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/£17.50 or 9000/£25 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
Mar 25, 2015, 12:43 pm
#1426
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Brighton and Hove, UK
Programs: LH FTL, BA Silver, Thameslink Delay Repay
Posts: 1,248
Aaaaand just managed to find perfectly timed redemption seats to MIA this autumn and got rid of my last 100k Avios and 241 - feeling smug! I don't think I've had a three-digit Avios balance since the year I first joined BAEC...
I was originally quite upset about these changes, as I was with Gold benefit cutting, new CE, POUG limiting, OB devaluation, and all that jazz - but to be honest it's probably been a good thing for me altogether as I've had a pretty good run, enjoyed some things while they were still great, and matured from a status chaser to a creative cheapskate. One FT stereotype to another, figures!
Now off to cancel the BAPP and get the Platinum Cashback Credit Card - TCB offsets the first year's annual fee (£25) and 1.25% cold hard cashback definitely trumps 1.5 Avios now.
I was originally quite upset about these changes, as I was with Gold benefit cutting, new CE, POUG limiting, OB devaluation, and all that jazz - but to be honest it's probably been a good thing for me altogether as I've had a pretty good run, enjoyed some things while they were still great, and matured from a status chaser to a creative cheapskate. One FT stereotype to another, figures!
Now off to cancel the BAPP and get the Platinum Cashback Credit Card - TCB offsets the first year's annual fee (£25) and 1.25% cold hard cashback definitely trumps 1.5 Avios now.
Mar 25, 2015, 2:50 pm
#1427
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HEL
Programs: BA Gold, AY Gold
Posts: 649
Thank you and thank you Tobias for your reply as well! I did not know this. I've just noticed that most airlines that give very little miles to their own customers usually give very little miles to members of partner programs as well. Hence the logic that it would be BA that decides.
Mar 25, 2015, 3:22 pm
#1429
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: London
Posts: 17,007
Thank you and thank you Tobias for your reply as well! I did not know this. I've just noticed that most airlines that give very little miles to their own customers usually give very little miles to members of partner programs as well. Hence the logic that it would be BA that decides.
Therefore there are complex commercial agreements about how many miles get awarded for each fare class.
Mar 26, 2015, 1:40 am
#1430
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: BA Gold, AA Lifetime Gold 1.8mm, IC Spire Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, SPG Gold et al
Posts: 4,350
Mar 29, 2015, 8:09 am
#1431
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Wedged somewhere between BTS and VIE ✈
Programs: Star Alliance Gold (A3 Gold), Oneworld Emerald (BA Gold), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,338
Is the Reward Flight Saver staying after the changes in April?
Mar 29, 2015, 8:23 am
#1432
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: London
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,916
Mar 29, 2015, 8:30 am
#1433
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Wedged somewhere between BTS and VIE ✈
Programs: Star Alliance Gold (A3 Gold), Oneworld Emerald (BA Gold), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,338
Apr 2, 2015, 9:53 am
#1434
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 5,041
Partner earnings have now been published eg AA
Looks like no more elite bonus with Iberia?
Right column mentions Avios Tier Bonus, but unlike the AA page
nothing about how much the bonus is???
JAL cheap eco will also be reduced from 30% to 25%
Also changes with
LAN, TAM, ALASKA, SRI LANKAN, QANTAS, CATHAY.
Looks like no more elite bonus with Iberia?
Right column mentions Avios Tier Bonus, but unlike the AA page
nothing about how much the bonus is???
JAL cheap eco will also be reduced from 30% to 25%
Also changes with
LAN, TAM, ALASKA, SRI LANKAN, QANTAS, CATHAY.
Last edited by Hannibal Lecter; Apr 3, 2015 at 4:43 am
Apr 2, 2015, 10:26 am
#1435
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: New York
Programs: QR Silver, BA Silver, FB Gold
Posts: 360
I'm a little confused. How can one find out how many tier points would be earned?
And another point, both the AA & IB examples posted by the OP have categories "Economy(lowest)" and "Economy (discounted)" listed in the tables, both these categories being ticked as earning tier points. But the blurb below the tables says only "Discounted economy flights earn 50% of the Tier Points of a full fare economy flight" -- nothing explicit about "Economy (lowest)".
Can anybody shed light on this?
And another point, both the AA & IB examples posted by the OP have categories "Economy(lowest)" and "Economy (discounted)" listed in the tables, both these categories being ticked as earning tier points. But the blurb below the tables says only "Discounted economy flights earn 50% of the Tier Points of a full fare economy flight" -- nothing explicit about "Economy (lowest)".
Can anybody shed light on this?
Apr 2, 2015, 11:01 am
#1436
Join Date: May 2008
Programs: BA
Posts: 199
I'm a little confused. How can one find out how many tier points would be earned?
And another point, both the AA & IB examples posted by the OP have categories "Economy(lowest)" and "Economy (discounted)" listed in the tables, both these categories being ticked as earning tier points. But the blurb below the tables says only "Discounted economy flights earn 50% of the Tier Points of a full fare economy flight" -- nothing explicit about "Economy (lowest)".
Can anybody shed light on this?
And another point, both the AA & IB examples posted by the OP have categories "Economy(lowest)" and "Economy (discounted)" listed in the tables, both these categories being ticked as earning tier points. But the blurb below the tables says only "Discounted economy flights earn 50% of the Tier Points of a full fare economy flight" -- nothing explicit about "Economy (lowest)".
Can anybody shed light on this?
Apr 2, 2015, 11:31 am
#1437
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Berlin
Programs: BA Gold; Accor Plat; IHG Diamond-Amb; Meliá & HH & Marriott Gold
Posts: 5,450
I agree that BA could present this information in a clearer and more comprehensive way.
Apr 2, 2015, 11:41 am
#1438
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: London
Posts: 17,007
I was assured categorically that I would receive Avios at the present level for tickets booked today for travel after 28 Avril — that seems in dispute
Apr 2, 2015, 12:36 pm
#1439
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,145
Updating the ba.com website is not one of BA's greatest strengths ... or indeed anything associated with their IT people
Apr 2, 2015, 3:24 pm
#1440
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: New York
Programs: QR Silver, BA Silver, FB Gold
Posts: 360
Normally, I would have just assumed that "discounted economy" was just a generic way of saying "any economy fare below full fare".
Normally, I would have also assumed that, in the absence of explicit clarification to the contrary, partner tier point earnings are not going to be generally enhanced below the present pre-28-April levels.
Normally, I would simply just go along and trust BA -- which is getting to be an issue for me right now. Most of us have no doubt been following the No soft landing thread; in particular, this:
Normally, I would have also assumed that, in the absence of explicit clarification to the contrary, partner tier point earnings are not going to be generally enhanced below the present pre-28-April levels.
Normally, I would simply just go along and trust BA -- which is getting to be an issue for me right now. Most of us have no doubt been following the No soft landing thread; in particular, this: