BA has announced big changes to its Executive Club programme from April 28.
For tickets booked after that date, new rules have been introduced for earning both Avios and tier points, and also for spending Avios.
The news is consistent with industry moves to more directly align customer rewards with spend, as most recently seen at Emirates (see news, January 14).
Speaking with Business Traveller, James Hillier, BA’s manager, Executive Club, said the changes are necessary to allow members of the programme to have a better chance to redeem the Avios they have earned.
He said: “We listened to our customers. We are committed to opening up more opportunities for our customers to spend their Avios on BA, and to be as transparent as possible to allow both earning and redeeming within the programme.”
The changes, which can be read here, affect both the rate at which Avios are earned by members, and also the rate at which tier points are earned.
MAIN POINTS
Earning Avios
The rate at which members earn Avios will depend more on the amount paid for the ticket — including the class booked, and the different type of fare bought.
BA said: “In practice, this means that if you pay for a flexible ticket you will earn more Avios than the lowest priced ticket in the same cabin.”
The cheapest tickets in Euro Traveller and World Traveller will now earn only a minimum of 25 per cent per mile flown instead of 100 per cent.
For new bookings made on or after April 28, members will collect:
- 0.5 Avios per mile flown in classes K, L, M, N, S and V or a minimum of 250 Avios — whichever Avios value is greater
- 0.25 Avios per mile flown in classes O, G and Q or a minimum of 125 Avios — whichever Avios value is greater
- Flexible economy fares (Y, B and H) will continue to collect the same Avios as today and the minimum Avios will remain at 500
- For Club World/Club Europe and First tickets, Avios earning remains the same or is increased depending on the cabin and type of ticket.
A minimum of two Club World/Club Europe and four World Traveller/Euro Traveller reward seats will be available for booking on all BA-operated flights and are available for sale at ba.com.
BA said this means a total of nine million reward seats will be available per year, an extra 500,000 reward seats when compared with the current set-up.
Silver members’ tier bonus will change from 100 per cent to 50 per cent. BA said this is necessary “to provide more reward seats across our entire network for all of our members.”
Gold members’ tier bonus will remain at 100 per cent and Bronze members will stay at 25 per cent.
Tier points
The lowest-priced World Traveller and Euro Traveller seats will now collect 25 per cent of tier points rather than 50 per cent.
There will be fewer Avios on the London City to New York JFK service. For new bookings made on or after April 28, BAEC members travelling between London and New York in Club World will collect the same number of Avios and tier points regardless of which London airport they are flying to or from.
Spending Avios
BA is also introducing changes to the price of reward flights depending on the time of year, the cabin and zone.
In Club World and First, the Avios price will increase, the amount depending on the time of the year.
In Euro Traveller and World Traveller, BA said that for two-thirds of the year members will require fewer Avios than currently needed to fly on reward seats.
Reward flights with BA’s airline partners will be one price, all year round, with the exception of Iberia, which will also offer seasonal pricing.
BA said that it is responding to feedback from members who complained that it can be difficult to find reward seat availability in premium cabins (World Traveller Plus, Club World and First), especially on popular routes.
In BA’s Q&A section, the following is stated:
- In economy, during our busier (peak) periods, the number of Avios you will need will be the same as today, while if you book during our quieter (off-peak) periods you will require on average 26 per cent fewer Avios than you would need to make the same booking today.
- In premium economy, during off-peak periods, you will require on average 14 per cent fewer Avios than today – except on routes within zone 4 which will require an average 7 per cent more Avios than today to book. During peak periods, you will require an average 33 per cent more Avios to book.
- In business, you will require an average 25 per cent more Avios for travel during our off-peak periods and an average 50 per cent more for travel during our peak periods.
- In First, you will require an average 13 per cent more Avios for travel during our off-peak periods and an average 33 per cent more for travel during our peak periods.
Upgrades
BA said it is expanding the number of fare classes from which upgrades can be purchased. So, by the end of 2015, members will be able to upgrade using Avios from World Traveller and Euro Traveller commercial bookings “except the very lowest priced seats”.
Changes to UK domestic connecting reward flights
Passengers will from April 28 have to pay for any UK domestic connecting reward flights to and from their final European destination (so in the case of Edinburgh to London and then onto Paris, the Edinburgh to London sector will now have to be paid for).
