How should you time promotion to British Airways Executive Club Silver status to maximise benefits?

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Having status is good, but maximising the amount of time you will have that status is even better.

This isn’t as simple as it seems with British Airways because your membership year is fixed on the day you join Executive Club. This can impact your plans for achieving status.

What we are looking at here is how to time your flights to ensure that you retain your Executive Club status for the longest possible period.

How do I time promotion to British Airways Silver status?

Let’s remind ourselves of a few key rules regarding your British Airways Executive Club membership year:

All tier point years end on the 8th of the relevant month

You cannot – under any circumstances – change your British Airways Executive Club year end date. This is a major pain for couples who can take identical flights to find that only one of them earns status due to the way flights fall across membership years.

When you earn British Airways Executive Club status, you retain it for:

the remainder of your current membership year, and

all of the following membership year, and

until the end of the month following your tier point anniversary (so if your tier point year ends on 8th March, your existing status will continue until 30th April)

British Airways Executive Club has a GUARANTEED ‘soft landing’ – however few flights you take, you will only drop one level if you fail to retain your current status

We will look at this in a worked example below.

British Airways Executive Club status cards

How can you maximise your BA Executive Club status?

Let’s imagine that your British Airways Executive Club tier point year ends on 8th September. You can’t change that so you need to live with it

If your goal is lounge access and free BA seat selection for as long as possible, your goal should be to earn Executive Club Silver status as quickly as you can after 8th September 2021. This requires:

450 British Airways Executive Club tier points (usually 600 but reduced due to the covid dispensation) and

four British Airways or Iberia one-way cash flights

Historically the most pleasant way to earn 560 Executive Club tier points was a Qatar Airways business class flight to Asia. As well as being cheap (c. £1,250 in a sale, possibly less if you start in Continental Europe) this option has the advantage of getting you a great holiday as well.

Any flight on a British Airways partner airline earns 140 tier points if it is over 2,000 miles. Europe to Doha is usually over 2,000 miles in Business Class, as is Doha to Asia. A return flight is therefore (140 x 4) 560 tier points.

For obvious reasons, this strategy is unlikely to be a runner for a while.

There are cheaper options for getting 450 tier points. Just three short breaks in Club Europe on routes which earn 160 tier points like Athens or Malta would do it. This is arguably less fun and certainly less comfortable than a Qatar Airways holiday, but is also more realistic in the current environment.

Here is a worked example

In our example, your British Airways Executive Club membership year starts annually on 9th September.

Let’s assume that you manage to do three short breaks on 160 tier point routes in September 2021, with no trip earlier than 9th September. The pre-covid list of BA routes earning 160 tier points in Club Europe is here.

This will get you to 480 tier points which is enough to hit Executive Club Silver status given the current reduced tier point threshold.

Let’s imagine that you have a very busy month and achieve all of this by 30th September 2021.

When is the best time to earn British Airways status?

How long will my British Airways Silver status last?

You’ve done very well. You will be Silver from:

late September 2021 until 8th September 2022 (your current membership year)

9th September 2022 until 8th September 2023 (your following membership year)

9th September 2023 until 31st October 2023 (your run-off period as Silver)

You then get your guaranteed soft landing to Bronze. You will be Bronze from:

1 November 2023 to 8th September 2024 (your membership year)

9th September 2024 to 31st October 2024 (your run-off period as Bronze)

Only on 1st November 2024 will you drop back to Blue.

This means, if you time it right:

You have British Airways Executive Club Silver status for 25 months, from late September 2021 to 31st October 2023 (lounge access, free seat selection, priority security, priority check-in, priority boarding etc)

You have British Airways Executive Club Bronze status for a further 12 months from 1st November 2023 to 31st October 2024 (main benefit is free seat selection from 7 days before departure)

How much would this cost?

Your total cost to ‘earn’ this is probably around £900. This is the cost of three Club Europe return flights at £300 each to cities which earn 160 tier points.

We’re obviously excluding hotels, covid testing etc, but we are also ignoring the fact that you will get three pleasant short breaks for your £900.

BA’s Low Fare Finder, click here, currently shows Athens at £285 return in September 2021. Catania is £266, Corfu is £400, Kalamata is £315, Reykjavik is £340, Sofia is £226, Marrakech is £256, Tenerife is £300 etc. These are all 160 tier point routes.

From next year, the threshold for Silver status is likely to return to 600 tier points. Even at this level, you can permanently retain Silver or Bronze British Airways Executive Club status with a short burst of premium cabin flying every three years.

If you must have lounge access, and so you need to remain Silver at all times, you are looking at a short burst of flying every two years.

This strategy won’t suit everyone. However, if you enjoy Business Class holidays and enjoy British Airways lounge access and the other perks whenever you travel, this is a good model to follow. The key is timing it to trigger your Silver card as quickly as possible after the start of your membership year.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

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

The Platinum Card from American Express

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

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 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 consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

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

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)

Category

British Airways and Avios

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

r* says:

22 Aug22 August 08:37

My tier year ends something like 1st july 2022, if I were to get say 440 tp by july 1st, then got an extra 20tp on july 20th, that would put me over the 450tp for silver, but would it still be 450 tp for silver or would it be back to 600? That scenario would also get silver til aug 2024?
- Memesweeper says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 09:46
  
  Your points reset to zero at the end of your TP year.
  
  If the flights that take you over a threshold are within 14 days of the end of a year you can call up and ask them to be credited to the *previous* TP year and achieve/renew status. Well, you could before COVID and the reduced TP thresholds, this isn’t a published benefit so maybe not… but if you are getting over the limit a few days too late I’d definitely call up and ask for this. Could make all the difference in your case.
  - sayling says:
    
    22 Aug22 August 11:04
    
    I note the emphasis on *previous*…
    
    Scenario: Year end 8th Jan 2022. 360 TP currently, Bronze.
    
    If the necessary qualifying flights and points are earned on 9th Jan and contact made to get them credited to *previous* year, when would Silver expire?
    - ChrisC says:
      
      22 Aug22 August 16:39
      
      28th Feb 2023
      
      When that happens you’d get it for the balance of your Jan 22 collection yeat (one day!) and the next year + until the end of the month after your collection year ends.
      
      Depending on yourfuture flight bookings you might be better not doing that.
      - sayling says:
        
        22 Aug22 August 21:24
        
        Thanks
  - Shirley Broadway says:
    
    22 Aug22 August 15:57
    
    My husband has for absolutely no reason or explanation has had his executive card withdrawn and been banned from flying on any BA or associated airline???
    Believe it or not he has no idea why. He’s the most perfect gentleman you could ever meet. BA have given no explanation. We would really appreciate one. Any ideas Telegraph ?
    - Rob says:
      
      22 Aug22 August 16:01
      
      Never, ever heard of anyone having status revoked. Plenty of people have lost their Avios for dubious behaviour but not status withdrawal (although I’m sure if you punched a crew member it would happen, not that I’m suggesting it here).
      - ChrisC says:
        
        22 Aug22 August 16:41
        
        Surely if your BAEC account is closed you’s also lose status?
        
        As to why it’s possible his account was audited for some reason and they decided something he did was against the rules. They usually tell you they are doing that though and ask you questions.
    - Babyg says:
      
      22 Aug22 August 18:11
      
      He has either been hacked and somebody has something dodgy with his account (e.g. tried to sell avios/tickets), or he has done similar (or hidden city travelling) himself either way BA will typically give you a reason…
CE says:

22 Aug22 August 09:15

My tier year resets on 8 October and my current Silver status is valid until 30 Nov 2022. Will I be eligible for the reduced tier point requirement for Silver at 450 TP? Thanks
- Memesweeper says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 09:48
  
  I’m in exactly the same position and we won’t know for sure until October. My hunch is the thresholds will go back to normal only when things like the US open for travel, Gatwick takes short haul again etc but BA haven’t said anything definite yet.
  - CE says:
    
    22 Aug22 August 10:09
    
    Thanks – will just have to wait & see. Hoping for the best!
    - Babyg says:
      
      22 Aug22 August 11:32
      
      Im August and have reduced TP targets… BA says reduced TP targets until June 2022
      
      https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/tiers-and-benefits
      
      What’s more, we’ve continued to reduce the amount of Tier Points needed to reach each Tier by 25% for those aiming to reach a tier up to June 2022.
JandeW says:

22 Aug22 August 09:27

I spend much of the year in Amsterdam. How do I book 160TP flights from there? Does it mean that I have to fly via London each time?
- ChrisC says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 09:47
  
  Yes it does.
  - Memesweeper says:
    
    22 Aug22 August 09:50
    
    and they will be more than 160 with the AMS LON tag being an extra 40 TPs each way.
Martin says:

22 Aug22 August 09:30

Does anyone know what happens if you fly the day before your year end an the tier points are added after, say on the 9th?
- Doug M says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 09:34
  
  Date of your flight is what matters. Fly on the 8th old year, on the 9th new year, posting date irrelevant.
- riku says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 11:08
  
  Your tier points are reset by the system precisely when the year ends. But if they post in the new earning year for a flight in the previous earning year then the system recalculates the end of year situation. You will also see “balance adjustment” to remove the tier points if they were for a flight from the previous year but posted after the earning year changed.
- Rob says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 12:17
  
  They attach to the date you flew.
Doug M says:

22 Aug22 August 09:57

“This is a major pain for couples who can take identical flights to find that only one of them earns status due to the way flights fall across membership years.”

