What are the benefits of having a British Airways Executive Club Silver card?

What are the benefits of British Airways Executive Club Silver status?

Silver is one of four tiers of the Executive Club, British Airways’ frequent flyer membership scheme. In this article we’ll look at what the benefits are of having British Airways Executive Club Silver status.

Silver status is the second of the elite status levels on British Airways. To get Silver status you first have to acquire Bronze membership. Like Bronze, you achieve Silver when you cross the threshold of tier points or eligible flights flown. You can read the requirements for British Airways Silver status in this article.

Although British Airways bronze status comes with some good benefits, Silver is where things really start to get interesting. You’ll get:

50% bonus Avios on all British Airways, Iberia, American Airlines and Japan Airlines flights

Free seat selection at the time of booking for you and anyone else on your booking, excluding “extra legroom” upgrades and all hand-baggage only fares

2 free 32kg bags per person in all classes, for everyone on your booking

Club World, Club Europe or oneworld equivalent business class check in desks, regardless of your flight class

Access for you and one guest (travelling on a British Airways or oneworld operated flight) to the British Airways Galleries Club, Terraces and Executive Club, or the equivalent oneworld business class departure lounge

Priority boarding

Reservation assurance on full-fare economy tickets, guaranteeing you a seat even on full or overbooked flights.

The official ba.com list of British Airways Executive Club Silver benefits is here.

As you can tell there are almost twice as many benefits in Silver as there are for Bronze.  The two key benefits are:

access to the British Airways or oneworld equivalent business departure lounges, letting you escape the crowds in the airport

free seat selection

It’s also worth noting that your checked baggage allowance increases to two 32kg bags – useful if you like to travel with plenty of outfits.  I’d say that 90% of the value to me of Silver status comes from the lounge and seat selection benefits however.

The good news is that Gold is even better than Silver status.  You can read all about the benefits of a British Airways Gold card here.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works.  You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 1.8 million monthly page views.  Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios?  Click here to read our latest news stories, click here to join our email list and click here to read our ‘Avios Redemption University’ series.)

How to get 20,000 Avios from Amex Gold or 30,000 Avios from Amex Platinum (December 2021 offer)

The sign-up bonus on American Express Preferred Rewards Gold converts to 20,000 Avios and the card is free for the first year. You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

You don’t qualify for the Amex Gold bonus if you have a British Airways American Express card. You DO qualify for the bonus on The Platinum Card, which converts into 30,000 Avios. You can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

If you have your own small business, the best way of earning Avios is via the Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa. It has a sign-up bonus which converts to 10,000 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also look at the British Airways Accelerating Business card, because it currently has a limited time offer of 60,000 Avios when you sign up by 14th November. You can apply here.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

You can find out more about ALL UK credit cards which offer travel rewards in this article, updated monthly.