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British Airways tier points now go further on every flight, and on two more airlines. Since April 1, 2026, the fare type you choose adds a fixed amount of tier points. American Airlines and Iberia have joined the grid, and bags, seats and sustainable fuel contributions are worth double.
The base of the program is unchanged: £1 of eligible spend equals 1 tier point. What sits on top of it has been reworked on four counts.
Every flight earns a fixed amount of tier points on top of your spend. That amount used to follow the cabin alone; it now follows the fare type as well, from the most flexible to the most restrictive.
The most a single flight can add is 1,250 extra tier points, in First on a Fully-Flex fare. Basic Economy fares stay out of the grid.
Flights on these two partners now earn extra tier points as well, based on the cabin alone:
Paid add-ons now earn 2 tier points per pound instead of one. That covers extra baggage, paid seat selection and contributions to sustainable aviation fuels.
It is the simplest way to pick up a few hundred points without changing your ticket. Paying for seats in advance now earns twice what it used to.
Sustainable fuel contributions count for up to 2,000 tier points per membership year. Past that, contributing still earns Avios, but it no longer moves the tier counter.
The choice between two fares is now something you can put a number on before booking. On a return trip to London in World Traveller, picking Semi-Flex over the base fare adds 100 tier points per flight, so 200 points on the round trip.
Set against the Bronze threshold of 3,500 points, those 200 points cover 5.7% of the way in a single trip. The price gap between the two fares moves with the date and availability: that is what to weigh against the gain.
The four tiers are reached with the thresholds set in the April 2025 overhaul, over a collection year running from April 1 to March 31.
A second route exists, based on the number of flights: 25 flights with a British Airways code earn Bronze, and 50 flights earn Silver, over the same period.
Three milestones pay out an Avios bonus along the way. It is worth 2,500 Avios at 5,500 tier points, 4,000 Avios at 11,000 points and 5,000 Avios at 16,000 points.
Two or three transatlantic round trips a year are enough to make the fare type pay off. Paying for seats in advance adds to the counter. An occasional traveller will rarely reach Bronze without sustained spend in pounds.
From Canada, a credit card remains the fastest route to Reward Flights. Those Avios do not count toward tier status, however.
Savings are this way:
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