British Airways Reverses Course on Loyalty Programme Reforms
Feb 5, 2025

British Airways Reverses Course on Loyalty Programme Reforms

British Airways has announced a rollback of its much-debated reforms to the frequent flyer loyalty programme, the BA Club, aimed at easing the process for obtaining bronze, silver, and gold status. According to a report, this decision was made after numerous leisure travellers criticised the previously announced changes, which required customers to spend more on flights to advance through the ranks.

When the changes were initially unveiled in December, British Airways had stated that tier points and Avios (the airline's air miles) would be determined based solely on the ticket price, excluding additional charges, at the rate of one tier point per £1. This departure from the traditional method of calculating points based on distance meant that achieving gold or silver status would have required significant expenditure. For instance, travellers would need to spend £20,000 for the 20,000 points necessary for a gold card and £7,500 for a silver card.

The airline is now reinstating a feature from its previous Executive Club loyalty programme, enabling travellers to achieve status through the number of flights taken rather than money spent. Under the revised system, bronze status can be achieved by taking 25 flights in a year with a BA flight number, while silver status requires 50 such flights. This change aims to retain loyal short-haul travellers who may otherwise consider switching to competitors like EasyJet.

In addition to this reinstatement, British Airways is introducing a more generous bonus scheme for tier points, which has been extended and applies to flights booked until the end of the year for travel up until December 2026. The new scheme doubles the number of bonus tier points available and is based on the flight cabin class, ranging from economy to First. However, customers must opt in to this scheme, highlighting the need to carefully read BA's communications.

Although BA has not specified how significantly these new schemes will reduce the spending required to reach silver or gold status, it is anticipated that the required expenditure for a gold card may drop to around £16,000, and to approximately £6,000 for a silver card. Moreover, holders of the BA American Express Premium Plus card could earn tier points simply by using their card. Despite these updates, potential 'nasties' remain, especially concerning earning points on partner airlines compared to flights specifically with British Airways.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform

  1. 1. INTRODUCTION

    Making Data-Driven Decisions to Grow Your Business

    1. REPORT DESCRIPTION
    2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND AI PLATFORM
    3. DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
    4. GLOSSARY AND SPECIFIC TERMS
  2. 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    A Quick Overview of Market Performance

    1. KEY FINDINGS
    2. MARKET TRENDS This Chapter is Available Only for the Professional Edition PRO
  3. 3. MARKET OVERVIEW

    Understanding the Current State of The Market and Its Prospects

    1. MARKET SIZE
    2. CONSUMPTION BY COUNTRY
    3. MARKET FORECAST TO 2030
  4. 4. MOST PROMISING PRODUCT

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    1. TOP PRODUCTS TO DIVERSIFY YOUR BUSINESS
    2. BEST-SELLING PRODUCTS
    3. MOST CONSUMED PRODUCT
    4. MOST TRADED PRODUCT
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  5. 5. MOST PROMISING SUPPLYING COUNTRIES

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    1. TOP COUNTRIES TO SOURCE YOUR PRODUCT
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  7. 7. GLOBAL PRODUCTION

    The Latest Trends and Insights into The Industry

    1. PRODUCTION VOLUME AND VALUE
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  8. 8. GLOBAL IMPORTS

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  9. 9. GLOBAL EXPORTS

    The Largest Exporters on The Market and How They Succeed

    1. EXPORTS FROM 2012–2024
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  10. 10. PROFILES OF MAJOR PRODUCERS

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  11. 11. COUNTRY PROFILES

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    • United States
    • China
    • Japan
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    • France
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    • Canada
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    • Republic of Korea
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  12. LIST OF TABLES

    1. Key Findings In 2024
    2. Market Volume, In Physical Terms, 2012–2024
    3. Market Value, 2012–2024
    4. Per Capita Consumption, By Country, 2018–2024
    5. Production, In Physical Terms, By Country, 2012–2024
    6. Imports, In Physical Terms, By Country, 2012–2024
    7. Imports, In Value Terms, By Country, 2012–2024
    8. Import Prices, By Country Of Destination, 2012–2024
    9. Exports, In Physical Terms, By Country, 2012–2024
    10. Exports, In Value Terms, By Country, 2012–2024
    11. Export Prices, By Country Of Origin, 2012–2024
  13. LIST OF FIGURES

    1. Market Volume, In Physical Terms, 2012–2024
    2. Market Value, 2012–2024
    3. Consumption, By Country, 2024
    4. Market Volume Forecast to 2030
    5. Market Value Forecast to 2030
    6. Products: Market Size And Growth, By Type
    7. Products: Average Per Capita Consumption, By Type
    8. Products: Exports And Growth, By Type
    9. Products: Export Prices And Growth, By Type
    10. Production Volume And Growth
    11. Exports And Growth
    12. Export Prices And Growth
    13. Market Size And Growth
    14. Per Capita Consumption
    15. Imports And Growth
    16. Import Prices
    17. Production, In Physical Terms, 2012–2024
    18. Production, In Value Terms, 2012–2024
    19. Production, By Country, 2024
    20. Production, In Physical Terms, By Country, 2012–2024
    21. Imports, In Physical Terms, 2012–2024
    22. Imports, In Value Terms, 2012–2024
    23. Imports, In Physical Terms, By Country, 2024
    24. Imports, In Physical Terms, By Country, 2012–2024
    25. Imports, In Value Terms, By Country, 2012–2024
    26. Import Prices, By Country, 2012–2024
    27. Exports, In Physical Terms, 2012–2024
    28. Exports, In Value Terms, 2012–2024
    29. Exports, In Physical Terms, By Country, 2024
    30. Exports, In Physical Terms, By Country, 2012–2024
    31. Exports, In Value Terms, By Country, 2012–2024
    32. Export Prices, 2012–2024

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