How does the British Airways status extension for new parents work?

It seems that a lot of people don’t know that, since 2017, British Airways has offered a status extension for new mums and new dads.

I know people don’t know, because I mentioned it in passing in an article yesterday and received multiple emails from readers who had never heard of it, wanting more information.

This is partly our fault, because it turns out that we haven’t written about ‘new parent’ status extensions since 2017. Part of the reason is that BA suspended them during Covid, on the grounds that it was extending status for everyone anyway.

Let’s run through it again.

Whilst too late for us, this is a change that I was very pleased to see introduced. I saw my wife lose her British Airways status, twice, after we had our children and then having to restart as a Blue member after her maternity leave.

How does the British Airways status extension work?

You will be eligible to have your Bronze, Silver or Gold status in British Airways Executive Club extended following the birth or adoption of a baby.  This offer is valid for both parents.

You can see confirmation of what I’ve written on the relevant ‘status benefits’ page of ba.com. For example, Silver members can see it here.

Here’s the wording from the Silver page of ba.com:

You can apply to keep your British Airways Silver status if you’re planning to take maternity / paternity / adoption leave, even though you’ll be taking fewer flights during this time. Also, if you enrol your child as part of your household account we’ll welcome them with a gift of 1,000 Avios.

To extend the validity of your card for an additional period, all you need to do is send your documentation to us at baby@ba.com. Once we’ve verified your documents, we’ll send you an email confirming the renewal of your status and walk you through how to enrol your child into the Executive Club as part of a household account.

In terms of relevant documentation, BA means (from the Executive Club T&C):

Members will need to provide a letter from their doctor, a birth certificate or documentation relating to the adoption or paternity leave and send it to baby@ba.com. Members who are taking Shared Parental Leave can also apply, subject to providing the relevant documentation.

The other key points are:

• you can request an extension twice in any five year period (for different children, obviously)

• anyone who has complimentary British Airways status (eg has been gifted status by a Gold Guest List member) cannot receive an extension

• you will also receive 1,000 bonus Avios if you add your baby to a Household Account within six months of requesting the extension

• you will continue to earn Avios and tier points on whatever flying you do, and if you unexpectedly end up earning enough tier points to be promoted, this will still happen. Your extension to your previous tier will end at that point.

PS. Virgin Atlantic offers a similar benefit, although it isn’t explained in detail anywhere on their website. This is all I can find:

If you’re having a little one we will cover any Tier Points that are outstanding to renew your status from the date of when your parental / adoption leave starts. Just get in touch with us.

(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. )

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 2.6 million monthly page views.  Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios?  Click here to read our latest news stories and click here to join the mailing list for our weekly or daily email newsletters.)

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 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.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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