images: British Airways, Genius1, and hilltopper

Introduction and overview of the Executive Club
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom and a wholly owned subsidiary of the International Airline Group (IAG). It is also a founding member of the oneworld global alliance.


01 The Executive Club

British Airways’ frequent flyer programme is called the Executive Club (BAEC). The main benefits of this loyalty programme are:

• Redemptions for flights on BA, oneworld and certain other carriers;
• Other travel offers such as hotel bookings;
• Progression of elite status, which is recognised across oneworld airlines.

Most frequent flier programmes (FFP) are open to anyone to sign up for and the BAEC is no different. Enrolling is easy and can be done online on ba.com.

If you are based in Australia or New Zealand, you will not be able to join the BAEC, unless you have an address elsewhere in the world. BA recommends you join the Qantas’ Frequent Flyer programme instead.

You also need to be 18 or over to join the BAEC. The only exception to this is the household account, which is explained in full in the old Ultimate BA Guide thread.

After successfully signing up to the BAEC, and obtaining a PIN/Password, you can add a number of personal preferences into your profile, such as your contact details, default seating preference (window or aisle), your passport information and any dietary requirement you have. You will be set a membership year which initially lasts between 12 and 13 months. The actual duration is dictated by the date you join. For example, if you sign up on 12 January, your year end will be 8 February the following year. Similarly, if you join on 24 October, your year end will be 8 November the following year. After your first year has passed your membership year cycles in more regular 12 monthly intervals.


02 Status Match from other FFPs

BA very rarely gives out complimentary elite status or matches status from other FF programmes. The exceptions to this are:

• If you’re an employee of a large corporation that has a deal with BA. Your best bet is to speak to your account manager to see what he/she can arrange.
• Complimentary status can also come through contact with your local country office, generally through a business to business liaison.
• Occasionally complementary status is offered if another airline pulls out a particular route that BA continues to serve, or goes into liquidation. FlyerTalk is a good place to monitor such developments.

Diamond Club status match
Following IAG's acquisition of British Midland International (BD), members of BD's Diamond Club were invited to join the Executive Club. To ease the transition, BA initiated a very generous tier match proposition directed at Diamond Club *S and *G members whereby *G is matched to Executive Club Gold and *S to Executive Club Silver for a period of twelve months.

The match is easy to activate. Just go to ba.com. If you are an existing Executive Club member you can apply immediately, otherwise a new BAEC account will be created for you. Once you're set up with an account, you can proceed with the match.

It is apparent the match is being processed behind the scenes similarly to the way normal BAEC tier advancements are handled. Therefore from the date of match, your new tier will be applied to duration of your current BAEC membership year and the year that follows. So if you time your match carefully, it is possible to maximise the match potential as far as twenty-three months.

BA has not defined how long this match will be offered. The invitation is currently active.


Introduction and overview of the Executive Club | Avios and Tier Points explained | Membership Tiers | Earning Avios on flights | Earning Avios on hotel stays | Credit card partners | Earning through everyday spending | Exchanging other points for Avios