Gold Status Much Better Than Silver?
Nov 21, 2018, 1:16 am
#31
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: in a cabin
Posts: 6,521
With BA as your primary carrier the difference would appear to be small these days.
- GF has gone to the dogs. Slop canteen + a tried menu with cheap wine and bubbled. There used to be quite a step up in F&B compared to Galleries Club. Place tends to be busier than ever.
- You get Group1 at boarding which is a plus
- Additional award seats in Y can be useful
- Other OW carriers like AY give you preferential treatment (Free drinks in Y, newspaper). Fly Y with BA and you're uncouth, unless on Longhaul with a sharp CSD.
- If you use T3 then Gold is great due to the excellent lounges available
- F check-in at LHR is nice. But you still have Fast Track as Silver.
- GF has gone to the dogs. Slop canteen + a tried menu with cheap wine and bubbled. There used to be quite a step up in F&B compared to Galleries Club. Place tends to be busier than ever.
- You get Group1 at boarding which is a plus
- Additional award seats in Y can be useful
- Other OW carriers like AY give you preferential treatment (Free drinks in Y, newspaper). Fly Y with BA and you're uncouth, unless on Longhaul with a sharp CSD.
- If you use T3 then Gold is great due to the excellent lounges available
- F check-in at LHR is nice. But you still have Fast Track as Silver.
Nov 21, 2018, 1:28 am
#32
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: BAEC Gold, IHG Spire Elite
Posts: 289
You're absolutely right that Bronze to Silver is a huuuuge jump. You won't find Gold to be anywhere near as groundbreaking.
I've spent 2 years as Gold and 4 years as Silver on BA, I think Gold is a step up from Silver, but not worth spending any money or energy on for the sake of it.
The extra Y availability in Europe is great. That's the thing I missed the most when I dropped from Gold to Silver for a while.
I've spent 2 years as Gold and 4 years as Silver on BA, I think Gold is a step up from Silver, but not worth spending any money or energy on for the sake of it.
The extra Y availability in Europe is great. That's the thing I missed the most when I dropped from Gold to Silver for a while.
Nov 21, 2018, 1:36 am
#33
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: GLA
Programs: BAEC: Silver. Nothing else as TopCashBack trumps all hotel programs
Posts: 801
Is Group 1 really a tangible difference from Group 2 though...? I mean what difference does it really make?
I get the difference between group 1 and the "rabble". But group 1 and 2? I see no actual benefit, You get on the plane 2.23 seconds faster?
I get the difference between group 1 and the "rabble". But group 1 and 2? I see no actual benefit, You get on the plane 2.23 seconds faster?
Nov 21, 2018, 2:58 am
#34
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: BAEC Gold, IHG Spire Elite
Posts: 289
Group 1 makes a material difference when travelling Y long haul. You board into an empty cabin because GCH don't travel Y.
You get to stretch out and put all your bags away and talk to the cabin staff for 5-10 minutes before others enter the cabin.
You get to stretch out and put all your bags away and talk to the cabin staff for 5-10 minutes before others enter the cabin.
Nov 21, 2018, 3:06 am
#35
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: BAEC Gold, EK Skywards (enhanced Blue !), Oman Air Sindbad Gold
Posts: 6,399
Nov 21, 2018, 3:17 am
#36
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: All over the place often South Wales and Lake District
Programs: BA Gold for Life Accor Platinum
Posts: 4,552
It’s a slippery slope. Once you are gold the target then becomes Gold Guest List and that’s where the fun really starts....upgrade vouchers, jokers (which release redemption seats otherwise unavailable), partner cards (1 x gold and 2 x silver to give to members of your household account), CCR access and yours for only 5,000 tier points (3,000 tier points to renew).
Happy flying!
Happy flying!
Nov 21, 2018, 3:29 am
#37
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 1,354
I find myself 70 points away from Gold when I include my upcoming flights having been Silver for the last few years. All of those are in J or F except a DUB-LHR hop in Y. I could upgrade these to J but the cost of the upgrade is almost €400, pretty much the same price as a new J flight. The flights aren’t until March so I’m hoping for a Black Friday or New Years sale but if not, is the €400 worth it?
Nov 21, 2018, 3:31 am
#38
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Roswell, GA
Programs: BA Gold-Virgin Gold-Delta MM-Hilton Diamond-Hyatt Globalist-Marriott Gold-IHG Plat Amb-Accor Nobody
Posts: 259
Great Thread ..... Thanks OP !
I've been GGL for 3 years and will soft land to Silver next May. I was wondering about the impact this would have on my well being, if I should do a quick tier point run to get me back to Gold, or just ride Silver out and see what it's like. Thanks to this thread I feel comfortable doing the latter.
I made the decision not to chase GGL or Gold after becoming disenfranchised with the BA product. Sure, you can cherry pick some sweet spots, but overall for each trip I do, I can find better price performance from other airlines, without being brand loyal. I'm based in the US, so this definitely impacts my situation. In the past 12 months I've traveled in business with Emirates, Qatar, Virgin, Singapore, American, etc. all based on what's the best deal/service at that time. And, in all cases I never felt I was missing something compared with an equivalent BA/GGL flight. The freedom from constantly trying to work my schedule around OneWorld is very liberating
I've been GGL for 3 years and will soft land to Silver next May. I was wondering about the impact this would have on my well being, if I should do a quick tier point run to get me back to Gold, or just ride Silver out and see what it's like. Thanks to this thread I feel comfortable doing the latter.
