British Airways rolls over tier status for On Business members, but won’t protect points

On Business is the British Airways loyalty scheme for small businesses.

British Airways On Business allows the company booking your travel – which can be your own company if you are self employed – to earn additional points on top of the Avios and tier points earned by the traveller.

You can find out more about On Business on the BA website here.

However, you’ll learn more by reading our comprehensive review of British Airways On Business here.  There is also a referral code in that article to get you a bonus on your first flight.

On Business was gutted in a shake-up a few years ago.  Even British Airways admits that this went too far and a relaunch is currently in development.  You need to spend £30,000 per year with British Airways to reach the first elite tier in the scheme, which is out of reach for the majority of SMEs.

How is British Airways helping On Business members due to coronavirus?

On Business status members received an email from British Airways yesterday.  Non-status members don’t seem to have received anything.

The good news is that On Business is rolling over tier status to 2021.  This will come as a surprise to British Airways Executive Club members, who are now virtually the only elite frequent flyers in the world not to have received an automatic status roll-over.

A status roll-over only helps a very small percentage of On Business members, however, because the spend required to earn status is high.

The bad news is that On Business is not stopping your points expiring.

Unlike the Executive Club, On Business points have a hard expiry date.  There is nothing you can do, even with On Business elite status, to stop them expiring after three years.

I fully appreciate that it is only April, so the points will not expire for eight months anyway.  I also appreciate that you only need to book by 31st December 2020, with travel possible in 2021.  However, if British Airways is willing to roll over status for a year, it should also be willing to roll over your On Business points for a year.

What is the position with cancelling On Business redemptions?

If you have an On Business redemption flight booked, the situation is the same as for an Avios booking.

If you are willing to take the hybrid ‘points and cash’ voucher – which I don’t recommend – then you can order it online.  If you want your taxes refunding in cash and the On Business points putting back into your account, you need to brave the call centre queue.

What is NOT clear is what happens if you need to cancel a redemption which was made using On Business points which expired on 31st December 2019.

(EDIT: Reader comments below are that cancelled flights mean your points are returned with an extended 2020 expiry date.)

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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.