In a sign that the summer season hasn’t gone as well as expected British Airways is extending Frequent Flyer status for more of its customers.
British Airways Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
British Airways Executive Club Members who are currently tiered (Bronze/Silver/Gold)with a Tier Point collection end date between January – March 2022 will receive another year of their current status.
The move by the airline means that no British Airways Executive Club Member renewing over this period, including Bronze, Silver and Gold cardholders will lose their Tier status, regardless of how many Tier Points they have earned.
This benefit comes in addition to a 25% threshold reduction in Tier Status which applies until June 2022.
The Reduced Tier point numbers requirements are as follows:
- Bronze: 225 Tier Points or 18 eligible flights
- Silver: 450 Tier Points or 37 eligible flights
- Gold: 1125 Tier Points
Further improvements for North American travellers
Whilst travel is still suppressed between the United Kingdom and the USA, British Airways is also launching benefits for some of its most loyal Executive Club Members with an upcoming flight.
Status cardholders – Welcome to pre-flight dining, Image, British Airways.
All Silver and Gold Members regardless of their cabin of travel can enjoy pre-flight dining, which is available at selected North American lounges. These include:
- New York-JFK
- Boston Logan
- Chicago O’Hare
- Washington Dulles
The exclusive Concorde Room which is situated in Heathrow Terminal 5 and New York JFK only, will now be accessible to Gold Guest List Members regardless of how many Tier Points they earned in their previous Tier Point collection year.
Vouchers Extended
On top of this Tier extension, in February, British Airways announced a six-month extension to all Executive Club vouchers, due to expire before 31 December 2021.
This was the third extension that was applied, following similar extensions in March 2020 and October 2020 and included Gold Upgrade Vouchers and American Express Companion Vouchers.
British Airways is also adding an additional six-month validity to all new Companion Voucher or Travel Together tickets earned between June 2020 and the end of December 2021.
In Quotes
Niall Rooney, British Airways’ Loyalty Manager, said:
“We want to thank our customers for their continued loyalty. Many of our Executive Club Members haven’t had the chance to use their benefits as normal, by further extending their Tier Status, none of them will miss out on the amazing benefits they have earned.
For our Members that have a flight booked, we are proud to be launching more benefits. From today, our Silver and Gold Members can enjoy more from our award-winning lounges.”
Bosting benefits, but long haul lacking
Whilst there has been some progress over the summer with the British AIrwasys short-haul network, the long haul network is suffering as countries continue to protect their borders, or not open up (in particular, the North American market where British Airways has a lot of premium traffic).
And it’s hurting with passengers not travelling, with high yield long haul travellers effectively grounded and unable to earn status – without lots of short-haul flights.
The move should see a lot more customers protected after the last extension, with those who had status expiring between July and December 2021 have their status extended.
For now, the status extensions are welcome. However, to earn those statuses – the long haul network needs to come back up to strength.
That could be more of a challenge in the current climate.
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, featuring in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness as I only know how to deliver.
Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can follow me on Instagram too!
Also remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community, bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world.
DN: SL13-01
Typical BA. No one has been flying since March of 2019, so many lost status later that year and BA did nothing (at least not for regular flyers – obviously they fall over backwards for premium passengers). And they still have the nerve to charge up to $100 to choose a seat when booking – on planes that fly 3/4 empty. Meanwhile other carriers charge nothing. BA – The bean counter airline