Jan 28, 2015, 1:49 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
The changes in summary
Applicable to bookings made from 28 April 2015
For more information, see BA's 28 January announcement and FAQ on ba.com
Earning
Changes to Avios accrual rates and tier bonuses
Earning with partners
Reduced earnings in Economy and Premium Economy
AA, IBERIA, JAL, LAN, TAM, ALASKA, SRI LANKAN, QANTAS, CATHAY.
Changes to tier bonuses
Changes to minimum Avios amounts (accrued per flight)
Changes to Tier Point earning rates
Spending
Promise of greater reward inventory/availability
Changes to standard flight redemption rates
Changes to Upgrade with Avios
Applicable to bookings made from 28 April 2015
For more information, see BA's 28 January announcement and FAQ on ba.com
Earning
Changes to Avios accrual rates and tier bonuses
- earning rates increase for flights booked in F, A, J, C, D, and W selling classes
- no change for flights booked in R, I, Y, B, and H selling classes
- earning rates reduce for flights booked in E, T, K, L, M, N, S, V, Q, O, and G selling classes
Earning with partners
Reduced earnings in Economy and Premium Economy
AA, IBERIA, JAL, LAN, TAM, ALASKA, SRI LANKAN, QANTAS, CATHAY.
Changes to tier bonuses
- no change to Gold tier bonuses (100%)
- Silver tier bonuses reduce from 100% to 50%
- no change to Bronze tier bonuses (25%)
Changes to minimum Avios amounts (accrued per flight)
- minimum thresholds increase for long haul premium fares (F, A, J, C, D, W)
- no change to restricted business class fares (R and I class) and flexible econony (Y, B, and H class)
- minimum thresholds decrease for WT+ (E and T class) - although there are no BA WTP flights that short
- minimum thresholds decrease from 500 to 250 Avios for mid priced economy (K, L, M, N, S, and V classes)
- minimum thresholds decrease from 500 to 125 Avios for cheapest economy (Q, O, and G classes)
Changes to Tier Point earning rates
- Club World London City flights reduce from 210 to 140 Tier Points
- Cheapest economy flights (in selling classes Q, O, and G) reduce from 50% to 25% Tier Points
- No change to minimum 2/4 segments for earning Bronze/Others
- No change to 25 segment / 50 segment Bronze/Silver earning option
- No other changes, thresholds still Bronze 300,Silver 600,Gold 1500,GGL 5000 (3000 to retain)
Spending
Promise of greater reward inventory/availability
- Guaranteed minimum 4 seats in economy on every flight
- Guaranteed minimum 2 seats in business on every flight
- Guaranteed seats will be available to book from 355 days before departure and may vanish 45 days before departure, if not already booked.
Changes to standard flight redemption rates
- Variable rates introduced divided into Off-peak and Peak
- For Peak time (school holidays and other busy times), and partner costs
- WT - stays the same cost
- WTP increases - from x1.5 to x2.0 multiplier (33% increase)
- Club World increases - from x2.0 to x3.0 multiplier (50% increase)
- First increases - from x3.0 to x4.0 multiplier (33% increase)
- For Off Peak time (including every Tuesday and Wednesday throughout the year)
- WT decreases by 35% from current values
- WT decreases by 13% from current values
- Club World increases by 25% from current values
- First increases by 13% from current values
- Free domestic add-ons abolished on short haul redemptions
- No word if CE redemptions will be charged 4500/Ł17.50 or 9000/Ł25 for the UK leg
- Variable rates introduced on Iberia
- Flight redemptions on BA's other airline partners will be charged at Peak rates all year round
Changes to Upgrade with Avios
- Eligible booking codes is set to increase in the near future, allowing mile upgrades from economy (WT and ET) for more travellers - K, L, M, N, S, and V classes added (exact fare codes subject to confirmation)
- Avios required for upgrade now based on the formula: Avios redemption price for the cabin you want to upgrade to, minus the Avios redemption price for the cabin you have paid for with cash. This means that certain off peak WTP to CW upgrades are more expensive than peak WTP to CW upgrades (assuming peak/off-peak variables will apply to UuA)
Executive Club Changes
Jan 29, 2015, 6:06 am
#796
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: not far from MUC
Posts: 6,620
Jan 29, 2015, 6:28 am
#797
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: TPA/ABZ
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold. GGL/CCR.
Posts: 13,248
That's a bit of an odd interpretation. Gold value has been increased for sure but the power of the joker to release redemption space will still be a very valuable GGL benefit.
