Attaining Silver
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: BKK
Programs: BRK-B
Posts: 579
Attaining Silver
From March 2017 to March 2018, is it count as a membership evaluation period? I am Bronze in August 2017, and if I fly for another 300TP (December 17 to January 18) do I get upgraded to Silver? And do Silver passengers are entitled to use the IMMIGRATION fast track at LHR T3?
#2
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: Mucci Chevalier des Internautes Amables; BAEC
Posts: 934
From March 2017 to March 2018, is it count as a membership evaluation period? I am Bronze in August 2017, and if I fly for another 300TP (December 17 to January 18) do I get upgraded to Silver? And do Silver passengers are entitled to use the IMMIGRATION fast track at LHR T3?
And as Silver, you will be able to get a voucher on board to use Fast Track immigration. I am in a similar position, and it is probably the greatest single benefit for me personally. At T5 you can just show your card, but T3 you must have a voucher. Bear in mind that some flights don't have them, so I always make sure I have a stash. There would be nothing more heart-sinking than arriving at T3 behind a flight or two full of non-EU nationals.
#3
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: MSN
Programs: AA, BAEC Gold
Posts: 3,906
Your TP collection year will be from 9 March 2017 to 8 March 2018 and all TP earned in that period will count towards status. If you earned 300 TP by August and became Bronze and then earn another 300 TP before 9 March 2018 then you will become Silver until 30 April 2019 (provided you also have a total of 4 segments on BA).
#4
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver Seigneur des Horaires des Mucci.
Posts: 2,046
If I have read your post correctly, if you reached Bronze in August and then add the additional 300 TPs before the end of your year in March, then yes you will move up to Silver.
And as Silver, you will be able to get a voucher on board to use Fast Track immigration. I am in a similar position, and it is probably the greatest single benefit for me personally. At T5 you can just show your card, but T3 you must have a voucher. Bear in mind that some flights don't have them, so I always make sure I have a stash. There would be nothing more heart-sinking than arriving at T3 behind a flight or two full of non-EU nationals.
And as Silver, you will be able to get a voucher on board to use Fast Track immigration. I am in a similar position, and it is probably the greatest single benefit for me personally. At T5 you can just show your card, but T3 you must have a voucher. Bear in mind that some flights don't have them, so I always make sure I have a stash. There would be nothing more heart-sinking than arriving at T3 behind a flight or two full of non-EU nationals.
How long as that existed or is it for foreign nationals only?
#5
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,608
#6
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: Mucci Chevalier des Internautes Amables; BAEC
Posts: 934
#7
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: Mucci Chevalier des Internautes Amables; BAEC
Posts: 934
#8
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,608
There is no fast track lane for EU/EEA passports. It is either the e-passport gates or one queue for passport officers. I haven't seen a time when none of the e-passport gates weren't working.
#9
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: LHR GVA HKG TLV PVG JFK
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 3,913
From March 2017 to March 2018, is it count as a membership evaluation period? I am Bronze in August 2017, and if I fly for another 300TP (December 17 to January 18) do I get upgraded to Silver? And do Silver passengers are entitled to use the IMMIGRATION fast track at LHR T3?
#10
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: Mucci Chevalier des Internautes Amables; BAEC
Posts: 934
I wasn't suggesting there was! But I've been through T3 at least twice in the past few months where there was an e-gate problem and my colleague took longer to get through than I did via FastTrack.
#11
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,608
That may well be the case, but if your colleague was an EU passport holder having a fast track voucher wouldn't have helped in any way since there is no fast track lane for him/her to use.
#12
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: Mucci Chevalier des Internautes Amables; BAEC
Posts: 934
It would if he used the non-EU fast track lane! As I said, it's not the intended use but a smile and a bit of charm would get him through (not that it's typically necessary, as you suggest). I've managed on a couple of occasions to use the EU line (pre-BAEC status) - the border police are typically fairly human in my experience if you give them a smile and a friendly word.
#13
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2017
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 325
Most EU countries follow a 'local passports / all passports' model that is signed accordingly. The UK DOES also follow this, we just sign it differently ('UK/EU/EEA / Foreign'). But there's nothing stopping a UK/EU passport holder using the 'foreign' lane. That's why HAL (and GAL) employ a 'purple army' to barricade the entrance: they know the UKBF don't actually have a problem with enterprising UK/EU nationals using the shorter queue and this is the only way to protect it for visitors. I've never thought of keeping a FT voucher handy, but will definitely in future!
#14
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SW London
Programs: BAEC Silver; Hilton Diamond;a miscellany of other hotel non-statuses
Posts: 3,607
On the odd occasion before e-gates that I thought the UK line looked slow there was never a problem using the other queues, although I never knowingly used FT. Those on the desk don't mind who is using it do they ? There's a minor chance that a visitor could take a long time to process, but I don't recall ever feeling that choosing that queue had gone horribly wrong.