Your guide to the Executive Club, attaining status and earning Avios | 2017 edition
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i Preface Firstly, we'd like to extend a warm welcome to our new members. We've created this short guide with you in mind which we hope covers all the basics you need to know about earning Avios and Tier Points as an Executive Club member. In addition, consider this your crash course tutorial towards attaining status on BA. ii Contents 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 iii Acknowledgments This guide is a collaborative effort, and could not have been produced without the kind contributions from BahrainLad, britbronco22, corporate-wage-slave, David-A, DWFI, Globaliser, Hannibal Lecter, HELflyer, littlefish, LTN Phobia, NWIFlyer, orudge, Prospero, Raffles, srbrenna, Stez, Swanhunter, and Tobias-UK |
Introduction and overview of the Executive Club
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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:
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 https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...-accounts.html thread. After successfully signing up to the BAEC, and obtaining a 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. Please be aware that BA never changes membership year dates. Once you have a BAEC number, the membership anniversary is fixed for life. There is little point pleading for changes, the system simply will not allow it to happen. Note, the Executive Club no longer encloses plastic membership cards in its Blue welcome packs - Blue membership cards are only available in digital format, accessible either via the BA app or by download via ba.com. Bronze, Silver, and Gold members do however continue to receive plastic cards in their welcome/renewal packs.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:
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 |
Avios and Tier Points Explained
01 Avios Points
Avios points are the currency of the BAEC and other frequent flyer and consumer loyalty programmes that operate under the IAG umbrella. The other two IAG linked schemes are Iberia's Iberia Plus, and Avios Travel Rewards Programme, which runs a separate loyalty programme via avios.com. Avios points can be exchanged between schemes. It is also recommended that BAEC members open both Iberia Plus and Avios Travel Reward accounts to ensure that you are ready for any deals that come up. Iberia Plus needs 90 days after activity to enable transfers, but they often have different, lower rates to BAEC and a different peak calendar. You collect Avios when you fly with BA, its partner airlines and other oneworld airlines. You can also collect Avios on hotel stays, holidays and car rental, and when you're shopping, through deals with a wide range of partners. You can then spend them on flights and upgrades, on holidays and car rental depending on your location.You may also be aware of Aer Lingus AerClub. It also uses the Avios currency and transfer mechanism to/from BA, Iberia, exist via Avios Travel Rewards. Your Avios stay with you as long as your account remains active so make sure to collect, spend, purchase or share some Avios at least once every 36 months. This can be done either by flying, staying at a partner hotel, or even by buying a low value item from an online merchant linked to Avios. 02 Tier Points Most airline programmes work on the principle that if you fly a certain number of miles or fly in excess of a minimum number of flights in a twelve-month period, you’ll get elite status. Whilst the BAEC doesn’t work exactly like that, the principles are very similar. Tier points are separate and different from the Avios points. The BAEC was traditionally a reward programme principally aimed towards customers flying in premium cabins and on flexible tickets, rather than purely from accruing miles from flying. The emphasis has changed in recent years and the BAEC now offers value to a broader range of customers than ever before. Each flown segment, with the exception of certain non-BA flights, will earn a certain number of Tier Points. Get enough Tier Points within the span of your membership year, and you get promoted to the next tier. 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 |
Membership Tiers
There are four primary membership tiers in the BAEC
Blue entry level Bronze equivalent to oneworld Ruby Silver equivalent to oneworld Sapphire Gold equivalent to oneworld Emerald In addition to these, there is a upper Gold level called Gold Guest List (Gold GL or GGL) and Premier. The latter is an invitation only level. 01 Moving between tiers The promotion process is not as simple as it could be at first glance. First off, in addition to accruing the Tier Points required to qualify for promotion to the next tier or retain at the current tier, you also need to fly either two (for Bronze) or four (for Silver or Gold) eligible flights during your membership year. 02 What is an eligible flight? Examples of criteria used to determine eligible flights: BA operated + BA flight prefix BA operated + other flight prefix Other carrier operated + BA flight prefix IB operated + IB flight prefix Note, reward bookings and agency or industry discounted bookings are not eligible. BA/IB subsidiaries and franchise operated flights are included. Your tier status will change as soon as you cross the next threshold, although there may be a few days lag for the system to reflect it. You will continue to accumulate Tier Points until your membership year end date. So for example, if your membership year ends on 8 January, a flight taken on 8 January will count towards your old year. Your Tier Point balance will be zeroed out on 9 January reflecting the beginning of a new membership year. If you fail to accrue the number of Tier Points (or meet the requisite number of eligible flights) needed to retain your current level, you will drop to the level immediately below. This is often referred to as the soft landing. There are often questions raised in FlyerTalk as to whether BAEC will assist those who narrowly miss the tier point thresholds at the end of the membership year. There is evidence of flexibility in terms of extending the membership year by a week or two, so if you are in need of some flexibility call your local service centre after the relevant flights have posted. For comparison, the promotion and retention requirements and benefits of each tier are outlined below:03 Blue https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9...lub_178x70.jpg Blue is the basic level and is what you start on, for example if you register now via ba.com. Once you accrue the required number of Tier Points, you will be promoted to Bronze. 04 Bronze https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o...Bronze.001.png Entry and retention requirements: 300 Tier Points plus 2 eligible flights or 25 eligible flights Bronze members enjoy a number of benefits in addition to those experienced by Blue members.
05 Silver https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5...lub_178x70.jpg Entry and retention requirements: 600 Tier Points plus 4 eligible flights or 50 eligible flights Silver members enjoy a number of benefits in addition to those experienced by Bronze members.
06 Gold https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-F...lub_178x70.jpg Entry and retention requirements: 1,500 Tier Points and 4 eligible flights Gold members enjoy a number of benefits in addition to those experienced by Silver members.
