Introducing The British Airways Club: Spend-Based BA Status

British Airways has just announced a radical transformation of their Executive Club program (soon to be simply "The British Airways Club"), moving to a revenue-based earning system from April 1st, 2025. This represents the most significant change to BA's loyalty program in recent history and will fundamentally alter how UK travellers approach earning status.

The New System at a Glance

From April 2025, members will earn 1 point for every £1 spent on:

• Base fare

• BA-imposed carrier surcharges (YQ and YR)

• Ancillary purchases like seat selection and extra baggage

The new status thresholds are:

• Bronze: 3,500 points (up from 300 tier points)

• Silver: 7,500 points (up from 600 tier points)

• Gold: 20,000 points (up from 1,500 tier points)

• Gold Guest List: 65,000 points (up from 5,000 tier points), requiring at least 52,000 points from BA flights/holidays

• Gold Guest List renewal: 40,000 points (down from current 3,000 tier points), requiring at least 32,000 from BA flights/holidays

Additional Earning Opportunities

BA has introduced several supplementary ways to earn points:

1. British Airways American Express Premium Plus cardholders can earn up to 2,500 points annually through card spend (exact earning rate TBC - coming ‘later in 2025’)

2. Up to 1,000 points available through Sustainable Aviation Fuel contributions

3. Points on BA Holidays bookings at a rate of £1 = 1 point on the entire package cost (though it's unclear how points are allocated among multiple travellers)

What This Means for Different Types of Travellers

Leisure Travellers

This change hits leisure travellers particularly hard. Let's look at a common scenario using our BA Tier Point Calculator:

Currently, a savvy traveller could earn Silver status with a couple of carefully planned business class trips to Asia using ex-EU fares, spending around £2,000-£2,500 total. Under the new system, they'll need to spend £7,500 on eligible fare components - roughly triple the cost.

Small Business Owners

For small business owners who currently achieve Gold through strategic booking of business class sales and ex-EU fares, the path to status becomes significantly more challenging. The requirement to spend £20,000 on eligible fare components essentially means you'll need to be regularly booking flexible business class tickets or taking numerous premium flights throughout the year.

Corporate Travellers

The clear winners here are corporate travellers on flexible business class tickets. A single round-trip Club World ticket to New York at full fare (around £8,000-£9,000 in eligible spend) will get you most of the way to Gold status.

Transition Period Details

For bookings made before February 14th, 2025, for travel after April 1st, BA is offering bonus points:

• Euro Traveller: 50 points

• Club Europe: 100 points

• World Traveller: 70 points

• World Traveller Plus: 140 points

• Club World: 210 points

• First: 330 points

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Partner Airline Questions

There's still uncertainty around partner airline earnings. While joint venture partners where BA can see fare data should work within the new system, other partner flights may either stop earning points entirely or move to a flat-rate system. This could potentially make earning status easier through partner airlines than through BA itself.

Strategic Considerations

If you're currently chasing BA status, it's worth considering:

1. Book flights for travel after April 1st, 2025 before February 14th, 2025 to take advantage of the bonus tier point offer

2. Look into oneworld alternatives - other airlines like Qatar Airways or American Airlines may offer easier paths to oneworld status

3. Consider whether BA Holidays might offer better value under the new system (details pending)

Looking Ahead

This change signals BA's clear focus on high-value corporate customers. For leisure travellers and small business owners, it may be time to explore alternatives. You can use our Smart Redemptions tool to compare options across different airlines and alliances.

The British Airways landscape is changing dramatically. While some may benefit from the new system, many loyal customers will need to reassess their loyalty strategy. We'll be keeping a close eye on the developments and updating our readers as more details emerge.

Don’t forget, you can still get status via Royal Jordanian, using their status match here. Air France are also offering a status match if you want to leave oneworld here.

Feel free to share your thoughts on these changes in the comments below or join the discussion on our Instagram.

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