British Airways is about to launch major changes to its loyalty program – and there has been a dramatic reaction.
Airmen have called it a “kick in the teeth,” “totally stupid” and “betrayal.” But one travel expert, Gilbert Ott, founder of godsavethepoints.comhas described the reaction of some fliers as ‘adult babies throwing toys’.
So what’s all the fuss about?
Simply put, BA is changing its loyalty program to a purely income-based system called The British Airways Club, which will launch on April 1 and is based “on member feedback.” So, the more you spend on a flight, the more loyalty tier points you’ll earn. The previous system, the British Airways Executive Club, rewarded travelers proportionally for the distance traveled and the type of cabin booked.
What is at stake? BA has three levels of loyalty: Bronze, Silver and Gold.
Benefits for Bronze include business class check-in and priority boarding whenever you fly, free seat selection from seven days before departure on BA flights, priority at baggage check-in desks and members can save your seating and meal preferences in the BA System.
Silver members have use of more than 170 lounges around the world, business class check-in in any cabin they are in, two pieces of checked luggage in economy class for everyone included in the reservation, one weight allowance of 32 kg per checked bag in any travel class and an almost guaranteed seat in economy class (even if the flight is full).
Meanwhile, Gold members have access to first-class lounges, access to arrivals lounges, and access to first-class check-in (regardless of cabin).
THE ‘BETRAYAL’
British Airways is about to launch major changes to its loyalty program – and there has been a dramatic reaction. Airmen have called it a “kick in the teeth,” “totally stupid” and “betrayal.”
Gilbert explains that the new spending requirements per year are £3,500 for Bronze, £7,500 for Silver and £20,000 for Gold, with £1 spent to earn one tier point.
Previously, he reveals, travelers could “game the system” by adding too many (cheap) connections on long-distance trips to artificially inflate the value of points.”
He continues: “For example, instead of flying from Heathrow to Los Angeles, people would fly from London to Madrid, from Madrid to Philadelphia, from Philadelphia to Phoenix, and then from Phoenix to Los Angeles, to earn more points.”
In the new system, Rob Burgess, editor of www.headforpoints.compoints out that “realistically, it will now be impossible to earn Gold for small business travelers, economy class travelers or self-funded leisure travelers,” adding: “Even Silver will be a big effort.” Business travelers’ flights are paid for by their employers. Many of them are linked to BA or Oneworld through a route agreement. Many get huge refunds at the end of the year, meaning their main expense isn’t what they actually pay for. BA is rewarding the “loyalty” of people whose loyalty is contractually imposed on them.
“If you remove the status of those who can choose an airline (leisure travellers, small business owners) their reasons for flying with British Airways will be drastically reduced.”
He also points out that BA has capped credit card tier points at a “pathetic” 2,500, and asks: “If someone wants to invest £200,000 through their BA Amex to get Gold status, why not let them? “.
Michele Robson, former air traffic controller and founder of a travel site www.turningleftforless.comhas issued even more direct criticism of the changes.
in a open letter to BA chief executive Sean Doylesays: ‘So why are people so angry? You might think it’s because you moved to an expense-based system, but that would be completely wrong. Most of us knew that the day would come when this would happen and we accepted it, but we never thought that in one fell swoop you would make the new levels so unattainable for most of your loyal members that it would be useless to even try. .
‘People are also very upset about how the change was proposed. Firstly, it was suggested that members had requested it and then it was implied that it was cause for celebration. Its members are not stupid, treating them as such is a risky move. No one said, “Please make the loyalty plan completely unattainable for most of your members.” What many of us have said is that the classrooms are too busy.
Lounge access is one of the benefits of Silver and Gold membership. Above: BA Galleries lounge at Heathrow Terminal 3
‘I will no longer plan my year of travel solely with BA and Oneworld to maintain my status. Normally, this time of year, I’d be looking at sales and planning some trips. Not anymore. You have freed me to explore the world of other loyalty programs. I have already flown on many other airlines due to my work and I am sorry to say that the vast majority have been as good or much better than British Airways. I estimate my flights with BA will be reduced by around 80 per cent once I lose my status.’
