BA Comping Status

[clifford]

Shades of what's to come from VA?

BA rolling over status for people with as few as 128 tier points

I have been telling anyone who would listen that there will NOT be quieter lounges at Heathrow on 1st May when the main wave of British Airways status drops was meant to take place. I knew that BA would do whatever was necessary to keep up elite numbers, because it…

www.headforpoints.com

 

[trippin_the_rift]

A combination of BA massively fking up, and legions of status holders matching into other airlines.

AF/KLM published data on how many matched into them, and you can easily figure out they made somewhere between $10M - $30M in the first 9months.
17,500 incremental bookings from those customers, of which 60% of matched customers flew in business/first class (Anyone at an airline that's been involved in an internal SM offer knows these numbers are significantly higher than DIY in-house solutions).

Then there is the status match by Lufthansa Group.... and SAS..... and TAP.... and Virgin Atlantic...and easyjet.....

I mean can you imagine, as a member, dealing with BA's changes (or VA for that matter), requalifying on merit as per the new, greatly increased requirements, and then - the airline gives a free year of status to your friends who didn't even try to requalify? Many members report getting a free year after doing only 1 flight.

That's what BA did.

Is accountability still a thing in 2026?

 

[blackcat20]

I got another year with zero points earned

 

[GUWonder]

A combination of BA massively fking up, and legions of status holders matching into other airlines.

AF/KLM published data on how many matched into them, and you can easily figure out they made somewhere between $10M - $30M in the first 9months.
17,500 incremental bookings from those customers, of which 60% of matched customers flew in business/first class (Anyone at an airline that's been involved in an internal SM offer knows these numbers are significantly higher than DIY in-house solutions).

Then there is the status match by Lufthansa Group.... and SAS..... and TAP.... and Virgin Atlantic...and easyjet.....

I mean can you imagine, as a member, dealing with BA's changes (or VA for that matter), requalifying on merit as per the new, greatly increased requirements, and then - the airline gives a free year of status to your friends who didn't even try to requalify? Many members report getting a free year after doing only 1 flight.

That's what BA did.

Is accountability still a thing in 2026?

Well said.

A bunch of BA account members seems to have been given a complimentary status extension with zero points-earning flights credited to their BA accounts.