British Airways Silver and Gold members can get a rare Lufthansa status match

If you are an elite member of British Airways Executive Club, I hope you’re feeling the love.

Not from BA, of course, but from Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (see here), Flying Blue (see here), easyJet Plus (see here) and now Lufthansa’s Miles & More programme, all of whom want you and your business.

Miles & More has launched a status match for Silver and Gold members of British Airways Executive Club. Elite members of Iberia Plus can also participate.

A €99 administration fee is payable.

British Airways Executive Club Silver members will get Frequent Traveller status in Miles & More. This only offers lounge access with Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian and only in directly run lounges. This includes the newly refurbished lounge in Heathrow Terminal 2 which we covered here. The full list of Frequent Traveller benefits is here.

British Airways Executive Club Gold members and above will be offered Senator status. This gets you Star Alliance-wide lounge access. The full list of Senator benefits is here.

Whichever level of Miles & More status you get, it will stop your existing Miles & More mileage balance from expiring as the three year ‘use them or lose them’ rule is suspended.

How long will your status last?

You will receive status until 28th February 2026.

To requalify you will need to meet the standard qualification requirements by the end of 2025.

Lufthansa uses a system similar to the existing British Airways one. The only criteria are whether your flight is short haul or long haul, and what travel class you are in. It’s simple.

50% of the points needed for qualification must be earned on Miles & More airlines. You cannot earn or renew status purely by flying on other Star Alliance carriers.

I won’t go into requalification in detail because each person will have a different mix of travel – short haul vs long haul, economy vs business and Lufthansa Group vs other Star Alliance carriers. If you qualify for status under the current British Airways system you should be OK under the current Lufthansa system.

Note that Lufthansa only adopted its current status model this year so major revenue-based changes are unlikely in the medium term.

Is it worth it?

This page of the Miles & More website compares the benefits of Senator and Frequent Traveller status. You should study it before applying for a match.

Senator (from BA Gold) – definitely worth it

If you have British Airways Gold status or higher, this is an excellent opportunity to get top tier status, including lounge access, across all of Star Alliance.

You will also get fast track security and priority boarding across all Star Alliance carriers.

Frequent Traveller (from BA Silver) – maybe, maybe not

Silver status has fewer benefits – fewer than you get with your British Airways Silver status.

You only get access to lounges operated by Lufthansa Group airlines and NOT the broader Star Alliance. If your Star Alliance travel only takes you around Europe on Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian then you’ll be fine. On other carriers, less so.

You can access Business Class check-in desks irrespective of which Star Alliance airline you fly, but that is about it in terms of benefits with TAP, United, Singapore Airlines etc.

You do not get fast track security or priority boarding with anyone, whether you are flying Lufthansa Group carriers or not.

How to apply

The website you need is here. Remember that there is a €99 fee. As per the comments below, do not send a photograph of your BA membership card as it will be rejected. It must be be a screenshot from the BA app.

PS. You may want to think about timing. My best guess is that Lufthansa will repeat this offer next year as people face up to losing their Executive Club status on 30th April 2026.

If you match now, you won’t be able to match again next year. Do you want to leave BA now or wait another 12 months to maximise your existing Silver and Gold benefits?

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 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:

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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.

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 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 60,000 points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. 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.