Reader Email: Earned BA Club Status Benefits While Trying To Credit To A New Frequent Flyer Programme?

A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a comment about the BA changes that they instituted between Christmas and the New Year, hoping that nobody would notice, and how difficult BA is making the transition to a new frequent flier program. Readers are encouraged to send us […]

May 29, 2025 - 00:15

A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a comment about the BA changes that they instituted between Christmas and the New Year, hoping that nobody would notice, and how difficult BA is making the transition to a new frequent flier program.

Readers are encouraged to send us questions, comments, or opinions by email, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We’ll cover them here several times a week.

You can access BA here.

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Reader’s Email:

For some people the changes to BA loyalty programme were pretty catastrophic. In my case as a premium leisure traveller who travels with my wife, we’d be spending almost £50,000 a year to obtain a gold card and almost £20,000 a year for silver. This change is of course a matter for BA and if that is their business model, then that is the model and I can have no complaints.
However, I have now decided that I can obtain One world Sapphire (OWS) and potentially One World Emerald (OWE) by crediting flights to another programme. The problem is BA are moving heaven and earth to prevent this, by preventing me from enjoying my earned benefits while still crediting to another airline.
Last week, I took a return flight to Dublin and changed the FFP number at checkin. The result, I fell from Group 1 to Group 5 for boarding with the subsequent risk to losing my hand baggage. I was initially refused access to the First Wing and advised that I must have the BA number on my boarding pass despite being able to show clearly my valid BA gold card.
These benefits are earned, the were awarded based on past travel and accrual of tier points at the rate set at the time. I was not aware that to continue to benefit, I must credit current flight flights to a programme I have absolutely no chance of obtaining status in going forward. I am still travelling on BA, so still providing revenue, albeit reluctantly and in part because they have a monopoly ex LHR on my favoured routes.
The icing on the cake was both flights then credited to the BA programme anyway! This lead to a request to reverse and that illicit the following reply fro BA
I have now removed the flights from your Club account.
To have the flights credited to your xxxxxxxx account, please contact them directly, along with this email confirming the flights have been removed.
Please remember to book flights with your preferred frequent flyer membership number entered in your bookings, as multiple membership numbers may result in flights not automatically crediting to your preferred account. While we may remove flights from your Club account, we cannot guarantee that the other airline will allow mileage credit and once removed, flights cannot be re-credited to your Club account.
I hope you will find this helpful and thank you for choosing British Airways.
In other words do it yourself, and dont come back to us if the other programme says no! We simply do not care!
This week I took the precaution of have the BA number removed entirely from the flights and replaced with the other details. They have not posted but the trouble to get through each point on the journey was considerable. Again First wing was initially refused, my wife was also refused. Boarding fell to group 5, attempts were made to remove hand baggage. On the return it was farcical trying to access fast track and the lounge.
The staff are bewildered, the IT cannot handle two FFP despite there being separate entries for both passenger status and credit of flights. I cannot believe that BA or indeed any airline cannot ensure that a passenger current status benefits cannot be provide with ease while allowing the same passenger to credit to another programme.
In my personal view this is looking increasingly like a deliberate attempt to frustrate and is perhaps anti-competitive. As well as making it difficult there are numerous blog reports that you cannot now change your FFP details on any other one world carrier web site Royal Air Maroc functionality was dropped on April 1st and that these changes have all occurred since the 1st April.

Let’s tackle a few topics here:

FQTS versus FQTV

The airlines can use two fields on the PNR to differentiate between the programs. One for the status benefits and another one where the flight is credited:

FQTS: Frequent flyer number for status benefits

FQTV: Frequent flyer number for mileage accrual

Whether BA has implemented this and, if so, whether they have any idea how to use these fields, is anyone’s guess. I guess that they haven’t because they don’t want more spillage or exodus from the Club that everyone hates.

Flights Credited To Incorrect Program

It is borderline impossible to get BA frequent flier number removed from their ticket if it has been inputted there in the first place, like I experienced last in 2023.

British Airways Credits Flight To Incorrect Frequent Flier Account

I switched the number to Finnair long before the flight (I am an Emerald member with both), and the flight was still credited to BA, even when the Finnair frequent flyer number was visible on the boarding pass.

Note that this issue is not limited to BA, but also affects many other airlines, particularly with their mobile apps that many of us use.

If you have logged into the app and try to choose seats or check in, their system may override the frequent flier number you have on the reservation without actually updating the information on the boarding pass.

How to Correct Wrong Credits

You need to request the airline to remove the flights from your account, and then do a retrocredit with the airline where you wanted them to be credited in the first place, and hope for the best.

The reader is correct that it is difficult for a while, when you build the status with another Oneworld airline, to get all the current benefits that the BA status would grant, such as seat selection, extra luggage allowance, airport priority services such as check in, security, lounge access, and boarding.

BA perhaps believes that they can hold on for these “The Club” members for a bit longer while they are on their way out due to the negative “enhancements” rolled out that benefits nobody else than those that fly on extremely expensive tickets mostly on OPM (other people’s money i.e. employer pays).

Conclusion

These reader’s issues are over once they have reached the Sapphire and later Emerald status with the other airline, but it is unfortunately a bit rocky in the meantime, even when it shouldn’t be.

Airlines, as I demonstrated above, have the FQTS/FQTV in place for exactly such a situation, but obviously BA does whatever it can to prevent more exodus from the devalued and disliked The Club to more rewarding Oneworld programs.

I would use the BA number to obtain the airport and other benefits, then change it, and ask the check-in personnel to ensure that the BA number has been completely removed.

I doubt that this helps, but you will then need to contact BA to have the flight removed before being able to file the retro claim with the other airline.

What have been your experiences with BA during the transition to a better and more rewarding frequent flier program, and what obstacles they, BA, has tried to create to stop you from moving? Please comment below.

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