Jan 29, 2015, 6:31 am
#798
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: SE1, London
Posts: 23,435
Marginally yes. However for someone who doesn't book holidays 355 days out the Joker is still a very powerful tool. Decide in December you have had enough cold and want to spend NYE on the beach? A joker will help but I doubt any of the 9million seats will be left.
Jan 29, 2015, 6:34 am
#799
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 995
The joker does not release any of the 9 million seats it releases new redemption space.
Jan 29, 2015, 6:35 am
#800
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: City of Kingston Upon Hull
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 4,940
Which is why I chose my words carefully to only refer to the sentiment rather the literal, in other words if you gloat about others having their benefits devalued you must realise that it can also happen to you. I for one had an idea that this would be around the corner after the GGL devaluation.
Remember that the previous changes significantly eroded the value of Gold so this could be seen as a reversion to the mean values of both cards.
Jan 29, 2015, 6:42 am
#801
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: Lots, some no/low status some high status, can't be bothered to list them :-)
Posts: 1,951
These things happen, devaluation/inflation whatever. It's part of life, it's part of FF life too.
Personally I'm not too bothered as I never chase status, these changes opened up some flights I'd been waiting for in C so I can burn a stash of Avios. At least there has been an opportunity to burn if so desired.
I appreciate my circumstances are different but the bottom line is this sort of thing happens in all FF schemes at some stage.
Personally I'm not too bothered as I never chase status, these changes opened up some flights I'd been waiting for in C so I can burn a stash of Avios. At least there has been an opportunity to burn if so desired.
I appreciate my circumstances are different but the bottom line is this sort of thing happens in all FF schemes at some stage.
Jan 29, 2015, 7:00 am
#802
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: South Coast, UK
Programs: Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 2,069
?
Will this become the longest thread on here in history ?
Jan 29, 2015, 7:05 am
#803
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,145
Jan 29, 2015, 7:08 am
#804
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Essex, UK
Programs: BA Executive Club, AZ, VS, AA, UA
Posts: 602
Jan 29, 2015, 7:48 am
#805
Join Date: Sep 2012
Programs: OneWorld, SkyTeam, StarAlliance
Posts: 13
I don't fly BA and use Avios earned via Amex MR and Chase cc for AA short segments in the US. I see the change only benefits me with a possible reduced redemption rate during off-peak. As a matter of fact, as long as I stay with coach awards, there will be no negative impacts.
Am I the lonely voice with this view?
Still debating whether to take advantage of MR->Avios 40% bonus before it ends in two days. The alternative is to start a new Flying Blue account to supplement my UA/AA reservoir, using it as a niche product, similar to Avios.
Am I the lonely voice with this view?
Still debating whether to take advantage of MR->Avios 40% bonus before it ends in two days. The alternative is to start a new Flying Blue account to supplement my UA/AA reservoir, using it as a niche product, similar to Avios.
Jan 29, 2015, 7:51 am
#806
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: London
Programs: Mucci (Scirocco Sash), BAEC Gold, IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 864
Personally not so bad it seems, but only because I do a few l/h a year with work – I’ll actually come out with more Avios on work trips to SIN in Club, even with the reduction in Silver Tier Bonus, and should be able to maintain Silver for now. Not sure why they need to reward corporate travellers who don’t have all that much say on how we travel (which most of us don’t, notwithstanding examples on here of people who are given quite a lot of autonomy)
Domestic/Europe earning effectively now reduced to an irrelevance (180 Avios, whoop!), but that is not my greatest source of Avios earning so I guess I’ll have to suck it up. I’d certainly give more thought to EI when popping back to Ireland now (who may end up back in the OW fold anyway!).
The increased redemption rates are very irritating, but
a) back to where they were a few years ago it seems (I’ve only been at this for 4 or 5 years); and
b) as someone said way up thread I’ll just have to wait a little longer for redemptions (the BA PP Amex at least gives a 2 year lifespan to the 2-4-1).
I can appreciate the irritation for those who fly a lot of intra-EU and/or on their own dime, but thought it worth providing an example of someone UK-based without especially unusual arrangements who is not that impacted. For now…
Domestic/Europe earning effectively now reduced to an irrelevance (180 Avios, whoop!), but that is not my greatest source of Avios earning so I guess I’ll have to suck it up. I’d certainly give more thought to EI when popping back to Ireland now (who may end up back in the OW fold anyway!).
The increased redemption rates are very irritating, but
a) back to where they were a few years ago it seems (I’ve only been at this for 4 or 5 years); and
b) as someone said way up thread I’ll just have to wait a little longer for redemptions (the BA PP Amex at least gives a 2 year lifespan to the 2-4-1).
