British Airways forced to defend ‘aggressive’ loyalty scheme changes

British Airways has defended changes to its loyalty programme, insisting the move towards a spending-based system will create more fairness, not fewer rewards.

The airline recently shifted its reward system from one based on distance flown to one based on the amount spent, with customers earning one point for every pound.

This change prompted criticism from frequent flyer website headforpoints.com, which accused the airline of abandoning leisure travellers and making it near impossible for small business travellers, economy travellers, or self-funded leisure travellers to achieve gold status.

Gold status offers perks such as access to first-class lounges and increased baggage allowance, generally requiring 20,000 points annually.

In response to the concerns, British Airways has announced an extension of its bonus offer, allowing customers to earn up to 550 additional points per flight depending on their cabin class for the remainder of the year.

Furthermore, the airline has introduced a guaranteed bronze status for frequent flyers taking at least 25 flights a year, a move aimed at regular commuters.

Bronze status benefits include access to business class check-in desks and free seat selection a week before departure, even for economy ticket holders. British Airways maintains these changes are designed to create a more equitable rewards system for all its customers.

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.

“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.