My next move after BA Executive Club changes

[@chriscatignani]

Quick correction: Finnair's loyalty scheme is already a revenue based system. However, it only applies to flights on Finnair itself. Partner airlines earn based on distance flown etc. Much like BA is now revenue based, but it applies only to flights on BA, AA, and IB.

[@LoyaltyLlama]

Thanks! I thought it was a bit surprising they were still doing distance based even for partners like BA and Iberia despite sharing the loyalty program currency.

[@chriscatignani]

It's a strange web of relations for all these airlines!

[@kuzeyboy]

20 to 30% is only a little bit higher?

[@LoyaltyLlama]

Yep, 20% of £7,500 is significant. Inaccurate choice of words on my part.

[@MrBrightstar78]

If you can afford to fly premium, this change won’t make a difference. The only ones getting upset are those trying to keep up with the Joneses. I’m glad they’ve adjusted the model-everyone and their godmother were crowding the lounges, which took away from the experience. It’s a premium product, and if you can’t afford luxury, it simply isn’t meant for you.

[@demlotcrew]

It’s far from premium when compared with other airlines. This is a cost cutting measure and will be a net loss long term for BA.

[@MrBrightstar78]

@@demlotcrew You are right. I see your point. This could be a revamp of the entire premium range. They announced a new 1st class as well, no? Their premium product is a mess. I hope this signals a new direction.

[@kevinoleary123]

Let them eat Pret cake. 😂

[@MrBrightstar78]

@@kevinoleary123 😂😂😂😂

[@Aarontlondon]

Now that Amex lounges are everywhere and they’re so much better than BA lounges, I no longer have any interest in being anything better than BA Bronze. Seat selection is the only thing left that’s important to me.

[@LoyaltyLlama]

Do you mean Amex Centurion (which I agree are nice but I wish there were more of them!) or Priority Pass (which there are a lot of but not all of them are nice). In any case, that's roughly what I plan to do as well. Though for LHR and LGW PP lounges are already crowded so I wonder how much worse they'll get if / when folks who drop down to Bronze or Blue turn to those PP lounges.

[@AndrewMuscat-t3k]

Does silver status allow you to select seats on the emergency exit row? As a tall guy, this is important to me. Gold status has allowed me to select these seats, but due to the changes i will most likely become silver status

[@Aarontlondon]

@@AndrewMuscat-t3k Yes, you will still be able to select seats at the time of booking with Silver as you can with Gold. I’m bronze most of the time, more often than being silver, and although I’m only able to select seats a week before flying with bronze, I ALWAYS am still able to select the emergency exit seats for myself and my partner, so being Silver certainly will not be an issue for you.

[@LoyaltyLlama]

One exception is emergency exit row on long haul flights - these you'll have to pay for with Silver. Short haul are fine though.

[@AndrewMuscat-t3k]

@ thank you. I did think there was a difference

[@lawrencewang9048]

I wouldn’t bank too hard on Turkish Airlines’ program for the reason that their points saw a 50% devaluation last year. Really nice, world class airline, but The economics of that country is screwed and sometimes, it reflects on TK as well. The only logical explanation for the devaluation is that the executives realised that the value of Lira in their coffers was diminishing quick, and they had to find a way to service their current and future liabilities, so by devaluation, one would need to spend more earning miles&smiles before getting into biz class. If I wanted TK, I would redeem via Aeroplan instead. More stable and plenty of deals across the year for discounted points

[@hislatestflame7861]

This change will only affect those who want something for nothing. Personally, I’ll keep flying BA regularly as it’s one of only two airlines that fly to my regular destination in Europe(the other being Ryanair). As I usually fly club Europe I’ll still get the lounge access and fast track security and with Bronze status I’ll get to book my seats a week in advance. That will do me.

[@bhillson]

Changing your money spent is the best thing to do

[@theshieldhero7062]

What about the option of achieving status with Qatar Airways instead since it is still a One World alliance using the avios system as well and still operates on a distance based model to achieve status if I am not mistaken ?

[@LoyaltyLlama]

Correct, QR are part of OW and are still using a distance based approach to status. So you could indeed earn Silver status with them but I'm not sure if it would work out cheaper than just doing it directly with BA. QR is less generous with tier points per flight than BA used to be under the old system, here's the calculator: www.qatarairways.com/en/Privilege-Club/qcalculator.html Plus you need at least 4 of your flights to actually be operated by QR.

[@Jacob-mv2jh]

The quality of your videos has really improved over the past few months - awesome!

[@LoyaltyLlama]

Thank you, great to hear!

[@sandanista2002]

Thank you for this rational commentary. I will not be boycotting BA as i actually quite like flying with them. Collecting Avios remains my priority. If I get some airline status along the way, fine.

[@LoyaltyLlama]

Exactly my thinking as well!