I made the decision not to chase GGL or Gold after becoming disenfranchised with the BA product. Sure, you can cherry pick some sweet spots, but overall for each trip I do, I can find better price performance from other airlines, without being brand loyal. I'm based in the US, so this definitely impacts my situation. In the past 12 months I've traveled in business with Emirates, Qatar, Virgin, Singapore, American, etc. all based on what's the best deal/service at that time. And, in all cases I never felt I was missing something compared with an equivalent BA/GGL flight. The freedom from constantly trying to work my schedule around OneWorld is very liberating
Nov 21, 2018, 3:32 am
#39
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Roswell, GA
Programs: BA Gold-Virgin Gold-Delta MM-Hilton Diamond-Hyatt Globalist-Marriott Gold-IHG Plat Amb-Accor Nobody
Posts: 259
Nov 21, 2018, 3:34 am
#40
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Roswell, GA
Programs: BA Gold-Virgin Gold-Delta MM-Hilton Diamond-Hyatt Globalist-Marriott Gold-IHG Plat Amb-Accor Nobody
Posts: 259
Jump not as big but the benefits are nice. They also extend across the OW group so you may find, depending on where you travel, that there are lounge benefits for example. In Japan Silver gets you a room, coffee and crisps but Gold gets you a similar room plus a soup, bread, a rice cake and a Danish pasty type of thing plus better booze.
Nov 21, 2018, 3:36 am
#41
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 54
I've bounced between Bronze and Silver for much of the last 10 years, but made Gold last year for the first time. My opinion:
- As others have said, the really big/useful jump up in benefits is getting lounge access when you make Silver. But....
- The lounge provision (especially at LHR) is quite a bit better if you are Gold - so if you spend lots of time hanging around LHR, Gold will improve your experience considerably.
- Ditto the First Wing at LHR - a significant upgrade!
- The 'soft landing' to Silver is going to be a big benefit for me - I am flying much less this year than last, so when I hit gold late last year, it was good to know that I had at least Silver guaranteed until early 2020.
- The big difference I've noticed is in general 'sucking up to you' benefits. The contact I have with BA is noticeably more, shall we say, 'accommodating'. When I call the Gold line, the phone gets picked up straight away - and you generally get somebody who knows what they are doing. I have never had to HUACA in order to get something done. I generally get a CSD welcome when on board, the Golden Ticket is a great initiative, and so on.
- Additional reward availability for Golds is a huge and very underrated benefit. Decide in June that you want to get 4 people to Mallorca in August - no problem (and if used in that way, can save hundreds compared to buying flights).
For me, Gold has been a very good experience, that I'll be sad to lose at the end of this year. I would definitely change my flying behaviour to the tune of 200-300 extra TPs to qualify again (i.e. if I was going to hit around 1200-1300, it'd be worth me TP running for the rest) - but not for the more like 800 extra TPs I actually need to do!
- As others have said, the really big/useful jump up in benefits is getting lounge access when you make Silver. But....
- The lounge provision (especially at LHR) is quite a bit better if you are Gold - so if you spend lots of time hanging around LHR, Gold will improve your experience considerably.
- Ditto the First Wing at LHR - a significant upgrade!
- The 'soft landing' to Silver is going to be a big benefit for me - I am flying much less this year than last, so when I hit gold late last year, it was good to know that I had at least Silver guaranteed until early 2020.
- The big difference I've noticed is in general 'sucking up to you' benefits. The contact I have with BA is noticeably more, shall we say, 'accommodating'. When I call the Gold line, the phone gets picked up straight away - and you generally get somebody who knows what they are doing. I have never had to HUACA in order to get something done. I generally get a CSD welcome when on board, the Golden Ticket is a great initiative, and so on.
- Additional reward availability for Golds is a huge and very underrated benefit. Decide in June that you want to get 4 people to Mallorca in August - no problem (and if used in that way, can save hundreds compared to buying flights).
For me, Gold has been a very good experience, that I'll be sad to lose at the end of this year. I would definitely change my flying behaviour to the tune of 200-300 extra TPs to qualify again (i.e. if I was going to hit around 1200-1300, it'd be worth me TP running for the rest) - but not for the more like 800 extra TPs I actually need to do!
Nov 21, 2018, 3:39 am
#42
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: GLA
Programs: BAEC: Silver. Nothing else as TopCashBack trumps all hotel programs
Posts: 801
I find myself 70 points away from Gold when I include my upcoming flights having been Silver for the last few years. All of those are in J or F except a DUB-LHR hop in Y. I could upgrade these to J but the cost of the upgrade is almost €400, pretty much the same price as a new J flight. The flights aren’t until March so I’m hoping for a Black Friday or New Years sale but if not, is the €400 worth it?
Nov 21, 2018, 3:40 am
#43
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: GLA
Programs: BAEC: Silver. Nothing else as TopCashBack trumps all hotel programs
Posts: 801
Nov 21, 2018, 4:06 am
#44
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: EDI
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 466
For me, Gold has been a very good experience, that I'll be sad to lose at the end of this year. I would definitely change my flying behaviour to the tune of 200-300 extra TPs to qualify again (i.e. if I was going to hit around 1200-1300, it'd be worth me TP running for the rest) - but not for the more like 800 extra TPs I actually need to do!