British Airways Club

What the British Airways Club is

Earning British Airways Avios: how the frequent flyer program works

The club uses a mixed model, where the fare counts on its own flights and the route counts on partners. On flights marketed by British Airways itself and by American Airlines or Iberia, Avios depend on the eligible fare, meaning base fare plus carrier-imposed charges. Avios and Tier Points on other oneworld airlines depend on distance and cabin, and on the airline flown.

The rate per qualifying pound (GBP) rises with the tier, from six Avios at Blue to nine at Gold. All values are in the table in the section on status tiers. If you pay in a currency other than GBP, the amount is converted to GBP at the IATA 5-day exchange rate of the purchase day. Taxes and fees that do not come from the airline (such as airport charges and government taxes) earn no Avios.

On bookings priced by miles flown, status adds a surcharge on top of the Avios: 15 percent at Bronze and 30 percent at Silver, while Gold gets 50 percent.

Tier Points and status tiers from Blue to Gold

You reach status through Tier Points, which count in each collection year from the start of April to the end of March. Bronze needs 3,500 Tier Points, Silver 7,500 and Gold 20,000. Bronze and Silver can also be reached through flights: 25 flights on a British Airways flight number are enough for Bronze, 50 for Silver.

On flights marketed by British Airways itself and by American Airlines or Iberia, Tier Points also depend on the eligible fare. Depending on cabin and fare type, a flight earns up to 1,250 extra Tier Points. Tier Points cannot be spent on rewards and expire at the end of each collection year, in March.

A status you have earned lasts for the rest of the current membership year, which ends in April, plus the whole of the following membership year. Reaching 5,500 Tier Points in the collection year brings 2,500 bonus Avios, 11,000 brings 4,000 and 16,000 brings 5,000. Members who reach the number of lifetime Tier Points stated on ba.com receive Gold status for life. We do not give the number because it appears only there.

Blue

We found no tier-dependent benefits for Blue. Only the earning rate is documented: six Avios per qualifying pound on British Airways and American Airlines and five per euro on Iberia.

Bronze

Bronze brings little at the airport and nothing in the lounge. Status opens no lounge door, and entry takes a business or First ticket. Priority check-in and priority boarding come on top, both except at London City Airport. You can pick a seat at no charge from seven days before departure; group fares and long-haul exit rows are left out. We found no information on baggage nor on upgrades or guests.

Silver

Silver is the first tier with lounge access. With Silver you get into the lounge on flights with British Airways and with partner airlines, and one guest may come along. In economy the whole booking is entitled to two checked bags, though a Basic fare without checked baggage includes none. A checked bag may weigh as much as 32 kg in every travel class. At airports worldwide the business check-in desks and priority boarding are open to you, even when you booked another cabin. On British Airways, seats for everyone on the booking can be chosen at no charge as soon as you book, but not long-haul exit rows. We found nothing on upgrades.

Gold

Gold opens the First lounges and gives the most room on rewards. The British Airways First lounges are open to Gold members, and a guest may join. Each person on the booking gets one more checked bag, in every travel class, with Basic fares that include no checked bag as the only exception. At airports worldwide you use the First check-in desks and priority boarding. On British Airways, the whole party picks seats at no charge when booking.

Reaching 35,000 Tier Points in the collection year earns a voucher that lets you and a companion fly one cabin higher. From 50,000 Tier Points you receive two upgrade vouchers, each valid for one person. Gold also opens further economy reward seats at the standard price.

Redeeming Avios with British Airways

On British Airways you pay fixed Avios and a fixed cash amount, which covers taxes and fees as well as the airline’s own charges. Both parts of the price follow the date, the destination and the class. The travel date also settles whether the peak or the off-peak Avios price applies. For destinations in Europe, the UK and Ireland, prices begin at 10,000 Avios plus GBP 2.50 per leg. Destinations further away begin at 55,000 Avios plus GBP 150 for a round trip.

Partners follow different rules. The number of Avios for partner flights can differ from British Airways depending on route and distance, and the cash amount on Iberia, American Airlines and other oneworld partners is variable rather than fixed.

Since December 15, 2025, reward flights have cost more on British Airways and all partner airlines. Canceling only pays off early. A refund is possible only when you cancel no later than 24 hours ahead of the first departure on the booking. For Avios-only flights, a separate reward product that can only be booked as a reward flight, the refund is complete except for a service fee of GBP 35.

Gold members have one extra option: if no reward seat is available, the Gold priority reward lets them secure a seat for double the Avios, provided they book 30 days or more ahead.

Taxes, surcharges and fees

Avios do not cover the whole price of a reward trip. According to the terms, members are liable for all taxes and charges on reward travel with British Airways or a partner. The terms expressly include carrier-imposed charges and fuel surcharges. On British Airways the cash amount is fixed, on partners it is variable.

The program states its cancellation service fee in British pounds, and no fee in CHF or EUR is published. We therefore convert nothing and list no fee in CHF or EUR. We also give no cents-per-Avios value, because we lack a sourced basis.

Avios expiry

Avios expire after 36 months without activity. If nothing happens on the account for that long, the whole balance is gone. A single activity within 36 months is enough to keep everything.

Sharing and transferring Avios

A household account pools Avios with at most six people from the same household, children included. Avios can move to and from Finnair Plus and the Qatar Airways Privilege Club. The same works with Vueling Club and Loganair Loyalty, as well as with AerClub and Iberia Club. Pages exist for the Qatar Airways Privilege Club, for Iberia Plus and for Finnair Plus.

Transferring is free for Gold members, and a fee applies for the other tiers. We did not find the amount of the fee.

Earning Avios in Switzerland, Germany and Austria

Anyone in the DACH region who wants to earn Avios has at least one documented route per country via the points programs of cards and banks. The Swiss country page of the club lists American Express Membership Rewards as a partner, and the points can be transferred to Avios. The German page says the same. It also lists Revolut, whose RevPoints convert to Avios at 1:1. The Austrian page lists American Express Membership Rewards as a partner.

For flying, the British Airways website lists destinations in all three countries.

Who the British Airways Club is not for

Alternatives to Miles & More and the question of the best miles program

Which miles program is the best depends on where you depart and which airlines you fly. If you are looking for alternatives to Miles & More, you can compare the British Airways Club with Miles & More. Both programs are listed in our program archive, and how we check facts is described on the page Methodology.