This does not apply to connecting reward flights on long-haul.
Number of Avios needed for peak and off-peak in economy
| Destination from London Heathrow | Zone |
Economy return fare |
||
| Current | Peak | Off-peak | ||
| Amsterdam |
1 |
9,000 | 9,000 | 8,000 |
| Barcelona |
2 |
15,000 | 15,000 | 13,000 |
| Athens |
3 |
20,000 | 20,000 | 17,000 |
| Cairo |
4 |
25,000 | 25,000 | 20,000 |
| New York |
5 |
40,000 | 40,000 | 26,000 |
| Los Angeles |
6 |
50,000 | 50,000 | 32,500 |
| Johannesburg |
7 |
60,000 | 60,000 | 39,000 |
| Singapore |
8 |
70,000 | 70,000 | 45,500 |
| Sydney |
9 |
100,000 | 100,000 | 65,000 |
BA said:
- All economy Avios fares will be the same if not lower than current prices
- All economy off-peak Avios fares will be 15 per cent to 35 per cent lower than peak prices
- All premium economy fares will be the same if not lower than current prices to all European destinations.
Comprehensive rates
BA flights: New prices
| One way prices |
Peak |
Off-peak |
|||||||
| Economy |
Premium |
Business |
First |
Economy |
Premium |
Business |
First |
||
|
Zone 1 e.g. AMS |
|
4,500 |
6,750 |
9,000 |
18,000 |
4,000 |
5,750 |
7,750 |
15,500 |
|
Zone 2 e.g. BCN |
7,500 |
11,250 |
15,000 |
30,000 |
6,500 |
9,500 |
12,750 |
25,500 |
|
|
Zone 3 e.g. Athens |
10,000 |
15,000 |
20,000 |
40,000 |
8,500 |
12,750 |
17,000 |
34,000 |
|
|
Zone 4 e.g. Cairo |
12,500 |
25,000 |
37,500 |
50,000 |
10,000 |
20,000 |
31,250 |
42,500 |
|
|
Zone 5 e.g. New York |
20,000 |
40,000 |
60,000 |
80,000 |
13,000 |
26,000 |
50,000 |
68,000 |
|
|
Zone 6 e.g. LAX |
25,000 |
50,000 |
75,000 |
100,000 |
16,250 |
32,500 |
62,500 |
85,000 |
|
|
Zone 7 e.g. JNB |
30,000 |
60,000 |
90,000 |
120,000 |
19,500 |
39,000 |
75,000 |
102,000 |
|
|
Zone 8 e.g. SIN |
35,000 |
70,000 |
105,000 |
140,000 |
22,750 |
45,500 |
87,500 |
119,000 |
|
|
Zone 9 e.g. SYD |
50,000 |
100,000 |
150,000 |
200,000 |
32,500 |
65,000 |
125,000 |
170,000 |
|
BA flight change vs. current prices
| One way prices |
Peak |
Off-peak |
|||||||
|
Economy |
Premium |
Business |
First |
Economy |
Premium |
Business |
First |
||
|
Zone 1 |
|
0% |
0% |
0% |
+33% |
-11% |
-15% |
-14% |
15% |
|
Zone 2 |
0% |
0% |
0% |
+33% |
-13% |
-16% |
-15% |
+13% |
|
|
Zone 3 |
0% |
0% |
0% |
+33% |
-15% |
-15% |
-15% |
+13% |
|
|
Zone 4 |
0% |
+33% |
+50% |
+33% |
-20% |
+7% |
+25% |
+13% |
|
|
Zone 5 |
0% |
+33% |
+50% |
+33% |
-35% |
-13% |
+25% |
+13% |
|
|
Zone 6 |
0% |
+33% |
+50% |
+33% |
-35% |
-13% |
+25% |
+13% |
|
|
Zone 7 |
0% |
+33% |
+50% |
+33% |
-35% |
-13% |
+25% |
+13% |
|
|
Zone 8 |
0% |
+33% |
+50% |
+33% |
-35% |
-13% |
+25% |
+13% |
|
|
Zone 9 |
0% |
+33% |
+50% |
+33% |
-35% |
-13% |
+25% |
+13% |
|
Tom Otley
