How do I get a British Airways Executive Club Silver card?

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How do you get 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 you need to do to achieve British Airways Executive Club Silver status.

As a member of British Airways Executive Club you can collect and save Avios, the British Airways airmiles currency, and use these to pay for future flights (called ‘Avios redemptions’). In addition you will also earn tier points with which you can achieve elite status, conferring you with additional benefits such as lounge access, free seat selection, and better rates for earning Avios.

There are four tiers as part of the Executive Club, three of which are elite.

Blue membership is the most basic and is available to everyone and does not come with benefits except the ability to earn Avios and tier points. Bronze, Silver and Gold are earned and hold varying levels of perks.

Your elite status is dependent on the number of tier points you earn during your membership year and, unlike Avios, your tier points reset on the anniversary of your membership. There is no other use to tier points other than setting your elite status; they cannot be spent.

Silver status is the next elite tier after Bronze. British Airways is part of the oneworld alliance: holding Executive Club Silver Status is equivalent to oneworld Sapphire status and offers similar benefits on flights with oneworld Airlines. Other oneworld airlines include American Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines amongst others.

To achieve British Airways Silver status, you need either

600 Tier Points and 4 eligible flights flown in one membership year or

50 eligible flights flown in one membership year

In this case, an eligible flight is

any British Airways operated flight, no matter the flight number (for example BA117)

a flight with a British Airways flight code but operated by another airline

an Iberia operated flight with an Iberia flight code (for example IB3163)

Reward or redemption flights (using Avios) are NOT treated as eligible flights.

Once you fulfill the requirements above, you will automatically be upgraded to Silver status. You will also receive a welcome or renewal pack in the post with your new Silver status card. Silver status includes a number of benefits not available to Blue or Bronze members, including:

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

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 (traveling 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 Executive Club Silver benefits is here.

Silver status is the first tier that gives you access to business class departure lounges even if you’re not flying on a business class or higher ticket. It also gives you a choice of seat at time of booking, for free, unlike with Bronze or non-club status which only give you free choice seven days and 24 hours prior to departure, respectively.

Once you have attained Silver status your next goal should be Gold.

You can read about how to get British Airways Executive Club Gold status here and about the benefits you will receive from 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.