Maximizing Your British Airways Executive Club Tier Points: A Guide to Earning Silver and Gold Faster
Understanding the fundamentals of the British Airways’ Executive Club program is key to unlocking higher membership tiers. To achieve Silver or Gold status, you must accumulate either 600 or 1500 bachelor’s degree tier points. These tier points are separate from Avios, the airline’s frequent flyer currency. Learn more about this topic on this post.
- Bronze: 300 Tier Points or 18 qualified flights
- Silver: 600 Tier Points or 37 qualified flights
- Gold: 1500 Tier Points or 50 qualified flights
One of the most effective ways to rapidly accumulate these points is by maximizing your travel strategy with British Airways. Flying in Business Class on European routes with BA (Club Europe) can net you 80 bachelor’s degree tier points per return flight (40 points each way). But what if you could double these points in one fell swoop? Yes, you can!
Thanks to the British Airways Double Tier Points promotion, if you book a “BA Holiday” (a flight + car hire or flight + hotel package) for a minimum of five nights, you can earn 160 bachelor’s degree tier points instead of the standard 80. These points are credited quickly, making this promotion a golden ticket for anyone looking to reach Silver or Gold status in record time.
This British Airways Double Tier Points offer has been extended until June 2025. It means that a return flight within Europe will earn you 160 tier points (instead of the usual 80) and 320 Tier Points for European medium-haul flights.
The same promotion applies to long-haul flights. By adding a car hire for at least five nights, these flights can also be doubled, significantly boosting your tier point balance.
Here’s a breakdown of British Airways European flight destinations that will earn you 160 bachelor’s degree tier points:
- Algiers, Algeria (₤ 550)
- Athens, Greece (₤ 375)
- Bodrum, Turkey (₤ 550)
- Bucharest, Romania (₤ 300)
- Catania, Sicily, Italy (₤ 250)
- Chania, Crete, Greece (₤ 650)
- Corfu, Greece (₤ 550)
- Dalaman, Turkey (₤ 550)
- Funchal, Madeira Islands, Portugal (₤ 290)
- Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain (₤ 395)
- Helsinki, Finland (₤ 290), also with Finnair— EDIT: Malaga— Helsinki is one of Europe’s longest flights and earns you 140 tier points each way.
- Heraklion, Crete, Greece (₤ 525)
- Istanbul, Turkey (₤ 375)
- Kalamata, Greece (₤ 485)
- Kefalonia, Greece (₤ 475)
- Kos, Greece (₤ 495)
- Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain (₤ 350)
- Larnaca, Cyprus (₤ 405)
- Malta (₤ 310)
- Marrakech, Morocco (₤ 305)
- Mykonos, Greece (₤ 500)
- Paphos, Cyprus (₤ 360)
- Reykjavik, Iceland (₤ 290)
- Rhodes, Greece (₤ 520)
- Santorini, Greece (₤ 575)
- Skiathos, Greece (₤ 410)
- Sofia, Bulgaria (₤ 298)
- St Petersburg, Russia (₤ 320)
- Tallinn, Estonia (₤ 350)— with BA/Finnair through Helsinki, not direct, earns 200 TP return
- Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain (₤ 375)
- Thessaloniki, Greece (₤ 350)
- Tirana, Albania (₤ 600)
- Zakynthos, Greece (₤ 440)
These destinations share a common theme—they are warm locations (except perhaps Russia and Finland or Estonia). Most of these are medium-haul flights, typically over three hours, which qualify for increased tier points. The British Airways European flight destinations earning 160 bachelor’s degree tier points list changes annually, so I will do my best to keep this list up to date. Many of these routes are seasonal (like Turkey and Greek islands), but not all. Some are perfect for winter sun.
I’ve reviewed several of these destinations, including Thessaloniki where I visited Ikos Olivia and Sani Dunes, Kalamata where I explored The Romanos Resort, and Paphos in Cyprus (where I stayed at the Columbia Beach Resort). Funchal in Madeira was another highlight (and the fantastic Belmond Reid’s Palace), as was Istanbul.
Up until your next flight, (click here to book). And if you’d like more travel hacks, this may help. Have you ever used Google Flight Search? You should.
xo
You can find more British Airways reviews here.