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British Airways extends Executive Club elite status by 12 months, reduces tier point targets

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British Airways Executive Club has announced that it is extending the elite status of all members by 12 months.

In addition, it is reducing the number of tier points you will need to retain your membership for the following year by 25%.

This is good news.  To be honest, I think that most people had decided that British Airways was not going to bother – especially as it will need to restrict airport lounge numbers going forward – but it is good that they have.

British Airways Executive Club status cards

How will the British Airways status extension work?

Full details are on this page of the British Airways website.

Because of the complex way that British Airways operates, with each member having a different membership year end date of the 8th of a particular month, it was never going to be easy to keep everyone happy.

I think that most people will be satisfied but it is clear that some people will feel aggrieved.

This is how the BA status extension works:

Your current membership tier will be extended by 12 months, for memberships renewing between 8th July 2020 and 8th June 2021.

Extensions will show in your British Airways account within the next two weeks.

And you mentioned reduced tier points?

Yes.

After your extension, you will be able to requalify for the subsequent year for 25% fewer tier points than are normally required.

This means that British Airways Bronze status will require 225 tier points (was 300 points), Silver status will require 450 tier points (was 600 tier points) and Gold status will require 1,125 tier points (was 1,500).

If you qualify by segments, Bronze will require 18 one-way cash flights and Silver will require 37.

Similar drops apply to Gold Guest List and the sub-tiers inside Gold Guest List.

The reduced tier point thresholds apply to all membership years which expire up to, and including, 8th July 2022.

When I first heard about this, I went back to BA with a few questions.  Here is my understanding of how it will work but please don’t take any specific action without additional confirmation:

I am already above the reduced tier point threshold.  Will I be promoted immediately?

Yes.

For example, if you are currently on 250 tier points with a membership year ending on 8th August, you will be promoted to Bronze as soon as British Airways pushes these changes through its system in the next couple of weeks.

British Airways is extending your elite status by 12 months

I gained a new status in my current membership year, so I already have it for next year regardless.  Do I get an additional extension?

Yes.

For example …. if your year-end is 8th September 2020 and you qualified for Silver status in February 2020, you already have Silver status until 31st October 2021.  This will be extended to 31st October 2022.

However, you would need to earn the FULL 600 tier points between 9th September 2021 and 8th September 2022 to retain your Silver status for 2023.  The lower tier point thresholds only apply to membership years which end on or before 8th July 2022.

I have already requalified for my current tier. Do I get a further extension?

No.

For example, you are Silver and your year expires on 8th September.  You already have 600 tier points to renew until 31st October 2021.  You do not receive a further extension.

I have an 8th June year-end and did not requalify for status.  However, I won’t drop down a level until 31st July 2020.  Do I keep my old tier?

No.  You will drop down a tier.  However, your new lower tier will be rolled over.

For example …. if your year-end was 8th June 2020 and you failed to retain Gold, you will still drop to Silver on 31st July.  However, your Silver status will last for two years instead of one year.

My year-end was 8th March / 8th April / 8th May and I failed to retain status due to reduced flying.  Can I have my old tier back?

No.  However, you will retain your ‘soft landing’ tier (Silver if Gold, Bronze if Silver) for two years instead of one year.

I am not a member of British Airways Executive Club at the moment.  Can I join and benefit from the reduced tier point threshold in my first year?

Yes.  You would only need 225 tier points for Bronze, 450 tier points for Silver and 1125 tier points for Gold.

The new reduced tier point thresholds will apply to all membership years which end up to 8th July 2022.

I am a BAEC member but have no British Airways status at the moment.  Do I still benefit from the reduced tier point threshold?

Yes.

If you are a Blue member and reach the reduced qualification requirements (225 tier points) for Bronze status before your next tier point collection end date, your membership will be upgraded to Bronze for the remainder of your tier point collection year, and the year after.  These are the normal rules, albeit at the reduced qualification thresholds.

The reduced thresholds will also apply to your next membership year too, as long as it ends on or before 8th July 2022.

Is the requirement to fly a minimum number of British Airways segments still suspended?

No.  This rule is back on the books.

To earn or renew Bronze status you will need to earn 225 tier points plus fly at least two British Airways one-way flights for cash.  To earn or renew Silver or Gold status will require the requisite number of tier points plus flying at least four British Airways one-way flights for cash.

Conclusion

This is a very aggressive move by British Airways and goes further than anyone realistically expected.

Not only do you get an additional year of elite status – which admittedly most other major airlines have already put in place – but you will have a reduced tier point threshold to renew it.  If you believe that your flying pattern will be back to normal by late 2021 / early 2022 then you may well be able to reach a status level which you have not managed before.

