British Airways extends elite status for some & lower tier targets for all

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British Airways has just unwrapped a couple of early Christmas presents for members of its Executive Club – some members will now have their elite status extended by a further 12 months while all members will now have a reduced tier point target to requalify for elite status this year.

The elite status extensions

Through elite status extensions that have already been offered (in March and September of this year), British Airways Executive Club members with a tier point collection end date that falls by the end of March 2022 have already had their elite statuses extended by a year.

As of today, Executive Club members with a tier point collection end date that falls between 1 April and 30 June 2022 are also having their elite statuses extended by a further year and British Airways has said that members will see this change appear in their online accounts in the next 10 days.

As with all previous elite status extensions, a member’s tier point counter will reset to zero when their collection year is up but their online accounts will show that their elite status will not expire until 2023 even if they haven’t hit this year’s tier point targets.

Tier point targets reduced for all

Last year, British Airways announced that select BAEC elite members would have the following reduced tier point targets for the purposes of requalification:

• BA Bronze status – 225 Tier Points (down from 300 tier points)
• BA Silver status – 450 Tier Points (down from 600 tier points)
• BA Gold status – 1,125 Tier Points (down from 1,500 tier points)
• BA Gold Guest List status – 2,250 (down from 3,000 tier points)

Today, British Airways has confirmed that anyone requalifying for elite status by 30 December 2022 will benefit from the reduced tier point targets. Here’s what the British Airways website says:

“Members with a Tier Point collection end date between July 2022 and December 2022 can benefit from the reduced Tier Point thresholds to retain, or upgrade, their Tier status.”

Note: If you have a tier point collection end date from January 2023 onwards, the standard tier point requirements will apply.

No further good news

That’s where the good news from British Airways ends. By already expiring some vouchers, the airline has made it clear that there will be no further extensions to the expiration dates of the companion vouchers earned through Amex cards in the UK and the card_name in the US.

In addition, there’s no sign that Gold upgrade vouchers will be extended either so it’s time to burn those vouchers if you can and if your voucher’s expiration date is drawing near.

Bottom line

If you have British Airways Executive Club status and your tier point collection year ends between April and June 2022, your elite status is safe for another year. The status extension will appear in your account by 1 January 2022.

If you have British Airways Executive Club status and your tier point collection year ends between July and December 2022, your elite status hasn’t been extended (again) but you can make the most of the reduced tier targets to retain or upgrade your elite status for 2023.