Too little, too late? British Airways backtracks on sector based tier qualification

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• RC says:

  7 Feb7 February 16:14

  Meanwhile in a different universe Gilbert ‘Alex Cruz was snazzy’ Ott still as delusional as Lacy and Lamming seem to be.

  What I find odd is how BA released this via the press. Nowhere have I had any communication. Extraordinary arrogance to tell journalists before your own customers. Just very bad form. When in a hole, stop digging. But nah, BA just amplifies the two fingers.

  Now I know many think almost everyone else is spending £000s extra to get a silver card. In reality, it has been that a fare £20-30 higher on short haul is ok. If you get silver and an assignment of a seat for free. Now for many, loose that and not only does the base fare need to be lower, but the incentive to look elsewhere has gone. Thats what BA doesn’t get. Their product is often late, invariably filthy, and delivered by inexperienced crews where usually the aircraft is older than they are. Without the sticking plaster of potential silver to balance away these negatives there’s no cost to switching. And that’s exactly what many London based friends and colleagues are doing.
  Also interesting to see that AF and Lufthansa will NOT be following BA. One suspects BA arrogantly thought they would. It’s hard to put in print the derision with which the other two big European airlines view BA’s present day ‘management’.

  • Alison says:

    7 Feb7 February 19:42

    I thought I must have been the only ‘Billy Nomates’ who hadn’t received an email about the changes despite having been a BAEC member since 1997 so good to know I’m not alone….. on the other hand first thing this morning I got a personalised email offering me 10,000 avios if I book a cruise with BA’s cruise partner Royal Caribbean. This just illustrates that BA as a brand has no idea what their ‘purpose’ is, who their existing/target customer profile is (I’ve never been on a cruise in my life) or the poor timing of sending a poorly executed cross sell mailshot just at the moment when they’ve peed me off even more with their announcement.

  • John says:

    8 Feb8 February 06:17

    They will be following BA just as soon as everyone has switched from BA to them, but maybe they will have learned from BAs screw ups and not make it as bad as it could be

    • RC says:

      8 Feb8 February 07:11

      Lufthansa tried it, and reversed. So it isn’t going to be happening,

• Novice says:

  7 Feb7 February 18:02

  I understand there were benefits of status but I think the benefits aren’t worth the costs. I have never cared for status. Only once hit bronze but have always been blue. I just use the cheapest and best available in terms of time/layover etc airline for any destination I want to go to. Over 5 hours, I will never travel cattle class. So, I get the benefits needed for longhaul and shorthaul I don’t care that much. I am willing to pay for lounge, seat etc if needed as sometimes it still works out cheaper.

  To me, the benefit of the club has always been the avios for J flights.

  • Novice says:

    7 Feb7 February 18:08

    I think my point is to be loyal to your hard-earned money and not to companies and brands who brainwash you into using an inferior product by throwing some crap benefits at you.

  • Throwawayname says:

    7 Feb7 February 21:20

    If you travel short haul with any frequency, and particularly if you have to connect, status is very worthwhile. The KLM Crowd Lounge may be mostly devoid of decent food or drinks and receive regular visits by cute little mice, but still beats having to spend hours in metal seats and being charged €6 for a mediocre coffee… though you couldn’t possibly justify paying £600 for a ticket to Italy/Spain /Greece and back in order to get access to it.

    • Novice says:

      7 Feb7 February 21:42

      I have never travelled for work purposes. I am a leisure traveller so I understand that commuting is different but even if a person was taking regular flights every week in economy, still it might have worked out cheaper on different airlines. If a person was travelling on company money or were getting subsidised then it makes sense to use just one airline; otherwise in my opinion, flying on various airlines over time would probably save loads of money and hassle.

      • Throwawayname says:

        7 Feb7 February 22:01

        I do have a tiny bit of work travel, but I mostly fly for leisure and to visit friends and family scattered around Europe (I also do one or two long hauls per year but usually those are award redemptions). Flying low cost airlines is never cheap if you need/want both a cabin bag and a checked-in suitcase- and, even if you are happy to pay their prices (I paid Jet2 £160 for an one way to Greece last year, more than what I paid IB to come back from Spain in business class), a lot of the routes are awkwardly timed, seasonal or only run a couple of times per week. It rarely works for me, so it’s usually a case of picking between AFKL or LHG (TK, SK and a few others can occasionally work too). If I buy every ticket on its individual merits, my flying won’t be enough for lounge access on either group, but if I concentrate on one of their respective alliances I can keep *G or E+ and make my time at airports infinitely more pleasant and productive.

        • Novice says:

          8 Feb8 February 07:19

          Nearly all my travel has been Asia and Africa. I have weirdly left Europe for when I am a bit older so I think that’s why most of my assumptions about low cost carriers are just guesses. All my travel is chosen based on price but I always make sure it’s an airline that has a partner or is in an alliance so I don’t think I ever lose out.

• Sam says:

  8 Feb8 February 08:47

  Hello! I’m not sure if this question has already been asked, from 1st April, will my tier status drop straight back down to Blue? Currently sat at Gold?

