Changes made to British Airways' loyalty scheme and what it means for you
The airline insisted the changes have not been designed to reduce the number of people rewarded.
It is switching from awarding points based on the distance flown or fare class to the amount spent, at a rate of one point for every pound.
To qualify for gold status, which features benefits such as access to first-class lounges and enhanced baggage allowance, customers will generally need to earn 20,000 points per year.
The announcement of the changes in late December 2024 led to frequent flyer website headforpoints.com to accuse the airline of 'effectively washing its hands of the leisure market', claiming it will be 'impossible to earn gold for small business travellers, economy travellers or self-funded leisure travellers'.
On Wednesday, British Airways announced a bonus offer, which gives customers the chance to earn up to 550 additional points per flight based on their cabin class, will be extended for the rest of the year.
Now, customers will be guaranteed to reach bronze status if they take at least 25 flights annually, such as commuters.
Benefits for this status include access to business class check-in desks and free seat selection from seven days before departure, even if travelling on an economy ticket.
British Airways chief commercial officer Colm Lacy said awarding points for spending is 'the best way of recognising our customers' loyalty and we're confident it's the right thing to do'.
He told the PA news agency: 'This is not about reducing the number of members in each tier.
'The focus for this is making sure we have a loyalty scheme that rewards people for the right behaviours.'
Mr Lacy said 'one of the benefits' of the changes is they will make it harder for people to use 'gamification and loopholes' to earn points, as 'that is not really rewarding loyalty'.
In the past, some customers opted to take multiple flights on indirect routes to reach their destination, as often these cheaper, inconvenient fares helped them achieve statuses.
Gilbert Ott, founder of the travel website God Save The Points, said people have an 'emotional attachment to loyalty' and the bonus offer creates 'a little bit more of that game feeling'.
He said many loyalty schemes in the US are already based on spending, and these have often resulted in passengers getting 'better benefits because airlines have the economics behind them'.
In relation to British Airways, he added: 'It's aggressive because they're the first in the UK – and one of the first in Europe – to go to a system where money is the main driver.
Recommended reading:
Who can get a new passport for free? See the criteria
Can you still use a red passport for travelling in 2025? Rules to follow
Can you travel when your passport is being renewed? The rules and regulations
'But my gut is, if you look in five years, almost everybody (will have done) the same.'
The overhaul, which comes into effect from April 1, includes dropping the word 'Executive' from the programme's name, which will become the British Airways Club.
There are also additions to how points can be earned, such as through the airline's package holiday division British Airways Holidays.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Ontario couple loses nearly $4,000 after booking Jamaican anniversary trip — how to avoid a similar mistake
It's been scientifically proven that being in love affects the way you think, meaning the term 'rose-colored glasses' has at least some basis in fact. For an Ontario couple hoping to celebrate their first wedding anniversary in Jamaica, apparently being lovestruck might affect your trip booking abilities too. In March, Lizanne Hamstali of London, ON, attempted to book a resort stay with flights included for her and her husband on Expedia, but it turns out she missed a crucial detail: the package only included the hotel stay. She cancelled 10 minutes later, but unfortunately the trip was non-refundable and she was on the hook for the $4,183 spent on the trip, she told CTV News. "We spent the whole year saving for (this trip) and for something such as a simple as a mistake, you just lose it all,' Hasmatali said. Don't Miss Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan 'works every single time' to kill debt, get rich — and 'anyone' can do it The Canadian economy is showing signs of softening amid Trump's tariffs — protect your wallet with these 5 essential money moves (most of which you can complete in just minutes) What is the best credit card in Canada? It might be the RBC® British Airways Visa Infinite, with a $1,176 first-year value. Compare it with over 140 more in 5 seconds To clarify why Hamstali found herself in this predicament, an Expedia spokesperson explained how the '...decision whether or not to allow additional flexibility [regarding refunds] is up to the hotel, and Expedia follows our hotel partners' policies for cancellations and refunds." Thankfully, after CTV and Ontario's travel regulator reached out to Expedia, the company gave the couple a full refund. But the stress of potentially losing thousdands on a vacation does prompt the question: How can you avoid making the same mistake? Stretch your savings further — get cash back or travel perks with the right credit card. The offers a first-year value of $1,176. — your future self will thank you! How to avoid booking accidents No matter how excited you might be about