The new tier points thresholds appeared on ba.com before anyone at British Airways seemed ready to talk about them. They sat there briefly, vanished, then arrived properly by email a day later with the usual language about recognising and rewarding members. From 1st April 2027, Silver moves from 7,500 to 8,000 tier points (the credits that move you up the status ladder) and Gold moves from 20,000 to 21,000. By our own maths on BA’s published numbers, that is a 6.7% rise for Silver and 5% for Gold.
We would normally file an early publication like that under human error. But a day later BA confirmed it is also cutting the bonus tier points earned on premium cabin flights by up to 60%. Two separate changes, pulling the ladder up and the rungs out at the same time. Nice!
What members assume about tier points thresholds
Most members treat the ladder as fixed. You learn the numbers, you plan your flying around them, and you assume BA will leave them alone for a few years. BA’s own messaging encourages that belief, because every announcement arrives wrapped in talk of maintaining the standard of the benefits.
The reality is that the thresholds are a dial, and BA has its hand on it. The scheme was rebuilt in 2025 around spend rather than distance, then softened when flight-count qualification returned for Bronze and Silver, then softened again with rollovers for members sitting below the published targets. We have rebuilt our own flying plan three times in two years, which tells you how stable this ladder really is. That is a company actively managing how many people reach each tier, and it has decided the answer is too many.
The bonus cut is the real story
A 500 tier point rise for Silver sounds manageable. It stops sounding manageable once you see the earning side. A standard Club World return will earn 600 fewer bonus tier points from April 2027, and a First return 700 fewer. The same cuts apply to long-haul flights with American Airlines and Iberia.
There is a real irony here. Those bonus tier points were only made permanent because too few people were qualifying under the new structure. BA added them to fix a problem, and is now removing most of them because the fix worked. Bookings made by 24th November 2026 for travel from 1st April 2027 still earn at the existing rates. From 25th November, you get the reduced ones.
The non-flying routes expand to fill the gap. The Amex Premium Plus card cap rises from 2,500 to 3,000 tier points a year and Sustainable Aviation Fuel credits can add up to 2,000. Together that extra 1,000 roughly covers the Silver increase, but only if you spend heavily on the card. Milestone rewards shift to 12,000 and 17,000, so the flying itself earns less while the credit card earns more.
Who actually loses here
Not the top spenders. A single fully flexible Club World return to New York can clear 3,000 tier points, so a corporate traveller doing that monthly reaches Gold with room to spare. The squeeze lands on mid-tier Silvers and occasional business class flyers who rebuilt their habits around the post-2025 rules. Our earlier piece, Is The British Airways Club Tier Points System Too Clever For Its Own Good?, argued the scheme was being tuned to thin out the middle of the pyramid. Raising both thresholds while cutting premium cabin bonuses does exactly that.
What to do about it
If you are within reach of Silver or Gold for 2027/28, book premium cabin travel before 25th November 2026 and lock in the current bonus rates. Then check the 50-flight route to Silver and 25 to Bronze, because both are unchanged and may now beat chasing spend. Most importantly, stop treating tier points thresholds as a fixed ladder. BA revises them whenever the qualification numbers drift, expect your plans to shift if you’re planning to stay with The Club. Us? We’ll put our points elsewhere and play a more predictable game.
Give us a follow on TikTok and Instagram.
The new tier points thresholds appeared on ba.com before anyone at British Airways seemed ready to talk about them. They sat there briefly, vanished, then arrived properly by email a day later with the usual language about recognising and rewarding members. From 1st April 2027, Silver moves from 7,500 to 8,000 tier points (the credits that move you up the status ladder) and Gold moves from 20,000 to 21,000. By our own maths on BA’s published numbers, that is a 6.7% rise for Silver and 5% for Gold.
We would normally file an early publication like that under human error. But a day later BA confirmed it is also cutting the bonus tier points earned on premium cabin flights by up to 60%. Two separate changes, pulling the ladder up and the rungs out at the same time. Nice!
What members assume about tier points thresholds
Most members treat the ladder as fixed. You learn the numbers, you plan your flying around them, and you assume BA will leave them alone for a few years. BA’s own messaging encourages that belief, because every announcement arrives wrapped in talk of maintaining the standard of the benefits.
The reality is that the thresholds are a dial, and BA has its hand on it. The scheme was rebuilt in 2025 around spend rather than distance, then softened when flight-count qualification returned for Bronze and Silver, then softened again with rollovers for members sitting below the published targets. We have rebuilt our own flying plan three times in two years, which tells you how stable this ladder really is. That is a company actively managing how many people reach each tier, and it has decided the answer is too many.
The bonus cut is the real story
A 500 tier point rise for Silver sounds manageable. It stops sounding manageable once you see the earning side. A standard Club World return will earn 600 fewer bonus tier points from April 2027, and a First return 700 fewer. The same cuts apply to long-haul flights with American Airlines and Iberia.
There is a real irony here. Those bonus tier points were only made permanent because too few people were qualifying under the new structure. BA added them to fix a problem, and is now removing most of them because the fix worked. Bookings made by 24th November 2026 for travel from 1st April 2027 still earn at the existing rates. From 25th November, you get the reduced ones.
The non-flying routes expand to fill the gap. The Amex Premium Plus card cap rises from 2,500 to 3,000 tier points a year and Sustainable Aviation Fuel credits can add up to 2,000. Together that extra 1,000 roughly covers the Silver increase, but only if you spend heavily on the card. Milestone rewards shift to 12,000 and 17,000, so the flying itself earns less while the credit card earns more.
Who actually loses here
Not the top spenders. A single fully flexible Club World return to New York can clear 3,000 tier points, so a corporate traveller doing that monthly reaches Gold with room to spare. The squeeze lands on mid-tier Silvers and occasional business class flyers who rebuilt their habits around the post-2025 rules. Our earlier piece, Is The British Airways Club Tier Points System Too Clever For Its Own Good?, argued the scheme was being tuned to thin out the middle of the pyramid. Raising both thresholds while cutting premium cabin bonuses does exactly that.
What to do about it
If you are within reach of Silver or Gold for 2027/28, book premium cabin travel before 25th November 2026 and lock in the current bonus rates. Then check the 50-flight route to Silver and 25 to Bronze, because both are unchanged and may now beat chasing spend. Most importantly, stop treating tier points thresholds as a fixed ladder. BA revises them whenever the qualification numbers drift, expect your plans to shift if you’re planning to stay with The Club. Us? We’ll put our points elsewhere and play a more predictable game.
Give us a follow on TikTok and Instagram.
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