  • Rob says:

    8 Feb8 February 08:49

    No, you get a year of Silver.

• patrick says:

  8 Feb8 February 10:11

  I am surprised that people are still using the word “loyalty.” Surely that has to be a two-way street and the word is now otiose in the context of BA.

  • Rob says:

    8 Feb8 February 10:18

    Probably better to see BAC as a reward scheme for top customers rather than a loyalty scheme, yes.

• Richie says:

  8 Feb8 February 11:21

  BA is re-configuring its B788s in a premium heavy layout with fewer economy seats. Its B781s and other LH aircraft are also premium heavy.
  When longish economic recession shows up, it’s not easy to fill premium seats and non-revenue cabin roll is needed.
  Fare paying status chasers in premium seats under this ‘reward’ scheme may be p’eed off when they hear the upgraded bragging.
  I’m describing another situation which could result in more work for a busy complaints department.

• matthew says:

  8 Feb8 February 11:42

  I’d like to thank BA for this change. As a previous gold and silver cardholder for many years, and as a small business owner, my tavel budget is my money. In the past i’d pay a bit more to fly BA to maintain status, for use of lounges, priority check in, customer support ( in the old days). Most of my flights were ecomomy or premium economy, with the occasional club, when a deal was on offer.
  Now i buy the best for me, short haul, not a lot of difference with Easyjet and other LCC, on board. For the fare difference, i can forgo some of the ground difference, such as airbridge etc.
  So far i have booked a business class on Austrian to Vienna for less than BA economy, instead of flying to Paris for tier points, i’ll take Eurostar. Istanbul next month, Turkish, on a wide body and meals in economy. Transatlantic next month i did book a BA Holiday for a short trip, as hotel and flight was the same cost as hotel only. I made sure i was flying BA metal though, as US Metal on board economy leaves a lot to be desired based onprevious trips.
  My take is now do what is best for me, my BA loyalty days have ended, just as BA desired.

• Colin Clarke says:

  8 Feb8 February 17:44

  I can’t see any way that this gains BA customers or increases loyalty.
  No-one gains, except, possibly, BA. As no current customers gain, and new ones wouldn’t be attracted, there must be a nett gain in profit for BA by reduced costs in the lounges.
  Whilst I can understand that BA wanted to change the system, because I can understand that the ease with which Gold could be acquired (if you live near Heathrow) did not make sense.
  Maybe there is a desire to alienate those of us who use regional airports. The 40 points, each way, for MAN-LHR in CW was a benefit, the <£40 eligible spend now makes that leg nothing but a chore.
  The snag with revenue is that you don't know what you get in eligible spend until you have booked. Previously, when the trips were planned you knew how many tier points you would get before you actually booked the flights. Now a sale could actually scupper your chances of retaining status.
  Add in the change in tier point year, which for me shortens it by 6 months, and I will lose silver at end of March '26. I would have likely retained silver if either, but not both changes to the system had been made.
  How many people like me will be dumped out and think, maybe some other airlines want our 3 long haul business flights (or equivalent) per year?
  Given that the BA product has deteriorated, the likelihood of switching is significant.
  Ba may reckon that, for long haul, most current customers are based in reach of LHR/LGW/LCY won't want to add in a short leg to another airlines hub. For short haul, why would you not use the many, cheaper options.

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    9 Feb9 February 10:34

    “The snag with revenue is that you don’t know what you get in eligible spend until you have booked.”

    For bookings via BA you can see the fare breakdown before you finish the booking (certainly you can in the app) so can calculate how many TPs and avios you will earn before paying. And that facility isn’t a new thing.

    I’m not sure how much swiching I’ll do. My main European destinations are AMS and BER and BA is significantly cheaper than KL and LH (and LH requires a change as well).

    • Rob says:

      9 Feb9 February 10:49

      Of course, if you’re not booking in Sterling you don’t know what the exchange rate will be on the day you fly ….

      • John says:

        9 Feb9 February 11:16

        Good point. I’m really annoyed at the BOE because they keep causing my IHG and Hilton bookings to earn less than I think they will :p

      • Phil says:

        9 Feb9 February 11:24

        If you book via an OTA quote you also have no idea what the fare genuinely was either

      • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

        9 Feb9 February 13:36

        But you’ll have paid for your flights a specific date so surely the rate will be fixed.

        • Rob says:

          9 Feb9 February 16:25

          But is it? Or is it done at an FX rate when the flight is credited to your account? You will see a total on ba.com but is that an estimate?

• Scott says:

  9 Feb9 February 06:01

  There’s definitely a lot of people out there with disposable incomes (or credit cards) who won’t think twice about dropping a premium for something “exclusive”
  More CW and F seats, less economy. Going to appeal to some who then won’t need to mix with the hoi poloi and/or can show themselves as having a certain status level in life.

  Always going to be those who will stick blindly to what they know. Brand / “British”; LHR; convenience in whatever sense etc.

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