Executive Club Elite Tier Status extended by British Airways

After announcing a 12 month tier status extension in 2021, British Airways has today announced a further extension for its Executive Club members. Members will now retain their current elite tier status for another 12 months from their current status expiry date even if they don’t book British Airways flights during this time.

The extension has been granted to all members regardless of how many tier miles they earn or British Airways flights they travel on during their current tier collection earning year. The airline has also dropped its tier mile earning thresholds. To achieve or retain Gold status, the requirement has been reduced from 1,500 to 1,125 tier points. To achieve or retain Silver status has been reduced from 600 to 450 tier miles and Bronze from 300 to 225 tier miles.

The reduction in tier point earning requirements to retain or achieve status will be achievable at a much lower cost than possible historically because of the cheap British Airways business class deals on offer. As a result of the collapse in corporate travel, there is a lot more availability in premium cabins on all airlines globally. British Airways has historically generated most of its profits from premium passengers and therefore has a much greater capacity of premium cabin seats than other airlines. As a result, the British Airways First and Business class offers in the last few months have been provided exceptional value to travellers.

Niall Rooney, head of the British Airways Executive Club, said: “As we await the government’s decision in April and plan for the safe restart of travel as soon as possible, we want to thank our Executive Club members for their loyalty during the most difficult time in the airline’s history.

“We know many of our members haven’t been able to travel, but today’s news means they can keep their benefits for longer and use them when they’re able to fly again. We hope this complements a number of measures we’ve already introduced, including our book with confidence commitment, which provides flexibility and reassurance for our customers.”

In addition to no Executive Club member will losing their tier status in 2021, the airline has also granted a 6 month extension to all Executive Club vouchers, due to expire before December 31, 2021. Any new voucher earned between June 2020 and the end of December 2021 will also have an additional 6 months validity added to it.