Prospero

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 and Tier Points on flights
Earning Avios on hotel stays and accommodation
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 AJA_, BahrainLad, britbronco22, corporate-wage-slave, David-A, Dickbits, DWFI, Globaliser, Hannibal Lecter, HELflyer, jerry a. laska, KARFA, littlefish, LTN Phobia, MADPhil, NWIFlyer, orudge, PETER01, Prospero, Raffles, srbrenna, Stez, Swanhunter, and Tobias-UK

Prospero

="1"%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:

• Redemptions for flights on BA, oneworld and certain other carriers;
• Other travel offers such as hotel bookings;
• Progression of elite status, which is recognised across oneworld airlines.

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 Your guide to Household Accounts 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:

• If you’re an employee of a large corporation that has a deal with BA. Your best bet is to speak to your account manager to see what he/she can arrange.
• Complimentary status can also come through contact with your local country office, generally through a business to business liaison.
• Occasionally complementary status is offered if another airline pulls out a particular route that BA continues to serve, or goes into liquidation. FlyerTalk is a good place to monitor such developments.

Introduction and overview of the Executive Club | Avios and Tier Points explained | Membership Tiers | Earning Avios and Tier Points on flights | Earning Avios on hotel stays | Credit card partners | Earning through everyday spending | Exchanging other points for Avios

Prospero

01 Avios Points

Avios points are the currency of the BAEC and other frequent flyer and consumer loyalty programmes that operate under the Avios Group Ltd umbrella. Other AGL programmes include Iberia Plus, AerClub, Vueling Club, and Avios Travel Rewards Programme. It is also recommended that BAEC members also open an Iberia Plus account and/or AerClub account 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.

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 and Tier Points on flights | Earning Avios on hotel stays | Credit card partners | Earning through everyday spending | Exchanging other points for Avios

Prospero

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



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



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.

• 25% bonus Avios on BA, IB, AA, and JL coded flights.
• Allocate seats for yourself and other members in your party free of charge, up to seven days before departure (excluding exit row seats and all seats booked as Hand Baggage Only fares).
• You may use a Club World, Club Europe and equivalent oneworld business class check-in desks, irrespective of what class of ticket you have.
• Priority boarding

05 Silver



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.

• 50% bonus Avios on BA, IB, AA, and JL coded flights.
• Allocate seats for yourself and other members in your party free of charge, at the time of booking (excluding exit row seats in World Traveller and World Traveller Plus and all seats booked as Hand Baggage Only fares).
• You may use a Club World, Club Europe and equivalent oneworld business class check-in desks, irrespective of what class of ticket you have.
• Check in 2 bags each weighing up to 32kg in all cabins, on all routes, unless the cabin allowance is greater. This applies to all passengers travelling on the same booking.
• You and one guest may relax in a BA Galleries Club/Terraces/Executive Club and oneworld business class departure lounge. The guest must be travelling on BA or a flight operated by and prefixed with a oneworld carrier.
• Reservation Assurance on full fare economy tickets, ensuring a seat even where the flight is full.
• Priority boarding.

06 Gold



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.

• 100% bonus Avios on BA, IB, AA, and JL coded flights.
• Allocate seats for yourself and other members in your party free of charge, at the time of booking, including exit row seats (this benefit is prohibited when travelling on a HBO ticket)
• Allocate seat for a companion travelling on your flight, on their own booking. This cannot be done online. A "To Complete Party" request must made to your BAEC service centre.
• You may use a First, Club World, Club Europe and equivalent oneworld first or business class check-in desks, irrespective of what class of ticket you have.
• You and one guest may relax in a BA Galleries First and Club/Terraces/Executive Club or oneworld first and business class departure lounge.
• You may use a BA Elemis Spa before travelling on a long haul flight, irrespective of class of travel.
• You may use a BA Arrivals lounge after travelling on a long haul flight, irrespective of class of travel.
• Reservation Assurance on full fare economy tickets, ensuring a seat even where the flight is full.
• Priority over Blue, Bronze and Silver Members on waitlists.
• Additional reward availability in economy (V class)
• Gold Priority Reward. This allows a redemption for double Avios points if revenue seats are on sale but no redemptions are otherwise available. Gold Priority Rewards can only be booked offline and 30 days notice is required.
• No booking fee for reward flights using Avios. Fees apply when changing or cancelling redemption bookings (fees waived on Gold Priority Rewards)
• At 2,500 Tier Points, you will be awarded with one Gold Upgrade For Two (GUF2) voucher that you and a companion can use towards an upgrade to the next cabin on a flight of your choice, subject to availability. This voucher is valid for one year. Voucher validity can be extended by 6 months upon request.
• At 3,500 Tier Points, you will be awarded two Gold Upgrade for One vouchers, valid for one year
• At 5,000 Tier Points, you will receive a Concorde Room Card and invitation to the Gold Guest List. The Concorde Room Card allows you to use the LHR and JFK Concorde Room lounges when you are not travelling First.