07 Gold GL https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z...07/BAECGGL.jpg While strictly speaking Gold Guest List (GGL) is not a tier in its own right, it is in essence an upper subset of Gold. GGL offers the usual benefits that come with oneworld Emerald plus several exclusive, value added baubles when flying on British Airways. Entry requirement: 5,000 Tier Points To remain part of the list you need to continue to earn 3,000 Tier Points in each membership year going forward. There are several exclusive perks over and above the standard Gold membership benefits:
GGL benefits don't stop there. When you cross the 7,000, 8,000, and 9,000 Tier Point thresholds during your membership year, you will be invited to choose one of the following benefits:
To obtain further information about the Gold Guest List, please visit the https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...r-s-guide.html thread. 08 Premier https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E...7/BAECPrem.jpg Premier is an invitation only level. You can’t get to it by just flying a lot. The card is generally given to people that BA consider as being of commercial importance, and each new Premier has to be approved by the board. 09 Overview of tier benefits http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...eroverview.png See section 07 for GGL benefits that are renewed when tier level is retained at 3,000 TPs (Jokers, HHonors Diamond card, and EC Partner cards) versus benefits that are renewed at 5,000 TPs (Concorde Room card) 10 Two illustrative examples of how a member moves between tiers The graphs below provide illustrative examples of how a member may move up (and also down) the elite tier ladder as his/her membership year rolls forward. It may appear scary at first glance but don't worry, the important steps are explained beneath. http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...6/Tierjump.png Who travels religiously in BA Club World once every 36.5 days? Anyone you know? It really doesn’t matter - this graph provides an abstract example of how one might progress from Blue to Silver throughout the course of a single membership year. Assume all flights count for status and each accrues 140 Tier Points. Flight 2 takes the Tier Point balance just 20 points shy of Bronze. With two eligible flights already in the bag, it is the third flight that triggers promotion, which will last for the remainder of the current membership year plus the entire year that follows. But there is no stopping this guy. The fifth flight edges over the Silver threshold, the four eligible flights requirement is passed. As with the Bronze promotion that preceded the move to Silver, the new tier status will last for the remainder of the current membership year plus the entire year that follows. At the beginning of the new membership year, Silver status is carried forward and all tier points accrued during the last year are reset to zero. The task ahead is to retain Silver for the next membership year, which as we can see is accomplished within the first six months. Well done you, Sir! http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...6/Tierdrop.png Lifestyles do change and often without warning. The graph above shows a flying pattern that flatlines four months into the membership year. As the member fails to accrue enough Tier Points to retain Gold status, or even enough to meet the Silver threshold, he drops to Silver at the beginning of the new membership year. With some airline FFPs the member will meet the ground with an unceremonious thump. Fortunately, with the Executive Club you’ll never be demoted more than one tier at the end of a membership year. This is commonly referred to as a soft landing. The Gold benefits are also retained for 7-8 weeks until the Gold card expires and the new Silver card lands on the doorstep. With no flight activity at all during the second membership year, this member drops to Bronze at the beginning of the subsequent year, again landing softly. Silver benefits are retained until the card expires. For more information and discussion, see https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...iers-baec.html 11 Lifetime status Lifetime Tier Points Following the lifetime elite status concept adopted by other airlines, the Executive Club introduced Lifetime Tier Points in 2013. Lifetime Tier Points are simply the accumulation of the total number of Tier Points you’ve accrued since joining the Executive Club or for veteran members the calculation goes back to the date Tier Points were introduced to the Executive Club. All members irrespective of tier status (including Premiers) accrue Lifetime Tier Points whenever they fly and earn Tier Points for that flight. There are no conversions or transfers to worry about - one Lifetime Tier Point is added to your lifetime balance for every Tier Point you earn. You can view your current lifetime balance by logging into your account on ba.com or on the BA mobile app. What is the purpose of Lifetime Tier Points? Simple. Once you amass 35,000 Lifetime Tier Points you will automatically earn a Gold membership for life. This entitles you to the usual Gold benefits without having to accrue 1,500 Tier Points each year to earn them. You will still need to accrue Tier Points to unlock the additional Gold benefits, such as Gold Upgrade for Two vouchers, partner cards, and also Gold Guest List benefits. Once you reach 100,000 Lifetime Tier Points, you will automatically earn Gold Guest List membership for life. This comes with a Concorde Room Card and two annual GGL redemptions. Like the Gold membership for life, you still need to accrue Tier Points annually to unlock those additional GGL jokers etc. Even as a Gold or Gold Guest List member for life, if you have not earned, redeemed, purchased or transferred Avios for 36 consecutive months, all Avios Points you have accrued to that date will expire. 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 |
Earning Avios on flights
Well, we finally get down to the business of actually earning Avios!