In his post, he quotes a frequent traveler describing the move as a “betrayal,” adding, “Others summed it up as the loss of a community, and for me personally, this is a big part of the betrayal, too.” More than many other airline frequent flyer programs, there was a real sense of community among BA Executive Club members.
‘There are several large groups on Facebook (one with almost 50,000 members). I also have one for Gold cardholders and above. Many of us made lifelong friends with a shared passion for travel and BA through these groups. Starting in April 2025, those communities will be decimated.”
Frequent traveler ‘Leo’, writing on godsavethepoints.com, described the change in the loyalty program as “totally stupid”, reasoning that “a frequent flyer program is for frequent travelers…now they’re just selling memberships.”
Another user, Mavis, wrote: “I’ve been Gold for many years and managed to keep it through a mix of business but mostly leisure travel and I’ve never done elaborate “level point runs”, other than maybe a business short distance to get through the line if it looks like I might be missing some tier points. I enjoyed perks like priority boarding, seating, and lounge access. But with the new model I simply won’t be able to keep the Gold, or maybe not even. the silver. like a real kick in the teeth from BA, that all those years of loyalty mean nothing.’
‘GROWN ADULTS WHO ACT LIKE CHILDREN’
Gilbert Ott, on the other hand, believes that the new system has “winners and losers” and has stated that many BA members are exaggerating.
He wrote in a counterpoint piece: ‘I saw adults acting like children after a sugar crash or babies throwing toys, all because an airline made a data-driven business decision to ensure people extract value from the program in a more logical proportion.
‘Many are discovering that they are simply not as “elite” as they would like in their fantasies. For those who felt genuinely loyal to the airline, weren’t actively gaming the system, and now feel abandoned: I have empathy. For everyone else…
Gilbert Ott wrote: “I’ve seen adults acting like children after a sugar crash or babies throwing toys, all because an airline made a data-driven business decision to ensure people extract value from the program at a more logical rate.”
“Many people who drank enough of their own Kool-Aide to believe they were truly VIPs for life, simply engaging in shenanigans to beat a system at the lowest cost, while maximizing each reward at the highest cost to the airline, won.” I won’t be able to (starting in April).
‘Was that loyalty? Please cry me a river. Despite this, they are likely still very important and deserving of perks, but not quite top-tier VIPs. That is the goal of stratification. It’s a data exercise to determine how many people who give so much deserve how much in return. I mean, hell, it’s not like BA had years of historical spending and behavioral data to analyze… oh, wait.
‘Leaving this out of the way for a moment, imagine you are the general manager of a restaurant.
“How would you feel if a customer came in, bought only water but then demanded to drink your entire drink for free, spending $100 on bills, filled all your tables for paying customers, and then demanded to invite a friend?” to do the same. All because they showed a modicum of loyalty a year ago?
‘At least on an emotional level, that’s going to create tension.
“For many, in small fan forums that pose as a broad gospel – which they are not – this game has never been about loyalty, but rather about flushing a program for everything that could be taken with the smallest financial contribution to that program”.
In an email to MailOnline Travel, Gilbert added: “This is a positive for many, but there will be winners and losers.” A big positive is that spending on hotels booked through British Airways Holidays will count, not just flights, helping people to let more of their travel count towards their benefits.
“And a high-spending traveler will be able to get more perks on one flight than they could have gotten in an entire year before, but someone flying on the cheapest economy tickets will really need to fly a lot to reach the highest levels in the new system .
‘For more than 90 percent of travelers this is a failure because they weren’t achieving elite status anyway. But many of those who became accustomed to the comfortable lifestyle will now be forced to continue doing so unless they show more loyalty to BA. I would say that is the goal of BA. But people don’t like that!’