07 Gold GL



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:

• No booking, change or cancellation fees on reward flights
• A twice per membership year redemption for up to 5 people (i.e. member and up to 4 others) booked into revenue classes (A, D, T, B) rather than award classes. Such GGL redemptions are known in some quarters as Jokers.
• A dedicated priority service phone number with dedicated 24-7 support desk.
• Gold GL members may invite up to five guests when travelling together on the same BA flight (or two when travelling on different BA or oneworld flights) into a BA operated Business or First departure lounge and may invite one guest into a BA Arrivals lounge.
• At the beginning of your membership year, you can share your membership benefits by giving someone else an Executive Club Gold Partner Card plus two Silver Partner Cards to other persons of your choosing. Hard landing applies to Partner Cards
• Complimentary Hilton HHonors Diamond status
• At 5,000 Tier Points, you will receive a Concorde Room card
• At 6,000 Tier Points, you will receive an additional Gold GL redemption "joker"

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:

• An additional GGL Redemption Award, or
• An additional two Gold Upgrade for One vouchers, or
• 50,000 Avios

To obtain further information about the Gold Guest List, please visit the Gold Guest List beginner's guide thread.


08 Premier



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



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.



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!



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 A brief guide to moving between Tiers in the BAEC


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 and Tier Points on flights | Earning Avios on hotel stays | Credit card partners | Earning through everyday spending | Exchanging other points for Avios

Prospero

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:

• The flight number/prefix. This can be the airline operating the aircraft, e.g. the BA005 from LHR to NRT or that of a codesharing airline who sell seats on the BA005 as the JL7080. As far as earning goes, it is the flight prefix in your booking that determines the number of Avios you will earn.
• The operating carrier (or metal). That is the airline who actually operate the aircraft. In the example above, that is BA.

Applying that, the following scenarios are possible:

• BA prefix, BA operated flight

  You earn Avios and Tier Points for a BA flight as per ba.com
• BA prefix, oneworld partner operated flight
  You earn Avios and Tier Points for a BA flight as per ba.com
• BA prefix, BA codeshare partner operated flight
  Where the partner in this case means a non-oneworld member e.g. China Southern. You earn as per a BA flight.
• BA partner airline prefix, BA partner operated flight
  
You earn as per BA flight but typically would receive Avios only and no Tier Points.
• 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.
• BA partner airline prefix, non-BA partner operated flight
  As a general rule, these flights do not earn Avios or Tier Points. See QF prefix/EK operated exception below
• oneworld partner prefix

  You earn Avios and Tier Points in accordance to the relevant partner table. As an example, a Cathay Pacific (CX) flight will not earn you any status bonus and the class of service bonus is lower (25% for J, 50% for F). However, one exception to this rule exists with Finnair marketed, BA operated transatlantic services which earn Avios and Tier Points accordance with the BA earning table
• oneworld partner prefix, oneworld partner operated flight
  You earn Avios and Tier Points as per the flight number you have bought. So if you bought a CX flight number on AA metal, you'd earn as per a CX flight.
• oneworld partner prefix, non-oneworld operated flight 

  For example, an AA flight number on HA. You earn nothing. The rule is that both the flight number and the operating carrier have to be in oneworld to earn. Some have successfully had Avios and Tier Points awarded in this instance but that is the exception and very much not the rule.
• BA prefix, Vueling operated flight
  You earn Avios and Tier Points
• QF prefix, non-oneworld operated flight
  Flights booked under the Qantas code (QF) operated by a non-oneworld airline will earn Avios and Tier Points in all applicable QF selling classes (see below) unless operated by Jetstar in a class other than L class.

