(BA) has made a u-turn on its changes to its frequent flyer loyalty programme, following heavy criticism.

In December, British Airways announced that tier points - and Avios (BA's air miles) - would be calculated based only on the price of the flight, excluding airport charges and at a rate of one tier point per £1 spent. This was a change from the pervious system that used distance travelled to calculate tier points.

The new system meant that customers would have to spent £20,000 to attain the 20,000 points for a gold card and £7,500 for 7,500 point so gain a silver card.

However, following extensive criticism, BA is reintroducing a feature of its former loyalty programme, the Executive Club, which will allow travellers to gain status by taking a certain number of flights rather than spending a set amount of money.

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Chief commercial officer Colm Lacy, said that it was right for the airline to update its but recognised that speculation about the changes has led to concern about what it would mean for customers.

She said: "We’ve heard that our members wanted more clarity, certainty and reassurance, so we’ve found a way to re-introduce earning by sector for flights with a BA flight number to support members who use British Airways’ flights to commute.

"We’re confident that moving to this model is the right thing to do for our customers, but we acknowledge that we need to reassure them that there are now lots more ways to earn status. We’re implementing a system that allows us to flex and adapt to respond to our customers’ needs, and the Bonus Tier Point campaign is a perfect example of this.

“Our members have a deep emotional connection with our loyalty scheme and their status means a lot to them – we're confident the changes we’ve made fairly reward members for their travel with us.”

Now, any passenger who takes 25 flights in a year with a BA flight number - which includes flights on and Iberia - will gain bronze status. Any passengers who take 50 flights with a BA flight number, will earn a silver status. BA will also make it easier to attain silver or gold status by offering longer and more generous tier points bonus scheme.

A promotion, which was introduced in December 2024 for any flights booked before February 14 and flown after April 1, has been extended and will now apply to any flights booked from today until the end of this year for travel anytime before December 2026.

The number of bonus tier points on offer has doubled and will be a fixed amount based on the cabin – with economy the lowest and the highest, instead the price of the ticket. This new feature will be backdated to cover any bookings already made this year, however, customers will have to opt in.

“I hope it’s clear that these changes aren’t about reducing the number of members in each Tier but making sure that we get the level of recognition right for each individual," Lacy concluded.