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In what was surely British Airways Executive Club’s last relaxation of elite status qualification hurdles – click here for details – Silver card holders with a Tier Point Collection Year end date falling between July and September 2022 had their re-qualification thresholds reduced to 50% of the usual requirements.  For many Silver card holders, that automatically means…  300 Tier Points.

Because I had 180 Tier Points at the time of the announcement, I decided that it would be sensible to aim for 300 Tier Points before my Tier Point year ends in August. (when previously I was resigned to losing my BAEC status)

And I managed it…

What Did I Miss?

Along with those 310 Tier Points, I appear to have taken 20 eligible flights. And that has me close to the alternative method of earning Silver status – through eligible flights.

Why is that Relevant?

In my chase for Tier Points, I paid for a few Business Class flights, in order to earn 40 Tier Points (20 for Spanish domestic flights on Iberia) instead of 5 for my flights.  I also booked some Iberia flights in a higher fare class than the cheapest available – again in order to earn 10 Tier Points instead of 5.

For another year of lounge access, bonus Avios, seat selection, etc. I believe the cost was worth it.

But I could have potentially achieved the same thing, by taking more “eligible flights”, but paying less overall…

But my Tier Point Year End Doesn’t Fall Between July and September…

Tier Point thresholds have been reduced by 25% until 31 December 2022.  Therefore, you must accumulate:

• Bronze: 225 Tier Points or 18 eligible flights
• Silver: 450 Tier Points or 37 eligible flights
• Gold: 1125 Tier Points

You also need at least 2 flights on British Airways / Iberia for Bronze status and 4 BA/IB flights for Silver or Gold status.

It doesn’t matter when your Tier Point year ends, as long as you have crossed the appropriate hurdle on or before 31 December, 2022…

Bottom Line

If your travel patterns involve a whole lot of cheap Economy flights – earning 5 Tier Points at a time – don’t forget (like I did) about the “eligible flights” method of earning or renewing Silver status with British Airways Executive Club.