Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
British Airways has announced sweeping changes to its passenger loyalty programme, sparking criticism from some customers who fear they will lose travel perks.
The airline, which has been under fire with cancellations and delays having risen since the pandemic, is shaking up its points system in which passengers earn rewards such as free seat selection and access to BA’s lounge.
Under the changes, points will be awarded based on the cost of flights or package holiday bookings instead of the class of travel and the length of trips.
Some industry figures say the move, which will be introduced from April, will hit leisure travellers, who could previously hunt around for the best deals on flights to earn the rewards.
“BA is effectively washing its hands of the leisure market,” said Rob Burgess, editor of frequent flyer website Head for Points.
“Realistically, it will now be impossible to earn gold for small business travellers, economy travellers or self-funded leisure travellers.”
Flyers can attain bronze, silver or gold status in the airline’s Tier Points programme. One point will be earned for every pound spent, excluding taxes.
Bronze will now be awarded at 3,500 points, silver at 7,500 points and gold at 20,000 points in a rebranding of its offering.
Gilbert Ott, of frequent flyer website God Save the Points, said the move would “reward overall spend with the brand, rather than incentivising people to take lots of connections to artificially hit status”.
BA said the changes, part of a wider £7bn transformation programme, mean there are now “more ways than ever before to earn Tier Points”.
It added that aligning points earned with pounds spent will bring BA in line with a “model used by many other airline loyalty programmes across the world”.
Colm Lacy, BA chief commercial officer, said: “The changes we have announced today underline our continued investment in our loyalty programme and in our customers.”
Customers can also earn up to 2,500 points by spending on co-branded credit cards.
The Tier Points system is separate from the Avios loyalty currency that can be spent on flights and holidays.