01 Calculated the base mileage your flight(s) will generate First off, you need to actually work out how long a trip you’re travelling on. Karl Wartz’s Great Circle Mapper is great online tool for determining the distances between two points in general. The distances aren’t exactly what BA use, but they are pretty accurate for the purpose of calculated the base mileage. For BA earning specifically, you can use BA's very handy Avios and Tier Point Calculator. Another useful tool is orudge's excellent Unofficial Executive Club Calculator. 02 Guide to earning Avios and Tier Points on partners, codeshares and partner codeshares This is a little complex, so all the combinations are outlined as follows. There are two key concepts:
Applying that, the following scenarios are possible:
Some selling fare classes do not earn Avios and/or Tier Points. Look out for these in the tables below. Award fares do not earn Avios or Tier Points at all. With BA, these are tickets booked into X, P, U and Z. The actual number of Avios Points you earn on a flight is dependent on three factors:
Look at the examples below illustrating two sample boarding passes. One for a BA prefix, BA operated flight, the other for an AA prefix, BA operated flight. In fact they both relate to the same flight, Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow. As a Gold Card holder, Mr Wilkinson will earn a tier bonus for these flights at 100% of the sector distance, which in this case is 3,950 miles. Tier bonuses only apply to BA, AA, IB, and QF coded flights. In addition to the tier bonus, as Mr Wilkinson travelled in Club World he will earn a cabin bonus. The multiplier does vary dependent on flight code. The cabin bonus for the BA coded flight is 150%, but is only 25% for the AA coded equivalent. Even if the flight is operated by BA, the cabin bonus calculation follows the flight prefix. Here, Mr Wilkinson will earn a cabin bonus of 5,925 Avios Points by flying Chicago to London on a BA coded ticket but only 988 Avios Points on an AA coded ticket. The distinction can be summarised as follows: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-i...s300/BA294.jpg BA294 ORD-LHR J/D 3,950 Avios Points BA294 Tier bonus 3,950 Avios Points BA294 Cabin bonus 5,925 Avios Points Combined earning 13,825 Avios Points https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5...00/BPs.001.png AA6194 ORD-LHR J/D 3,950 Avios Points AA6194 Tier bonus 3,950 Avios Points AA6194 Cabin bonus 988 Avios Points Combined earning 8,888 Avios Points 03 Earning Avios on BA flights Pay particular attention to the fare class, as this determines how many Avios points you will earn on each flight. Note the earning rates factor in the appropriate Cabin Bonuses. The minimum number of Avios collected will be pro-rated (calculated using the base distance x earning percentage) depending on the purchased fare class. The tier bonus is calculated as a straight forward percentage of the base distance. For example, for a Silver member the short flight between LHR to AMS in Euro Traveller booked into O class will earn 125 Avios plus a 250 Avios Tier Bonus. In this case and for other short flights where the baseline figure of 500 mi is higher than actual flight distance (231 mi) the baseline is used to calculate both the number of Avios earned and the tier bonus. http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_BA.png04 Earning Avios on oneworld partner flights There are currently fourteen active oneworld member airlines, Air Berlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LATAM, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, SriLankan Airlines, and S7 Airlines. http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...09/Earn_AB.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_AA.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_CX.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_AY.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_IB.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_JL.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_LA.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_MH.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_QF.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_QR.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_RJ.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_S7.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_UL.png 05 Earning Avios on EC partner flights http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_EI.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_AS.png http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Earn_IG.png Globaliser kindly listed out the current earning categories for each airline partner, here 06 Earning Tier Points Unlike Avios points which can be earned through a multitude of activities, Tier Points can only be earned through the pursuit of flying and are earned on all commercial BA and oneworld fares (subject to a few exceptions). In very general terms, the longer the flight and higher the fare class the greater number of Tier Points you earn on each flight. When crediting Tier Points to your account, the Executive Club tracks the flight prefix and booking code. Refer to Section 02 for examples of ticket scenarios and to Section 03 partner tables for specific exceptions. http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...6/Earn_TPs.png † This table now reflects our understanding that the TP earn rates for economy is applicable to non-BA flights as well as BA flights. The August 2015 update to the ba.com calculator has given us a clear indication that the Tier Point earning percentage now correlates with the Avios earning percentage for each economy selling class. From April 2017, earnings on UK internal flights fall in line with standard ET and CE rates Tier Points earned on flights operated by American Airlines within the United States are calculated per fare class rather than cabin. This means the Tier Points you earn for domestic First on AA two class services will be based on business class rates. 07 Earning Avios and Tier Points with upgrades If you are travelling in a cabin higher than the original ticketed class, the number of Avios and Tier Points awarded for that flight does vary, depending on the circumstances of the upgrade. Here are some common upgrade examples and what you should expect to earn for each category:
It is important to check your account afterwards since you may not be automatically awarded the correct amount, and you may need to make a claim for the missing Avios and Tier Points. Depending on where your BAEC account is based, there may be an online webform for submitting these claims. There is a separate webform for BA partner airlines. Alternatively, erroneous credits or credits that normally post automatically but have not may be corrected on request by contacting your local Executive Club service centre. There is a known issue affecting flights Upgraded using Avios where the Avios and Tier Points do not post automatically. This issue is known to occur with bookings made through offline channels and/or when the booking has been changed after the booking has been upgraded. This can range from date and time changes to purchasing a seat number or adding/amending a special meal request. The problem here is with the booking system as it renders the keyword BA uses to track the flight booking unrecognisable. This is easily resolved post travel by contacting your local Executive Club service centre. After reporting this issue to the Executive Club, the correct Avios and Tier Points usually follow within ten working days. 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 |
Earning Avios on hotel stays
Avios points can be earned directly on qualifying hotel stays through BAEC’s network of hotel partners. However, there are many other ways to reap reward out of your hotel loyalty. As each chain has its own reward programme, and they do differ significantly from programme to programme, it is worth investigating the pros and cons before handing over your BAEC card at check in. It is worth remembering points earned as a member of a hotel programme can in many cases be transferred to the BAEC, and for the last 3-4 years BA has promoted such transfers with an annual 25% bonus.
