The New Avios and Tier Point earning structure for flyers: How bad is it?

Well, it’s been a day or so since British Airways dropped the bombshell of its new earning and burning charts the changes.

There’s been a lot of discussion – but I’m going to highlight my thoughts for those of you who actually fly and earn minimal Avios via other ways.

The link of the day you’ll need to read is http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/club-changes. The important chart is this:

Also, lets keep an eye on this important statement (and not many people have picked this up I suspect).

Yes, I know flying to earn Avios or miles. It’s very olde fashioned, but then I can be… occasionally.

Let’s split this down by types of passenger:

Cheap Economy Passenger with BA Blue/No Status: Probably the worst hit by this, with minimal rewards for flying BA. Unless you’re flying often in economy, don’t even dream of status or lounge access. Consider it a method from getting from A to B, and you might not be disappointed.

Cheap Economy Passenger who wants status: Seriously. Look elsewhere or pay for higher fares. Why? 25% Tier Point earning on an economy fare. Or to put it in perspective: 18TP for a long haul flight, 5 for a short-haul flight. That’s 17 long haul flights to BRONZE. You’d be better flying 25 short-haul segments… least of all your wallet would be better off.  Silver? 34 long haul flights. Gold. Forget about it. The distinct of lack of reasonable rewards in terms of Avios is telling sadly.

Mid Economy Passenger who wants status: Good luck. If you avoid the cheap tickets, it’s still going to be a struggle. Bear in mind if you’re flying in the mid-economy, you’ll be earning 35TP on long haul seats – requiring 9 long haul segments in mid-economy for bronze (or 25 flights), 17 long haul segments for Silver (or 50 flights). Gold? Don’t even think about it without a good old-fashioned tier point run.

Full priced Economy flyer: No Change. You’ll still get 70TP and your full Avios. But at those prices, you should be looking at other cabins which can be more comfortable.

Premium Economy flyer: If you’re paying (or your business is), you’ll end up one or two ways – If you’re paying full fare for Premium Economy, you’ll end up with more Avios. If you’re not, you’ll get base levels. On the plus side, your Avios won’t be affected. Either way, it’s 4 flights to Bronze, 7 flights in Premium Economy to Silver or 17 flights to Gold

Club World Flyer: Relax. You’re fine. The Avios will flow in as ever. Those of you on flexible fares will earn silly amounts of avios. The Sliver and Gold multipliers will also kick in.

London City Club Flyer? You’ll have to fly more, as Tier Points drop from 210 to 140 per segment – a drop of 70TP per segment. You’ll need 11 segments in Club compared to the 8 that you’re used to. But then, you’ve probably got a corporate travel department paying for your ticket.

The Gold Card Passenger in First or Business Class: You’re not affected. In fact, you’ll wind up with more Avios than you can shake a stick at.

The Tier Point Runner: You’re going to annoyed for most of the year when you fly economy you’ll earn a pittance. You’ll be checking your routes a lot more carefully. When you do your Tier Point runs, you’ll get a good amount of Avios, and those precious tier points… providing they don’t change the rules in the mean tile

The prognosis: If you willing to spend a lot of money with British Airways, you’ll be rewarded… and that’s fine as British Airways is a business after all attempting to make money – and not just from so-called “Carrier Imposed Surcharges”. But if you’re a cheap economy class flyer, don’t expect your loyalty to be rewarded.

This reminds of Lufthansa and its constant devaluations, keeping the Business and First Class passengers get the spoils of the war, whilst treating its economy passengers with contempt and a joke.

This is pretty much the same thing.

For me? I’m extremely disappointed that British Airways and what it’s done. As a cheap economy flyer mainly, British Airways are adding more barriers for me to continue my loyalty to them. In fact, I’m honestly not sure if I will retain my gold card after this year.

To Fly, To Serve? To Fly, Not to reward.

Maybe it is time to walk away from BA in terms of earning. But what about spending? That’s another discussion for tomorrow.

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