Why are BA tier points not being given on fully flexible American Airlines tickets?

Two readers have been in touch this week to point out something strange with the American Airlines earning table when you credit your flights to British Airways Executive Club.

Here is an example taken from ba.com from the London to New York route, although the same applies to other routes too:

As you can, the screenshot shows zero tier points earned if you have a fully flexible Business Class or First Class ticket.

When I was first shown this, I assumed it was an error. (Yes, I know, we all thought BA’s IT was infallible.)

However, the second reader had actually taken a flight in fully flexible Business Class, and sent me a screenshot from his BAEC account:

In this case, he had flown on Finnair but it was booked under the American Airlines flight code.

As you can clearly see, he was in ‘D’ class (fully flexible Business Class) which earned Avios but no tier points.

This is totally bizarre and makes no sense. I am still convinced that it is a BA IT error, but potentially a deeper problem than just a display error in the BA tier point calculator.

This issue will hopefully get fixed and reverse itself automatically, but for now you should keen an eye on your BA account if flying on fully flexible American Airlines tickets.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2023)

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.

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.

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.