve got status, and £99 to get flying blue platinum for a year feels like a good deal
I know probably the weakest option but Aer lingus with Aer club have synergies with BA Executive Club but connections to the US very strong from Newcastle. Silver with aer club can be obtained with aer space tickets (euro business) and some US trips. Ba Avois can be moved aer club for rewards flights.
You think Virgin charges a lot for award flights? BA is awful. It makes redeeming Avios with BA next to pointless.
Never had an issue redeeming avios, especially with reward flight saver and a companion voucher.
Love the content, my home airports are MAN & LPL so mostly Ryan and EZ business class for me is 1D on either 😊
Good route network, not if you want to go to the Far East or Australia , they have only just started flights back to Bangkok and KL.
Very helpful video. I’m commenting in many about how sad, disappointed and the level of deviancy and gaslighting of BA. To think we are that stupid and we asked for the changes. So I also just looked at the flying blue club. And yep, found many regional (inc city London airport) - and in two return trips (2 stops - Lcy / ams / Paris / Malaga - 975 quid biz class - equals 90 points return. Do that twice, for just 1950 quid gives you flying blue gold which is SkyTeam elite plus - sliver equiv BA membership (one world sapphire).
And as you say, you’ve found for around 600 for 1 stop return - so 3 of these for gold.
Wonder if platinum flying blue that much better?!
Thanks, as a fellow Geordie, you’ve outlined what I was thinking. I’ve been BA Silver for a few years but will probably not be able to maintain it. I do wonder if club Europe prices might drop on regional and some European routes as demand just won’t be there.
I do also wonder if when things have settled, if we might see a return to TP bonuses for BA holidays if they lose to many status customers?
9:52: What's to stop you earning your Avios (credit card, BA store, Nectar, etc.) to your BA Club account but earning status via your Finnair account? Is there any reason they need to be the same? I can see the issue if you're travelling economy with a redemption and want your OW perks, but Avios aren't so good for that anyway normally (better to redeem for business where your status perks are minimised - the only one that I could see being an issue then is seat selection) and even then some BA long-haul flights could be booked through Finnair if you transferred your Avios over.
Absolutely nothing to stop you earning avios through those ways and still earning status through Finnair. My point at 9:52 wasn’t referring to avios, this is about the different ways to earn tier points (ie on BA you can earn tier points via the BA premium plus Amex, and on hotel/car hire spend through BA holidays). But if you don’t want to use that card and if you’re unlikely to spend much money with BA holidays, then Finnair or Qatar could be better options for status
Gold till April 26. So gonna burn some avios, and see what happens with the ba scheme over the next year. Before really deciding on what will happen with my oneworld.
Also matched to eurobonus last year when sas run the promotions so also how I like that.
I tried the eurobonus status match and they confirmed it would be completed, but still waiting for it to actually go through! I should really get round to chasing them on that!
Next worry is with these changes will the use of amex platinum sky rocket making those longues even worse for numbers....and amex changing the T and Cs
I could definitely see the t5 priority pass lounges getting busiers
Flying distance based to earn tier points is always cheaper than the method of flying combined with BA holidays.
If an individual is used to spend £7500 every year on travel, then sticking with BA makes sense is easier than flying even more.
But what if you switch to Qatar find the cheapest routes with OneWorld partners and then assign those tier points to Qatar ? Obviously, in addition to 2 round trips with Qatar Airways
Great video Charles, a complete overreaction by most people and they've got status way too cheap. Obtaining status should never be the main reason for flying although I will likely find it easy to achieve Silver status with the BA holiday option, in the past I've got some fantastic deals flying to the US and adding some hotels/car hire and it adds flexibility.
I like BA Euro Club for the lounges - don't have silver status at the moment
Here we go…! 🎉
Liked and Subscribed. I’m going with RJ
Thanks!
can you talk about Alaska airlines
BA had mediocre flight experience compared to Middle East or Asian airlines. It's not a big lost. Personally, I am happy with Star Alliance Gold. Just wished there were better credit cards to earn points for Singapore Airlines etc
Thanks for the mention.... Staying in the avios universe makes sense (if chasing status with anyone makes sense) so Qatar had turned my head.... I need to do more work but they seem to have a 12 monthly cycle (rather than being annual - the year resets when you achieve status) so all being equal its twice the costs of BA where you could snag it every 23 months.... And is it 150 and 300 for Gold, or just 300? You suggest that you need 450 although the Qatar website isn't clear!