Generally, taking the Avios will normally be a sub-optimal use of the hotel programme's potential although it may still be a useful option to some, particularly those who have a healthy network of friends and family spread across the globe, and only need to book hotel accommodation a few times per annum. 01 Accor Hotels http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1216/4...02409f09_q.jpg Image: Sofitel LHR T5 (flickr: David at Redshift Photography) Participating brands and earning rates: Earn 2.5 Avios per €2 spent at Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure, The Sebel, Novotel, Suite Novotel, and Mercure properties Earn 2.5 Avios per €4 spent at Ibis, Ibis Styles, and Thalassa Sea & Spa properties Earn 2 Avios per €4 spent at Adagio properties Earn 1 Avios per €4 spent at Adagio Access properties You must also be a member of the Le Club Accorhotels programme to be able to collect Avios with this hotel group Le Club Accorhotels points can be transferred into a BAEC account at the rate of 4,000 Le Club Accorhotels points to 2,000 Avios. Conversions can only be made in increments of 4,000 points Click here for more information on Accor Hotels and Le Club Accorhotels programme. 02 Agoda.com Earn up to 10,000 Avios per night with hotel, villa, and apartment bookings made via the agoda.com/britishairways portal. 03 Carlson Rezidor Hotels http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5065/5...d4e5b4da_q.jpg Image: Radisson Blu Royal, Copenhagen (flickr: rieggi) Earn 500 Avios per stay at Radisson Hotels and Resorts, Radisson Blu, Radisson Blu Edwardian, Park Inn by Radisson, and Park Plaza properties You do not need to be a member of the hotel loyalty programme to collect Avios. Transfers into Avios can be done in increments of 100,000, 50,000 or 2,000 Gold Points. 2,000 points into 200 Avios (10:1) 50,000 points into 5,000 Avios (10:1) 100,000 points into 10,000 Avios (10:1) Transfers are promised to take 4-6 weeks to credit to your BAEC account Click here for more information on Carlson Hotels and the Club Carlson programme. 04 Fiesta Rewards http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...06/Fiesta.jpeg Image: Live Aqua Cancun (flickr: Shuttle Runner) Earn 2,000 Avios for every stay at the following hotels when staying for a minimum of two nights at Live Aqua Hotels, Grand Fiesta Americana Hotels, Fiesta Americana Hotels, and Fiesta Inn Hotels properties. Transfer Fiesta Rewards Points points into Avios in increments of 3,000 points at the rate of 3:1 (1,000 Avios for every 3,000 Fiesta Rewards points converted) You do not need to be a member of the hotel loyalty programme to collect Avios. 05 FRHI Hotels and Resorts http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3040/3...96979219_q.jpg Image: Raffles Hotel, Singapore (flickr: mgrenner57) Earn 500 Avios per stay at Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel properties. Fairmont President’s Club Premier Members will receive 750 Avios per stay at a Fairmont Hotel or Resort property. Fairmont President’s Club Platinum Members will receive 1000 Avios per stay at a Fairmont Hotel or Resort property. You do not need to be a member of the hotel loyalty programme to collect Avios. 06 Hilton http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2288/2...0d14e84c_q.jpg Image: Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona (flickr: bruce.bequette) You will need to join Hilton Honors in order to credit your stays to your BAEC account. Depending on your Honors preference Avios can be earned on stays booked directly via Hilton in addition to Honors points at the following rates:
You can alter your My Way earning style at any time via your online Hilton account. Transfer Honors points into Avios in increments of 10,000 points at the rate of 10:1 07 Hyatt Hotels and Resorts http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3530/3...684067a8_q.jpg Park Hyatt Tokyo (flickr: Travel Intelligence) Earn 500 Avios per stay at the Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, Hyatt Centric, Hyatt House, Hyatt Place, Hyatt Zilara, and Hyatt Ziva properties. You will need to join Hyatt Gold Passport in order to credit your stays to your BAEC account Hyatt Gold Passport points can be transferred into Avios in increments of 1,250 points into 500 Avios (5,000 HGP points minimum conversion). When you convert 50,000 points, you will earn a 5,000 Avios bonus. Click here for more information on Hyatt's Gold Passport programme. 08 InterContinental Hotels Group http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5144/5...18a277aa_q.jpg Image: InterContinental Hong Kong (flickr: LAXFlyer) Earn 2 Avios per US$1 spent at InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, and Hotel Indigo properties Earn 1 Avios per US$1 spent at Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, and Candlewood Suites properties Members must join IHG® Rewards Club, IHG’s loyalty programme in order to earn Avios. Transfer IHG® Rewards Club points into Avios in increments of 10,000 points at the rate of 5:1 Click here for more information on IHG's Priority Club Rewards programme. 09 Kaligo.com Kaligo is an online hotel booking service. When you book with Kaligo.com you can collect between 5 and 20 Avios for every £1 you spend 10 Kerzner International Resorts http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...6/Kerzner.jpeg Image: Atlantis The Palm, Dubai (flickr: Daniel Cheong) Earn 2 Avios per US$1 spent at Atlantis The Palm, Dubai, One&One Resorts, and Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort, Morocco Earn 1 Avios per US$1 spent at Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, and Candlewood Suites properties You do not need to be a member of the hotel loyalty programme to collect Avios. 11 Langham Hospitality Group http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7224/6...e0efc5a1_q.jpg Image: The Langham Hotel London (flickr: Ting-Kai Chang) Earn 500 Avios per night (max 1,500 Avios) at The Langham Hotels and Resorts and Cordis Hotel & Resorts properties Earn 250 Avios per night (max 750 Avios) at Eaton Hotel properties Executive Club Gold members are currently getting comp matched to the Voyager tier of Langham's 1865 programme. For more information, click here You do not need to be a member of the hotel loyalty programme to collect Avios. 12 Mandarin Oriental http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6239/6...c71f1874_q.jpg Image: Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London (flickr: carlosmelia) Earn 800 Avios per stay at Mandarin Oriental. In addition to Avios for the stay you enjoy the following benefits during your stay Silver, and Gold members
Premier members
