andymcdonnell

I'm currently BA Silver, have been for the last 3 years having been Star Gold for the previous 4 years. I travel transatlantic in J about 3 times per year and a few European flights, usually in Y. Is it worth me striving for Gold? What significant improvements will it give me over what I already get with Silver?

rockflyertalk

I'm in a similar position and never had gold. But I understand you will benefit from more Avios per flight. First Lounge access. First wing access. I'm sure others will be along to give you qualified full benefits.

I'd do it, even for the 12 months. But that's just something I'd like not need! 'I've got the Tee-shirt' so to speak

mikeyfly

If within 500 TPs and a while left on your year I'd do it to get the rest of that year, and the whole following year

madfish

Increased reward flight availability. Gold priority reward. But best of all... you get to look down on those who are merely Silver.

TravellerFrequently

Have you had a chance to look at details of Gold card membership on ba.com or in the Dashboard above?

In addition, the following threads may help:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...old-worth.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...sing-gold.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...old-worth.html

Krisz

I think if you are not too far to get Gold then you should try to get it.
For me the best is reward availablity. Not just for myself but for my whole household account. (without me traveling)
Of course a little bit better lounge and in LHR T5 the new secruity helps.
However if you are just about to reach silver each year and you would just fly to get gold (about 900 tier point) it's not going to worth it.

Greenpen

I was Gold for two years from my BMI *A status. I enjoyed it, the GF lounge is much better than the J one and you get better Avios availability on short flights.

paul4040

Depends on how often you fly.

I expect the the concept of status and FFPs to gradually wither and dissolve over the next 10-15 years as airlines increasingly compete on price and appeal to the lowest common denominator.

Personally I think Gold is a decent status but it's still not a level of "loyalty" which will make BA give a toss about your existence.

h15t0r1an

you do get luggage privileges. This can help a lot if its something you need. BA gets enough of my business to remain Siiver for this reason but otherwise I'm finding even Silver hard to strive for.

ds2016

Gold has been a godsend the last few days with the disruption. Being able to use the gold line and the first wing ticket counter to get our seats rebooked rather than queuing in the general queue at Heathrow alone was worth the extra money I spent to get gold. The lounges and everything else is a bonus.

no matter what they say about the product, but there are some excellent benefits with having the Gold membership most of which are mentioned elsewhere in the thread.

charlie1105

I was a few points short, and a short break to TLL in Dec got me to gold for the first time - I won't be renewing though, as for me the benefits aren't worth it...

I'm midlands based, so for shorthaul BHX or EMA is easier (and cheaper) than heading to LHR to fly BA. Longhaul I tend to fly J (or if BA then F on 241s - I despise CW) so I get most of the benefits (lounge access, extra bags) anyway.

Not chasing Gold frees me from sticking to OW, so I can pick the airline I want to fly based on product, price and convenience, which will more than make up for the few avios I miss out on (most of my points come from CC anyway).

I redeem exclusively in F using 241s (off to Saint Lucia on the 12th!) and my partner and I have a lot of flexibility about when/where we go, so there's no benefit to me on the redemption side either.

I'll probably hit silver without much effort, and the extra bag on domestic AA may come in handy, but the soft landing will see me through until Feb 19 anyway! I can quite happily cope with J lounges and check in!

So, I guess it very much depends on your flying/redeeming pattern - midlands based and long haul J/F, I just don't see the point. If I lived closer to LHR or flew long haul Y then it may be a different story. But for now, I'm happy being free to fly who I want and not worrying about whether I'm going to make renewal or not!

CKBA

... in the years before I even knew FT ever existed (I know - difficult to understand!) I hovered around the upper end of Silver at around 1200-1300 TPs/yr - so a no-brainer really.

For me its the better lounge access (both the First lounge at LHR - and the AA flagship lounges) free food/(premium)beverage on AA flights - and MCE, better reward availability (not just me, but also companions) - and the Gold line. Certainly worth a quick TP run to top those TPs up.... .

Guy Betsy

I got Gold (again) just to access the Cathay Pacific and Qantas First lounges !

And yes, to not have to be embarrassed after calling the Gold line (stored on my Skype) and then say, 'Oh you've called the Gold line sir, let me transfer you to the Blue line'

firstlight

Main advantages for gold that I see over silver are the better lounges and the extra reward availability in economy - especially booking exit row seats which gives you more legroom than club europe. I got 7 seats to Crete and back for avios in the school holidays with the reward saver costing less than the amount I'd otherwise have to pay to reserve the seats.

GlasgowCyclops

For Me. On 780TP with 120 due in June I'll have 500 to go for Gold by Oct. I have some WT+ flights that will get me there (only one way is value)

I fly long haul to either HKG or SIN every month in economy and GLA to LHR/LGW.

I go two ski holidays a year and hire a car so burn my avios every year. The extra Avios will allow me to get these holidays and also Long Haul upgrades to WT+ or CW now and then. EG in economy, I book the exit row so I can sleep and don't have to wake people up or get woken up for a toilet break. In WT+ you have enough space to jump over someone.... :-)


The access to the F lounge in LHR 4x a month and HKG 12x a year will be nice but I always find the Galleries lounge for silver and the Bridge in HKG nice. A big benefit is being able to use the arrivals lounge at PVG (only for OW emerald) and SIN, so worth it for me when I land on a 7am flight and I can relax until I go to my hotel.

Also if my colleagues are flying with me they can accompany me and also get extra baggage on the same booking. This will save my company money.

So, for me, as an economy flyer (Q,O,G) it is worth it. My company will pay the small amount extra for WT+ or CE to LHR for me to get enough points for Gold, in return they get the benefit of saving now and then for exit rows or for colleagues extra baggage.