Some selling fare classes do not earn Avios and/or Tier Points. The tables below indicate the fare classes that do earn so if your fare code is not listed then it probably will not earn Avios or Tier Points. Also, 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:

• Sector distance
• Status
• Class of service (or more importantly the booking class, also referred to as selling class)

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:

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.




04 Earning Avios on oneworld partner flights

At the beginning of 2020 there were thirteen active oneworld member airlines: American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LATAM, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, SriLankan Airlines, and S7 Airlines. In December 2018, Fiji Airways joined as a oneworld Connect member but at the time of writing BAEC collect and spend rates have yet to be finalised. Royal Air Maroc (RAM), the Moroccan national carrier and the country’s largest airline, became a full member of oneworld on 1 April 2020. LATAM exited the oneworld alliance on 30 April 2020 and from the perspective of the Executive Club transitioned as a partner airline. Looking forward to next year, Alaska Airlines is expected to join as a full oneworld alliance member on 31 March 2021.




























05 Earning Avios on EC partner flights







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.



† This table reflects our understanding that the TP earn rates for economy is applicable to non-BA flights as well as BA flights.

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:

• If you upgrade your ticket using Avios (UuA / MFU) then you get the Tier Points and Avios of the purchased ticket, so if you upgrade a World Traveller Plus ticket to Club World, you get the World Traveller Plus Tier Points and Avios.
• If you purchase an upgrade - either through Manage My Booking or at the airport, you will get the higher level of Tier Points. So going from World Traveller Plus to Club World, you would get the Club World Avios and Tier Points.
• If you receive an operational upgrade, you don't get the extra Tier Points and Avios of the upgraded sector, just those in accordance with the paid class of service.
• If you pay for an upgrade, and then get a further operational upgrade (e.g. World Traveller Plus to Club World to FIRST), you should receive the paid for Tier Points and Avios (here Club World).
• If you receive an operational upgrade and then pay for a further upgrade, you should only get the initial ticket level, in the above example World Traveller Plus Avios and Tier Points, but there are reports of passengers actually getting First Tier Points and Avios.
• If the upgrade is with a oneworld airline the same principles apply, however there are reports of AA not always granting these upgrades.

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 and Tier Points on flights | Earning Avios on hotel stays | Credit card partners | Earning through everyday spending | Exchanging other points for Avios

Prospero

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


Image: Sofitel LHR T5 (flickr: David at Redshift Photography)

Participating brands and earning rates:
Earn 2.5 Avios per €2 spent at Sofitel, Pullman, Fairmont, Raffles, Swissôtel, 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 Airbnb



Earn 3 Avios per £1/€1/$1 spend on Airbnb stays booked via the ba.com portal
500 Avios welcome bonus for new Airbnb customers


04 Avios Hotels



Earn 15 Avios per £1 spend on hotels, car hire, and activities booked via the ba.com portal


05 Best Western Hotels and Resorts


Image: Best Western Hotel Ceballos (flickr: Ted McGrath)

Earn 500 Avios every time you book via bestwestern.com.

Best Western Reward points can be transferred into a BAEC account at the rate of 5,000 Best Western Reward points to 1,000 Avios


06 Booking.com



Earn 6 Avios for every £1 you spend only on booking.com/britishairways


07 British Airways Holidays



Earn 1 Avios for every £1 you spend on British Airways Holidays


08 Hotels.com



Earn 6 Avios per £1 spend without Hotels.com Rewards
Earn 3 Avios per £1 spend with Hotels.com Rewards


09 Hyatt Hotels and Resorts


Park Hyatt Tokyo (flickr: Travel Intelligence)

Earn 500 Avios per stay at the Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Hyatt Centric, Hyatt House, Hyatt Place, Hyatt Zilara, and Hyatt Ziva properties.

You will need to join World of Hyatt in order to credit your stays to your BAEC account

World of Hyatt 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 the World of Hyatt programme.


10 InterContinental Hotels Group


Image: InterContinental Hong Kong (flickr: LAXFlyer)

Earn 2 Avios per US$1 spent at InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Kimption, EVEN, and HUALUXE properties located in United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America and Caribbean
Earn 1 Avios per US$1 spent at Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, and AVID properties located United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America and Caribbean
For all other participating IHG properties, a flat rate of 500 Avios will be earned for each qualifying stay

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 Rewards Club programme.


