Effective April 1, 2025, British Airways is overhauling its loyalty programme, Executive Club, rebranding it as ‘The British Airways Club’ and moving to a revenue-based model.
Under the new system, members will earn Tier Points based on spend rather than the distance travelled or fare class booked. For every GBP1 (R23) spent on eligible BA flights, members will earn one Tier Point.
One of the biggest changes is that members will be able to earn Tier Points on more than just flights. Spending on extras like seat selection, excess baggage, and even purchasing a contribution to sustainable aviation fuels will also earn points.
Focus on spend
The new system prioritises spend over distance travelled and, as such, frequent flyers who typically book economy class on long-haul routes may find it harder to achieve a higher tier status.
A BA corporate client told Travel News that the changes would likely impact how he chose flights. “I have been a loyal BA member for years. This change will influence how I spend within the British Airways ecosystem –it looks like it will be more difficult to retain tier status now.”
According to the BA website, the Tier Point collection period will start on April 1 and end on March 31 every year.
Travel News spoke to a BA press spokesperson about the change.
“The Executive Club changes will apply to every member globally. Our press release refers to GBP. For ZAR and other currencies, the airfare is converted into GBP in the background using IATA exchange rates at the time of booking, and then it’s £1=1 Tier Point based on the converted amount.
“Eligible spend includes the base fare and the Carrier Imposed Charges (YQ and YR) but not the non-airline taxes and fees.
“There have been some inaccuracies within the reporting of this change, particularly when putting the current and new thresholds next to each other. Members will earn differently under the new model, which is totally non-comparable to the old one.”
New tier status requirements
Bronze: 3 500 Tier Points
Silver: 7 500 Tier Points
Gold: 20 000 Tier Points
For more information, agents should refer to the Executive Club page on BA’s website, which includes an FAQ section.