You can find out more on ba.com here.

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Comments (441)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • David says:
    12 Jun12 June 09:44

    Just to clarify my understanding for a Blue member with TP collection year ending say 8th Mar 2021. The extension is clearly irrelevant, but the reduced TP thresholds are not:

    If it were possible to obtain 1125 tier points between 9/3/21 and 8/3/22 (i.e. NOT current year, but to ideally collect the TPs as early as possible ‘next’ year), and then no further TPs afterwards, then this would result in:

    Gold Status until 30/4/22 (Card Expiry Date);
    Gold Status until 30/4/23 (Standard year at same tier after qualification);
    Silver Status until 30/4/24 (Soft Landing);
    Bronze Status until 30/4/25 (2nd Soft Landing).

    Is this correct? If so, and only if circumstances permit, then this may well be worth trying for!

    • Rhys says:
      12 Jun12 June 09:48

      If you haven’t got an extension right now (which you won’t, as blue) then I believe the reduced tier threshold only applies to your next renewal, ie. March 2021.

      • David says:
        12 Jun12 June 12:59

        OK, but you do say in the article:

        “The reduced tier point thresholds apply to all membership years which expire up to, and including, 8th July 2022.”

        I didn’t receive an email, nor is it tremendously clear to me from BA’s website which says ‘It will be easier to retain your status next time you’re up for renewal’ (i.e. what happens if you don’t have any current status to renew), so it would be good if this could be clarified and no doubt other readers may be interested in this as well.

        • Rhys says:
          12 Jun12 June 13:01

          Yes, my understanding is that the reduced threshold applies on the next renewal date after an extension. Since you don’t have status, that would suggest your next renewal.

          • David says:
            12 Jun12 June 14:08

            OK thanks for this. Time will tell if this will be achievable but we’ll see.

        • Rob says:
          12 Jun12 June 14:13

          It’s in my Q&A – if you don’t have status, you can start earning immediately on the lower thresholds.

  • mr_jetlag says:
    12 Jun12 June 10:03

    Lots of confusion but it’s understandable given the TP year system is a confusing mess. Now,

    my collection year ends Nov 2020 (Card expiry Dec 20). I have 1350 TP right now. Do I:

    1. Get current Gold status “extended” until Dec 2021, then (by virtue of TP already collected) qualify for Gold till Dec 22?

    2. Get current Gold status renewed until Dec 2021, but collection year resets and I have to collect 1125 TP from Nov 20 – Dec 21 to requalify for Gold?

    This makes a huge difference in spending patterns next year so would love a definite answer.

  • Daniel says:
    12 Jun12 June 10:08

    So i wanted to confirm my status…. I currently have 500 Tier Points which is due to expire on 8th July 2020. I am currently bronze but failed to get silver status, does that mean with the reduced tier points required (450) i will now qualify as silver before my year end on 8th July 2020 and remain silver for 1 year until July 2021 and then dependent if i can maintain silver?

    • Rhys says:
      12 Jun12 June 10:15

      Yes, that’s my understanding

      • EJH says:
        12 Jun12 June 11:03

        If one’s year end is Jul 20, does the discounted TP requirement run through the period from now to Jul 21 – so effectively you have two chances to qualify for status at the discounted TP requirement? Thanks.

        • Rob says:
          12 Jun12 June 11:15

          It does read like that. This is not BA’s intention but I think it might work.

  • Al says:
    12 Jun12 June 10:19

    I gained a new status in my current membership year, so I already have it for next year regardless. Do I get an additional extension?

    Yes.

    For example …. if your year-end is 8th September 2020 and you qualified for Silver status in February 2020, you already have Silver status until 31st October 2021. This will be extended to 31st October 2022.

    However, you would need to earn the FULL 600 tier points between 9th September 2021 and 8th September 2022 to retain your Silver status for 2023. The lower tier point thresholds only apply to membership years which end on or before 8th July 2022.

    I have already requalified for my current tier. Do I get a further extension?

    No.

    For example, you are Silver and your year expires on 8th September. You already have 600 tier points to renew until 31st October 2021. You do not receive a further extension.

    Aren’t these the same? Confused. My year end is 8th October. I qualified for Silver (for first time) with 600 TP in March, my current card expiry is 30 Nov 21. Will this be extended to 30 Nov 22?

    • Rhys says:
      12 Jun12 June 10:23

      No – the extensions are being applied in the next few weeks. That means the status you currently have is being extended – not the status you might have in 6 months time.