11 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


12 Langham Hospitality Group


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, Chelsea Hotel Toronto, and Splash Beach Resort Mai Khao Phuket

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.


13 Marriott


JW Marriott Camelback Inn Scottsdale (flickr: marriottwestresorts)

Earn 2 Avios for every US$1 spent at Autograph Collection, Delta Hotels by Marriott, Design Hotels, Edition, Gaylord Hotels, JW Marriott, Le Meridien, Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Marriott Vacation Club, Renaissance Hotels, Sheraton, St Regis, The Luxury Collection, The Ritz-Carlton, Tribute Portfolio, Westin, and W Hotel properties

Earn 1 Avios for every US$1 spent at AC Hotels, aloft, Courtyard by Marriott, Element, Fairfield Inn, Four Points, Marriott Executive Apartments, Moxy Hotels, Protea Hotels, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, and TownePlace Suites properties

You must be a member of the Marriott Bonvoy programme to collect Avios with this hotel group.

Marriott Bonvoy Points can be transferred into Avios, as follows:
3,000 Avios per 10,000 MBP
10,000 Avios per 30,000 MBP
20,000 Avios per 60,000 MBP
30,000 Avios per 90,000 MBP
40,000 Avios per 120,000 MBP

You can also receive 5,000 bonus Avios when you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to Avios in one transaction


14 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


15 Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts


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


16 Executive Club Avios eStore Shopping Portal

You can collect additional Avios for hotel stays booked through the eStore portal. The earning rates shown below are correct at the time of writing and reflect the current promotional rates

Best Western Hotels GB
Earn 1 Avios per £1 spent

Booking.com
Earn 8 Avios per £1 spent (reverts to 4 Avios per £1 spent from 1 February 2020)

Britannia Hotels
Earn 10 Avios per £1 spent

Corus Hotels
Earn 5 Avios per £1 spent

Cottages.com
Earn 3 Avios per £1 spent

Days Inn
Earn 3 Avios per £1 spent

Hilton
Earn 8 Avios per £1 spent on completed bookings within EMEA (reverts to 6 Avios per £1 spent from 1 February 2020)
Earn 6 Avios per £1 spent on completed bookings within Asia Pacific
Earn 4 Avios per £1 spent on completed bookings within Americas

Loews Hotels
Earn 10 Avios per £1 spent

Holiday Lettings UK
Earn 4 Avios per £1 spent

HomeAway.co.uk
Earn 4 Avios per £1 spent (reverts to 2 Avios per £1 spent from 13 January 2020)

Hotel du Vin
Earn 6 Avios per £1 spent

Hotelopia
Earn 7 Avios per £1 spent

IHG Hotels and Resorts
Earn 7 Avios per £1 spent (reverts to 3 Avios per £1 spent from 12 January 2020)

James Villas
Earn 4 Avios per £1 spent

Macdonald Hotels
Earn 5 Avios per £1 spent

Malmaison
Earn 6 Avios per £1 spent

Marriott UK
Earn 3 Avios per £1 spent (more with bookings of 4 or more nights)

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels UK
Earn 5 Avios per £1 spent

Mr & Mrs Smith
Earn 3 Avios per £1 spent

Oliver's Travels
Earn 3 Avios per £1 spent

OYO Rooms
Earn 4 Avios per £1 spent

Park Plaza
Earn 6 Avios per £1 spent

PointsHound Hotels
Earn 12 Avios per £1 spent

QHotels
Earn 6 Avios per £1 spent

QuickRooms.com
Earn 3 Avios per £1 spent

Radisson Hotels US
Earn 6 Avios per £1 spent

Ramada
Earn 3 Avios per £1 spent

Red Carnation Hotels
Earn 8 Avios per £1 spent

SpaBreaks.com
Earn 5 Avios per £1 spent (reverts to 3 Avios per £1 spent from 31 January 2020)

The Montcalm Luxury Hotels
Earn 10 Avios per £1 spent

Thistle Hotles
Earn 4 Avios per £1 spent

Travelodge
Earn 1 Avios prt £1 spent

TripAdvisor Hotel Booking
Earn 7 Avios per £1 spent (reverts to 3 Avios per £1 spent from 1 February 2020)

Viator
Earn 8 Avios per £1 spent (reverts to 4 Avios per £1 spent from 27 January 2020)

Village Hotels
Earn 6 Avios per £1 spent

Yotel
Earn 5 Avios per £1 spent


Introduction and overview of the Executive Club | Avios and Tier Points explained | Membership Tiers | Earning Avios and Tier Points on flights | Earning Avios on hotel stays | Credit card partners | Earning through everyday spending | Exchanging other points for Avios

Prospero

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. 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 £660 in taxes/fees/charges to redeem Avios for a Club World round trip from London to New York, or over US$1,540 for a Club World round trip from New York to London.