It’s very possible I’ve misunderstood the Qatar website but I initially understood it as needing 150 for silver and then a further 300 to then upgrade to Gold. I also read somewhere else that it was 450 total needed, but now I can’t find where I read that and have found a few other points suggesting it’s just the 300 needed.
@charlesontravels It would seem to be an easy thing to make clear!!! I did look at hope around the Middle East - Kuwait to Oman via Doha for example - and they were quite lucrative actually.... Plus they book as First so you'd get time in the Al Safwa each way.... It wouldn't take too many days to scoop up enough points (a few more if its actually 450!!) and would be quite good fun I think.... But I think you'd have to do it every 12 months....
@@MattsPlanetthat sounds like it could make a very fun trip actually (plus an interesting video!), especially throwing in multiple trips to the al safwa lounge! Not sure I could justify it every 12 months, although it would be tempting…
As far as I understand it (and I may not...), it is cumulative. So if you start earning today (05/01/2025), and earn 150 QPs by 05/04/2025, you upgrade to Silver, at which point your 12 month status begins (05/04/2025-04/04/2026). If you earn an extra 150 QP by 05/07/2025, you become gold (05/07/2025-04/07/2026). To renew gold, you will need to earn 270 points between 05/07/2025-04/07/2026, or 540 points between 05/07/2025-04/07/2027. But of course there's the added 'complication' of having to fly QR metal (oh, what a drag...)
Is there any reason why you did mention Aer Lingus? Living in Northern Ireland it's a major provider
I didn’t consider them just because they’re not currently a member of Oneworld
Is soft landing confirmed to be honoured after the April 25?
No confirmation on that, and a few things to suggest it won’t exist. Thankfully for myself I’ve earned enough points this year and have enough lined up for next year to retain silver once my Gold expires, but unclear what will happen to others who haven’t requalified.
Really easy choice for me. Was going to do a gold run, 😂😱. I only fly bizz so I’m ok on the face of it I’m not at a disadvantage but I will fly EasyJet return from Belfast to Geneva twice, dropping 8 BA flights! They will realise this eventually.
I’m looking at Aer Lingus as I’m based in Ireland
Lets be honest. BA dont want people from normal walks of life getting gold or silver. This is all targeted at corporate companies. Im in the Midlands and BHX is a terrible airport. I will now ditch my amex ba card, and fly with whoever offers the best deal. Screw BA
I'm in a similar boat to you. The only real airline that operates from my local airport (Humberside) is KLM. I would never consider driving 3+ hours to Heathrow to catch a flight. The inconvenience is not worth it in my opinion. I'm already just below Platinum with Flying Blue after only paying for x2 full-price Business Class flights (Los Angeles & Seoul), plus a couple of trips in economy (NYC & some in Europe). I honestly think Gold is the sweet spot, as you don't really get many more benefits Platinum onwards. With Gold I have been able to use any Skyteam lounge, as long as I'm taking an Air France / KLM or partner airline flight on the same day. You can also bring x1 guest with you. They also have to be on the same flight as you. I only ever travel further if I can get a better deal flying Air France from Birmingham.
Royal Jordanian seems the easiest
Tier points via the BA Amex Premium card: so basically you need to get into debt to gain travel perks. Where did the world go to…
Just pay off the balance in full each month and use it as you would a debit card. No debt built up.
Great arms
What do you mean by you have silver until April 2027? Is it based on the soft landing system?
No, if soft landings stay around that would only cover me to April 26, but I have flights already booked for April 25-26 that will earn me silver, and the expiry of any status earned in that year would be April 27.
Come to QF. So Easy to earn status!
If I spend £7500 on a holiday for my family with BA does that automatically get me silver status?
It would need to work out at £7500 per person as the tier points are split equally.
No if there are more than one on the booking, what you can do is a holiday booking with flight and hotel for one person but the hotel room is big enough for two people or family etc. then you get all the tier points to yourself and book flights for the rest of your family separately
Oh dear lord BA have changed the game again…. ….Today 5th Feb check head for miles
I know, I saw, although doesn’t feel like much of a change that they’ve made
BA will abandon soft landings at some point after April 2025 so kiss goodbye to that 'perk' for 2027...enjoy it all why you can. I think we all need a re-boot and think about what we actually need rather than the fluffy stuff that status provides. Just saying....