I can appreciate the irritation for those who fly a lot of intra-EU and/or on their own dime, but thought it worth providing an example of someone UK-based without especially unusual arrangements who is not that impacted. For now…
Jan 29, 2015, 8:05 am
#807
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 995
Most businesses look at their customer base (we certainly do) and customers who provide more revenue and in particular more profit are likely to get special attention. BA is just doing the same to its customers by re-adjusting the rewards profile to its more profitable customers - what is the problem with this?
The terms of the Executive Club with these changes seem to be reverting back to the earlier days of the Executive Club when discounted fares did not earn much of any BA Miles or Tier Points.
The change to the LCY/JFK service made eminent sense and was a logical change.
Personally I do not think the changes have gone far enough - there needs to be a further reduction in the Avios pool which would be best achieved by reducing the Avios handouts from the likes of Tesco and credit cards. Hopefully this will follow. There also needs to be an adjustment of the number of qualifying BA flights upwards for all Tier levels to ensure that BA Tier is more relevant to people who actually regularly fly BA rather than those who just fly the minimum number to qualify.
I also think they should readjust the Tier Point earning levels on deep discounted Business class fares such as I class. This would thin out those achieving status to GGL and CCR levels by TP runs.
The terms of the Executive Club with these changes seem to be reverting back to the earlier days of the Executive Club when discounted fares did not earn much of any BA Miles or Tier Points.
The change to the LCY/JFK service made eminent sense and was a logical change.
Personally I do not think the changes have gone far enough - there needs to be a further reduction in the Avios pool which would be best achieved by reducing the Avios handouts from the likes of Tesco and credit cards. Hopefully this will follow. There also needs to be an adjustment of the number of qualifying BA flights upwards for all Tier levels to ensure that BA Tier is more relevant to people who actually regularly fly BA rather than those who just fly the minimum number to qualify.
I also think they should readjust the Tier Point earning levels on deep discounted Business class fares such as I class. This would thin out those achieving status to GGL and CCR levels by TP runs.
Jan 29, 2015, 8:19 am
#808
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Iver
Programs: BA GOLD/OWE BA Amex Prem Plus Tesco Airmiles Qantas Bronze IHG SPG Eithad
Posts: 2,902
Jan 29, 2015, 8:19 am
#809
Join Date: Feb 2012
Programs: BA LifetimeGold GGL/CCR
Posts: 1,140
Most businesses look at their customer base (we certainly do) and customers who provide more revenue and in particular more profit are likely to get special attention. BA is just doing the same to its customers by re-adjusting the rewards profile to its more profitable customers - what is the problem with this?
The terms of the Executive Club with these changes seem to be reverting back to the earlier days of the Executive Club when discounted fares did not earn much of any BA Miles or Tier Points.
The change to the LCY/JFK service made eminent sense and was a logical change.
Personally I do not think the changes have gone far enough - there needs to be a further reduction in the Avios pool which would be best achieved by reducing the Avios handouts from the likes of Tesco and credit cards. Hopefully this will follow. There also needs to be an adjustment of the number of qualifying BA flights upwards for all Tier levels to ensure that BA Tier is more relevant to people who actually regularly fly BA rather than those who just fly the minimum number to qualify.
I also think they should readjust the Tier Point earning levels on deep discounted Business class fares such as I class. This would thin out those achieving status to GGL and CCR levels by TP runs.
The terms of the Executive Club with these changes seem to be reverting back to the earlier days of the Executive Club when discounted fares did not earn much of any BA Miles or Tier Points.
The change to the LCY/JFK service made eminent sense and was a logical change.
Personally I do not think the changes have gone far enough - there needs to be a further reduction in the Avios pool which would be best achieved by reducing the Avios handouts from the likes of Tesco and credit cards. Hopefully this will follow. There also needs to be an adjustment of the number of qualifying BA flights upwards for all Tier levels to ensure that BA Tier is more relevant to people who actually regularly fly BA rather than those who just fly the minimum number to qualify.
I also think they should readjust the Tier Point earning levels on deep discounted Business class fares such as I class. This would thin out those achieving status to GGL and CCR levels by TP runs.
It would furthermore help to put the tier point qualifying level for silver at 1000 and for gold at 2000 or 2500 tier points. Gold should be more exclusive than it is now, otherwise BA will have to erode the gold perks very soon.
Jan 29, 2015, 8:21 am
#810
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Iver
Programs: BA GOLD/OWE BA Amex Prem Plus Tesco Airmiles Qantas Bronze IHG SPG Eithad
Posts: 2,902