[@acpats]

Within the first minute you mention "silver is the sweet spot as you still get access to lounge" then go on to show a clip of the Gold Lounge at T5 after walking in from security. The exact lounge you don't get 😂

[@LoyaltyLlama]

Good catch! In my mind such videos are just b-roll that only has to be loosely related to what I'm saying in the background. That's of course different when I'm actually reviewing something or showing figures / infographics. Also I realized I didn't have any footage of the Galleries lounges.

[@gap9992]

It used to be the Concorde lounge that had direct access after dedicated security. That was for first class paying ticket holders. To get to the standard first class lounge, that Gold card holders can use, you still had to go the long way round. Has that changed now? I have been BA out of Gatwick over recent years having retired

[@vincepham3645]

It doesn't seem people understand that revenue driven status isn't the problem, at least not for those that spend on business/first class flights for leisure already and not just trying to get status on the cheap through tier point runs. The issue with BA's new scheme is that the threshold is disproportionate to the point(s) earned per £ spend. From what I saw on Finnair's website recently they will move to a revenue based status system in March this year, however the big differences with BA are 1) the threshold is lower (45k for OW Sapphire, 80k for OW Emerald) 2) points earned per € spent is higher 3) points earned per € spent increases with status (min 6, max 10 per € spent) 4) their partner awards are more generous. I strongly agree with your point #4

[@LoyaltyLlama]

Yep, BA basically went from "very easy to get status" to "overly difficult to get status". Agree the program being revenue based is not the problem here, the thresholds are. But they have to have been based on how much their passengers historically spend. So they either have a large enough number of high spenders or are trying to make the club a lot smaller.

[@GWJUK]

I’ve never done a tier point run but Silver was just about achievable for me through my private spend and time. These were the rules that BA set, no loop holes or gaming. Nothing was on the cheap either thank you. Please don’t rely on a very small number of people to put everyone in that bracket. The lounges won’t be quieter they will eventually just be less in number, come on we know BA 😂

[@Crazy_Charo]

I fly somewhat regularly for work and earn my status that way, but with these changes its likely that I wont renew to Gold in 2026. I have already hit over 1500TP in 2024, so should renew to Gold in April this year meaning that I would be fine for the year but would need to spend enough to get gold under the new scheme for 2026, which is unlikely. What I might do is fly Qatar more often because they seem to have the best partner TP earning potential, i.e. 50% of miles flown if in Business. LHR-DOH is 3260 miles one way, so a return flight would get 3260 TP, just on that trip, and not counting any onwards flight if I connected via Doha. This obviously means a much longer flight with a connection, but if I am not in a hurry then I could potentially get to Silver in just one trip. I am gonna have to see how it pans out this year, but its fair to say that I just like everyone else am very upset about these daft new changes.

[@YESHIVA2919]

You are wrong.

[@gap9992]

It didn't take long for 'outraged' people to realise that these changes will not ruin their life! lol. Your strategy is what most people should be doing The Tier benefits are nice to haves but never worth missing out on better seat price deals to chase BA will monitor bookings, collect feedback and then introduce incentives as they see fit. With the new system it will be very easy to introduce incentives on both Avios and tier points that people will easily understand and react to, one way or the other.

[@LoyaltyLlama]

Agree with you that these changes are definitely not the end of the world and, personally, I don't mind the new system that much. But also feel bad for people who were going for lifetime Gold or had already booked a bunch of 2025 trips counting on the double tier promotion and the old rules in general. It's not the changes, it's the way BA has executed them.

[@tantobieroo]

Its about time they changed it - the lounges are full and everyone and their uncle is a silver card holder. Lounges are full of commuting crew drinking champagne and can't get a seat. I'm glad it it moving to a cost based club. Will be more exclusive

[@MrBrightstar78]

I agree-I mentioned the same thing in another post. Honestly, I don't mind the change. I appreciate that they adjusted it because the lounges were becoming overcrowded and losing their sense of exclusivity. I'd prefer they keep them more exclusive. What does bother me about BA, though, is that their premium offerings, like First and Business Class, no longer feel truly premium. I recently flew Club to Miami, paid a hefty price, yet the aircraft was not only outdated, but the cabin also looked worn out, almost as if it were falling apart.

[@LoyaltyLlama]

Changes do make sense in terms of addressing lounge overcrowding and such. I just hope BA doesn't later give up a bunch of lounge space (since there're less people using it now!) to further save money and we'd be back to overcrowding.

[@smfjsy]

Most would argue that it was internally driven by BA’s double tier point scheme over the years.

[@desmondseeto4293]

Talk slower!

[@lloyd2g]

Playback speed 0.85 might work better for you sir rather than leaving someone a rude comment on a video aimed at helping people.

[@tomd3448]

​@lloyd2g quite right. I could understand perfectly well.

[@robbie5651]

Perfect talking speed.