All my Capital 1 points are now going Asian & Middle Eastern. Only way i make silver is if i use BA from LHR to HND businesses class & with Air China chargin only $2700 r/t its not happening B.A 😂
Will still stay loyal to avios due to qatar rather than virgin miles
Avios are still pretty useful right now, but I feel BA could well shift to dynamic pricing this year or next, so I’m getting pretty tentative about continuing to care about it.
Virgin status uploading...Not feeling the love from your airline? Match your status to our Flying Club Gold or Silver tier by Valentines Day, and be in with a chance to win a million points.
T&C's spend apply.
You’ve missed Qantas, which has a special partnership with Emirates whilst they don’t have avios it could be an option out of Newcastle
Main reason I wouldn’t use Qantas is that you need to fly at least 4 segments on Qantas. I’m very unlikely to do that every year. Plus I’d rather be earning more avios if flying a oneworld airline rather than a separate pool of Qantas points.
I fly somewhat regularly for work and earn my status that way, but with these changes its likely that I wont renew to Gold in 2026.
I have already hit over 1500TP in 2024, so should renew to Gold in April this year meaning that I would be fine for the year but would need to spend enough to get gold under the new scheme for 2026, which is unlikely.
What I might do is keep my BA account but fly Qatar more often because they seem to have the best partner TP earning potential, i.e. 50% of miles flown if in Business. LHR-DOH is 3260 miles one way, so a return flight would get 3260 TP, just on that trip, and not counting any onwards flight if I connected via Doha.
This obviously means a much longer flight with a connection, but if I am not in a hurry then I could potentially get to Silver in just one trip, e.g. LHR-DOH-CPT would earn me 7896 TP for about £3k return based on 50% of miles flown in business class.
I am gonna have to see how it pans out this year, but its fair to say that I just like everyone else am very upset about these daft new changes.
Seems like a solid strategy, and a lot could change between now and when your Gold status expires, so always a chance that other better options could be made more clear by then.
Great videos Charles, I really enjoy your content. I’m currently BA blue and use avios and premium BA Amex and companion vouchers to book BA business class rewards. I’ve got fed up paying nearly £100 a ticket to sit with my wife so before Christmas booked two June and July BA holidays (business) to Albania and Istanbul, I also got a business return to Lyon for a ski trip . I spend a lot on Amex so should easily qualify for the maximum teir points. I can’t work out whether that will push me up to silver now ? Save me paying seat selection!
@charlesontravels hopefully they don't get rid of the soft landing setup.
I was working towards getting my wife to Silver so that she could take one of our kids into a lounge and I could take the other, but these changes will make it really expensive and just not worth the effort.
Based out of the midlands, UK, it means the very frequent trip to LHR for trips to the US, with BA.
Travel to LHR, can be a pretty big expense (pro rata to the flight)… this may be a factor in which carrier I use moving forward
If I were you, I wouldn't even consider travelling to LHR. I would just fly from BHX with either KLM or Air France. Both airlines have great connections & routes in the US.
I've gone to flying blue, luckily I got the status match last year and have requalified for this year. Because of BA I've decided to go for ultimate platinum, as it's only 900 points, I'm lucky I kept the status. You didn't explain properly how you earn xp. If you're starting from the bottom you earn to the next level then it resets to zero then you start again for the next tier. I'm platinum as I say so I ONLY need 300 each year. When someone starting from the bottom needs nearly 600 I think. BA a have done me a massive favour and while the lounges are nowhere near as good as BA, the service is top notch (food is poor on board)
I only travel for fun so everything comes out of my pocket. I've got to pay more now but in disruption flying blue have been so much better than BA.
I’ve gone to flying blue as well. Do you fly enough specifically on AFKL to earn 900 UXP as opposed to standard XP on other sky team airlines? For me that would be tricky
@stupidknut2138 hi, it is tricky, platinum is good on its own. But you can earn more uxp's by flying short distances, I go Europe and get between 60-90 uxp per return, so do that and if you can get the 3 changes to get 90 it's 10 flights per year. But just to get 300 is good for platinum. If you don't have excess cash then stick with the 300 biz return flights.
Thanks! I think I’ll stick to FB platinum and pool the rest of my travels on star alliance from now on
@stupidknut2138 excellent idea.