British Airways (Executive) Club Alternatives: Which Program Should You Switch To?

At the very end of 2024, British Airways announced a “revolutionary” change to their status qualification process, effective from April 1, 2025. For flights taking place on or after this date and booked with British Airways, Iberia, or American Airlines by December 31, 2024, Tier Points will be awarded based on the price rather than distance or segments flown.

This has made qualifying for a frequent flyer status substantially more difficult. And so, now that the change has been implemented, for many, it’s time to look for a new frequent flyer program within the Oneworld alliance.

Alternatives for Frequent Flyer Status

Frequent flyer programs consist of two key components: the status program and the rewards program. This discussion focuses on alternatives to the devalued status levels of the British Airways Executive Club—Bronze, Silver, and Gold—corresponding to Oneworld Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, respectively.

Oneworld Status via Segments: Royal Jordanian Royal Club

The first alternative is the Royal Jordanian Royal Club, which offers relatively low segment thresholds for achieving Oneworld status:

• Silver Jay (Ruby): 14 segments in 12 months
• Gold Sparrow (Sapphire): 30 segments in 12 months
• Platinum Hawk (Emerald): 46 segments in 12 months

The status remains valid for 12 months, except Platinum Hawk, which is valid for 24 months. The requalification requirements are even lower:

• Gold Sparrow: 26 segments in 12 months
• Platinum Hawk: 80 segments in 24 months (40 segments per year)

Cost to Achieve Status:

By leveraging low-cost tickets on Oneworld partners like Iberia (where even the cheapest tickets qualify for segment credit), the estimated costs are:

• Oneworld Sapphire: €450 (30 segments at €15 each)
• Oneworld Emerald: €690 (46 segments at €15 each) or €1,200 for requalification (€600/year).

Oneworld Status via Business Long-Haul: Alaska Mileage Plan

The Alaska Mileage Plan is a compelling alternative for travellers primarily on long-haul business-class flights. While it lacks a segment-based system, it offers generous mileage credits and relatively low thresholds for status:

• MVP (Ruby): 20,000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) in a calendar year
• MVP Gold (Sapphire): 40,000 EQM in a calendar year
• MVP Gold 75K (Emerald): 75,000 EQM in a calendar year
• MVP Gold 100K (Emerald): 100,000 EQM in a calendar year

Status remains valid through the end of the following calendar year. Alaska differentiates whether the ticket was purchased through Alaska Airlines or a partner website. The mileage credit is twice as high for business class tickets booked directly with Alaska Airlines.

Cabin Class	Booked on Alaska Airlines’ website	Booked on a partner’s website
First Class	350%	150%
Business Class	250%	125%
Premium Economy	150% (also for Domestic First)	100%
Economy	150%	50%
Discounted Economy	100%	25%

For instance, with a trip from Rome via Dublin to New York and back with Aer Lingus (booked through the Alaska Airlines website), you can earn approximately 21,715 Elite Qualifying Miles. This means you could achieve MVP Gold status with fewer than two such round trips and Emerald status with four similar trips.

While these $910 tickets are exceptionally cheap, prices for these flights usually start at around €1,700, though occasionally, lower fares can be found. To snag the best deals, it’s advisable to regularly subscribe to our newsletter.

If the flights are booked through partner airlines, the number of required flights or distances effectively doubles. Unfortunately, not all flights can be booked via the Alaska Airlines website, and those that can are sometimes significantly more expensive. Be sure to compare prices carefully before booking.

Conclusion

Even though achieving Oneworld Sapphire status with a single trip is no longer as straightforward, the Alaska Mileage Plan offers very attractive options. For instance, you can achieve Sapphire status with fewer than two round trips and Emerald status with only slightly more effort. This makes it a strong alternative to the former Executive Club. Additionally, the Mileage Plan has some appealing sweet spots, which will be covered in more detail later.

Oneworld Status via Long-Haul Economy: Malaysia Airlines Enrich Club

Not everyone travels long-haul in business class, and for economy flyers, the Malaysia Airlines Enrich Club is a viable option. The program combines distance- and segment-based status qualifications, making it appealing for travellers focused on long-haul routes.

Status Requirements

Enrich assigns Elite Points based on flight distance and booking class.

