BIG NEWS: BA moves to revenue-based tier status for Bronze, Silver, Gold and Gold Guest List

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• BrancasterLancaster says:

  31 Dec31 December 09:03

  As others have pointed out – their club, their rules and I can see the positives (for them). A revenue-based system will stop people being able to game the system – and I’m sorry, but that’s what “tier point runs” are. Are you truly a loyal, frequent flyer with an airline if all you’re doing is exploiting loopholes? It will also thin the herd. This is an extreme way of doing that, but it will reduce the number of elites.

  That being said, overall I think these changes are pretty short-sighted and might come back to bite BA’s behind. Revenue based status is fine, but the thresholds and earning rates are absurd. It’s like they looked across the pond and lifted the model without thinking about whether it needed adapting to meet local conditions.

  I’m someone who naturally hits silver, sometimes gold, through business (small business owner) and leisure travel. These tiers are now totally out of reach for me. So, as many others in these comments have said, why should I stay loyal? Well, I simply won’t – I’ll be choosing my airline in the way I chose everything else. And based on price and quality of product I’m afraid BA doesn’t come out on top all that often.

  I doubt we’ll see a reversal of this, a la “Brunch”, but looking into my crystal ball I can imagine that in a couple of years we’ll start seeing changes/promotions to try to entice those like me back into the fold.

  • TracyTangerine says:

    31 Dec31 December 09:39

    I completely agree – I get that they probably needed to change the system, the lounges were jammed full – the first lounge latterly and so they probably had to address how to reduce the gold card members especially. But the earning rates are absurd as you say – the difference between silver and gold seems pretty extreme. I’m also a small business owner who definitely chose BA over other airlines to get tier points when I probably had better (and possibly cheaper) business options with other airlines.

    There’s no chance of me spending £20k a year on flights and so like you I’ll be making choices based on quality and value for money especially when I go long haul which I plan to a few times this coming year.

    Think they will find they’ve shot themselves in the foot with this as next year or 2’s booking unfolds.

    But as someone who has been teetering on the brink of not being able to make gold or silver the last few years, weirdly it’s perhaps going to be a relief not to be chasing tier points all the time and shopping around instead.

• andy says:

  31 Dec31 December 09:13

  i actually like the new rules. it will re-introduce the ‘status’ feel of the program. The program has turned into a bit of a charade now. everyone with a heartbeat has a lounge access. Try getting into the BA lounge at T5 at peak times 6am. It is so crowded. Same with the fast track security. It has now turned from something ‘exclusive’ to something that everyone has.

  On more routine flights in the uk, half the plane is gold card holders. There is no premium feel at all for anyone silver and lower.

  So to that end, as someone else said, their game their tier points. If you do not like it take the money elsewhere. I suspect over time it will either allow BA to spend more on improving the existing premium offering for the ones that do have status (less likely) or allow them to not downgrade the existing offering further (more likely). Nothing premium in egg mayo sandwich at the BA lounges in Edinburgh for example

  • Dubious says:

    31 Dec31 December 09:26

    Fair point, however I question what has driven the influx of status holders in recent years? Was it due to the BAH type arrangement? If so why not simply rollback on that?

    As an outsider (I gave up on the Executive Club a few years ago) this feels like it’s ‘throwing the baby out with the bath water’.

  • John says:

    31 Dec31 December 09:30

    Don’t be fooled. BA aren’t going to be enhancing anything. You thinking caviar and top class food and drink is the model going forward. This is all cost cutting – you think BA haven’t spent thousands of hours modelling and approving this value engineering exercise. The only thing they can’t control is the hordes of folk from US who get status with CC spend. The smaller lounges of the future will be more packed than ever.

  • DD says:

    31 Dec31 December 09:41

    I agree. I’ve never gamed the system or taken flights for tier point runs. For the first time, with the 2500 points from the BAPP, and booking 2-3 city breaks through BA Holidays each year (which in my experience is always cheaper than EasyJet and Jet2 by at least £150) for the first time I will get Bronze. It’s absolutely ridiculous to see the majority of these comments from disgruntled Gold members who are annoyed they can no longer retain Gold for c. £3500! BA is not a charity – who can honestly say this was fair and reasonable? My CEO pays sometimes £12-£16k for last minute return First flights and he is GGL – why should he be in a similar category to someone paying relative peanuts to retain status? Of course it should be based on spend. Spend the money and you’ll get your status. Also I find all the comments about going elsewhere silly… who else will people fly with which covers the entire world directly from the UK? You wouldn’t want to transit through the US – you have to collect your bags and pass immigration – it’s not smooth in the slightest.

    • Jonathan says:

      31 Dec31 December 11:08

      I agree with you, why should someone who buys a fully flexible ticket be earning the exact same status points as someone who’s bought a dirt cheap Business class ticket (or even first) ?!
      Economy fares have already been like this for many years now, fully flexible earn more than the very cheapest, and there’s even a middle ground between the two earning areas as well !

      BA’s route network is one of the strongest in the world, but some parts of the world are just nearly impossible, mainly due to competition from more local carriers, but also just how far away they are. The ME3 carriers and TK have some of the strongest networks by a long shot, plus they all guarantee a great on board experience, unlike BA’s intra and extended Europe offering…

• TomB says:

  31 Dec31 December 09:17

  On reflection, even though I lose out from this as someone who puts economy work flights through BA because of the status perks, I can see why they’ve done it and have mixed feelings.

