British Airways’ loyalty scheme change is good news for a certain type of passenger

Many were unhappy with the last change in 2025 (Picture: Getty Images)

For April Fool’s Day this year, British Airways is offering its most loyal Club members the chance to earn extra Tier Points — but it’s no joke.

From April 1, the airline will be awarding bonus Tier points to Club members for spending on extras such as baggage, seat selection and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) credits. Additional points will also be awarded to travellers who purchase higher-fare tickets.

The new structure is designed to reward flexibility — a shift that’s likely to appeal to frequent flyers.

The airline last overhauled this system on April 1 last year, adopting a more unified structure and rebranding the British Airways Executive Club as the British Airways Club.

The changes were not well received, with some passengers complaining that BA was making it almost impossible to climb the tiers.

However, while the latest change won’t affect the basic principles of the new system, one tweak could have an immediate positive impact on travellers hoping to reach Gold status.

How will the new change impact passengers?

It’s important to note that the basics haven’t changed under the new system. You’ll still earn one Tier point per £1 of eligible spend.

But now, when you include extras such as baggage or seat selection, you’ll receive two Tier Points per £1, with these small add-ons doubling in value compared to April 2025.

Could this new policy change tempt back previously disgruntled customers?(Picture: Getty Images)

And it doesn’t stop there. From April 1, passengers who pick more flexible fare types will be rewarded with more points.

Currently, BA operates with a flat per-cabin bonus, meaning you’re rewarded the same number of points regardless of which fare you choose within a cabin.

This is now being replaced by a tiered structure. So the amount of bonus points you can tally up is more dependent on what type of fare you purchase.

For example, Club World, BA’s long-haul business class cabin, moves from a flat 400 Tier Points per leg to as many as 1,100 Tier Points per leg for fully flexible fares.

First class can reach up to 1,250 Tier Points per leg on Fully Flex.

According to BA, the new points system will include flights taken as part of a British Airways Holidays package, but does not cover Basic Economy fares.

Tier Point bonuses will also be introduced on flights operated by American Airlines and Iberia. A welcome extension to the points scheme, passengers will now be able to earn anywhere from 75 extra points in economy short-haul to 650 in long-haul First.

Flexible BA tickets may be more expensive, but for travellers flying for business purposes, with access to the company credit card, this could be asure-fire way to climb the totem pole.

Some passengers were incredibly unhappy with the points system overhaul (Picture: Getty Images)

BA elite flyers criticise loyalty scheme change

As we told you earlier, the BA rewards scheme policy shift wasn’t well-received, with many saying the new thresholds to reach Bronze, Silver, and Gold status were unreachable.

There was also dissatisfaction that BA had moved towards a spending-based points structure.

Under the new system, to achieve BA Gold status (which offers benefits like first class lounges and enhanced luggage allowance) passengers need to rack up 20,000 tier points in a year.

This marked a significant change from the previous policy, which only required 1,500 points.

‘It will now be impossible for me to retain my Gold membership status and it’s highly unlikely I will even retain Silver,’ @craftymiss shared. ‘There’s now no need to keep loyal to the brand, EasyJet will now benefit from my 8+ holidays pa.’

Another, @Tiffywren, wrote: ‘As my travel is 100% self-funded there’s no way I can maintain status with @British_Airways. And if I don’t get any status perks then there’s no point in choosing to spend with them, is there?’

Time will tell what customers make of the upcoming change.

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