Zone	Economy Class	Business Class
Zone 1 (<500 miles)	1	2
Zone 2 (501 – 1,200 miles)	2	3
Zone 3 (1,201 – 2,200 miles)	3	5
Zone 4 (2,201 – 3,500 miles)	4	6
Zone 5 (3,501 – 5,500 miles)	6	8
Zone 6 (5,501 – 8,000 miles)	8	10
Zone 7 (>8,001 miles)	8	10

The requirements for each tier are:

• Silver (Oneworld Ruby): 30 Elite Points per calendar year
• Gold (Oneworld Sapphire): 60 Elite Points per calendar year
• Platinum (Oneworld Emerald): 100 Elite Points per calendar year

Status is valid until the end of the next calendar year. A typical economy long-haul route of over 3,500 miles with a feeder flight of over 500 miles on each end earns 10 Elite Points per direction. Thus, achieving Sapphire requires just three return trips, while Emerald takes five.

Round-trip fares for routes like the one in the screenshot start at roughly €400, making the total cost for Sapphire approximately €1,200 and for Emerald €2,000. It’s essential to ensure your booking class qualifies for Elite Points, as not all economy fares are eligible.

Conclusion

While the Enrich Club may not be as versatile as the Alaska Mileage Plan, it offers a significant advantage: status qualification isn’t dependent on the booking channel or on flying business class. This makes it a good choice for travellers flying frequently to Asia or Africa, where Alaska Airlines ticketing is unavailable. However, the redemption value for miles in this program is less competitive.

Alternatives for Redeeming Miles

Although the redemption options and rates for Avios remain unchanged, it’s worth exploring alternatives within the Oneworld alliance. With distance-based mileage accrual, flights taken to achieve status often earn a significant number of redeemable miles as well.

Alaska Mileage Plan

The Alaska Mileage Plan stands out not only for its attractive status-earning opportunities but also for its compelling redemption options. While this isn’t a comprehensive guide, here are two noteworthy benefits:

1. Free Stopovers on One-Way Flights

Mileage Plan allows stopovers on one-way award tickets without requiring additional miles, provided you continue on the same airline. However, this is subject to availability and must be booked online.

Popular options include routes via hubs, such as Seoul-Tokyo-Sapporo or Singapore-Kuala Lumpur-Hanoi, with a stopover included at no extra cost.

2. Short Flights from 7,500/15,000 Miles

Short-haul flights of up to 1,500 miles are particularly attractive, with award prices starting at 7,500 miles for economy or 15,000 miles for business class. These rates apply globally to most partner airlines, including Singapore Airlines and Starlux, though availability can be limited.

Long-haul options, such as flights to the U.S. for 45,000 miles, are also appealing. Routes operated by American Airlines or Iberia under 3,500 miles are especially valuable, as there’s no high-season pricing like in many Avios programs.

One drawback is that miles can only be earned through flights unless you have a U.S. credit card. However, the Alaska Mileage Plan frequently offers opportunities to purchase miles at discounted rates. Status qualification, such as MVP Gold (Sapphire) at 40,000 miles annually, also generates redeemable miles, making it a versatile program.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club

The Qatar Airways Privilege Club is another solid option for earning both status and redeemable miles. Miles are awarded based on distance and booking class. A unique advantage is the ability to transfer Avios between partner programs, enabling access to various sweet spots, such as:

• Flights to Oceania with the Privilege Club
• European flights with the Executive Club
• Business class to the U.S. East Coast with Iberia Plus
• Flights to Asia with Finnair Plus

Honorable Mention: Finnair Plus

Finnair Plus already has spend-based accrual but still offers distance-based credit for partner flights, making it worthwhile for specific routes.

Conclusion

Programs like the Alaska Mileage Plan offer not only better accrual rates but also attractive redemption opportunities, especially with its stopover policy and straightforward pricing. Other programs like the Qatar Airways Privilege Club add flexibility through Avios transfers, allowing travellers to maximise the benefits of Oneworld alliance flights.

Status Match and Switch to Another Alliance

If staying in the Oneworld alliance is not important to you, you could use one of the many status matches offered by airlines in the other two alliances:

Miles&More: Join the Lufthansa Group’s Program for €99

Miles&More is the frequent flyer program of the Lufthansa Group and LOT and the most famous Star Alliance program in Europe. While it has its flaws, and retaining the Senator status is all but easy, the status does come with some nice perks.

Even with the Bronze-equivalent Frequent Traveller status, you’ll get access to Lufthansa Group business lounges, including the welcome lounge in Frankfurt. You also get free luggage at many airlines, such as LOT and United.