01 Bermuda: Butterfield British Airways Visa Platinum

• Earn 1 Avios per $1 spend on everyday purchases
• Earn 2 Avios per $1 spend on BA purchases
• 10% discount on BA fares purchased using this card

02 Canada: RBC® British Airways Visa Infinite

• Annual fee CAN$165 (supplementary card CAN$75)
• Sign up bonuses, currently 15,000 Avios upon approval; 25,000 with CAN$5,000 in the first three months of approval; 10,000 Avios on renewal after the first year
• Cardholders earn 2 Avios for every CAN$1 spent on BA purchases, and 1 Avios for every CAN$1 spent on all other purchases.
• 10% discount on BA fares purchased using this card
• Travel Together companion voucher earned each year upon reaching a cumulative spend of $30,000. Voucher is valid for two years and can be used for a guest to accompany the cardholder on a redemption ticket. Redemptions must be round trip (open jaws accepted),on BA metal and subject to standard redemption rules
• Complimentary travel insurance

03 Caribbean*: CIBC FirstCaribbean British Airways Visa Platinum

• Sign up bonus, currently 10,000 Avios with activation, plus 20,000 Avios on your first purchase
• Earn 2 Avios per $1 spend on BA purchases
• Earn 1.25 Avios per $1 spend on international purchases
• Earn 1 Avios per $1 spend on other purchases
• Inclusive travel accident insurance
• Inclusive auto rental insurance

* Eligible residencies: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St.Vincent and Grenadines , Turks and Caicos Islands, and Trinidad,


04 Denmark: British Airways World MasterCard by Resurs Bank

• Annual fee: 395 DKK (Classic World Mastercard) and 99 DKK (Premium World Mastercard)
• Sign up bonus: 5,000 Avios (Classic), 7,500 Avios (Premium)
• Cardholders earn 10 Avios (Classic) or 30 Avios (Premium) for every 100 DKK spent on BA.com plus 5 Avios (Classic) or 15 Avios (Premium) for every 100 DKK spent on all other purchases
• Bonus 250 Avios on Avis rental purchases
• Premium card holders also receive worldwide travel insurance, and two annual LoungeKey airport lounge passes

05 Hong Kong: Dah Sing British Airways Platinum Card (Visa)

• Annual fee HK$300
• Sign up bonuses up to 100,000 Avios
• Cardholders earn 2 Avios for every HK$6 spent on BA flights and 2 Avios for every HK$6 pent on all other purchases overseas and 1 Avios per HK6 spent in Hong Kong.
• 10% discount on BA fares purchased using this card
• 50% discount on Da Sing annual travel insurance

06 India: ICICI Bank British Airways Premium (American Express)

• Annual fee 7,000 INR (no supplementary card free)
• Sign up bonus: 8,000 Avios with the first use of the card
• Earn 25,000 Avios when you book and fly on a British Airways return ticket from India to London within your first three months of card membership
• Cardholders earn 9 Avios for every 100 INR spent on BA purchases using the Amex card, and 4 Avios for every 100 INR spent on all other purchases. Bonuses of 25% and 50% apply to earn rates upon qualification of 250,000 and 500,000 INR annual spends respectively

07 Italy: Agos British Airways Premier Card (Visa)

• No annual fee
• Sign up bonus: 10,000 Avios on card activation
• Earn 3 Avios for every €1 spent on British Airways flights booked on ba.com
• Earn 1 Avios for every €1 cash withdrawal
• Earn 1 Avios for every €1 spend on all purchases in Italy and abroad, including online shopping
• Receive 10% off British Airways flights booked via the dedicated link
• Earn a 250 Bonus Avios every time you hire a car with Avis
• Earn a 25% Bonus Avios when you book a hotel with Kaligo