  – The lounges are overcrowded, but when travelling economy, it doesn’t bother me that much. However, when I’ve paid for my own flights in premium cabins, it does annoy me, and I can see why people would avoid BA for this reason.
  – I am just as annoyed as everyone else, but come on, “I’ll just use Priority Pass instead” – we all know these lounges are absolutely horrific. Indeed, one of the biggest disappointments of BA/OW status is finding out there is no dedicated lounge and having to share with one that has PP access. Honestly, I would rather just go and use a nice bar or restaurant in the airport than use a PP lounge. I’m not trying to be a snob I’m just being honest, it’s not relaxing or a pleasant experience when you can’t even find somewhere to sit down.

  So overall, yes, I will lose out, and I’m disappointed. BA will also lose out on revenue from me as I will go with other carriers now – I’m sure they will make it back in other ways though. However, I do also see why they’ve done it, and ironically, by restoring exclusivity, it might make people more likely to choose BA for premium cabins in the long run. Also, we shouldn’t complain too much, because it looks like it will still be easy to accumulate avios and book reward flights AND I’m sure this community will find ways for people to get the status without spending £££ if they are determined.

• Maz says:

  31 Dec31 December 09:18

  Has it been confirmed officially @rob that there is no soft landing ? – I just achieved gold this year and will expire Dec 2025.

  • Jonathan says:

    31 Dec31 December 11:12

    He’s mentioned a number of pages back that it’s been confirmed by a BA employee called Nick, who’s high ranking within BA

    • Maz says:

      31 Dec31 December 11:29

      Ok so not officially then just word of mouth or speculation (albeit perhaps strong speculation) at this stage.

• TomB says:

  31 Dec31 December 09:18

  On reflection, even though I lose out from this as someone who puts economy work flights through BA because of the status perks, I can see why they’ve done it and have mixed feelings.

  The lounges are overcrowded, but when travelling economy, it doesn’t bother me that much. However, when I’ve paid for my own flights in premium cabins, it does annoy me, and I can see why people would avoid BA for this reason.

  I am just as annoyed as everyone else, but come on, “I’ll just use Priority Pass instead” – we all know these lounges are absolutely horrific. Indeed, one of the biggest disappointments of BA/OW status is finding out there is no dedicated lounge and having to share with one that has PP access. Honestly, I would rather just go and use a nice bar or restaurant in the airport than use a PP lounge. I’m not trying to be a snob I’m just being honest, it’s not relaxing or a pleasant experience when you can’t even find somewhere to sit down.

  So overall, yes, I will lose out, and I’m disappointed. BA will also lose out on revenue from me as I will go with other carriers now – I’m sure they will make it back in other ways though. However, I do also see why they’ve done it, and ironically, by restoring exclusivity, it might make people more likely to choose BA for premium cabins in the long run. Also, we shouldn’t complain too much, because it looks like it will still be easy to accumulate avios and book reward flights AND I’m sure this community will find ways for people to get the status without spending £££ if they are determined.

• Dubious says:

  31 Dec31 December 09:20

  Rob – I can’t keep up with all these comments. Are you able to put a digest through one of the AI tools to create a summary of the various reactions?

  • AJA says:

    31 Dec31 December 10:11

    A summary of the reactions is 3 or 4 people ok versus 1200 waving arms in the air and wailing bad BA and either cancelling flights or saying they’re never flying BA again.

  • Dim Sum says:

    31 Dec31 December 11:33

    Summary ?

    99% of people think its bad.

    1% think its great. But are likely biased because their flights are paid for by their employers and/or they have reached the lofty heights of GfL or GGLfL and so there’s a distinctive whiff of “I’m alright jack”.

• rosswill says:

  31 Dec31 December 09:20

  I look forward to reading an analysis of where to credit flights in the future for the most cost-effective route to maintain a certain level of FF status. Understandably this site is more rewards based than loyalty based writing but for me personally the two are linked at least to some degree. I’ve been earning around 2,000 TP with BA for the past 10 or more years and enjoyed free seat assignment in all cabins across one world plus when travelling PE or Y I value fast track, priority check-in and boarding and last of all lounge access. I frequently have a choice of which airline to choose and typically fly over 100,000 miles per year for both work and personal journeys yet won’t make anything like the £25k spend required to keep Gold with BA from April 26 when my current status expires. My first mid-haul with BA is 9th Jan and will have to think carefully about where best to credit this return journey and then which FF program will enable me to maintain some of the benefits I currently enjoy. I wonder if we will see some more status match offers over the coming months. I’m not one of those saying “I’ll never fly BA again” as it will always come down to schedule, availability and price (always has in fact) but I do think other carriers will see a lot more of my cash in the next few years and I’ll certainly be a lot less Oneworld focused going forwards.

• DC says:

  31 Dec31 December 09:30

  Having spent the past 24 hours digesting the news and reading all the comments, I’m torn by BAs decision.

  My emotional state of mind is angry with what they have done, simply as it appears their decision placed zero recognition of loyalty provided to them by their customers for the past decade(s) or so….Having been a member since 2001 I have regularly chosen BA over others due to being a BAEC member for instance.

  My rational state of mind however is now kicking in. Considering I never fly economy I will continue to receive all the “perks” but simply without status (seat allocation aside I guess)….and probably be able to enjoy said “perks” in a less crowded environment.

  Having said that my anger with this decision and lack of status moving forwards will mean I certainly look at other carriers, with price being a major factor on choosing my premium cabin option. This point alone, for me, is the risk BA are taking here as my status loyalty has now gone so unless they become competitive on price AND product, they are risking revenue earnings.

  • John says:

    31 Dec31 December 09:36

    When you have to spend £500 to sit together on a long haul flight – enjoy the perk !

    • DC says:

      31 Dec31 December 09:39

      Perk being written as “perk” to highlight the sarcasm of the quality of the “perks”…..

    • George says:

      31 Dec31 December 09:56

      You don’t have to pay it. There are other airlines available.

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