With Senator status, you’ll get alliance-wide lounge access, access to the fast lane at most airports, free seat selection on long-haul flights, and much more.

Sadly, the miles are set to be devalued in June. Miles&More is adopting a dynamic pricing system and increasing the prices for flights with partner airlines. Nevertheless, there are still quite a few sweet spots in the program.

The match is available for a fee of €99:

Miles&More: €99 Status Match to Senator or Frequent Traveller from British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus

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Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles: Star Alliance Status for an International Turkish Airlines Flight

Miles&More has two upsides over Miles&Smiles: Its Star Alliance Silver status has a lot more benefits than at Miles&Smiles (e.g. Lufthansa Group lounge access), and its Senator status comes with nice benefits if you fly a lot with the Lufthansa Group.

However, Turkish Airlines’ Miles&Smiles also has a few muscles to flex. First of all, status requalification is among the easiest of any frequent flyer program in the world. You only need 40,000 miles and have 2 full years to reach them. Most programs require more than that, yearly! If you fly with Turkish Airlines, you’ll also have free wifi during the flight.

While the status match used to be free, it now comes with a condition. You need to book an international flight, operated by Turkish Airlines, within 4 months of getting the status. However, that’s not too much of an obstacle, as a simple flight to Istanbul will do.

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Status Match Challenge (SAS EuroBonus Matches Earn Double Miles)

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: Get a SkyTeam Status with One Premium Ticket

You could also switch from one British airline to the other. Virgin Atlantic will grant you a status, but instead of paying a fee, you’ll have to show that you’ve booked a flight with Virgin Atlantic, and it needs to be in premium economy or business class. That means that you’ll effectively have to pay around €900 for the match.

But that’s not the only catch. British Airways Silver (i.e. Oneworld Sapphire) is only matched to Virgin’s Silver status, which is only a SkyTeam Elite status. You’d need British Airways Gold (i.e. Oneworld Emerald) to get Virgin’s Gold status.

Virgin’s silver status benefits are much more limited than British Airways’ Silver benefits. What stands out most is the free piece of luggage and priority check-in/boarding on SkyTeam flights. For lounge access, you’ll need the Gold status.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Status Match: Go SkyTeam Elite Plus with a Single Business Class or Premium Economy Ticket

Flying Blue: Air France-KLM’s SkyTeam Status for £99 – Only for Brits

Flying Blue is the frequent flyer program of Air France and KLM and is generally more attractive than Virgin Atlantic’s program. The status match is also more attractive, as you only need a one-time payment of £99 to be granted the status for a year. However, there is a catch: The match is only available for UK residents.

Should you, however, be a UK resident, the benefits are definitely worth the £99. With Silver status, you get free luggage on all SkyTeam flights. With Gold, you also get lounge access. And with Platinum, you can select any seat that you want, directly at booking (especially nice when flying with KLM, as they have a few rows with extra legroom for Flying Blue status holders).

So, if you live in the UK and are open to flying with SkyTeam, you should really consider this status match:

Available for £99: Flying Blue Status Match for British Airways Executive Club Members from the United Kingdom

Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles: SkyTeam Elite Plus for $299 – Also for Non-Brits

The third and last SkyTeam status match: Vietnam Airlines will also match your status. Here’s the catch: while the fee of US$99 (~€84) for the Elite status is fine, the Elite Plus fee of US$299 (~€255) is hefty. Also, you need to hold British Airways’ Gold (i.e. Oneworld Emerald) status to be able to match to SkyTeam Elite Plus. With Silver, you’ll only get a SkyTeam Elite status (and even have to pay $159 instead of $99 without getting any great extra benefits for it).

This match, however, does have its advantages. Paying $299 is still cheaper than booking a Virgin Atlantic premium economy ticket, and you don’t need to live in the UK for this match.

Reminder: Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles Status Match up to SkyTeam Elite for $99, SkyTeam Elite Plus at $299

Conclusion

Overall, Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan stands out as an interesting alternative to the British Airways Executive Club within the Oneworld alliance. However, depending on your flight pattern, other programs are worth taking a look at too: Long-haul economy class flyers should make themselves familiar with Malaysia Airlines Enrich, and those who fly many short segments may want to consider Royal Jordanian’s program.

Furthermore, it’s a good moment to take a look beyond the Oneworld alliance and consider the current status match offers by airlines in the Star Alliance and SkyTeam.

Cover Picture: Qatar Airways plane with a Oneworld livery | Photo by Ninja on Unsplash