Will you be getting Avios and tier points if your flight was impacted by the British Airways strike?

When I updated our article on the British Airways pilot strike on Monday, I said that you should ensure that British Airways credits you with the Avios and Executive Club tier points you would have received, had your flight not been cancelled or transferred to a non-oneworld carrier.

I wasn’t expecting this to be controversial:

It is British Airways policy that, if you are moved to a non-oneworld carrier for operational reasons, you receive the Avios and tier points you would otherwise have received.

In previous cabin crew strikes, British Airways has – automatically – credited members who were disrupted with the Avios and tier points they were due.  I should know, as it happened to me once.

Here is the relevant line from the BAEC terms and conditions:

14.6. Where a Member is involuntarily re-routed by British Airways onto another carrier, and the original flight on which the Member was booked would have qualified for Avios points, the Member may still claim such Avios points online at Ba.com. British Airways will endeavour to ensure the Member’s account is credited with the appropriate Avios points however it may be necessary for details of the Member’s itinerary, including the retained segment of the boarding pass and passenger receipts to be sent to the Member’s Local Service Centre in order to claim any Avios points credit.

It all seems relatively clear.  Tier points are not specifically mentioned but Avios and tier points always come together in these cases.

However, I had a number of emails on Monday and Tuesday from readers who had been told by the British Airways call centre that they were not going to receive anything, having been rerouted on non-oneworld airlines.

I decided to have a dig.  Without going into the details, British Airways gave me a statement which I wasn’t particularly happy with.  I made this clear and, to give them credit, they asked for 24 hours to have a think.  I then got a new statement.

Here is the current British Airways position on earning Avios and tier points if your flights were disrupted by the strike this week:

If you were moved to another carrier, British Airways has confirmed to me that you WILL now receive the Avios and tier points you were due.  If you were moved to a oneworld airline then you will have received Avios and tier points from them and BA probably does not owe you anything, unless you feel you got less than you would otherwise.  If you got moved to a non-oneworld airline then obviously BA owes you the full Avios and tier points you would otherwise have received.

If you chose to take a refund from British Airways, you will not receive anything.  This is irrespective of whether you rebooked for cash yourself or chose not to travel at all.

It is possible that we may see some further movement from BA on the second point.  Over the initial weekend following the announcement of the strike, BA did not have many alternative airlines available for rebooking.  Many people will have felt obliged to take the cash and find their own replacement flights. 

If you are in this category, I would leave it a couple of weeks to see what develops but then – if you did rebook with your own money – submit a claim together with proof that you really did fly.

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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.