booking a future vacation, you need to be fully alert when browsing through the bountiful options at your disposal. Here are some tips to help you avoid the booking accident this Ontario couple faced: Read the fine print: Get out a magnifying glass if you have to and pay attention to the terms and conditions of your stay. This is where you'll notice if the booking is refundable or not. Get a travel agent involved: If you're too busy to do the homework required to book a trip the right way, get someone to help do it for you. A travel agent can handle all the fine details while you daydream until the flight. Check the brand you're booking with: If anything does go wrong, it's important to know the reputation of the company you're booking with. Look into their recent reviews to see how they treat customers who run into issues. Read more: 'You're going to live on beans and rice': This senior told Dave Ramsey she has debt and zero savings — Protecting yourself during a trip Research from the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) found that 71% of Ontarians feel that travel has become increasingly more complex post-pandemic. Additionally, 65% of survey respondents indicated they were concerned about protecting the money they spent. One way to alleviate this concern is booking trip cancellation insurance. That said, not all insurance is created equal. Some plans have a 'cancel for any reason provision' that allows you to back out of a pre-paid vacation for any reason at all. But, you're likely looking at higher costs for that type of coverage. Standard cancellation insurance is included on a number of the best travel credit cardsin Canada. To compare credit cards with the best options, check out the free and fast credit card comparison tool. You can also purchase travel insurance, separately, through a number of insurance companies. Just be sure to read the fine print, especially the 'description of coverage' section. That lays out in which situations you can get reimbursed for cancelling a trip. If a certain event you're in isn't listed, it isn't covered. Deciding whether to pay for cancellation insurance isn't a simple process. For the couple that had a cancellation scare, they mentioned how it took them a year to save up for the trip. Consider how long it took you to save up for a trip you're booking — would you be willing to double that timeframe to save the cost of insurance if something did go wrong? How to be a travel-booking genius Knowing how to book without making a mistake is the first part of learning to book trips correctly. Here are some stratetegic tips to help you become a travel-booking genius: Always confirm before paying: Never give out your credit card number before you know your trip plans, costs and policies inside and out. Review terms and conditions: Even if you have comprehensive travel insurance, you need to know when it will and won't kick in. Always review the t&c's of your hotel stays, flights, cruises and other trip bookings. Don't go with the first option: There are hundreds of options when it comes to booking a vacation. Take the time to review multiple companies offering the same booking. There's a good chance you'll find a similar trip at a lower price. What To Read Next Here's how to retire in 10 short years no matter where you live in Canada — even if you're starting with $0 savings Here are 5 expenses that Canadians (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? I'm almost 50 and don't have enough retirement savings. What should I do? Don't panic. Here are 6 solid ways you can catch up Pet owners, here's how you can get up to 90% cashback on expensive emergency veterinary bills — and you can even get a free quote in 30 seconds 1. CTV News: Ontario couple booking anniversary trip to Jamaica out over $4,000 after mistake, by Pat Foran (Jul 15, 2025) 2. Travel Industry Council of Ontario: Ontario's travel regulator finds strong consumer intention to travel this spring and summer, despite concerns about travel complexity (Mar 29, 2023) This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
IAG Share Price: Potential To Return To Pre-Pandemic High
The IAG share price (LON:IAG) has rocketed since the turn of the pandemic. Investors who bought the stock in late 2020 would have seen their returns almost quadruple. Even so, further upside is within reach, and a new all-time high isn't out of the question. Making Space For Growth As IAG has made a habit of in recent times, the British Airways parent company managed to beat expectations yet again when it reported its Q2 results earlier this month. Although the stock reacted positively in early trading on the day, the IAG share price has since pared back on some of its gains, partly due to ambiguities surrounding guidance. But before getting into that, the firm's Q2 numbers are worth noting. Total revenue was up a decent 6.8% to €8.86 billion. This was led by a 4.9% increase in passenger revenue to €7.77 billion. Cargo revenue had another strong showing with a 9.9% increment to €311 million, as maritime trading routes in the Middle East continued to witness disruptions, benefitting air cargo. Other revenue surprised, too, with blowout growth of 29.8% to €780 million, thanks to more maintenance (MRO) and BA Holidays revenue. Much of the passenger revenue was driven by a combination of capacity and continued yield expansion, albeit slower, as growth in the form RASK