You do not need to be a member of the hotel loyalty programme to collect Avios. 13 Marriott http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6197/6...320f3457_q.jpg JW Marriott Camelback Inn Scottsdale (flickr: marriottwestresorts) Earn 2 Avios for every US$1 spent at JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Renaissance Hotels, Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Marriott Vacation Club, Gaylord Hotels, and Edition brand properties Earn 1 Avios for every US$1 spent at AC Hotels, Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Marriott Executive Apartments, Moxy Hotels, and Protea Hotels properties You must be a member of the Marriott Rewards® programme to collect Avios with this hotel group. Marriott Reward Points can be transferred into Avios, as follows: 2,000 Avios per 10,000 MRP (quote code 788) 5,000 Avios per 20,000 MRP (quote code 789) 10,000 Avios per 30,000 MRP (quote code 790) 25,000 Avios per 70,000 MRP (quote code 565) 50,000 Avios per 140,000 MRP (quote code 566) Click here for more information on Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels and the Marriott Rewards programme. 14 Preferred Hotel Group http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7254/7...c349c19a_q.jpg Image: Trump SoHo™, New York (flickr: Tyrannosaurus_Rex) Earn 500 Avios per eligible Connect, Legend, LVX, Lifestyle, Preferred Hotels and Resorts, and Preferred Residences properties You do not need to be a member of the hotel loyalty programme to collect Avios. 15 Rocketmiles Rocketmiles is an online hotel booking service. Book your hotel stay with Rocketmiles and collect between 1,000 and 10,000 Avios per night 16 Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5301/5...c814f42b_q.jpg Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai (flickr: luxorium) Earn 500 Avios per non discounted or non corporate rate stay at Shangri-La Hotels, Shangri-La Resorts, Traders, and Kerry Hotels. You do not need to be a member of the hotel loyalty programme to collect Avios. Click here for more information on Shangri-La and its Golden Circle programme 17 Small Luxury Hotels of the World http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/...17/06/SLH.jpeg Image: CastaDiva Resort, Lake Como (flickr: CastaDiva Resort & SPA) Earn 500 Avios per eligible stay booked directly via slh.com or the SLH reservations call centre To earn Avios, you will need to join The Club of SLH, the hotel group’s own loyalty programme, and select British Airways Executive Club as your earning preference 18 Starwood Hotels and Resorts http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8535/8...b0c8b485_q.jpg Image: Sheraton Stockholm (flickr: s_p_o_c) Sheraton, St Regis, Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft, The Luxury Collection, Element, Le Méridien, Aloft, Westin, and W brands SPG Preferred Guest members earn 2 Avios per US$1 spent SPG Gold/Platinum members earn 3 Avios per US$1 spent To earn Avios, you will need to join Starwood Preferred Guest, Starwood’s own loyalty programme, and select British Airways Executive Club as your earning preference SPG members can transfer Starpoints into Avios at the rate of 1:1, with a 5,000 Avios bonus with each transfer of 20,000 Starpoints. There is no minimum transfer for SPG Platinum members. SPG Gold members have a minimum point transfer of 1,500 Starpoints. SPG Preferred members have a minimum point transfer of 2,500 Starpoints. Click here for more information on Starwood and the SPG programme. 19 Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6...69afc0c3_q.jpg Taj Exotica Resort and Spa, Maldives (flickr: luxorium) Earn 500 Avios per eligible stay at Taj Luxury Hotels Earn 250 Avios per eligible stay at Vivanta by Taj and The Gateway Hotels There is no separate hotel loyalty programme for you to join so all you need to do is present your BAEC card to collect Avios. 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 |
Credit card partners
Depending on where you live, you may be able to take out a BA affiliate branded credit card and earn Avios on purchases. The list below covers personal credit card products and is ranked by country. There are other business related products available. These are not currently listed here - you can however obtain information on credit cards tailored for SMEs on BA.com.
In addition to the products we've outlined, BA has other credit card partners, such as Barclaycard in UAE, Diners Club in Switzerland. These are not listed since these cards are no longer being issued to new customers. Most cards offer companion vouchers which can be earned each year as a result of racking up card spend. The spend thresholds do vary from product to product. Furthermore, some products offer very generous sign up bonuses, particularly those issued by North American banks. While these five figure bonuses are certainly enticing, it is recommended you analyse for yourself the value of the card against the cost of redeeming Avios for flights as a member of the Executive Club. For example, it now costs over £630 in taxes/fees/charges to redeem Avios for a Club World round trip between London and Tokyo. 01 Canada: RBC® British Airways Visa Infinite https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0...7/BA_CC_CA.jpg
02 Denmark: British Airways MasterCard by Resurs Bank http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/.../BA_CC_DK.jpeg
03 Hong Kong: Dah Sing British Airways Platinum Card (Visa) https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d...7/BA_CC_HK.jpg
04 India: ICICI Bank British Airways Premium American Express https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-g...7/BA_CC_IN.jpg
05 Russia: Russian Standard Bank British Airways American Express Premium/Classic https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v...BA_CC_UK02.jpg https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-I...BA_CC_UK01.jpg
06 South Africa: British Airways Credit Card https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-y.../BA_CC_ZA2.png
There is a series of additional benefits earned on your annual cumulative spend that the cardholder may use on BA flights operated by Comair:
07 Sweden: British Airways Visa https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-c...7/BA_CC_SW.jpg
08 Switzerland: Diners Club British Airways Card https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-f...A_CC_CH_DC.jpg
09 Switzerland: Cornèrcard British Airways Gold MasterCard https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-m...CC_CH_MC01.png
10 Switzerland: Cornèrcard British Airways Classic MasterCard https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-g...CC_CH_MC02.jpg
11 United Kingdom: British Airways American Express Premium Plus https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v...BA_CC_UK02.jpg
12 United Kingdom: British Airways American Express https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-I...BA_CC_UK01.jpg
13 USA: British Airways (Chase) Visa Signature® https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y...CC_US_2015.jpg
14 Other credit cards There are other lucrative credit card earning opportunities out there, albeit indirect. For example, Lloyds TSB offers two products which earn Avios Points in connection with the UK based Avios Travel Rewards Programme. In Spain you can collect Avios as a member of the Iberia Plus programme with one of Iberia's cards (Amex, Visa, Mastercard). These points can be transferred into an Executive Club account with relative ease using BA.com's Combine my Avios. Similarly, Member Reward points accrued through Amex spend can be transferred over to the BAEC, often with a very attractive bonus. Hotel programme affiliate credit cards are other examples that present opportunities to ripen point balances within their respective programme for later transfer into your BAEC account. For more information, please refer to the Exchanging other points for Avios section of this guide. 15 Further reading Raffles maintains an excellent overview on all UK airline and hotel affiliate credit cards on his headforpoints site. It is well worth a visit. 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 |
Earning Avios through everyday spending
Here is a summary of the Avios earning opportunities available via everyday spending. Note, many of these category descriptions were shamelessly lifted from BA.com. The vendors do change from time to time, so it's worth visiting BA.com for periodic updates.
01 Gate 365 Gate 365 is a BA online shopping portal that allows BAEC members to collect Avios when shopping at a large number of online retailers, including John Lewis, Marks and Spencer and Argos. The typical collection rate is 2 Avios for every pound sterling spent, though it can be as high as 12 Avios per pound sterling. A separate Gate 365 exists for BAEC members in the United States, but Gate 365 is not available elsewhere. To use the Gate 365 you need to enter the portal via your BAEC login, go to the relevant store from within the portal - it will start in a separate window - and shop online within that window. It is important to complete the transaction from within the window launched by Gate 365, you should not login directly to the retailer if you want your Avios points. Avios points will be awarded automatically within 40 days of purchase. Note that many retailers exclude certain items such as gift vouchers from the reward scheme. To check on your Gate 365 transactions, click on My Transaction History on the top right of the BA Gate 365 screen. 02 Magazine subscriptions Business Traveller Current subscriptions purchased through the BA.com portal qualify for a 20% discount and earn between 400 and 2,000 Avios Points.
Alternatively, you can pick up a copy in the lounge for free and forgo the Avios (The UK edition of Business Traveller is stocked in most BA lounges) 03 BA Wine Club The BA Wine Club is run by Laithwaites Wine, and operates in a similar way to the BA eStore. It is open to UK residents, who need to log in via BAEC and then select the shopping option under the Collecting Avios menu. There is an additional registration stage for the BA Wine Club. There are over 1,500 lines on sale, and 250 Avios are awarded for every case of 12 bottles purchased. 1000 bonus Avios points are awarded with the first order. Typically you can choose between 6 and 12 bottles of a particular wine, though some higher value wine can be purchased by individual bottle. Wine is delivered within 3 days. US residents earn 1 Avios per US$ spent with Quintessentially Wine. If you sign up before the end of August 2012, you earn 5 Avios per US$ spent during the first three months of membership. 04 Car Rental The Executive Club has only one car rental partner, Avis. Fortunately, Avis’ footprint is widespread and global. EC members are offered very competitive rental rates with excellent benefits in most markets such all inclusive insurance and a free additional driver with every rental. The Avis and British Airways Partnership also features an "Avis Priority Rental Service" at London Heathrow. This exclusively allows Gold card holders to pick up their rental car right outside the Arrivals hall at Terminal 5, instead of catching the shuttle bus to Avis Heathrow. GCHs are issued with a 4 digit security code by Avis via SMS and email which is used to unlock a security box on the wall to release their rental vehicle keys. BAEC members earn 3 Avios per £1 spent, with a minimum of 500 Avios per rental Rent with Avis four times or more in one year and collect 750 bonus Avios Don’t forget that it is still possible to earn Avios indirectly with other car rental companies. For example, Sixt and HHonors are in a partnership and it is possible to transfer HHonors points into Avios. Avis Zipcar Earn 2,000 Avios when joining Zipcar. Earn 50 Avios per reservation. 05 BA Holidays Earn 2 bonus Avios for every £1 you spend on holidays. That's on top of the Avios you'll collect for the flight and car rental elements of your package. You may also earn Avios on inclusive travel deals through BA. Typical bonuses include:
06 Foreign currency Travel and spend with an Executive Club Multi-currency Cash Passport A reloadable, pre-paid currency card from MasterCard. Collect one Avios for every £1 loaded or reloaded onto the card (minimum £50 spend). Holds up to seven global currencies and can be topped up anywhere in the world online, over the phone or at a bank. For more information on how it works and fees, please visit the Executive Club Multi-currency Cash Passport site 07 Airport parking You can earn up to 5 Avios per £1 spent with Holiday Extras airport parking or airport hotel booking with parking (UK properties only) Earn up to 250 Avios when you pre-book valet parking at London Heathrow airport (Terminals 3 and 5) Earn 5 Avios per £1 spent when you pre-book a meet-and-greet parking service at a UK airport other than Heathrow. 08 Heathrow Express rail transfers Collect 100 Avios per standard one-way journey, and 200 Avios for first class. You can buy tickets and get the Avios via their App (which is super convenient). For more information, please visit https://www.heathrowexpress.com/avios 09 Private car transfers Tristar Worldwide Chauffeur Services Collect 2 Avios for every £1 you spend on a journey with Tristar Worldwide (or equivalent USD or HKD). To earn Avios, you will need to register your Executive Club number when booking your car service online Hailo Hailo is a mobile app that allows you to book a black cab. Simply download the app, register your Executive Club number and collect 1 Avios for every £1 spent on a Hailo cab journey. 10 RAC Breakdown Cover RAC offers vehicle and breakdown services through a nationwide, branded patrol force, focusing primarily on vehicle repair and recovery with 4,000 dedicated staff throughout the UK. To receive your Avios and discounted rate for a new policy, please quote AVIOS1. Your Avios will be credited to your account within 45 days of purchase. Roadside & Recovery - 1,500 Avios Roadside, Recovery & At Home - 3,000 Avios Roadside, Recovery, At Home & Onward Travel - 4,500 Avios You can collect Avios on new RAC breakdown cover but not on joint, family or European breakdown cover or renewal policies. 11 Chic Outlet Shopping Villages Collect five Avios for every £4 or €4 you spend in any one of the Chic Outlet Shopping Villages, including Bicester Village just an hour from London. Just present your Executive Club card (or proof of membership) and shopping receipts at the Village Welcome or Tourist Information Centre on the day of your visit to collect your Avios. Bicester Village, London Kildare Village, Dublin La Vallée Village, Paris Las Rozas Village, Madrid La Roca, Barcelona Fidenza Village, Milan Fidenza Village, Bologna Maasmechelen Village, Brussels Maasmechelen Village, Antwerp Maasmechelen Village, Cologne Vertheim Village, Frankfurt Ingolstadt Village, Munich Suzhou Village, Shanghai Suzhou Village, Suzhou 12 High Life Shop You can collect Avios on board British Airways flights when you buy items from the High Life Shop, including perfumes, electronics, travel essentials and a lot more. Collect two Avios for every £1 you spend, rounded up to the nearest pound. Remember to ask your Cabin Crew member to swipe your Executive Club card when you pay. Avios are not available on purchases from the High Life Shop website or mail order service. 13 Online surveys Rewards for Thoughts is a free online community exclusive to the members of Avios Travel Rewards Programme and British Airways Executive Club that allows you to collect Avios by taking online surveys There is currently a 600 Avios sign up bonus on offer which posts within a week of completing your first survey. Thereafter, you will receive emails offering you to participate in lifestyle surveys whereby you can will collect 25 Avios for short surveys (9 minutes and under) and 50 Avios for long surveys (10 minutes or longer). 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 |
Exchanging points accrued on other programmes into Avios
01 Collecting Avios with Tesco (UK residents only)
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-4...7/BA_EP_CC.jpg Tesco is the UK’s largest supermarket chain. It operates a loyalty card scheme called Tesco Clubcard which awards 1 point for every £1 spent. Points can be spent in-store or with partners, including BA. Every £2.50 you receive in Clubcard vouchers can be converted into 500 Avios and every additional 50p worth of vouchers gives you 100 Avios. As with the BA AmEx, you can only convert points to Executive Club accounts that are UK domiciled. How do I join Clubcard? Pick up a free card at any Tesco, and then register it online or by posting back the form attached to the card. Alternatively, apply for the Tesco Credit Card. This doubles as a Clubcard and, in addition, earns you 1 point for every £4 (equal to 0.5 Avios per £1) you spend on the card anywhere, not just at Tesco. This is nowhere near as good as the BA Premium Plus AmEx (1.5 Avios per £1) but it can be used at places that refuse AmEx e.g. council tax and other utility bills. It can also be useful if you normally use your BA AmEx but want to delay the issuance of your next '2 for 1' redemption voucher. Can I have multiple Clubcards? Yes. However, Tesco does appear to be getting cleverer at spotting multiple mailings to the same address, and you may find that you can only qualify for a promotion on one of your accounts. To avoid duplicated mailings, ring the Clubcard Helpline and have the accounts merged. You will then only get one statement with one points total. However, if you receive multiple statements then you will also receive multiple bonus points coupons, of course! Do other businesses award Clubcard points? Tesco has a range of partners that award Clubcard points. See tesco.com for the current list. These include Avis and E.On. How can I earn bonus points? We have seen a gradual reduction in in-store promotions in the last few years, and you are now more likely to earn extra points from using special bonus codes for your online shopping. These usually give you an extra 200 / 500 / 1000 points when spending £x in specific areas of the Tesco website. These promotions, when available, are listed in Post 1 of the current ‘Tesco and BA’ thread. Post 1 also explains how to join the various Tesco clubs (lots of opportunities to receive bonus points coupons!) and how to recycle old mobile phones and inkjet cartridges for points. How do I convert Clubcard points to Avios? You can check your points balance at any time by going to tesco.com and clicking 'My Account'. Once every quarter, you will receive a statement with vouchers for points earned (minimum 250). Quarters run from Aug-Oct, Nov-Jan, Feb-Apr and May-July and you will receive your statement 2-3 weeks later. Each statement comes with a number of bonus points coupons to use in-store. Historically Tesco would automatically convert your points to Avios. This is no longer available to new cardholders but is still being done for those of us who signed up when it was possible. Today, you convert your points by going to the Tesco website and inputting the numerical code from your clubcard voucher. Ensure that your BAEC account address is the same as your Clubcard address. Can I do anything else travel-related with my Tesco points? There are a number of tour operators who offer discounts on holidays for Tesco points. You can get a £10 reduction for every £2.50 on Tesco vouchers you use. The more upmarket operators in the scheme include Cadogan Holidays and P&O Cruises. You can also redeem for Hilton, Marriott, Novotel and Mercure hotel stays, although there are often restrictions on minimum stay or weekend stays. See tesco.com/clubcard for details. 02 Shell Driver’s Club (UK residents only) https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j...7/BA_EP_DC.jpg Join Shell Driver's Club by picking up a card at a Shell Service Station, and register the card online. If you do not register your card within six months of first use and do not have any activity on the account in that period, the account may be closed, and points may be lost. If there has been no activity in a 12-month period for any card, Shell may close the account. There may be sign-up promotions where you can earn bonus points or Avios. Please see this master thread for up-to-date information. Log in to your membership account on the Shell website (if you just registered online, allow 48 hours after receiving your password) and select the option you want to redeem your points to. Shell will automatically redeem your points every quarter, in multiples of 20 points (10 Avios). So, fill up in Jan/Feb/Mar, and get Avios in May (it takes 28 days from statement date). If you want to change which redemption scheme to send your points to, make sure you do this four weeks before the end of a calendar quarter for it to take affect at the end of that quarter. If you do not select any redemption choices, then Shell will give you Shell Fuel Vouchers each quarter, 500 points gives you £2.50 fuel vouchers. If you buy more 150 or more litres of V-Power fuel in a quarter, you are invited to join the top tier level; the Shell V-Power Club, in the following quarter. The card is UK only, you cannot use it at Shell stations worldwide and can only be credited to UK based BAEC accounts. The scheme enables you to earn points which can be converted to Avios through purchasing Shell's products. 1 point is equal to 0.5 Avios (or 0.5 pence Shell vouchers). Fuel 1 point per litre on all fuel types (maximum 125 litres per transaction), unless: You buy more than 200 litres of fuel in any month: 2 points per litre up to and including 400 litres in a month. For each litre after 400, the normal rate of 1 point per litre applies. This means you get a maximum of 800 points at the 2 points rate, and any additional litres is added to that balance at 1 point. You hold a V-Power Club Card, 2 points per litre on V-Power fuel, no limit on earnings. Standard 1 point per litre rate apply to regular fuels. Other Shell Products Shell card members can also earn
