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Check-in changes for British Airways Executive Club Bronze members

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When Gatwick Airport reopened the South Terminal a few weeks ago, British Airways took the opportunity to introduce a dedicated World Traveller Plus check-in desk.

The same thing has recently happened at Heathrow Terminal 5. I’m not sure about Terminal 3.

Whilst this has not been widely publicised, British Airways has changed the check-in rules at Heathrow and Gatwick.

Check-in changes for British Airways Bronze members

If you have Bronze status in British Airways Executive Club, you should now check-in at the dedicated World Traveller Plus desks. These can be found in Zone C.

Whilst the signage in Gatwick and Terminal 5 reflects this, ba.com has not yet been updated.

Oddly, this move seems to break oneworld rules. This page of the oneworld alliance website says that ‘oneworld Ruby’ members, which is what BA Bronze is equivalent to, can use business class check-in desks.

Bronze members shouldn’t necessarily see this as a downgrade. I can imagine that a dedicated World Traveller Plus / Bronze area could be quieter than the dedicated Business Class / Silver area.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

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

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

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.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

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.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

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.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

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

Comments (57)

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

  • ianM says:

    Pride tickets sold out so not that pricey to put people off

    • Rob says:

      Hilton emailed their UK members about it yesterday so they clearly going to find five people. Looks like three pairs went to HfP readers as they had gone before the Hilton email went.

      It’s actually a good job our readers didn’t take them all or Hilton would have had to scrap its mailout!

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

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