      If you are Silver now, and your year end is September, you will get extended until 2022.
      If you are Bronze now, and your year end is September, your bronze status will be extended now. If you have enough tier points for Silver (450 under the reduced threshold) you will then attain Silver, but without an extension – it will run under the usual process.

      • Rob says:
        12 Jun12 June 10:51

        This is confusing though. Some people will assume that BA extends ON THEIR RENEWAL DATE and so if they increase status before then, they get another year at the higher level.

        In reality it seems it is based on what you have now.

        • Al says:
          12 Jun12 June 11:21

          Ok, so as i already have 600TP and am Silver now and for the rest of this year, and for next, my status should be further extended to 30th November 2022 then. Lets see what happens in the next couple of weeks once its all been processed..!

  • Gary says:
    12 Jun12 June 10:20

    I am pretty chuffed with this. 2020 was the year I was going to make GGL, My year ends in Jan and by mid March I would have had 1560 TP’s, and would have just about got to 5000 for GGL.
    Does anyone know if the 5,000 TP’s required for GGL will reduce by 25%?

    • Rhys says:
      12 Jun12 June 10:25

      Yes, all tiers and subtiers are set to reduce by 25%

      • Matthew says:
        12 Jun12 June 13:22

        Rhys, could you share where it mentions the GGL threshold will also be reduced by 25%?

        The BA page just says the following:

        “This results in lower Tier qualification thresholds, as shown below:

        Bronze: 225 Tier Points or 18 eligible flights
        Silver: 450 Tier Points or 37 eligible flights
        Gold: 1125 Tier Points”

        It doesn’t mention GGL – if in fact the GGL threshold will be 25% less then I would be quite tempted. 🙂

  • Dawn says:
    12 Jun12 June 10:34

    I dropped to blue but have managed to get 600 Tier points this year and need 1 flight for Bronze which I have booked but the flights keep getting cancelled. My year end is Oct 8th. I was expecting to do the 3 flights before October but if I can’t due to them being cancelled/restrictions still in place, will I lose all my points and have to start again?

    • AJA says:
      12 Jun12 June 10:36

      Yes all your TP will reset to zero on 9th of Oct
      I would book a couple of cheap UK only flights,.

      • AJA says:
        13 Jun13 June 14:29

        @LL I agree with you some short haul European destinations can be very cheap. My recommendation for doing UK only was to avoid any issues with quarantine etc. Dawn doesn’t need any more TP as she already has 600TP which would have given her Silver status before the newly reduced requirement. I had a look at ITA Matrix and a day return LON-MAN or LON-INV or LON-JER in September seem to cost about £105 to £127 I think two day return flights costing £250 in total to gain Silver status is worth it. YMMV

    • Rhys says:
      12 Jun12 June 10:38

      600 tier points normally means Silver – unless you don’t have the minimum 4 BA sectors?

      But yes, this announcement doesn’t affect membership years and tier collection, so your tier points will reset to zero on your membership anniversary as they do every year.

      • Dawn says:
        12 Jun12 June 11:32

        I need just 3 sectors which I had booked for May and also 1 Oct. I did ask the lady at BA recently what would happen and she said they had been giving people the upgraded status when they could see that they had tried to fly but weren’t able to – like in my case. Hopefully I’ll be able to still do the trips before October.

        • JRich says:
          12 Jun12 June 19:51

          Hi Dawn,

          I advise you to call in now and politely ask to be upgraded to silver based on your cancellations. That way if it is processed before they do the extensions you’ll likely get another year of silver for free. Hope you can get it!

  • DavidB says:
    12 Jun12 June 11:27

    I’m still confused by your explanation. I did get the email so assume my new Gold year end will be July 2022. My qualifying end is June 8th. I requalified back in November with 1500+ (but short of 2500 due to C-19) so immediately had my Gold benefit year show as July 2021. From one of your Q&As it would appear I don’t get that extra year after all.

  • Ricardo says:
    12 Jun12 June 12:23

    the new BAEC policy is a bit unfair for those who renews in July.
    This is my situation.

    From July Last year to March I have accumulated 220 points. in March they announced the upgrade to Bronze will have a 30% reduction in the required 300 points taking it to 210, this would meant I would have met the criteria if my renewal was in Apirl, May or June.

    This new announcement is only 25% reduction, which means the points required is now 225 to progress from Blue to Bronze. I am 5 points under. I have had a shorter period to accumulate the new required points than those who renew in April, May or June, but we have been in lock down since March.. to add to the insult, I called BA and got put through to someone is South Africa and then the India call centre and spoke to Aditya. I explained the situation and his remarks was that I should book another flight before July!!! “Where to?” and he then palmed me of by asking me to call customer relations on 03444930787.. this is such poor customer service from BA.

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