08 Italy: Agos British Airways Card (Visa)

• No annual fee
• Sign up bonus: 4,000 Avios on card activation
• Earn 2 Avios for every €1 spent on British Airways flights booked on ba.com
• Earn 1 Avios for every €1 cash withdrawal
• Earn 1 Avios for every €1 spend on all purchases in Italy and abroad, including online shopping
• Receive 10% off British Airways flights booked via the dedicated link
• Earn a 250 Bonus Avios every time you hire a car with Avis
• Earn a 25% Bonus Avios when you book a hotel with Kaligo

09 Russia: Russian Standard Bank British Airways American Express Premium/Classic

• Annual fee
• Welcome bonus and annual bonus: check card issuer's website for up-to-date details
• Premium cardholders earn 3 Avios for every 30 RUB spent on BA purchases, and 1.5 Avios for every 30 RUB spent on all other purchases.
• Classic cardholders earn 2 Avios for every 30 RUB spent on BA purchases, and 1 Avios for every 30 RUB spent on all other purchases.
• Companion voucher earned each year upon reaching a cumulative spend of 200,000 RUB. Premium cardholders may earn a second voucher after 400,000 RUB spend
• Complimentary travel insurance

10 South Africa: British Airways Credit Card

• No annual fee (Supplementary cards free)
• Cardholders earn 1 Avios for every R5.00 spent with British Airways, Pick n Pay, and BP
• Cardholders earn 1 Avios for every R7.50 spent on all other purchases
• A 5,000 Avios bonus when you spent on your card for the first time
• A further 4,000 Avios bonus when you spend R24,000 in the first three months
• Cardholders are entitled to us BA’s priority check when travelling on domestic BA flights in South Africa
• Four complementary SLOW lounge day passes with R50,000 spend within your membership year
• Complementary annual SLOW lounge access with R200,000 spend within your membership year
• At R100,000, a 10% Avios rebate on one Reward Flight Saver Comair booking (valid for 12 months)
• At R200,000, the cardholder will be issued with a companion redemption voucher, valid for 12 months

11 Sweden: British Airways World MasterCard by Resurs Bank

[img]http:s//prospelicious.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/BA_CC_DK_CW.png[/img]

• Annual fee: 395 SEK (Classic World Mastercard) and 99 SEK (Premium World Mastercard)
• Sign up bonus: 5,000 Avios (Classic), 7,500 Avios (Premium)
• Cardholders earn 10 Avios (Classic) or 30 Avios (Premium) for every 100 SEK spent on BA.com plus 5 Avios (Classic) or 15 Avios (Premium) for every 100 SEK spent on all other purchases
• Bonus 250 Avios on Avis rental purchases
• Premium card holders also receive worldwide travel insurance, and two annual LoungeKey airport lounge passes

12 Switzerland: Diners Club British Airways Card

• Annual fee: CHF250
• Welcome bonus: 5,000 Avios on activation; 5,000 Avios with a CHF5,000 spend within the first two months
• Cardholders earn 2 Avios for every CHF1 spent online at ba.com
• Cardholders earn 1 Avios for every CHF1 spent on all other purchases
• Free travel accident insurance with Cornèrcard
• Access to Diners Club airport lounges

13 Switzerland: Cornèrcard British Airways Gold MasterCard

• Annual fee: CHF220
• Welcome bonus (10,000 Avios at the time of writing)
• Cardholders earn 2 Avios for every CHF1 spent online at ba.com
• Cardholders earn 1 Avios for every CHF1 spent on all other purchases
• Free travel accident insurance with Cornèrcard
• Access to World MasterCard Rewards travel benefits

14 Switzerland: Cornèrcard British Airways Classic MasterCard

• Annual fee: CHF140
• Welcome bonus (5,000 Avios at the time of writing)
• Cardholders earn 2 Avios for every CHF1 spent online at ba.com
• Cardholders earn 1 Avios for every CHF1 spent on all other purchases
• A 5,000 Avios welcome bonus when you spent on your card for the first time
• Free travel accident insurance with Cornèrcard
• Access to World MasterCard Rewards travel benefits

15 United Kingdom: British Airways American Express Premium Plus

• Annual fee £195 (Supplementary cards free)
• Welcome bonus: 25,000 Avios on £3,000 spend in the first three months of card membership (bonus varies periodically)
• Cardholders earn 3 Avios for every £1 spent on BA purchases, and 1.5 Avios for every £1 spent on all other purchases
• Companion vouchers earned each year upon reaching a cumulative spend of £10,000 increments. Each voucher is valid for two years and can be used for a guest to accompany the cardholder on a redemption ticket. Redemptions can be one way or round trip (open jaws accepted), must be on BA metal and subject to standard redemption rules
• Complimentary travel insurance (no medical cover)

