British Airways has announced changes to its Executive Club loyalty programme that will see travellers gain status points based on annual spend levels rather than distance travelled.

From 1 April, the carrier¡¯s loyalty programme will be rebranded as ¡®The British Airways Club¡¯ and members will earn one ¡®tier point¡¯ for every ?1 of ¡°eligible spend¡±, which includes the base fare, ancillaries and carrier-imposed charges as well as contributions to ¡®sustainable¡¯ aviation fuel (SAF). Non-airline taxes and fees, such as airport charges and government taxes, do not earn points.

Bookings made in another currency will be converted to GBP using the IATA five-day exchange rate in order to calculate total eligible spend, the carrier said.

This spend-based model is a marked difference from its existing programme, where travellers can collect points based on distance travelled. Like the existing Executive Club programme, there are four tiers of loyalty status: Blue, Bronze, Silver and Gold, each with associated benefits.

Moving forward, however, spend thresholds will be linked to the three higher tiers. For example, a traveller will be required to spend at least ?3,500 each year (equivalent to 3,500 points) to gain Bronze status, ?7,500 each year for Silver and ?20,000 for Gold status.

The move has sparked criticism by travellers and existing Club members as the changes now make it more difficult to earn and maintain status. For example, Gold status under the existing programme can be attained at 1,500 tier points and after flying on at least four?¡®eligible flights¡¯?a year.

There a few exceptions to the spend-based scheme, however. Bookings made through travel management companies or travel agents and product types where the airfare paid isn¡¯t disclosed on the ticket or the information isn¡¯t available, will use an alternative distance-based accrual, according to the carrier¡¯s website.

These exceptions include group bookings and flights marketed by oneworld alliance partners, excluding American Airlines and Iberia. Flights on AA and Iberia will earn points based on total eligible spend.

The collection of Avios points linked to tier status remains unchanged, according to the carrier¡¯s website, but new tier milestones such as bonus Avios will be introduced ¡°later in 2025¡±.

Travellers will also earn 1 tier point and 10 Avios per pound spent on SAF contributions (with a maximum of 1,000 points per year) via the carrier¡¯s dedicated platform.