only ticked up 2.6% to 8.55¢, cooling from Q1's 3.2%. This is because while capacity in the form of ASK grew 2.2% to 90,916k as IAG expanded its fleet and average sector lengths in the quarter, passenger growth dropped 0.8% to 31,624k. This pulled the group's load factor down by 1.3% to 85.4%. In fact, yields would've been lower had it not been for three factors. The first was the 2.8% decline in Iberia's capacity, as engine maintenance on its A330 aircraft shrunk seat supply, while demand to LATAM remained strong, leading to stronger yields. The second was the timing of Easter in Q2, which was a slight tailwind for travel. The third was the persistent outperformance of IAG's premium cabins outstripping the weakness in the Economy cabin. Regardless, IAG's EBIT jumped 35.4% to €1.68 billion, beating consensus (€1.43 billion) again. This was down to cheaper fuel cost, as fuel CASK fell 12.7% to 1.99¢, offsetting more expensive non-fuel costs. While finance income stalled to €70 million from plateauing interest rates, so did finance costs to €212 million. Consequently, pre-tax profit soared 33.0% to €1.51 billion. Paired with share buybacks, and EPS leaped 27.6% to 23.6¢. Transatlantic Turbulence Worries So, here's why the IAG share price failed to rise. As mentioned earlier, investors are wary of a slowdown in the North America (NA) market. Demand in the NA region measured through RPK saw its first contraction in almost 3 years, as passenger numbers shrank 1.6% to 3,655k, while capacity rose 1.8% to 29,070k. This came as a result of a slowdown in US spending habits from President Trump's uncertain tariff policies which began in April. This is a particular concern for shareholders, as IAG's main market and bulk of profit comes from the NA region, especially for its biggest airline, British Airways (BA). For that reason, there's some anxiety surrounding IAG possibly over-expanding its NA capacity without demand keeping up. As a consequence, this could put downward pressure on ticket prices, resulting in flat or even negative yields, and ultimately hurt profits. There are, however, two silver linings that came about from the earnings call which could calm some investors' nerves. Firstly, management mentioned seeing a stabilisation in NA ticket yields mid-way through Q3, as a little more clarity was provided by the White House on its trade policies recently. Second of all, NA capacity out of BA's main hub in Heathrow is expected to remain flat in Q3, which should help with yield preservation. On that basis, I expect the rate of contraction in NA's RASK to bottom out in next quarter's figures. I'm forecasting BA's RASK to mark its biggest decrease of 1.5% in Q3 to 9.59¢, before recovering slightly to a better -1.3% in Q4. But regardless, thanks to the bigger capacity being introduced to IAG's fleet, alongside higher spending in premium segments and growth in other regions, I remain bullish on IAG's prospects going into the winter. After all, I'm anticipating yields in other regions and airlines (particularly Iberia and Aer Lingus) to continue growing strongly. Most of this should come from the continuous hot demand between Spain and LATAM, benefitting Iberia tremendously. With LATAM capacity from Madrid estimated to be down again in Q3, the robust demand should keep Iberia's yields rather elevated and should more than offset the capacity shortfall. Higher Levels To Come? Regardless, it should still go without saying that my Q3 forecasts are still too early to be concrete. Revisions to both the up and downside remain open this early into the quarter, but I remain bullish on IAG's prospects regardless, as I don't envision travel demand slowing meaningfully and derailing the investment thesis at play. And while headlines indicated that the FTSE 100 stalwart fell short of not upgrading its FY25 guidance, there were, in fact, a couple of notable ones. Most prominently, CEO Luis Gallego mentioned that he now expects fuel costs to come in a whole €400 million less than Q2's guidance – now at €7.10 billion, thanks to smart fuel and currency hedges. Plus, non-fuel CASK is also now only seen to tick up by 3.0% from a previously guided 4.0%. Moreover, I'm excited about the medium-term prospects of the new revenue management system being trialled. It has the potential to improve yields through the removal of class buckets by creating more price points, while also keeping prices more attuned to real-time supply-demand dynamics. For instance, IAG will be able to offer upgrades for less, which should theoretically stimulate higher spend per customer and fill excess supply. I believe the current weakness in the NA market will subside by the new year as trade policies stabilise, and should spearhead a transatlantic rebound – although, this hypothesis is contingent on the both the UK and US labour markets not weakening significantly. Regardless, if timed correctly, rate cuts can be a further tailwind for IAG's business. I hold the view that the IAG share price has more room to run, despite some potential short-term volatility. The stock still trades at a cheap valuation with an EV/EBITDA of 3.1, which is still below its sector (7.8) and historical (4.0) averages. What's more, at my projected CAGR of 11.1%, its PEG of 0.6 is more than half of its sector's 1.4. Thus, I have a price target of 470p, just shy of its all-time high of 495p in 2018, with room for further upgrades in the future.