16 United Kingdom: British Airways American Express

• No annual fee (Supplementary cards free)
• Welcome bonus: 5,000 Avios on £1,000 spend in the first three months of card membership (bonus varies periodically)
• Cardholders earn 1 Avios for every £1 spent
• Companion voucher earned each year upon reaching a cumulative spend of £20,000. Voucher is valid for one year and can be used for a guest to accompany the cardholder on a redemption ticket. Redemptions can be one way or round trip (open jaws accepted), must be on BA metal and subject to standard redemption rules

17 USA: British Airways (Chase) Visa Signature®

• Annual fee US$95
• Welcome bonus: 50,000 Avios on $3,000 spend in the first three months of card membership plus additional bonus of 50,000 Avios with $20,000 accumulated spend within your first year
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Cardholders earn 3 Avios for every US$1 spent on BA, Iberia, and Aer Lingus purchases, 2 Avios per US$1 spend on hotel accommodations, and 1 Avios for US$1 spend on all other purchases.
• Travel Together companion voucher earned each year upon reaching a cumulative spend of US$30,000. Voucher is valid for two years and can be used for a guest to accompany the cardholder on a redemption ticket. Redemptions must be round trip (open jaws accepted) on BA metal and are subject to standard redemption rules

18 Other credit cards

There are other lucrative credit card earning opportunities out there, albeit indirect. 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 and Chase Ultimate Reward points 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.


19 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 and Tier Points on flights | Earning Avios on hotel stays | Credit card partners | Earning through everyday spending | Exchanging other points for Avios

Prospero

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 British Airways Avios eStore

The BA Avios eStore is an 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 eStore exists for BAEC members in the United States, but eStore is not available elsewhere.

To use the eStore 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 eStore, 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 eStore transactions, click on My Transaction History on the top right of the BA eStore screen.


02 Magazine and newspaper subscriptions

The Economist
Current subscriptions purchased through the BA.com portal earn between 3,400 and 8,400 Avios Points.

• Collect 3,400 Avios on a one year digital subscription
• Collect 3,400 Avios on a one year print subscription
• Collect 4,400 Avios on a one year combined digital/print subscription
• Collect 7,400 Avios on a three year digital subscription
• Collect 7,400 Avios on a three year print subscription
• Collect 8,400 Avios on a three year combined digital/print subscription

Alternatively, you can pick up a copy in the lounge for free and forgo the Avios


03 Wine Clubs

The Wine Explorer
The Wine Explorer 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 Wine Explorer.

You can collect Avios on purchases of wine, champagne, spirits, and beer. 250 Avios are awarded for every case of 12 bottles purchased. 1,000 bonus Avios points are awarded with the first order.

Quintessentially Wine
US residents earn 1 Avios per US$ spent with Quintessentially Wine.


04 Car Rental

Avis
BAEC members are offered 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 1,000 bonus Avios
Collect 250 bonus Avios when you pay for your Avis car rental using your British Airways credit card.

Budget
Collect 2 Avios per £1 spent when you rent with Budget, with a minimum 250 Avios per rental

Avis Zipcar
Earn 1,000 Avios when joining Zipcar. Earn 50 Avios per reservation.

Maggiore
Collect two Avios per €1 spent, with a minimum of 500 Avios per rental


05 Fibre broadband

Earn 8,000 Avios when you switch to SSE Broadband & Phone


06 Foreign currency

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

Travelex UK Limited
Collect 1 Avios for every £1 when exchanging over £300
Collect 1 Avios for every £2 when exchanging under £300
Order online at https://checkout.travelex.co.uk/avios/Basket

Midpoint
Midpoint is a peer to peer international currency matching and payments platform. Collect 1 Avios for every £10 transferred via Midpoint


07 Airport parking

ParkVia
You can earn up to 5 Avios per £1 spent on airport parking (UK and internarional airports)


08 Rail transfers

Heathrow Express
Collect 5 Avios per £1 spent on tickets. 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

Trenitalia
BAEC members with accounts registered in Italy can earn Avios by converting their CartaFreccia points to Avios

