How long does my British Airways status last for?

Different airlines have different approaches with how long they let you keep status when you earn it.  In this article, I want to look at how long your British Airways Executive Club status lasts after you earn it.

The length of your membership period is the same, regardless of whether you’re Bronze, Silver or Gold status. Blue membership is the base tier and therefore cannot expire.

The length of your elite status depends on when you achieved it. However, you are guaranteed at least a year of usage, with many people managing to get 18-23 months or more.

This is because your status lasts for:

• the remaining time in your current membership year, PLUS

• the entirety of the following membership year, PLUS

• a small 7-8 week stub period 

For example, if your membership year ends in June, but you achieve Silver status in January, you can enjoy all the benefits of Silver during the rest of your current membership to to June, as well as another year after that until the following June, and then a few additional weeks until your card expires – even if you earn no more tier points.

Change is coming in 2025

From 1st April 2025, British Airways is moving all Executive Club members to the same membership year – 1st April to 31st March.

There are complex transitional arrangements in place before that date which I outlined here and which change how long you will have status.

Once we get past 1st April 2025 the old rules above will be back in place, with one exception. The ‘stub period’ will be cut to one month, with all membership cards expiring on 31st April for those who do not requalify.

What happens if you don’t renew your British Airways Executive Club status tier?

If you do not earn enough tier points to renew your status, you will get a ‘soft landing’ to the tier below.  This article explains how British Airways soft landings work.  If you are very near to achieving or renewing status at your year end, this article explains how to get a 2-week extension to your British Airways membership year.

Of course, you may find yourself crossing two tiers in one membership year. In that case, the same rules apply – and you will enjoy the highest tier earned for the remainder of your time. You can read more about the different tiers of British Airways Executive Club here.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works.  You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 2.5 million monthly page views.  Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios?  Click here to read our latest news stories and click here to join the mailing list for our weekly or daily email newsletters.)

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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:

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

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.

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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

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.

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