Business Wire
5 days ago
- Business Wire
Traka Celebrates 30 Years of Innovation in Intelligent Key and Asset Management
OLNEY, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Traka, an ASSA ABLOY company and global leader in intelligent key and equipment management solutions, is excited to announce its 30 years of innovation in intelligent key and asset management. What began as a custom solution for British Airways has grown into a global leader in intelligent key and asset management. Traka, now celebrating its 30th anniversary, is marking three decades of innovation, expansion, and impact across more than 30 industries worldwide. In 1995, Traka's founder, John Kent, responded to a unique challenge: British Airways needed a secure and trackable way to manage critical keys, something the market didn't yet offer. Kent built the first Traka key cabinet, setting the foundation for what would become a new category in access management. That first electronic key cabinet was just the beginning. Over the past three decades, Traka has transformed from a hardware manufacturer into a comprehensive technology provider. Its range of intelligent lockers and electronic key cabinets has expanded to include solutions for weapon & evidence storage, fleet vehicles, manufacturing tools, retail assets, government and sensitive equipment and spaces, each designed to meet the specific needs of high-security and compliance-driven environments. The introduction of TrakaWEB, a powerful centralized platform, redefined how organizations monitor and control access. With real-time visibility and automated audit trails, Traka's systems have helped clients move from reactive to proactive asset management, boosting accountability and operational efficiency. Having been acquired by the ASSA ABLOY Group in 2012, Traka has further accelerated its global reach and technical innovation, integrating with leading access control and compliance platforms. Today, Traka's intelligent systems are trusted across every sector, from critical infrastructure and healthcare to education, transportation, law enforcement and government, data centers, and beyond. Operating in over 70 countries and supporting users in multiple languages, Traka is backed by teams that are local when needed and global when it counts. 'Traka's success has always been rooted in listening to the real-world challenges our customers face,' said Mike Rimmington, Senior Vice President & Head of Key and Asset Management for ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions. 'This milestone is not just a celebration of our past, but a commitment to keep innovating for the future.' With its eyes on what's next, Traka continues to scale intelligently, helping organizations protect what matters most with smarter, more secure solutions. About Traka Traka is part of ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions, which provides safe and sustainable cutting-edge technology solutions for physical and digital access management control. As a total solutions provider, ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions is part of the wider ASSA ABLOY Group. Being a global leader in access solutions, the Group operates worldwide with 61,000 employees and holds leading positions in areas such as efficient door opening, trusted identities, and entrance automation. Traka is the global leader in intelligent management solutions for keys and equipment. Their solutions help organizations better control their important assets, improve productivity and accountability, and reduce risk in critical processes. Traka continuously invests in the development of technology to provide leading, innovative, secure, and effective real-world solutions to the challenges that organizations face in managing keys and equipment. Their solutions are tailored to customer needs and requirements, providing the most value and impact on their business.
