What happens to my British Airways tier points at the end of my membership year?
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In this article I want to look at what happens to your British Airways Executive Club tier points at the end of your membership year.
If you’ve already read our guide about what British Airways tier points are, you’ll know that they are the way of tracking your elite status with British Airways.
The more tier points you have, the higher up the ladder you can climb and the more rewards are open to you, such as complimentary lounge access, seat selection and more.
It is impossible to spend tier points – they are not a reward currency like Avios – and, crucially, they are reset to zero at the end of your membership year. This is because elite status at British Airways is based on a year-to-year basis.
That means that you must surpass the minimum requirements for Bronze, Silver and Gold status within the year, before your tier points are reset. You will need to earn 300 tier points, as well as taking two one-way British Airways or Iberia cash flights, to earn the lowest level of elite status – Bronze.
It is possible to get a two week extension of your British Airways membership year if you are close to the next tier threshold as this article explains.
If you fail to earn enough British Airways tier points to retain your status, you will get a ‘soft landing’ which is explained here.
However, in addition to tier points, you will also see your lifetime tier points displayed on the Executive Club website. This is the cumulative balance of your tier points, and counts towards achieving British Airways lifetime status, which you can read more about here.
(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works. You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )
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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 2025)
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 Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Get 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
30,000 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
50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.
Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review
There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
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
50,000 points when you sign-up 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.