• Convert 1,000 CartaFreccia to 500 Avios
• Convert 6,000 CartaFreccia to 3,000 Avios
• Convert 10,000 CartaFreccia to 5,000 Avios

09 Taxi transfers

ProntoTaxi
Earn 1 Avios per €1 on all taxi journeys excluding airport trips
Earn 2 Avios per €1 for every trip to/from Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa and Milan Bergamo airports

Auto Radio Taxi
Earn 1 Avios per €1 on all taxi journeys excluding airport trips
Earn 2 Avios per €1 for every trip to/from Rome Fiumicino and Rome Ciampino airports


10 Other retail

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


65B Hackett Members Club
Collect up to 10 Avios for every £1 you spend in-store or online. You need to register as a 65B member to participate


11 High Life Shop

You can collect Avios on board British Airways long haul 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.


12 Online surveys

Rewards for Thoughts
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).

e-Rewards
Earn 750 bonus Avios when you complete your first survey within 2 months of registering.


Introduction and overview of the Executive Club | Avios and Tier Points explained | Membership Tiers | Earning Avios and Tier Points on flights | Earning Avios on hotel stays | Credit card partners | Earning through everyday spending | Exchanging other points for Avios

Prospero

01 Collecting Avios with Tesco (UK residents only)


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, E.On, and Esso.

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 Heathrow Rewards (No domicile restriction)


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.


03 American Express Membership Reward points (No domicile restriction)


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.


04 Chase Ultimate Rewards (US domicile)


Similar to American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards allows you transfer points to your BAEC account at ratio of 1:1. All Chase transfer partners let you move your points at a 1:1 ratio. For more information, please visit the Ultimate Rewards - Airline and Hotel Transfer Partners, Rules, Timelines, (2017 on) thread posted in the Chase | Ultimate Rewards forum


05 Transfer from (and to) other IAG programmes

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 and Vueling Club


If you are an AerClub and/or Vueling Club member, the Avios you collect and spend are held in a single Avios bank account stored on the Common Avios Platform. Any Avios accrued via a BAEC and/or IB Plus are stored on separate stand alone platforms but you can transfer Avios between accounts using the Combine My Avios tool.

Note: points for United Airlines flights can be credited to AerClub then transferred over to your Executive Club account



The BAEC and IB Plus programmes are expected to migrate onto the Common Avios Platform in the near future although at the time of writing there is no fixed implementation date. When the migration happens, all your Avios will be stored in a single bank account which will allow you to collect and spend via any of the programmes you belong to without having to manually move Avios between accounts. The diagram below will give you a picture of what the future arrangement might look like:





Introduction and overview of the Executive Club | Avios and Tier Points explained | Membership Tiers | Earning Avios and Tier Points on flights | Earning Avios on hotel stays | Credit card partners | Earning through everyday spending | Exchanging other points for Avios

Aladdinsfolly

It seems easier & less expensive to qualify for BAEC gold than AA ExPlat for similar benefit levels, the only catch being the 4 SWU’s vs. GUF2/GUF1 available at 1500/2500 TP’s. Home airport is DFW and most travel is domestic US J. Any strong opinions out there?

SonicStar817

Just to let you guys know, it seems BA have changed the short haul WTP (the Caribbean 5th freedom flights for example) Tier Points from 30 to 25. Probably wont matter as I'm not sure how many people actually take those flights in Premium economy.

flyingislove

This is a great guide! Thank you for all of the hard work, @Prospero.

Just a note: Looks like earnings in I class on JAL have dropped as of October, though:
https://www.britishairways.com/en-us...-avios/flights

SonicStar817

Thats rather odd. Based on this, the calculator shows that you earn more Avios flying Premium Economy than in Business on JL

alex67500

Careful, the GUFs only kick in at 2500 and 3500 TPs. And they can only be used on BA metal IIRC.

The good thing about BA Gold is you will get lounge access on US domestic flights regardless of travel class. The bad thing is you won't be very high on the upgrade list. In a nutshell that is.

adrianlondon

I've just subscribed, for the first time, to The Economist (print and digital edition). For £215 I should also be getting 18,000 Avios. I need them, so I'm hoping they come relatively quickly, and not in 6 months time as I've read in other threads on here.

https://subscription.economist.com/O...irwaysBN/Bonus