Shell Shopping Shell has a cashback shopping website at www.shellonlineshopping.co.uk where each whole £10 spent will earn you 10 points. However, if you spend £19.99, you will only get 10 points, not 19 or 20 points. Occasionally promotions are on offer, for example, £2 spending on a particular brand will net you 10 points. It can take up to 35 days for points to be credited from the shopping website. It is generally regarded better value using the BA's own Gate 365 to collect Avios. Miscellaneous and Promotions At time of writing, there is a 50 points bonus for downloading the iPhone Shell Motorist app and purchase xx litres of fuel within xx weeks, and other offers pushed through the app along the same vein. 03 Heathrow Rewards (No domicile restriction) https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-i...0x110_F24C.jpg Receive 1 point for every £1 you spend in shops, bars, cafes and restaurants, at car parks and on pre-booked Heathrow Express tickets, and 1 point for every £10 exchanged at Bureaux de change. (Excludes tobacco and certain other products and outlets. Read the Heathrow Rewards terms and conditions for details.) As an Executive Club Member you can then convert your points for Avios in increments of 250 points. 250 points will give you 250 Avios. If you're not currently a member and wish to join Heathrow Rewards, an initial visit to ba.com for available sign-up bonuses. 04 American Express Membership Reward points (No domicile restriction) https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-m...7/BA_EP_MR.jpg Certain American Express cards offer Membership Reward points for purchases. The amount of points varies considerably between the different cards offered by Amex. The Reward points can then be transmitted to BAEC (and a long list of other loyalty programmes) via an online menu. There is an initial registration process to link your BAEC card number to Membership Rewards - this can take 2 weeks to be completed - but thereafter any transferred Reward points will arrive in your BAEC account within a few days. The conversion rate may vary depending on the country. In the UK, 1 Membership Reward Point will transfer over as 1 Avios point, there is a minimum transfer of 1,000 Reward Points / Avios. In Hong Kong it is 15 MR to 1 Avios. There are sometimes promotions with bonus Avios points awarded above the normal 1 to 1 exchange rate. Reward Points can also be transfered into Iberia Plus' frequent flyer programme at the same rate. 05 Transfer from (and to) other IAG programmes http://prospelicious.com/wp-content/.../06/IBplus.png Iberia Plus (No domicile restriction) Avios collected in your existing Iberia Plus account can also be transferred into your existing BAEC account using the "Combine My Avios" tool on ba.com. Note, Combine My Avios does not apply to accounts that are less than three months old. AerClub Transferring your Avios points between your AerClub account is possible but in order to do this you need to be enrolled in the Avios Travel Rewards Programme. Go to Avios.com and log in. Select 'Your account' and 'Combine/Transfer Avios to/from your AerClub, British Airways or Iberia accounts'. Avios Travel Rewards Programme (UK/ROI/ZA domicile restrictions) IAG also own a standalone Avios Travel Rewards Programme which is not directly connected to its airlines. Avios Group Ltd have an online presence via avios.com. The company was previously known as Airmiles. Did you know there are two ways of earning Avios on Flybe? One as a BA codeshare (already mentioned) credited directly to your BAEC account; the other way as a prime Flybe fare crediting to Avios Travel Rewards Points earned in avios.com can be used to redeem flights and other travel related services, including Eurostar train tickets. Sometimes the availability of flights on avios.com is better than via BAEC. Avios can be collected either from flying BA or IB (in which case the avios.com operates in a similar way to BAEC, minus the Tier Points), or as a loyalty scheme for retailers such as Tesco, Shell and Lloyds TSB. Sometimes avios.com has promotions and collection opportunities which are not available via BAEC. Avios can be freely transferred between the Executive Club and Avios Travel Rewards Programme using the "Combine My Avios" tool on ba.com.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 |
So, been trying to find an answer to my question using search, but haven't been able to find anything interesting.
I am looking at flight ex-DUB to SEA through LHR, and Google flights shows me, for the same set of BA-metal flights, a price of 1250e with Iberia and nearly 2000e with BA. So, I was looking at the Avios / TPs, but I am confused. It will fall under the following "rule" if I am not mistaken: BA partner airline prefix, BA operated flight You earn in accordance with the relevant partner table. However the flight does count towards a BA metal flight needed to obtain status. However, Iberia doesn't have any PE, so of course this doesn't show in any table... How much Avios / TPs could I earn? Would this flight get triple avios? For what it's worth, it's BA49 sold as IB4603 in T. Cheers ! |
Originally Posted by doudou91
(Post 27761736)
However, Iberia doesn't have any PE, so of course this doesn't show in any table...
How much Avios / TPs could I earn? Would this flight get triple avios? For what it's worth, it's BA49 sold as IB4603 in T. This rule has operated in the past in relation to some long-haul business class booking classes. Understandably, people were disappointed when they paid not insubstantial amounts of money for a long-haul business class ticket and then found it earned precisely zero in BAEC - but that was the situation. So it would not be a surprise to find that the same rule operated here, even though the cabin concerned is premium economy. It's also worth remembering that if the flight earns nothing in BAEC, it will not count as one of your two/four qualifying flights for status even if it otherwise satisfies the rule about qualifying flights. |
Great guide. Thank you. For the first time since I signed up to BAEC in 2011 I now actually understand tier points! :-)
|
Pay extra for higher fare class after booking
It may sound strange but I did this once on an AA flight, the supplement I needed to pay for the higher fare class was irrelevant seen the extra mileage I would earn and it ensured I was platinum after the outbound part of the trip.
I don't know if it's something you can do on BA. I have a longhaul flight booked in fare class 'O'. 25% miles. Fare class 'S' would give me 50% of the mileage and is just one class up I think? Getting these extra miles would mean I would have enough for a redemption I'm planning. But I don't want to break the bank, I don't know how much the fare difference between 'O' and 'S' would typically be. Did anybody do this on BA before? It took a while to explain everything to the AA call center the previous time I did this, I don't know if BA is used to these type of requests... |
My Tier Point collection year ends 08 Apr 2017. I'm currently at 0 TPs.
I will fly a QR/CX itin worth exactly 600 TPs - with the first leg departing on 08 Apr 2017 (at 22:35). Will all 600 TPs be credited to the next collection year? |
Originally Posted by ritesa
(Post 27904406)
My Tier Point collection year ends 08 Apr 2017. I'm currently at 0 TPs.
I will fly a QR/CX itin worth exactly 600 TPs - with the first leg departing on 08 Apr 2017 (at 22:35). Will all 600 TPs be credited to the next collection year? |
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