What is British Airways Executive Club Gold Guest List?

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What is British Airways Gold Guest List, and is it something worth pushing for?

British Airways’ status levels can sometimes be confusing, especially in the higher levels. In this article we’ll talk about what Gold Guest List is and why it’s worth having.

You may already know that British Airways Executive Club is made up of four tiers: Blue, Bronze, Silver and Gold. The latter three are the elite levels, and require a commitment to flying British Airways.

What you may not know is that Gold status is actually split into two sub-tiers: Gold and Gold Guest List, both of which also have additional incremental bonuses. Sound complicated? Hopefully this article makes things a little clearer…

What is British Airways Gold Guest List?

At 1500 tier points, you become a Gold member (you can see the full list of BA Gold benefits here).

At 3500 tier points, you are awarded two Gold Upgrade for One vouchers (these are valid for 12 months) for an upgrade to the next Cabin, subject to availability (this article explains how BA Gold Upgrade for One vouchers work)

At 5000 tier points you cross the threshold into Gold Guest List (more details below)

At 6000 tier points, you receive a Gold Guest List redemption benefit – BA will turn any cash ticket for sale in fare classes A, D, T and B into an Avios ticket

At 7000, 8000 and 9000 tier points you can choose from an additional Gold Guest List redemption, two additional Gold Upgrade for One vouchers or 50,000 Avios.

As you can see, there are lots of big incentives to become a high-ranking Gold Guest List member. Once you reach 5000 tier points and cross the threshold into Gold Guest List, you get the following benefits in addition to what you already receive as a Gold member:

Two redemptions per year for British Airways to open up to five reward seats in fare classes A, D, T and B, rather than the standard reward fare class (this basically allows you to force open Avios reward seats)

Dedicated priority service phone number with 24 hour availability

The ability to invite two additional guests to British Airways departure lounges and one guest to arrivals lounges

At the beginning of your membership year you may gift your status to one person with an Executive Club Gold Partner card and confer Silver status to two other people. These cards are valid for one year only and once they expire they will return to their previous status

Complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status

A Concorde Room card, British Airways’ most elite lounge offering

There should be plenty on that list to get excited about. Gold Guest List redemptions are particularly powerful as you can force British Airways to open up revenue seats for Avios in the fare classes A, D, T and B if they are available – this article explains how Gold Guest List ‘jokers’ work.

Renewing Gold Guest List ‘only’ requires 3000 tier points so, once you’ve achieved it, keeping it will be a little easier.

(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.