golfmad

I think you meant Flagship

May I add my welcome to you too Flounge. We hope to see more of you here.

Flounge

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've booked a return CE flight from 3 Dec to 4 Dec. Looking forward to the gold tier.

pablol

I think you've done the right thing. That's a marginal cash outlay for the Gold benefits.

TravellerFrequently

Good decision.

Enjoy the benefits of the status when you get your Gold card.

Make sure you update your FT profile!

Surgee

There are, by nature, many threads already on this topic, so apologies for bringing this one to life. Seeking the input of the community.

-Current silver, and will be about 600-700TPs short of Gold by the end of my TP year this summer.
-A long way off, but I am considering a few well crafted TP runs on AA.

-US East Coast based (NYC mostly, often BOS/WAS).
-I will fly between 60-80,000 miles or ~16-24 long haul segments, all booked in economy (work rules), and mostly US to India/Pakistan/Middle East, and mostly on BA or QR.
-In addition, I fly a decent amount of AA domestically (though there is not much benefit to silver vs. gold of which I'm aware).

The question is this:
1) Is it worth a push for gold?
-The F lounges and F check-in are nice, of course, but with this as much long haul economy as I fly, I'm edging for an Op-Up from time to time. In my opinion, a few op-ups on these long trips would make it all worthwhile, and this is presumably more common on BA as a gold than a silver.
-The cost of a few MRs would be around $1500 USD to make it, and I've never been quoted less than $400 to WT+ or $900 to CW for a long haul flight from Y.
-The soft landing is nice, though I will almost definitely make silver again next year, and almost definitely MR for gold next year, as my travel is likely to dip off again in 2 years time and it will be worth the extended soft landing.

2) For the gold out there who fly a lot of long-haul economy, do you get Op-Ups with any frequency?
3) Or, would I be better off just taking the money and splurging on a few paid upgrades?

4) Finally, do BA Golds still get exit-row selection in advance on long haul? This alone is a huge benefit in my mind.

Thank you for any insight!

NewForester

Personnaly:
1) no, unless you need to fly those AA sectors I would plan them for after you have qualified for Silver this year and get a big step towards Gold for next year
2) no, I have had many PE to CW and CW to First upgrades but never WT to anything
3) ummm
4) yes but others can pay for them nowadays

Ancient Observer

In my very, very, humble opinion, as you are so far away from Gold, it will be an expensive push. If you were closer, I would say go for it.
On the issue of upgrades, the relevant threads suggest that being Gold does not help.
I'm sure that someone somewhere knows how upgrages work.
However, they have not posted the answer on FT.

windowontheAside

I wouldn't do it hoping for an upgrade. In five years of Gold, I've had two upgrades on l/h that I can recall, and that's over quite a few WT+ tickets on full flights which is generally reckoned to be the sweet spot for upgrades.

Both my upgrades were on expensive/full fare Y tickets. If you fly those, then you may be in with a shout. If you're in cheaper Y seats, you could easily not see any upgrades in the entire time you were Gold.

The long haul exit row seats are a big benefit, and the one that I will miss when I drop to silver later this year. But I'm closer to renewal than you, and I'm not bothering to go for it. I don't think it's worth it, but YMMV.

Surgee

Thanks all! Perhaps money better spent making the gradual push to gold over next year, as I'll get more value from the extended soft landing spread out over the following years.
Also, now that I am BA silver, it sounds like I may actually be better off choosing to fly QR when I have the choice, as the soft product will be equal or better, and the hard economy product is surely better over BA with good seat selection too. They blocked my middle seat consistently as a lowly AA Gold. I just earn 30 fewer TPs on each round trip when I pick QR to India over BA...

scottishpoet

I got no op ups for the 15 months I was gold

I had 2 as silver in the few months before I became gold

I have had 1 in the 9 months since returning to silver

My own opinion, if you ar 600 point short then its not worth the push unless you know you will be even closer to gold next year.

A couple of hundred points short maybe but not 600 to 700 points worth.

Others may have a different opinion

tigertanaka

I am that focused on hitting gold at the moment that when I saw YMMV, my first thought was "that is 50 tier points on s/h".

Fraser

FWIW, On tickets where I could be upgraded (generally from W or J, no experience in Y) my upgrade ratio in the 5yrs I was a Silver was far higher than in my 9yrs as a Gold. From casual observation it seems GGL does experience a much higher rate of op-ups but otherwise I would put zero weighting on op-ups when considering a status bump n BAEC.

Although it's a pretty small point being BA Gold does allow you to use Flagship Check-in at JFK, LAX, MIA, LHR and ORD. I'm a JFK "native" and use it regularly and it's really swift...often escorted to the front of the TSA Pre-Check line, never a wait to check-in...have used it at LHR, ORD and LAX too with similar results.

themax

I get regular upgrades from W to J and J to F on the MIA/LHR and YYZ/LHR routes (about 50% of the time). Yes, I have a high CIV and until a few weeks ago I was GGL (now just a lowly Gold!). To me, the benefit of the frequent upgrades, the extra baggage allowance, the use of the First Wing and Flagship First check-in are totally worth having BA Gold. I would never allow myself to slip down to Silver for this very reason, no matter what the price. Others may disagree, but I say go for Gold. Once you have it you won't want to lose it.

golfmad

I suspect that the regular upgrades are more to do with the loads on your flight than anything else.

themax

Absolutely.