British Airways has implemented a major change to its loyalty scheme following a technical error that left thousands of members incorrectly informed about their status. The airline's parent company, IAG Loyalty, has now been forced to downgrade many members of the rewards programme after discovering the mistake.
Error in Status Notifications
Thousands of British Airways Executive Club members were mistakenly told they would retain their gold or silver status, even though they had not accumulated the required number of points. The error affected fewer than one percent of members, according to IAG Loyalty.
An IAG Loyalty spokesperson said: "Earlier this week we renewed the status of a very small number of BA Club members according to our normal guidelines and criteria. This raised concerns with some of BA's Executive Club members, who believed we'd made a mistake. Our initial investigation didn't identify any obvious issues, however, over the last 24 hours we've conducted some more detailed forensic work, and have discovered that due to a technical issue, some members were incorrectly told they had retained their status, when they hadn't earned it, or been entitled to it."
New Points System from April 2026
From April 2026, members of the British Airways Club will earn points based on the money they have spent, rather than the distance flown. To qualify for gold status, customers now need to earn 20,000 points in a year, an increase of 1,500 points. This shake-up means many British Airways customers may no longer be able to maintain their previous status.
The airline faces competition from easyJet, TUI, Jet2, Ryanair, and others. The change comes amid rising fuel costs due to the conflict in the Middle East, with International Airlines Group (IAG) warning that flight prices will increase to reflect higher jet fuel prices. IAG noted that despite fuel hedging, it is "not immune" to the broader fallout from the conflict.
