British Airways tier points system explained

British Airways (BA) introduced changes to its tier points loyalty programme on 1 April 2025. The airline’s reward scheme gives frequent flyers access to a host of travel perks.

Under the new scheme, you can also unlock bonus Avios rewards, which you can use to book flights or as part-payment for when you go on holiday.

We look at how Avios points work in a separate guide. Here, we explain how the new BA tier points system works, and how you can make the most of it to save on holiday.

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What are BA tier points?

Tier points are a type of reward scheme for BA customers that allow them to unlock rewards by flying and spending money with the airline.

Rewards can include free seat allocation, priority check-in and boarding, extra baggage allowance and lounge access.

When you set up your account with The British Airways Club, you will start at the most basic ‘Blue’ tier. Loyal customers can climb up to the top ‘Gold’ tier. As you enter new tiers, you will be given access to more and better rewards.

Tier points are different to BA’s Avios scheme.

BA tier points automatically reset to zero once a year on 30 April, which is known as the end of the membership year. If you joined a certain tier in one year, you will remain a member of that tier for the next year, even after your benefit period ends.

For example, if you achieved the ‘Silver’ tier in one membership year, you will be able to access the benefits of that tier for the following 12 months, regardless of the membership year ending.

How does BA’s new tier points system work?

If you fly with British Airways in any capacity at all, you are automatically eligible to start earning BA tier points – you just need to set up an account with the airline.

You can earn tier points by booking any eligible flights, BA’s package holidays, or with a BA American Express card.

We explore the options below.

Earning BA tier points on flights

Using your unique account code, you can earn tier points based on your flight’s eligible spend – this includes the ticket price and any money you spend on seat selection, extra luggage, and seat upgrades. It does not include any taxes or non-carrier-imposed fees you may incur.

For every £1 of eligible spend on your flights, you will be rewarded with one tier point.

Additionally, as part of a limited-time offer, customers who register and book flights by the end of 2025 that depart before the end of 2026 are also given bonus tier points depending on the cabin class they fly in.

BA provides an example of a flight from London to New York in their World Traveller Plus cabin. A return flight costs £1,418, making the eligible spend £1,120 after taxes and other non-carrier fees are removed.

As the flight is in the World Traveller Plus cabin, you will be given an extra 550 bonus tier points if you book a flight that departs before the end of 2026. You could therefore earn 1,670 tier points on your purchase – made up of 1,120 from the eligible spend plus 550 bonus points.

A full list of the bonus BA tier points you can claim, depending on your cabin class, can be found below:

Earning BA tier points on a package holiday

Under the new system, you can also earn tier points with BA’s package holidays, meaning customers can accrue more points faster.

You now earn one tier point for every £1 spent on the total price of a British Airways Holidays “Flight + Hotel” and “Flight + Car” booking, with the calculation based on the total amount paid before travel — not on any charges payable at the accommodation.

There is no minimum time requirement to earn the points, so you can get your tier points on a short weekend trip or a long holiday.

Tier points are split evenly between the number of people on the booking (excluding infants under two years old).

BA gives the example of a £5,448 flight + hotel package for two people. This value is divided by the two travellers, so each one gets 2,724 tier points. If you have registered for BA’s bonus offer, you will also be granted 550 bonus tier points per BA Club member, bringing the total points per person to 3,274.

Earning BA tier points with your credit card

BA American Express Premium Plus Cardmembers can earn up to 2,500 tier points by spending on their card – as long as they enrol before 25 January 2026. The offer ends on 1 February 2026, after which you won’t be able to earn tier points with your Amex card.

Here’s how much you can earn:

You can only earn a total of 2,500 tier points through this deal.

The card has an annual fee of £300. We explain the differences between different American Express credit cards in another guide.

What’s the difference between BA tier points and Avios?

Both tier points and Avios are reward schemes for British Airways customers, with consumers able to accrue points when they travel with the airline.

While you can collect Avios and BA tier points, they are separate schemes and serve two different purposes.

• Tier points are used to unlock new benefits when you fly with BA, such as free seat allocation or access to business lounges.
• Avios acts more like an extra currency that you earn as you fly more with BA. You can use your Avios points to deduct some money from the cost of a flight and bring your ticket price to a minimum of £1.

What benefits do British Airways tier points offer?

The type of benefits available depends on the tier – the Blue Tier has the fewest perks, with higher tiers offering more.

Blue Tier

The benefits of being a Blue Tier member are:

• Collecting, purchasing, gifting and combining Avios
• Sharing Avios through a household account
• Transferring Avios (free for Gold members, a fee applies for other tiers)
• Member-only offers
• Reward Flights
• Access to the Avios mobile app
• Priority waitlist
• Free Wi-Fi messaging onboard

Bronze Tier

As well as the benefits outlined in the Blue Tier level, Bronze members get:

• Free seat selection seven days before departure, except for group rate bookings and exit row seats on long-haul flights
• Priority check-in (excludes London City Airport)
• Priority boarding (excludes London City Airport)
• Status freeze for maternity / paternity / adoption
• 5% discount on almost all purchases at The Wine Flyer

Silver Tier

In addition to Bronze and Blue benefits, Silver Tier members can enjoy:

• Additional baggage allowance (baggage benefits do not apply to hand baggage only (Basic) fares)
• Lounge access when flying with British Airways and our partner airlines
• Reservation Assurance
• 10% discount on almost all purchases at The Wine Flyer

Gold Tier

As well as all the other benefits in the other tiers, Gold Tier members get:

• 15% discount on almost all purchases at The Wine Flyer
• First class check-in and boarding
• Access to First lounges
• Extra baggage allowance of 32kg per checked bag in any travel class for everyone on your booking
• Free seat selection for everyone on your booking in the same flight and travel class
• No booking or service fees for priority reward bookings
• Gold priority reward
• Additional Reward Flight availability in economy
• Gold upgrade for two vouchers (at 35,000 tier points in one year)
• Two gold upgrades for one voucher (at 50,000 tier points in one year)
• One Gold British Airways Club partner card and two Silver member cards (at 65,000 tier points in one year and 40,000 tier points thereafter)
• Concorde Room access (at 65,000 tier points in one year and 40,000 tier points thereafter)

How BA tier points can unlock bonus Avios rewards

From April 2025, BA introduced a new milestone bonus, where you can earn extra Avios points when you hit a certain amount of tier points. You can then convert these bonus points into savings on your next Reward Flight or use as a part-payment for an upcoming holiday.

The milestones are as follows: