British Airways rebuilt its status system around spend, not distance. Here is exactly how Tier Points are earned in 2026 — what counts, the cabin and fare bonuses, how partner airlines compare, and the smartest ways to build your total.
Tier Points are how British Airways measures your loyalty — the score that decides whether you fly as a Bronze, Silver or Gold member. Since April 2025 they are earned on how much you spend, not how far you fly, and a second wave of changes lands in April 2026. This guide explains the whole system in plain English so you know exactly what each flight is worth.
What you’ll learn:
Tier Points are British Airways’ measure of how loyal a flyer you are. They are a status score, nothing more: you cannot spend them, gift them or cash them in. Their only job is to decide which tier — Bronze, Silver, Gold or Gold Guest List — you reach in a membership year.
This is the single most common point of confusion, so it is worth being clear:
| Tier Points | Avios | |
|---|---|---|
| What they do | Decide your status tier | The currency you spend on flights |
| Can you spend them? | ||
| When do they reset? | Every 1 April | Only expire after 36 months’ inactivity |
You earn both at once. A single cash flight earns Avios (which you keep to spend) and Tier Points (which count towards status), but the two are tracked separately. If you are new to the currency side, start with our guide to what Avios are.
Since 1 April 2025, British Airways earns Tier Points on spend, not distance. The headline rule is simple:
1 Tier Point for every £1 of eligible spend
on British Airways-marketed flights, plus an automatic per-flight cabin & fare bonus
So a flight where the eligible spend is £600 earns a base of 600 Tier Points, and then a bonus is added on top depending on the cabin you booked and how flexible the fare is. The old distance-based tables — where a long, cheap flight could earn a lot of Tier Points — are gone. Today, an expensive short flight can out-earn a cheap long one.
Reward flights earn nothing. A flight booked entirely with Avios earns no Tier Points at all (though paid add-ons attached to it can). If you are chasing status, it is your cash bookings that count.
This is the part that trips people up. The price you pay is not all eligible. Tier Points are earned only on the base fare plus carrier-imposed surcharges (the fuel surcharge, coded YQ/YR). Everything the airline collects on behalf of a government or airport is excluded.
| Part of your ticket price | Earns Tier Points? |
|---|---|
| Base fare | |
| Carrier-imposed surcharge (YQ/YR) | |
| Air Passenger Duty (APD) | |
| Government taxes | |
| Airport fees & charges |
The practical upshot: two flights with the same headline price can earn very different Tier Points, because a route heavy on tax (a departure from the UK, say) leaves less eligible spend than a route where more of the fare is base fare. Fares booked in another currency are converted using the IATA five-day exchange rate from the booking date.
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On top of the £1-per-Tier-Point base, every eligible flight earns a fixed bonus per sector — and a return trip earns it twice. From 1 April 2026 the bonus depends on both your cabin and how flexible your fare is, rewarding pricier flexible tickets. Basic Economy fares earn no bonus at all.
| Cabin | Base fare bonus | Fully flexible fare |
|---|---|---|
| Euro Traveller (short-haul economy) | 75 | 275 |
| Club Europe (short-haul business) | 175 | 375 |
| World Traveller (long-haul economy) | 150 | 450 |
| World Traveller Plus (premium economy) | 275 | 575 |
| Club World (long-haul business) | 500 | 1,100 |
| First | 650 | 1,250 |
Bonus Tier Points per sector; a return flight earns the bonus twice. Figures effective 1 April 2026. Basic Economy fares do not qualify for a bonus.
For a full breakdown of how each booking class maps to Tier Points, see our fare class and Tier Points table, or model your own trips in the Tier Points calculator.
You can earn Tier Points flying other airlines too, but the method varies. From 1 April 2026, flights marketed by American Airlines and Iberia earn a flat per-cabin bonus regardless of fare type:
For other oneworld partners — such as Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific — Tier Points are generally calculated as a percentage of the miles flown, based on your booking class. A premium cabin on a long partner route can still earn very well, which is why partner flying remains a popular route to status.
Flying is the main event, but a few other routes add Tier Points to your total:
Only one card earns Tier Points. The Premium Plus card is the only UK Avios credit card that contributes Tier Points. The free BA Amex and the Barclaycard Avios cards earn Avios but no Tier Points, so do not rely on everyday card spend for status.
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Everything you earn counts towards these totals, which reset to zero every 1 April:
| Tier | Tier Points needed | Flight-count alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 3,500 | 25 qualifying BA flights |
| Silver | 7,500 | 50 qualifying BA flights |
| Gold | 20,000 | None |
| Gold Guest List | 65,000 (40,000 renew) | None |
On the way up, milestone bonus Avios drop in at 5,500 Tier Points (2,500 Avios), 11,000 (4,000 Avios) and 16,000 (5,000 Avios). And for the truly dedicated, Lifetime Gold is awarded at 550,000 Tier Points earned across your whole flying life. To see what each tier is actually worth, read our guide to the BA tiers.
Now that earning is spend-based, the tactics have changed. A few principles hold true:
The best next step is to run your own numbers. Head to the BA Tier Points calculator to model a year of flying, or see which tier is worth chasing in our tiers explained guide.
The AviosArcana Editorial Team
We decode the British Airways loyalty programme in plain English, cross-checking every figure against BA’s published rules. We only recommend products we would use ourselves — and we tell you plainly when a redemption or card is not worth it.