For many years, the British Airways Executive Club was one of the best programs for earning elite status within the Oneworld alliance. But at the turn of the year 2024/2025, that came to an abrupt end. Contrary to earlier announcements, BA completely overhauled the status qualification system. Originally, a purely revenue-based system had been announced, meaning you would have needed more than €8,000 in spend with BA to reach Oneworld Sapphire status.
After massive criticism, the announced system was softened after only a few days. In addition to revenue-based Tier Points, bonus points depending on travel class and distance band were introduced. Initially, this promotion was supposed to run only a few weeks. It was then modified and extended for flights through December 2026 (for bookings until Dec. 2025).
Even at that time, BA indicated:
It’s expected the airline will always offer members a Bonus Tier Point proposition in addition to the general 1 Tier Point for £1 earning mechanism.
British Airways press release, February 2025
And that is now exactly what has happened. Since November 25, 2025, the bonus has been extended indefinitely. No registration is required. In practice, however, little changes since the same bonus amounts have been applied since February.
How the Additional Tier Points Work
In principle, the following applies for the additional Tier Points:
- Short-haul flights:
- 75 Tier Points in Economy Class (excluding Basic Economy)
- 175 Tier Points in Business Class
- Long-haul flights:
- 150 Tier Points in Economy Class (excluding Basic Economy)
- 275 Tier Points in Premium Economy
- 400 Tier Points in Business Class
- 550 Tier Points in First Class
However, several restrictions apply:
- Flights must carry a BA flight number (codeshare flights operated by Oneworld partners are fine)
- All Basic Economy fares are excluded
- Award flights, upgrades, etc. are also excluded
- For Oneworld partner flights:
- Iberia & American: revenue-based Tier Points, but no bonus points
- All other Oneworld partners: Tier Points based on distance & booking class, but no bonus points
The bonus points are awarded in addition to the regular accrual. For example: if you fly from Germany to London for €170 (£150) excluding taxes/fees, you earn 300 Tier Points: 150 TP for the £150 ticket price plus 2 × 75 TP as bonus. But only if you did not book the Basic fare without checked baggage.
Customers booking the Basic fare are punished twice. First, cheap fares now earn almost no Tier Points, and secondly, you don’t get the bonus points either because Basic is excluded. And flights with Iberia or American flight numbers are extremely unattractive under the new system: revenue-based accrual applies, but without bonus Tier Points to compensate, even though the airlines supposedly cooperate closely.
Calculation Example
We’ve once again put together an example that illustrates the accrual in the new system. The example is a Business Class flight BER–LHR–JFK–LHR–BER in booking class I. We assume a promotional fare of around €2,000 (including €200 taxes).
Under the old 2024 system, this itinerary would earn 360 Tier Points (40 + 140 + 140 + 40). That corresponds to:
- 120% of BA Bronze / Oneworld Ruby (360 / 300 TP)
- 60% of BA Silver / Oneworld Sapphire (360 / 600 TP)
- 24% of BA Gold / Oneworld Emerald (360 / 1200 TP)
Under the new system, the same flights earn 1,580 revenue-based Tier Points plus 1,150 bonus Tier Points, for a total of 2,730 Tier Points. That corresponds to:
- 78% of BA Bronze / Oneworld Ruby (2,730 / 3,500 TP)
- 36% of BA Silver / Oneworld Sapphire (2,730 / 7,500 TP)
- 14% of BA Gold / Oneworld Emerald (2,730 / 20,000 TP)
Based on this example, you would need to fly about 65% more to reach elite status. Earning status with Economy tickets was neither attractive in the old system nor in the new one.
Too Little, Too Late
British Airways originally aimed to make the points system simpler. The opposite has happened. Of course, BA continues to market all this as an improvement rather than acknowledging that the new system is a major misstep.
In practice, the new system is unlikely to help restore loyalty. Those who left in the past months have long since found alternatives. The fact that the initially temporary bonuses are now permanent does not change that, especially since they are tied to strict conditions.
Even Iberia Plus is now more attractive in many cases. It also uses a revenue-based system, but awards 1 point per € instead of £. And similar bonus points as in the British Airways Club are offered not only for BA flight numbers, but also for American Airlines (except Basic Eco) and Iberia.
Calculate Miles & Status Credits
Since the bonus points are now permanent, we’ve included them in our mileage/status calculator. The status calculator shows which frequent flyer program gets you closest to Oneworld Ruby / Sapphire / Emerald with your flights.
For Economy tickets, it’s important that the fare type is also specified. Otherwise the system assumes Basic fare, which gives no bonus points. To avoid that, you need to activate “expert mode” and provide all optional parameters (issuing airline, price, fare). For example, for a Standard fare ticket to New York costing €250 (incl. fuel surcharge, excl. taxes):
BA:O:BER-LHR-JFK-LHR-BER:BA:250EUR:standardInterestingly, the BA Club is now among the best options again, alongside Iberia Plus, if you book the Business example to New York above and aim for Oneworld Sapphire. But even then, you’d need three round trips.
However, once Economy flights and/or Oneworld partner flights are included, the British Airways Club loses ground, bonus points or not. And in reality, hardly anyone flies exclusively with BA; there will always be some partner flights included.
Source: British Airways