Two odd routes to oneworld status – pay £190 per month or match via airberlin or Lufthansa

Two slightly obscure alternatives have come up if you are looking to earn British Airways status.

To be honest, the easiest way to get Silver status in British Airways Executive Club – which is the one to aim for, because it gives lounge access and fast track security – is to take a Qatar Airways sale flight to Asia!

You can often pick up a ticket from Europe to Asia for around £1,000 in Business Class in a Qatar Airways sale. The flight would earn 560 tier points return due to the change of plane in Doha.  This is 90% of the points required (600) for a British Airways Executive Club Silver card, although you also need to have flown 4 British Airways one-way flights in your current membership year before you are promoted.  You also get a good holiday out of it too.

Here are the two alternatives which are currently available, one for the equivalent of BA Silver and the other for the equivalent of BA Bronze status:

Pay S7 £190 per month

You may never have heard of S7 Airlines.  It was formerly known as Siberia Airlines, which you have probably not heard of either.  The legal name is actually PJSC Siberia Airlines which also might not ring many bells.

However, S7 – with bases in Moscow and Novosibirsk in Siberia – is a Russian airline which has been a member of the oneworld alliance since 2010.

S7 has started to sell Gold status in its S7 Priority loyalty scheme for 15,000 roubles per month.   This works out at £190.

There is no minimum time commitment, which makes it interesting.

As per the oneworld alliance website here, S7 Priority Gold is equivalent to oneworld Sapphire.  This means that you would receive all of the benefits of a British Airways Executive Club Silver card, including lounge access.

In normal circumstances this would not be a good deal.  However, given that oneworld Sapphire members get free seat selection on British Airways, it could actually save you money.  It may work if you had a period where you had several long-haul flights and would also benefit from the additional baggage allowance and lounge access.

Whilst I doubt many readers will be jumping on this, details are on the S7 website here.

Get Finnair to match your Lufthansa Miles & More or airberlin status

This option is substantially easier – but only if you qualify.

Finnair is offering to match your status with airberlin or Lufthansa, but only up to Finnair Plus Silver.  Obviously airberlin was already a member of the oneworld alliance.  However, with the airline now in administration, it is only a matter of time before any status you have with them becomes worthless.

More interesting is that Finnair will also match your Lufthansa Miles & More status.

However …. Finnair Silver is only oneworld Ruby which means the equivalent of British Airways Bronze.  You will NOT receive lounge access when flying British Airways or any other oneworld airline.  You CAN however select seats on BA flights for free from seven days before departure, as well as use Priority Boarding and Business Class check-in desks (London City excluded).

If you currently have top-tier status with airberlin or Lufthansa, Finnair will give you a challenge to earn Finnair Gold.  This is not exactly generous though – you need to earn half of the annual number of status points, but have only six months to do it!  If you are UK based you are better off continuing to channel your flights through British Airways Executive Club.

If you want to claim your free Finnair Silver status from your airberlin or Lufthansa status, the application form is here.  There are no nationality or residency restrictions.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.