Why is this a major pain? Either you earn status or you don’t. As a couple pretty much all status benefits extend to both when together.
- Babyg says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 12:12
  
  agreed – having a couple with different status year start dates is a good thing, had i known about this feature, i would have offset my partners starting year by 6 months. currently we are only 1 month apart (july/august) which isnt ideal… 6 months out would be perfect. that way you have more chance that one of you will have status, i will probably create her a new account if she ever soft lands to blue …
- Rob says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 12:14
  
  Depends how your life works. For us it would be a pain, because both my wife and I rely on status to make work trips easier. If you only ever travel together and never do solo flights then it isn’t an issue.
  - Babyg says:
    
    22 Aug22 August 14:39
    
    I’m not sure how travelling solo or as a couple would make you want to have identical TP start dates, seems you still have more options if you offset each other by six months, you could even offset the start dates of your children 🙂
    - John says:
      
      22 Aug22 August 15:09
      
      Depends if the kids earn status
      
      If one partner gets status e.g from work trips and always guests the other, then the kids won’t get into the lounge after a certain age
      
      If the family always flies high TP routes then it doesn’t really matter
    - Doug M says:
      
      22 Aug22 August 15:28
      
      Exactly. Nothing said here explains why dates need to align.
      - Rob says:
        
        22 Aug22 August 15:50
        
        If you have 2 kids, you both need status for lounge access for the family. I accept that, in some circumstances, a couple could benefit from offset dates if it meant one had status at all times.
Mr. AC says:

22 Aug22 August 12:25

Rob – I take it, based on you running this article, that you don’t anticipate further status extensions from BA?
- Jonathan says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 12:29
  
  BA would be absolutely stupid not to extend it.
  - Babyg says:
    
    22 Aug22 August 14:43
    
    I dont think a blanket extension is coming…. they have already let July and August people drop to a lower tier without extension. I think BA are being more selective about extensions now e.g. i got extended by another year by providing the exec club with all my revenue flights that were cancelled.
- Doug M says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 15:51
  
  I think the July to December people that missed out last time will get extended in September.
Jonathan says:

22 Aug22 August 12:30

I wonder when we’ll see a credit card that earns tier points for day to day spending…

For people who mainly do sole leisure travel, this would be great instead of a 241 voucher
- chris1922 says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 14:13
  
  Before the pandemic, I took an eRewards survey for an airline/credit card partnership, to gauge opinion on various annual fee credit cards that gave airline status as a bonus. It appeared to be thinly veiled as BA and Amex, so perhaps the BAPP would give Bronze or Silver status, for instance. Obviously this hasn’t happened, but it is being thought about.
- Doug M says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 15:49
  
  TP only thing that set actual flying apart from CC users. Lots of people able to generate tens of thousands of Avios from not flying, TP the difference, I don’t see them gifting them should any normality return.
- Rob says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 15:59
  
  Iberia has a card that gives status. I have banging away at conferences for years about why it would be a good idea (ie valued by customers, no real cost to airline since by definition if you don’t have status you’re not flying that much).
  - Doug M says:
    
    22 Aug22 August 18:35
    
    But detracts from those that have status from flying. Like Hilton Gold in the USA, means nothing because it’s given away.
- ChrisC says:
  
  22 Aug22 August 16:51
  
  Virgin Atlantic had (may not have it any more) a US based credit card where you could earn TPs based on your monthly and annual spends – but limits on both.
  
  IIRC the most status you could get for that was Silver (so no lounge access) but it did lower the number of TPs you needed to earn from flying.
- Lady London says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 01:05
  
  They have something that could have similar effects in America, though, don’t they?
fred says:

22 Aug22 August 13:28

My collection ends in September and I’ve a one of those x2 tier point hols booked to Turkey for a week. Was always a bit of a gamble cuz it’s red list ATM. Guess the next review will be the last chance. coming in at just over £1000, would have been super cheap for my missus to gain silver, and would have gotten me tempted to go for gold with a qatar tier point run to somewhere.