How old do I have to be to join British Airways Executive Club and earn Avios?

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In this article I want to look at how old you need to be to join British Airways Executive Club and to earn Avios points, and how you can get around the rules if you don’t qualify.

Executive Club is British Airways’ frequent flyer membership program, allowing you to collect and save Avios, the British Airways equivalent of air miles. Once you save enough, you can choose to spend them by booking reward flights or part-paying cash bookings with Avios to reduce the fare.

Joining the Executive Club also allow you to earn elite status with British Airways, which come with benefits including lounge access, free seat selection, bonus Avios earning rates and many more. You can read a brief explanation of the different British Airways Executive Club tiers here.

Joining the Executive Club is free and easy, though you do have to be aged 18 or older. The easiest way to join is on the British Airways website.

However, there is a way to join the Executive Club if you are younger than 18. The Executive Club Household Account functionality allows a main account holder to create a networked “family” of accounts that can share Avios balances with each other.

The Head of the Household can add up to six additional members who share their address to this network. In addition, the Family and Friends list lets the main householder to add up to five other accounts which do not share the same address.

There is no age restriction when accepting an invitation to join a British Airways Household Account, making this a good way for under-18s to join the Executive Club and start earning Avios and tier points. Do note that children under two years of age will not earn if they are travelling as lap infants. There is a longer Head for Points article on the pros and cons of British Airways Household accounts 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.