Life after BA’s “Tiermageddon” is just fine

It’s a little over 14 months since British Airways announced that it was overhauling the way customers earn elite status in its frequent flyer program, and since it paid a firm of consultants a lot of money to change its program’s name from “the British Airways Executive Club” to “the British Airways Club” (no doubt a 2-minute meeting that resulted in hundreds of billable hours).

The wholesale changes that the overhaul introduced has meant that a lot of Executive Club members (primarily those of us who don’t have someone else paying for our travels) have absolutely no hope of reaching any kind of meaningful status with the new British Airways Club (BAC).

Sure, we could remortgage our homes, sell a few organs on the dark web and hand over all the cash to British Airways in return for a shiny status card, but that doesn’t seem like a particularly good idea.

For a lot of BA’s frequent flyers, the new rules introduced with the BAC have meant that a rethink has been necessary.

For some, the changes have brought about the realisation that they were being irrationally “loyal” to British Airways just so they could retain elite status from year to year while for others, the changes simply signalled the end of one a good ride and the start of a search for another.

For everyone negatively affected by these changes, there were decisions to be made.

Some have sworn never to fly with British Airways again – a vow which may prove tricky to keep if you live anywhere near BA’s Heathrow stronghold.

Some have used the past year to explore their options with airlines from Sky Team and Star Alliance.

Some have decided that it’s time to get off the elite status hamster wheel altogether and to focus on flying with whichever airline is offering the best all-around package on a trip by trip basis.

And some, like me, have been trying to work out how we can continue to enjoy most of the benefits that the old Executive Club offered without emptying our bank accounts.

For me, the changes that have come with the birth of the British Airways Club have been an annoyance, but not much more. I’m used to dealing with loyalty programs that make changes which completely alter how I interact with them, so while the changes to BA’s program caught me a little off guard, I was prepared to deal with the fallout.

Before I started using the British Airways Executive Club as my primary frequent flyer program, I was an American Airlines “loyalist”, and navigating through my options after the AAdvantage program was gutted (following the US Airways take over) left me in a good position to deal with this latest program set back.

Almost a decade ago, after it became clear to me that the American Airlines AAdvantage program was no longer a good fit for my travel patterns or good for my bank balance, I realised that it wasn’t the benefits specific to the AAdvantage program that I valued most. What I really valued were the benefits of the OneWorld status that came courtesy of my American Airlines status.

That’s why I moved to the British Airways Executive Club in the first place.

Like American Airlines, British Airways is part of the OneWorld Alliance, so, back then, I knew that as long as I was able to earn and retain British Airways Gold status, I would enjoy the same OneWorld benefits that I had available to me as an AAdvantage Executive Platinum member and to me, that’s what mattered.

Over the past 14 months, history has been repeating itself as, once again, I’ve found myself in a position where my chosen OneWorld airline had decided to nuke its frequent flyer program and leave me searching for another home.

Moving to a Star Alliance or Sky Team airline program was never going to be an option.

With London Heathrow as my primary airport and with my travels focused on short-haul trips within Europe and long-haul trips to Asia, it’s the OneWorld airlines and not the likes of Air France/KLM or Lufthansa which suit me best, so I I’ve had to look for another OneWorld program in which it’s possible to earn top-tier status without having to break the bank.

Step forward Finnair Plus.

It didn’t take long for me to figure out that Finnair Plus was where I needed to focus my efforts because as long as you avoid flying Finnair itself, the Finnair Plus program still awards elite status credits based on the distance flown + the cabin in which you fly (in a similar way to how the old American Airlines AAdvantage program once awarded status credits).

The key here is that the cost of your airfare fare doesn’t have to affect how many elite status credits you earn, and it’s this type of program that allows you to use well-priced Business Class fares to earn elite status for what I would call an “acceptable cost”.

That works for me.

For the past six months, I’ve been building up my credits with Finnair Plus while, mostly, still making the most of my British Airways Gold status and, on the whole, it has been straightforward.

Yes, I’ve had to give up free seat selection of a number of my flights and I haven’t been boarding with Group 1 very often, but as I’ve still been able to access the First Wing at Heathrow and as I’ve still been able to access OneWorld First Class lounges (by showing my BA card), I really don’t have much to complain about, and my transition from the British Airways Executive Club to Finnair Plus is now nearly complete.

Currently, I hold Finnair Gold status (a mid-tier status which maps to OneWorld Sapphire status) and once I complete the trip that I’m now on, I’ll be using a handful of Avios to purchase the last few Tier Points that I need to hit Finnair Platinum status (equivalent to OneWorld Emerald status) and for me, that will be mission accomplished.

As a Finnair Platinum member I’ll enjoy most of the benefits that I valued highest while I held BA Gold status, and I’ll have the added bonus of being able to gift someone (almost certainly Joanna) Finnair Gold/OneWorld Sapphire status as well.

Sure, once my BA Gold membership expires at the end of April, there will probably be times when I’ll miss not having access to extra Economy Class award space on British Airways flights, and I’ll probably miss those times where BA blocked the seat next to me when I’ve been flying short-haul Economy Class, but there’s not much more that I’m giving up.

I’ll still be using the First Wing at Heathrow, I’ll still be boarding with Group 1, I’ll still have access to some of the best airport lounges in the world, I’ll still get to select exit row seats at the time of booking (without having to pay a fee), I’ll continue to enjoy a massive baggage allowance even when flying in Economy Class, and I’ll be able to do all of that while bringing along a guest and without spending the ridiculous sums of money that are now required to get the same benefits through the British Airways Club.

Happy days!

I know that for some people, the switch from the British Airways Club to whatever new airline program they’ve chosen hasn’t been completely straightforward, but for me and for a significant number of other BA exiles, it has been relatively easy (even surprisingly easy) to find life after the Executive Club and, most importantly of all, that life is just fine.

I have no doubt that, at some point, Finnair will devalue its program and that, once again, I’ll be left searching for another frequent flyer home (that’s how life is in the frequent flyer world), but for now, I’m going to enjoy what Finnair Plus has to offer and I’m going to enjoy making the most of those benefits while remembering that they’re costing me just a fraction of what I would have had to pay to enjoy them had I lost my mind and chosen to stay with the British Airways Club.

For me, the elite status hamster wheel keeps going 🙂

If you’re recently changed airline programs, what has your experience been like?